A new architecture for a collaborative authoring system

Abstract

Much research has occurred in recent years detailing computer systems which support collaborative writing. In this paper we describe a collaborative authoring system capable of handling both synchronous and asynchronous communication between authors, based upon a writing model of coordination, writing, annotation, consolidation and negotiation. This assumes that the negotiation aspects play a major role in the collaborative process. A model linking the logical structure of documents and author roles is also established, based on the Standard Generalized Markup Language.