HRI is built around the notion that current communications tools such as the Internet allow for project teams to work together in a cooperative and constructive way that is nor hindered by distance. This naively suggests that project teams work cooperatively and constructively when they are together in the same room - which may or may not be the case. It is often assumed that the issue with web based collaboration is due to bad audio or untrained WebEx users or poor video feeds or remote PowerPoint presentations - however bad behavior is often more disruptive to progress than bad technology.
The same sorts of destructive impulses that plague internet chat rooms and email threads can be observed in almost any meeting - even ones where only pencils and paper are the only technology present.
This topic is directed to establishing a common view of how HRI project teams should work together and how to get the most out of a project team that may be distributed around the world, to work together as if they were in the same room - only better.