The popularity of distributed learning and the continued growth in the number of colleges and universities offering courses delivered entirely via asynchronous learning networks (ALN) are unquestioned. There is little agreement on what constitutes the online environment. The ALN environment is quite immature and many of its components have evolved ad hoc in the form of attempts to mirror the traditional, face-to-face setting. The problems associated with the lack of analysis, planning, and design in developing the infrastructure for an ALN are evident in the tools to support student-to-student communication in collaborative learning activities. This study addresses this rather poorly directed developmental process by answering the following research questions: 1) What criteria are applicable for a communication system to support asynchronous collaborative? 2) How can those criteria be developed and validated? 3) How can those criteria be met in a product? 4) How can that product be evaluated?