Voicechat is available. Folks might be using that. I've tried forming teams before. Prior to f2p, CO players aren't that chatty.
yeah I heard about many people using that voice chat.
But yeah CO seems to be more of an "on ya own" type game. Which is what really really appeals to me. I dont go too far beyond the COX channel and that is all the "socialization" I need in a game. Beyond that, I rather solo, not deal with a bunch of different versions of "fun", and go at my own pace and not have to worry about some overzealous team mate that is always in a rush, and speed runs is no longer a problem. When I feel chatty, I use the channel. Beyond that, I enjoy going at my own pace, my own version of fun, and taking my time defeating things instead of map touring and trying to super speed run around the enemy when really I should be smashing them.
I might occassionally do an alert, but usually have chat window closed and focused on getting the job done and going about my way.
These are the reasons I think CO fits me way better than COX. I loved COX but it was too "social" for my taste. Now only if they came with a PC game that was standalone that had the features of CO and or COX (especially the character creation portion), I wouldnt bother with MMOs. But as it stands, the social part is a mere side effect of enjoying the rest of what I like and of course I probably will seek to minimize it. Thus if another creative (meaning no interest in playing Spiderman, Hulk, Wolverine or even interacting with them) hero game comes about and it's even more solo centric than even CO, I'd jump ship in a heart beat.