Comment by Detrus
11 years ago
Yes. There are few serious attempts to come up with better artifacts because we're so used to existing ones.
And another point of Doug is we're too lazy to learn complex new artifacts. Reading and writing takes a while but it's worth it. If someone comes up with a better idea that needs time to master it will be a hard road ahead, people like short learning curves when dealing with computers.
On a small scale I do think we have been developing new ways of expressing and communicating though. Smileys to me are a good example of this, but you can even include the 'x is typing a message' and 'read at <time>'.
While there is no universal consensus on what exactly this kind of 'information' means, within specific groups (and ages) they can convey a lot.
I've been chatting since I was fifteen or so, and to me and many people I chat with, a particular smiley, or the 'is typing' message can have a lot of meaning. I even find myself actively 'manipulating' this information at times: I might intentional start and stop typing at times as an analogue to the face-to-face act of saying 'hmm', looking away thoughtfully and not answering immediately.
I suspect all this meaning encoded in non-text things (practically speaking) is even more common among younger people.
The only better solution I can think of is direct interfacing between brain and computer (network(s)).