I think a thorough discussion would be a) fun to have and b) long overdue.
Aye, I've seen some people hinting at having had the ability to do so, usually those people who make big claims and don't back it up with evidence then vanish when no one bothers with them.

But I agree that it's a fun topic and the benefits of understanding the mechanics of it would be useful.
The way I see things like transmission is that it's caused by a combination of several factors ranging from belief structure to non-verbal communication, I don't view it as being anything spiritual or mystical. I don't doubt that the experience can be effective in initiating a shift in an individuals worldview, usually towards a view which is in alignment with that held by the transmitter, but the phenomena itself can be replicated by anyone willing to learn how. Doing it effectively is a totally different matter as it requires the appropriate setting, context, atmosphere and set-up, but it is possible and I've done it myself a few times.
In my opinion, it creates a cognitive dissonance, an instant where a path-like imprint (I say path-like as it is not a permanent shift, more like a guerrilla A&P) can be made in the mind through suggestion, symbolism and non-verbal signals. It's not quite that simple but that's about as good as I can come up with. Maybe a more positive way to put it could be "opens the door a bit".
Make the person who can perform it successfully any sort of guru, master, teacher, healer, god or whatever.
What does it mean if it happens in the vicinity of someone?
I'd say that a lot of the effectiveness comes down to the persons susceptibility to suggestion and a whole host of other factors.
Want a laugh? I've never told anyone about this on here 'cause it's too ridiculous but 100% true, just after I got stream entry I had been trolling on youtube when I ended up in quite an interesting to-and-fro with some guy on there. To cut a long story short, he asked me something like "Why do you say one thing and then do another" (in reference to the fact that I had been deliberately leaving contradictory comments - why? - no idea, I enjoyed confusing people) to which I said something like "Why do you say one thing and then do it? In fact, who does it?". Bearing in mind that I was in Review at the time and coasting along reeking of enlightenment, being a pain in the arse and thinking I'd cracked it, I thought that this was quite a cool, enlightened comment to make from the non-dual pedestal my ass was planted on. A matter of minutes later he sent me a private message about what I meant and why I said it, so I replied something like "I like to argue points of view I don't believe in, or argue against the things I like". About two days later he just replied (and I just checked this old account on youtube and found the comment) "I swear to "GOD" that was deep dude that freaking blew my mind i swear I rate you. Peace". I asked how he felt and he basically told me he no longer believed in anything, not in a nihilistic way but that he had seen there was no self, that beliefs were just beliefs and that he felt free. I don't care whether or not this was "liberation" a'la direct pointing or if "I" helped the guy "wake up" or whatever, the point is that this sort of experience is not limited to physical interaction and can be done without ever seeing the person. Obviously I didn't set out to "blow" any minds, or to transmit anything but it seems that the conditions were right for that guy for this experience to occur and the words I used did whatever they did to incline his mind towards awakening. For this elongated reason, I think it's entirely possible for this to happen over skype.
What else can we ask about this phenomenon?
What is
really happening? What are the causes of it? How can it be utilized towards ending suffering? What are the psychological mechanisms involved?
Great idea for a thread, Florian, and good to see your cheeky wee smiling face appearing on the boards again!