This examination of the aspects of computers and computer conferencing that can lead to their successful design and utilization focuses on task-related functions and emotional interactions in human communication and human-computer interactions. Such aspects of computer conferences as procedures, problems, advantages, and suggestions for future conferences are studied through analyses of three university-sponsored conferences: (1) a class project for a graduate seminar in communication technologies at the University of Southern California (USC); (2) a conference of the Human Communication Technology special interest group of the International Communication Association; and (3) a USC conference primarily of academicians interested in computing, who reviewed relevant books and articles and suggested taxonomies, user/role classifications, procedures, and entry levels. Elements of successful and unsuccessful computer conferences are of particular concern, and the analyses focus on comments and interactions related to such emotional aspects as like and dislike of the medium, comfort, frustration, anger, and humor. Comments about aloneness, anonymity, time-space perceptions, and feedback issues, are noted, as well as responses that indicate non-linear thought patterns. Results indicate that there is an emotional dimension present in computer conferencing, as well as a flow of thought showing spontaneity and creativity, and that task functions become enmeshed in the computer user's socio-emotional state. (LMM)