In the social sciences various notions of networks are based on simplified representations of relations and their dynamics. For all they are worth, these representations fail to exhaust the question of the elaboration of 'networks'? and their texture. The relational systems and dynamics connected to electronic communication in research constitute a fine example for more indepth analysis of this issue. 'Networks'? are treated here as Unidentified Relational Objects. Based on surveys undertaken since the early 1990s, the article shows how academic uses of electronic communication contribute towards the elaboration of diverse forms of 'networking'? and other types of relational systems, and sometimes towards their destruction.