I hadn't considered the coding situation, but you're right: coding is something where you need a visual reference to make sure that you're both on the right page.
But what about this compromise: Skype voice conversation + skype text-chat for showing each other code snippets.
That can work better than just Skype, but I guess I don't generally see the benefit. As long as all parties are chat-fluent (I've worked with some people who aren't, and then it can be painful, like IMing with my parents), I find IRC discussions better than Skype. Especially true if three or four people are participating; conference calls are much harder to demultiplex, at least for me, with all this time wasted on people accidentally speaking over other people, asking for something to be repeated, etc., etc. And with text, you can grep the logs, too!
> But what about this compromise: Skype voice conversation + skype text-chat for showing each other code snippets.
I've been using this combination for a few weeks now, working on a development project with a partner who is ~1000 miles away. Besides voice and text, Skype also has screen sharing. All three parts have become essential to how we work.
But what about this compromise: Skype voice conversation + skype text-chat for showing each other code snippets.