It is very interesting I seems that many of the disadvantages you portray from this development, I see as advantages. Admittedly, my perspective is that of an employee of the East India Tea company! However truly 9 out of 10 meetings that I participate in during mhy working day (and there are many) are conducted almost exclusively via such means. And through this we are able to conduct such business to economicl subdue sub-continents (although we aren’t an abusive monopoly like certin _other_ companies, cough). For those used to it, there is no awkwardness cumbersomeness or similar problems.
Let me compare the two biggest meetings I have atteneded in Second Life. The first was a gathering of my religious denomintion. It was conducted solely through text. The long pauses as the minister addressed us were awkward, and typing in our affirmation of faith in “unison” was less than spiritual. There were about 40 people present.
The second was a business meeting for my Tea Company. One hundred and forty of us were present (spread across the corners of 4 sims) and we used a feature very similar to that proposed to conduct the meeting. It was quite a lot more productive.

To your point of a lack of a written record… this can actually be to advantage. One of the biggest limitations I face is using Second Life for more than entertainment is that it is not a secure medium. It is precisely because anyone (including Lord Linden) can record anything said, we cannot discuss any matters that should only be kept between two gentlemen. Whereas with this new feature, it is _possible_ for such dialog to be recorded, it is much less practical and many more subjects can be disucssed.
I, myself, occasionally show a lack of restraint and, well, lets just say that I have had the obejctive to “show more judicious use of e-mail” in more than one annual review in the past decade. The advice on each time is to conduct such conversations in voice. One can then express oneself more freely without worries of being taken out of context or, if the heat of the moment gets to one, it is easier to apologize.

Lastly I will speak to the “immersion” argument. Yes, there are those who come to Second Life for escapism and the chance to “be someone else”. And, I think the points I have mostly seen expressed so far come from that viewpoint. And, certainly, I think they are quite valid from that viewpoint. However, if we are discussing taking over the grid we cannot omit the fact that the population of our dear land is growing by leaps and bounds. Those who have been there a long time are quickly becoming quite the minority. It is a mistake to assume that all of these new people will follow the path that the established people have followed.
Like Ms. Calliope I have a personal fondness for the antiquated analogues of our second life, and even spend quality time with friends every Monday night with a similar paper and pencil game that has been around for nearly 20 years. I remember Usenet before September ‘93. So, in many of these past times I remain, in a past time, to my delight. However, I am aware that most of my breathern have upgraded to version 3.5, and many such modern contrivances. I do not make the mistake of assuming the world is painted in colors I like.

So, overall, I believe this new development will become quite common. I think it will be another dividing line between those of the world that was, and those of the world that is becoming.

Respectfully,
JC

Admittedly though, I ‘grew up’ in the Stone Age of mucks, mushes, muds and moos and have a certain affection for text-based chat that the younger generation may not share.