11. A method of synchronizing versions of an electronic document modified collaboratively over a network, said method comprising the steps of: determining a most recent version of said electronic document that is stored locally on the network by analyzing data incorporated within one or more locally stored versions of said electronic document, the data indicating acknowledgment of a particular version of said electronic document by at least a first one of a plurality of collaborators; requesting a first and second patch representing editorial modifications made to the most recent version of said electronic document by a second and third one of the collaborators at a remote location of the network; receiving from said second and third collaborators, via said network, said first patch from the second collaborator and said second patch from the third collaborator, the first and second patches representing said editorial modifications that said second and third collaborators have made to said most recent version of said electronic document, wherein the patches are transmitted from said second and third collaborators to said first collaborator separately from each other and from any copy of said electronic document; transmitting, from the first to the second collaborator, an acknowledge receipt for said first patch, and from the first to the third collaborator, an acknowledge receipt for said second patch, copies of the electronic document stored with said second and third collaborator being updated upon receipt of the acknowledge receipts; and applying the modifications represented by said received patches to the locally stored most recent version of said electronic document to produce a synchronized version of said electronic document.
11. A method of synchronizing versions of an electronic document modified collaboratively over a network, said method comprising the steps of: determining a most recent version of said electronic document that is stored locally on the network by analyzing data incorporated within one or more locally stored versions of said electronic document, the data indicating acknowledgment of a particular version of said electronic document by at least a first one of a plurality of collaborators; requesting a first and second patch representing editorial modifications made to the most recent version of said electronic document by a second and third one of the collaborators at a remote location of the network; receiving from said second and third collaborators, via said network, said first patch from the second collaborator and said second patch from the third collaborator, the first and second patches representing said editorial modifications that said second and third collaborators have made to said most recent version of said electronic document, wherein the patches are transmitted from said second and third collaborators to said first collaborator separately from each other and from any copy of said electronic document; transmitting, from the first to the second collaborator, an acknowledge receipt for said first patch, and from the first to the third collaborator, an acknowledge receipt for said second patch, copies of the electronic document stored with said second and third collaborator being updated upon receipt of the acknowledge receipts; and applying the modifications represented by said received patches to the locally stored most recent version of said electronic document to produce a synchronized version of said electronic document. 15. A method according to claim 11 , wherein the data identifies the version of a particular electronic document.