Computer mediated discourse and turn taking devices

The article attempts to show how turn taking strategies of using particular devices in asynchronous forums differ from face-to-face communication, how they are conditioned by the medium and also how they are infl uenced by the aim of a particular discussion. The analysis, as part of bigger research, is based on comparison of two corpora of online discussions with different topics and aims, and it shows the shift of functions of typical written devices such as titles, greetings, etc. It is evident that even if interactive exchanges in asynchronous computer mediated forums tend to be linked together less tightly than in face-to-face communication, the potential confusion is prevented by adopting compensatory strategies