Mmmmmm, drone porn.
Also, I always figured that audio communication is a bit odd considering that my character is in a pod most of the time. Unless he has a voice-synth package installed into his implants, he shouldn't be communicating in audio at all. Hence, text > .
Interesting, as I don't imagine people in pods seeing much text at all. We 'think' things and the ship responds, we are jacked-in Ghost in the Shell Style.
If I had to imagine the closest approximation to our chat channels, I would imagine it pretty much just like Ghost in the Shell when they are talking with their thoughts only, with perhaps a visual indication in their field of view.
I instantly thought of Shadowrun riggers, personally. Jacked in and sensing things through your body that you kind of understand as information, but it's all just brain information. It does make sense that if they're connected to your brain, that text would be a little outmoded in the YC years. I always just assume people are speaking audibly, if not essentially telepathically, when in the pod. I think a few people actually put in text> when their character is using it, for whatever reason.
I suppose it would be a lot easier to send if you are in a wormhole and not able to get out or running on low power, maybe? That would be a good time for text?
Somebody ELSE plays Shadowrun?
Anyway, 'visual indication in their field of view' is what I'm working with here. If I am roleplaying in a spaceship, usually, I try not to segregate gameplay from roleplay all that much. It irks me that when I see the chat log on the corner of the neocom, I'm seeing text, but everyone acts like they are speaking in audio. I kept seeing text on the bottom of my screen, instead of hearing the chaos that is The Summit. So, I figured, if all I can do is read text, why not I act like my implants translate thoughts into text? Besides, being in the bad part of New Eden, I couldn't well afford to have voices in my head all the time unless it's the voice of the FC, so I needed a communication system I could outright ignore on demand.
And 'text >' is born.
I tend to think of most in-game comms being as they appear in the client, expect the words are being thought rather than typed. IC I refer to voice comms as "high bandwidth" comms, that would be the GiTS cybercomm equivalent.
Also Shadowrun - Yay! Although having to empty multiple loads of assault rifle ammo into someone to down them in first edition really was a downer. I remember my initial second edition game when my Ork street samurai dropped two Humanis kidnappers with about four shots from an Ares Predator fondly. What I also remember fondly was that was a side issue and we managed the run that session without major gunplay.
Regarding cyber control of mechanisms Peter Watts book
Blindsight might be worth a look. That book, and the rest of his back catalogue are available for free
here. It also has some interesting notions on free-will, neuro-diverse mindsets and non-sparkly vampires.