When someone is typing, three little circles pop up. They grow bigger and smaller, move higher and lower, and fade in and out, indicating that the other person is typing. While waiting for the message to arrive, the typing indicator, with its fast pace, slow pace, or the way it disappears and reappears seems to perform nonverbal communication. It reveals enthusiasm, doubt, or a thoughtful, considerate response.
DotDotDot is an overview of typing indicators that I've come across. It's a growing collection that, for me, raises the question how chatbots are intended to be perceived by us. Ranging from human like entities too abstract computers.
This project will be a continuous exploration of chatbots and their non verbal communication by user interface elements. Other topics I have in mind to discover (when holiday starts) are the online indicator (green dot) and the names of chatbots (as Billie - bol.com & Daan - PostNL).