Collaborative Ontologies and Its Visualisation in CSCW Systems

The goal of semantic structures and especially the semantic web is to simplify knowledge retrieval in computer based systems. The Visual Cooperative Ontology Environment short visCOntE aims to support the process of a collaborative ontology creation and the mapping of an individual’s mental map into a computer based knowledge representation. Due to the collaborative and graphical approach many requirements have to be considered to establish such a project. Beneath a deep description of visCOntE and possible usage scenarios, the question what is needed for a successful collaborative ontology creation and which functions a system should make available will be determined in detail.