I'm looking for inspiration on how to design classes from scratch in a project with multiple developers in different locations (so no whiteboard sessions.)
Let's say you're tasked with implementing a rather big feature that is going to be used by the other developers later in the project. This feature will require several classes and will interact with other classes already in the project. Of course you want the other developers' input before you go on and implement the whole thing. Now, how do you proceed?
I would start with the best tool available: pen and paper. But then what? I would like to materialize my lines and bubbles and notations on my paper to the screens of the other developers. Is the best method to simply scan and e-mail the paper? Are there good patterns for writing down a design as text? Are there any online tools that can quickly model a class design? Should I simply write the "skeletons" for the classes and ask for feedback?
An important point to think about here is that the only communication available is phone and e-mail, due to developers being located far away from each other.
I actually don't agree that "the only communication available is phone and e-mail". The web has changed a lot, and there are lots of great new ways to do sharing, and most of them are free.
Edit: links in list form