I have a general question about communication in Shadowrun. I'm following along a pbp campaign, and the characters there are communicating via text messages (at a meeting with a Mr. Johnson) simply by thought alone--they're talking over terms and such with each other to come to an agreement while carrying on a conversation with the Mr. Johnson.
I've read as much as I could find on DNIs in the Shadowrun 4A (plus the stuff in Unwired), but it's still not completely clear to me how if this is really how it works. Is it as simple as it is being run in the pbp game I'm watching (communicating real-time via text messages at the speed of though without any interface whatsoever)? If not, how does it really work?
If I understand correctly, two people with DNIs (via a datajack, implanted commlink, trodes or whatever) could do this...but what about a group of runners meeting for the first time while under the watchful eye of a Mr. Johnson?
It's pretty obvious that I'm quite new to the setting and the mechanics, so I'm just trying to wrap my brain around a few things.
Thoughts? Thanks!