I’m not sure it counts as an affordance, but one benefit of virtual-world interaction is similar to that you experience at a conference or other face-to-face event: you have the chance to deal with individuals or small groups who are (presumably) interested in whatever the topic is. So it’s another channel, like reading blogs or subscribing to listservs, that can help you connect with others.

Similarly, one of my most striking experiences was at a virtual panel discussion. At first it seemed to me too much like an actual one: avatars sitting in rows of chairs (why chairs? why rows? extension of the metaphor?), a panel on the stage, speakers coming over the audio stream, virtual whiteboards with images.

But then I saw the (public) chat, into which people would type comments that were for the most part related to what was going on. (Participant: “Greg, can you put that URL you mentioned into the chat?” A minute later, there was a clickable URL.) In addition, people could (and I did) send private messages (instant messages) to one another, the way you’d whisper to a seatmate in a live session.

For me this was a powerful demonstration of the multidimensionality of this mode. Not better than live, different from it. And if you can’t go to a face-to-face conference, then participating in a virtual one can offer many of the same benefits.