Electronic chat is really not the same as face-to-face communication. Neither are video calls.

sodapopcan 7 hours ago | parent | next [-]

For me, electronic chat is better most of the time.

Everyone is different. I vastly prefer email over chat, but also wouldn't want to live without the occasional face-to-face.

	▲	sodapopcan 7 hours ago \| parent [-]
		"Everyone is different" is my point. Face to face once in a while is nice, though I don't care so much about having it very often with my colleagues in a professional setting.

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AlotOfReading 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Of course it's not the same, that's the point. I personally prefer the async, chat based mediums I've used since I was a child. Some of my coworkers have disabilities that make conversational typing difficult and prefer video calls as a result.

Consider the effort to accommodate those preferences though. Accommodating a video call preference is easy. Same for chat. Accommodating a preference for face-to-face requires spending an hour (2x average US commute) traveling to meet you. That's quite a significant ask of the other person.

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devmor 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Yes, it’s not the same at all.

In electronic chat I can ask someone to explain their question and wait for it in writing. In person, I often have to listen to them stumble over the concept because they didn’t think about what they wanted to ask before asking it.

In a video call I can clearly see the other person’s screen and zoom in on what I’m trying to look at. In person I have to lean over their desk and squint at the right angle.