Managing invisible users in interactive networked collaborative environment

In interactive networked collaborative virtual environment (NCVE), users work in a group to be involved in interactive activities such as game, discussion and learning. However, without having a clearly defined roles and access control of the different level of users, interaction within a virtual environment will not be effectively carried out as these virtual interactions lack of many communication cues as users are physically invisible. Our research uses content analyses to explore various roles, played by users and access rights granted to each role, specifically in e-learning, project management and game. Therefore, we present seven classes of roles based on eight functional activities in a hierarchical and peer to peer virtual organization. A clear role and well defined job function could strictly outline users' access right to ensure smooth communication and secure protection as well as users privacy.