Distirbutied networks provide new opportunities for electronic 
communication.  

Various kinds of software have been developed to support this --
I am interested in how groups of users and individuals change 
the software (electronic communication) environment to meet their 
changing needs.  I call this a co-adaptive system -- one in 
which the user's behavior is influenced by the introduction of
new software, new features and new combinations of software and 
they simultaneously change the software.

Some of those changes are direct -- either the programs have 
features that users can change or some of the users are programmers
 or people devise clever ways of using other techniques to 
use the software.


(What about learning to program with TECO (me) -- to do data analysis ---
and SCRIBE (for steve to do his thesis).  Who learns to be a programmer?
(Any field - the common problem  for graduate students is to get 
"seduced by the computer").  What are the motivations -- rapid feedback 
and progress toward a self-defined goal.  Graphics/old computer games
drove first set of programmers.  But other flexible tools have seduced 
others.  Compare bank folks with others...

Difference betweeen software engineers and hardware engineers -- 
more like diff between scientists and engineers.  The former are 
driven by the project (hacking -- trying to test out a new theory), 
the latter are driven by getting the project out the door.  Andy's
data about the two types, with SW eng's significantly less interested 
in "getting product out the door".

I'll claim that the job is NOT to get the product out the door in 
software -- it's more of an on-going service with users modifying 
and manufacturers examining it.
