INTERNET-DRAFT S. Stoner
HARTS Working Group ArtsEdge
Catagory: Informational J. Max
Rainfarm
November 1996
Expires May 1997
Humanities and Arts: Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
Status of this Memo
This draft, file name draft-ietf-harts-guide-00.txt is
intended to become and information FYI RFC. Distribution of this
document is unlimited. Please send information and comments to
harts@isi.edu.
This document is an Internet-Draft. Internet-Drafts are working
documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), its areas,
and its working groups. Note that other groups may also distribute
working documents as Internet-Drafts.
Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."
To learn to current status of any Internet-Draft, please check the
"1id-abstracts.txt" listing contained in the Internet-Drafts Shadow
Directories on ftp.is.co.za (Africa), nic.nordu.net (Europe),
munnari.oz.au (Pacific Rim), ds.internic.net (US East Coast), or
ftp.isi.edu (US West Coast).
This memo provides information for the Internet, Humanities, and
Arts communities. This memo does not specify an Internet standard
of any kind. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
Abstract
This document is designed primarily for individuals who have
limited knowledge of or experience with the Internet.
The purpose of this document is to provide members of the arts and
humanities communities with an introduction to the Internet as a
valuable tool, resource, and medium for the creation, presentation,
and preservation of arts and humanities-based content.
The intended audience is practicing artists, scholars, related
professionals, and others who's knowledge, expertise and support is
important to ensuring the arts and humanities are well-placed in the
global information infrastructure.
For purposes of simplicity this document will use the word "Artist"
to mean both Artist and Humanist: "all practitioners who work in
the fields of the visual, performance, and literary arts, as well as
museum curators, librarians, and others who are involved in the
research, restoration, and presentation of that which comprises our
cultural heritage." (See Section 1.1 for further definitions of
Arts and Humanitites.)
Humanities and Arts [Page 1]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
Table of Contents
i. Conventions for this Draft..................................
1. Introduction................................................
1.1 Definition of Arts and Humanities...........................
1.2 What is the Internet........................................
1.3 What is the World Wide Web..................................
2. What does the Internet mean to the "Artist?"................
2.1 Access to the Global Community:
Museums, libraries, newspapers, periodicals, stores.........
2.2 Discovering the work of others..............................
2.3 Freely Available software, and other information............
2.4 Sharing and Collaborating...................................
2.5 Communicating about the arts................................
2.6 Sharing your work with others...............................
3. Electronic Forums...........................................
3.1 Message Based Communications................................
3.1.1 Electronic mail (email).....................................
3.1.2 Mailing list server (listserv)..............................
3.1.3 Newsgroups..................................................
3.1.4 Electronic Bulletin Board System (BBS) .....................
3.2 Real-Time Communications....................................
3.2.1 IRC - Internet Relay Chat...................................
3.2.2 MUD - Multi-User Dungeon....................................
3.2.3 Audio/Video Conferencing....................................
3.2.4 Whiteboard Systems..........................................
3.3 Archived Forums.............................................
3.3.1 Indexing vs Searching.......................................
3.3.2 Compound Searches...........................................
4. Accessing the Internet......................................
4.1 Getting Started.............................................
4.2 Internet Service Providers..................................
4.3 Computer Software and Hardware Tools........................
4.4 Scanners, recorders, encoders/decoders, multimedia..........
5. Creating Content............................................
5.1 When you need assistance: Consultants, Web Page Designers,
Providers, etc. ............................................
5.2 Basic Design Issues: Understanding Formats..................
5.3 Text and Hypertext..........................................
5.4 Graphic and Moving Images...................................
5.5 Music and Sound.............................................
5.6 Publicizing your Work.......................................
6. Issues and Challenges.......................................
6.1 Security and Viruses........................................
6.2 Copyright: Laws in Flux.....................................
6.3 Marketing, Doing Business...................................
6.4 Netiquette..................................................
7. Glossary - pointer to userglos, trainmat, etc...............
Humanities and Arts [Page 2]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
8. Resources...................................................
8.1 RFCs........................................................
8.1.1 Using RFC-INFO@ISI.EDU to retrieve RFCs.....................
9. References..................................................
10. Security Considerations.....................................
11. Acknowledgements............................................
12. Authors' Address............................................
Appendix A. Examples/Projects on the Internet of Interest to the
Arts and Humanities Communities
Appendix B. Some other URL's of interest
Appendix C. Examples for using the RFC server RFC-INFO@ISI.EDU
i. Conventions and Notes in the November 1996 Draft.
We have agreed that testimonial sections are essential, so we need
Everyone to begin collecting quotes and experiences for each chapter.
Also every section should have many pointers to more information.
Any and all input, suggestions, and submissions graciously accepted.
This draft includes the following notation:
- At the sign of two asterisks(**) are important notes and questions.
- At the sign of two plus signs(++) information is needed. Where
known a contributor is mentioned by name, otherwise, please
volunteer!
- At the sign of two question marks(??) we need to decide what
goes there.
1. Introduction
This document has been structured to provide information about,
and examples of, the wide range of functions and capabilities
inherent to online services. It will also show the potential of
networking technologies for enhancing arts and humanities content
and interests.
The basic functions of the Internet are described, along with
their application for building online communities of interest
(including the arts and humanities).
This is followed by discussion and examples of how arts and
humanities content can be represented, stored, and retrieved on
the Internet.
Also provided are examples of hardware and software being used,
and in development, to support the creation and presentation of new
artistic and literary works.
In addition to illustrating the great potential of the Internet,
this document aspires to provide an introduction to the issues and
challenges that affect the development and presentation of arts and
humanities content online.
Humanities and Arts [Page 3]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
Finally, some tools and resources have been provided to assist both
novice and experienced users in benefiting from, and contributing
to the global online arts and humanities community.
1.1 Definitions of Arts and Humanities
For purposes of this document the term "Arts" includes, but is not
limited to, dance, design arts, folk arts, literary arts, media
and film arts, music, theater, and visual arts.
The term "Humanities" includes, but is not limited to, the study
of the following: language, both modern and classical; linguistics;
literature; history; jurisprudence philosophy; archaeology;
comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism and theory of
the arts; those aspects of social sciences which have humanistic
content and employ humanistic methods; and the study and application
of the humanities to the human environment.
1.2 What is the Internet?
As new users, the first question that probably comes to mind is:
"What is the Internet?" The answer is: "People, computers and
information electronically linked around the world by a common
Protocol for communicating with each other."
The beginnings come from the US Department of Defense's desire to
transport government and military information during the time of a
"nuclear event". Thus the Advanced Research Projects Agency was
formed, which created ARPANET. From this, over the next 26 years
or so, grew the network known as "The Internet", now dubbed the
"Information Superhighway". There are several million computers
connected and over 40 million users.
The common language or "Communication Protocol" which these
computers on the Internet speak, is the Internet Protocol, or IP.
This is the underlying layer which allows transmission of diverse
data, information, text, pictures, sound, etc. to be passed between
otherwise incompatible machines.
The Internet should not be confused with the World Wide Web, which
is a subset of computer sites which support the HyperText Transfer
Protocol (See 1.3), or America OnLine (AOL), Compuserve, Prodigy,
and other Service Providers, which use their own protocols and are
sites unto themselves but have connections to the Internet.
1.3 What is the World Wide Web?
++ Sheer volunteered to compose a few paragraphs:
++ WWW - What is the WWW (brief), approx # of sites, content,
++ resources, w3 consortium, pointers to more info...
++ html/ Hypertext content,It is important that we define http, HTML
++ and URL here! see also: chapter 4 for URL definition.
Humanities and Arts [Page 4]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
2. What does the Internet mean to the Artist?
The invention and evolution (or more aptly, revolution) of the
Internet exemplifies a synergy between the arts and sciences that
may be a critical factor in preserving our global cultural heritage
for future generations.
Once an environment of technical information and databases used
primarily by scientists and engineers, cyberspace has emerged as part
of a "global village" that has already demonstrated a profound impact
on contemporary culture.
A great many visual and performing arts institutions and
organizations have established sites on the World Wide Web and a
significant number of online discussion groups focus on the arts and
humanities. Consortiums of museums and libraries are now using
networking technologies to support research and projects involving
more effective ways to collect, store, and disseminate objects of
antiquity and other non-textual primary sources, as well as
textual sources.
Thousands of sites are also created by individuals and for
institutions, organizations, and businesses that, on the whole,
promise to profoundly influence the way we perceive ourselves and
the world in which we live, whether in the past, present, or future.
The Internet visitor can expect to find sites that offer sensory
appeal and stimulation via multi-media applications, as well as
interactive opportunities to share ideas and information with
others. The arts and humanities are key stakeholders in this
cultural transition. ^^^^^^^^^^^^
++ need more here - stakeholders: Why? How?
2.1 Access to the Global Community
Access to art is no longer constrained by vicinity. Hang out your
electronic shingle and just imagine who might drop in. The
Internet connects hundreds of countries, thousands of cities, and
countless groups and individuals around the globe. The Internet
explorer will find that more and more sites are multilingual.
2.2 Discovering the work of others
Once you have the basic tools for using the Internet (See Chapter 4)
you will begin to understand how easy, helpful, informative, and
exciting it can be. With a few quick strokes you have accessed a
great library, museum, or gallery, toured a faraway city, or looked
up an old friend. You might find an out of print book you have
always wanted, then either read it on your computer screen, or print
it out on your printer. If you do not have a printer, simply save
it to your floppy disk and bring that to a shop or friend with a
printer. Its really that easy.
Humanities and Arts [Page 5]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
You could spend the afternoon at the Smithsonian, or the Louvre
without ever leaving your chair. Or, for a more athletic
adventure, put your computer in front of your treadmill, and jog
through the online Olympics site.
When you are ready, you can explore deeper. Follow other links to
smaller sites, lesser known writers, artists, poets, and thinkers,
and discover the emerging world they are creating. With the proper
tools you can even view moving pictures, and listen to music and
other audio.
With access to the Internet, the world is at your fingertips.
Even more than art, literature, and humour, online is information.
Bring your questions on health, the environment, government, and
religion, and look though volumes of documentation on your concerns,
or discuss your questions with others electronically. Once you get
used to it, you will even be downloading more information and tools
to assist you further.
Examples of sites to explore, and good starting points can be
found in Appendices A and B.
2.3 Access to Freely Available Software, and Other Information
There is a world of useful software available to you via the
Internet. Known as Shareware, Public Domain, or Freely Copyable,
you can find many software programs you may download and use on
your own machine, often completely free, occasionally for a
small and/or optional fee which helps the author to afford to
create more software for general use. There are also libraries,
stores, and news groups you can peruse in search of just the tool
or information you want.
As you explore the Internet, you will begin to find information
that is beyond your reach without the right tools for viewing,
listening, etc. For example, someone may have put up a sound file
using a format which cannot be recognized by the software you have
installed. In these cases, that person will often have included a
pointer to the exact tool necessary to recognize their format, or
convert the format, and you can download, install, and use this tool
right away.
Using the basic tools acquired to access the Internet (See Chapter
4), you can begin to add to your collection software tools, both
for accessing the information already on the Internet, and for
creating your own content (See Chapter 5).
2.4 Sharing and Collaborating
There are many people both like, and unlike, yourself with whom
you can meet, communicate, and share ideas. Some like to just talk,
you can listen if you like. Others like to just listen, so you and
others can talk.
Humanities and Arts [Page 6]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
There are also many forms that communication can take, from private
electronic mail, to group video conferencing, to moderated
newsgroups, to public bulletin boards. See Chapter 3 for more
information on Electronic Forums.
Artists often want to share their work with other artists on the
Internet so that they will receive comments and recognition for their
work. It is a great place to explore new ideas with other artists as
well. Perhaps a painter has tried a new paint and has a review of
it, or has developed a new way to mix colors, or a photographer wants
to share how to get a difficult shot. Perhaps you would like to
locate a rare album, or debate one musicians merit over anothers.
There are many types of content that artists can share. Including:
- text: stories, poetry, historic accounts, transcripts, etc.
- images of their visual work: paintings, photographs, sculpture,
- images of themselves: photographs, self-portraits, other people
- sound files of their audio works or voice presentations
of their works: books on tape, speeches, tutorials, music
- moving pictures: video arts, performance arts, etc.
- a description of their art process and works of art
- resume and/or biographical data
- contact information in the form of electronic mail address,
postal mail address, phone, etc. Electronic mail is most
popular because it allows people to respond spontaniously.
2.5 Communicating about the arts
++ to provide the opportunity for professional discourse about...
++ criticism, aesthetics, etc.
2.6 Sharing your work with others
++ The Internet is a global marketplace for your work.
++ Artists can often find buyers and sponsers of their work by
++ showing it on the Internet. See 5.3 Publicizing your Work.
3. Forums
Many forums exist on the Internet. There are interactive forums
where you can share information in real-time and carry on
discussions with others. There are message-based forums where you
send or receive a message and others involved in that forum wait
for responses, and there are archived forums where information is
stored, and may be retrieved by anyone but modified only by its
owner.
++ we need to describe email addresses before we show them
++ just using "foo@bar.com" may be intimidating to a novice.
++ be aware that there are always new things being created.
Humanities and Arts [Page 7]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
3.1 Message-based Communications
In Message-based communication, a message is sent by one user, and
received by one or many. For example, you might send a dinner
invitation to an individual, a couple, or a group. In the same way,
you send electronic messages to individuals or groups. Just like
your Postal Service for physical mail, there are electronic mail
servers for electronic mail. Just like you have a physical address
to which your physical mail is sent, there is an electronic mail
address to which your electronic mail is sent.
Message-based Communications include electronic mail, listservs,
newsgroups, and bulletin boards.
3.1.1 E-mail
Electronic mail (email) is a system whereby a computer user can
exchange messages with other computer users (or groups of users)
via a communications network.
Typical use of email consists of downloading messages as received
from a mailbox or mail server, then reading and replying to
them solely electronically using a mail program which behaves much
like a word processor for the most part. The user can send mail
to, or receive mail from, any other user with Internet access.
Electronic mail is much like paper mail, in that it is sent,
delivered, and contains information. That information can be
textual, graphic, or even sound. See Chapter 4 (Accessing the
Internet) and 5 (Creating Content) for more information on
non-textonly email messages.
You will get an Electronic mail, or Email address usually from
your Internet Service Provider (See Chapter 4). Your email address
contains your name, and the address of the machine on which you
receive your mail. The name of the machine will be in two parts,
(separated by a dot or period symbol ".") the name of the machine
itself, and the "domain" it is in. (See the documents reference
in Section 8 - Resources, for more information on domain names).
The possible extensions for a domain name will be one of: .edu, for
educational institutions; .gov, for government sites; .com, for
commercial companies; .org, for other organizations; or it might be a
locational domain name which would contain the city, state, region,
and country, as la.ca.us would be Los Angeles, California, United
States.
An email address takes the form "yourname"@"yoursite"."yourdomain"
For example, if your name is Jo Cool and you get your Internet
service from Dirigible Online, your email address might be
jcool@dirigible.com.
Humanities and Arts [Page 8]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
3.1.2 Listserv (mailing list server)
A Listserv is an automated program that accepts email messages
from users and performs basic operations on mailing lists for those
users. In the Internet, listservs are usually accessed as either
"list-request@host.domain" or "listserv@host.domain";
for example, the list server for the hypothetical list
"newsreports@acme.org" would be "newsreports-request@acme.org".
Sending email to "newsreports@acme.org" causes the message to be
sent to all the list subscribers, which is inappropriate for
"Subscribe" and "Unsubscribe" requests, while sending a message
to "listserv@acme.org" sends the message only to the list server.
Using "listserv@acme.org" you would put the listname in the subject
field with "Subscribe me@my.domain" as the body of the message.
Not all mailing lists use list servers to handle list
administration duties.
3.1.3 Newsgroups
A Newsgroup is an electronic bulletin board system created
originally by the Unix community and which is accessible via the
Internet. Usenet News forms a discussion forum accessible by
millions of users in almost every country in the world. Usenet
News consists of thousands of topics arranged in a hierarchical
form. Major topics include "comp" for computer topics, "rec" for
recreational topics, "soc" for social topics, "sci" for science
topics, and there are many others we will not list here. Within
the major topics are subtopics, such as "rec.music" for general music
content, and "rec.music.classical" for classical music, or
"sci.med.physics" for discussions relating to the physics of medical
science.
There are also many General, Regional, and even Local site
groups. For example, if you wanted to find something for sale in
your area, rather than peruse "misc.forsale" you might rather try
"ne.forsale" if you were in the New England region of the U.S. or
"ba.forsale" if you were in the Bay Area of California. States
are also considered regions, and you can often find groups that
meet in person, in such places as ???
++ more here
3.1.4 Electronic Bulletin Board System (BBS)
A Bulletin Board System consists of a computer, and associated
software, typically providing electronic messaging services,
archives of files, and any other services or activities of interest
to the bulletin board systems' operator.
Typical use of a BBS has the user dial into the BBS via their modem
and telephone line and select from a hierarchy of lists, files,
subdirectories, or other data maintained by the operator. Once
connected, the user can often send messages to other BBS users
within the system.
Humanities and Arts [Page 9]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
Although BBSs have traditionally been the domain of hobbyists, an
increasing number of BBSs are connected directly to the Internet,
and many BBSs are currently operated by government, educational,
research, and commercial institutions.
3.2. Real-Time Communications
Real-Time Communications describes the process of communicating
with others via the Internet virtually simultaneously. Generally in
a forum where you type something, which another user sees on their
screen, and types something, which you see a moment later. The
moment between when they begin typing, and you begin seeing their
words, is known as "net-lag".
Forums which communicate in real-time are the Internet Relay Chat
(IRC), the Multi-User Dungeon (MUD), Audio/Video Conferencing (AVC),
and White Board Systems (WBS).
3.2.1 IRC - Internet Relay Chat, WebChat
Internet Relay Chat, or IRC, is an interactive forum set up in
virtual rooms that you can move between, and where others can
virtually "hang out" in. In IRC parlance, you "join" a ???
++ needs more
3.2.2 MUD - Multi-User Dungeon
An interactive game environment where both real other players and
virtual other players exist and with whom you can communicate to
share ideas or solve puzzles, etc.
++ needs more
++ add MOO's - object oriented mud
** (http://ftp.parc.xerox.com/pub/MOO/papers)
++ vrml, avitar, digital editing systems, proprietary
** (palace, urban desires)
++ Expand on the concept of "shared construction" -- that this
++ enables information and ideas to accrue over time.
3.2.3 Audio/Video Conferencing
++ CUSEEME - video conferencing
++ multicasting
++ Expand on uses
3.2.4 Whiteboard Systems
++ Jonathan Kean: commercial, non-commercial, internet, non-internet.
Humanities and Arts [Page 10]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
3.3 Archived Forums
Archive is defined in Webster's New World Dictionary as:
n. 1 a) a place where public records, documents, etc. are kept
b) a place where material having documentary interest, as
private papers, institutional records, memorabilia, or
photographs, is kept.
Archives on the Internet are defined in almost exactly the same
way. The motive and much of the content is the same, but the media
changes (from paper files, to electronic files), and as such
allows for a much greater diversity of content.
Archives on the Internet also allow many people access to their
files simultaniously, and from all over the world.
Any and all information that people want to make available on the
Internet can be. This means there is alot of information out
there, and necessitates powerful tools to sort through it all.
Imagine that you have traveled back in time to the famed Library
of Alexandria, where all the diverse knowledge of the ancient
world was collected for study. And imagine trying to find
Plato's writings without benefit of a card catalog..."Oh, try
looking in that urn over there, in the second nook back."
Once you are on the Internet it quickly becomes clear that a great
deal of information is "out there", and that finding and sorting
through all the possible sources of data is a daunting task.
Indexing and searching tools are two of the most popular and useful
services available today on the Internet. This section describes
useful features, and shows how they might best be used.
3.3.1 Indexing vs. Searching
The difference between indexing and searching is comparable to
collecting and sorting card catalog cards at a library, versus
browsing through someone elses cards or the shelves themselves.
In the former, you are creating definite categories, and can then
"zoom in" on the topic and subtopics of interest. Search engines, on
the other hand, allow the user to enter a subject, name, title, or
random string pattern, which is then cross checked against a large
collection of WWW pages or USENET news articles. This can lead to
both a large volume of information, and some rather startling
discoveries of information from unsuspected sources.
Humanities and Arts [Page 11]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
Some of the available Searchers and Indices on the Internet include:
Yahoo - Index of WWW sites, with search capabilities
http://www.yahoo.com/
DejaNews - USENET (news groups) search engine
http://www.dejanews.com/
WebCrawler - http://query.webcrawler.com/
Lycos - http://www.lycos.com/
AltaVista - WWW and USENET search engine
http://www.altavista.digital.com/
Magellan - Index of reviewed and rated Internet sites, with
search capabilities
http://www.mckinley.com/
Yahoo, for example, has a high-level category called "Arts", which
has a multitude of subcategories below it, most of which have further
subdivision, each of which can contain lists of lists. For example,
to find information on Modern Dance, one can follow the links to
http://www.yahoo.com/Recreation/Dance/Modern/Groups
++ info on WAIS
3.3.2 Compound Searches
After experimenting with the available search engines, it quickly
becomes clear that searching on a broad category can result in
too much information. For example, a recent search at AltaVista
for the subject "Rembrandt" matched over 8500 individual items,
including information on the famous artist
(Rembrandt von Rijn (1606-1669)),
URL:[http://www.bod.net/CJackson/rembrand/rembrand.htm]
and His Self-Portrait,
URL:[http://found.cs.nyu.edu/fox/art/rembrandt/self1660.html]
a hotel in Thailand (Rembrandt Hotel and Plaza, Bangkok),
URL:[http://www.siam.net/rembrandt/index.html]
and a pizza restaurant in California
URL:[http://www.lososos.com/Rembrandt'sCafe/].
To be more particular in what you find, all of the available
search engines allow you to do compound searches, in which
multiple keywords are used, possibly in combination with Boolean
logic operators such as AND, OR, and NOT. For example, to focus
in on Rembrandt the artist, at the exclusion of pizza cafes, try
the following advanced search in Magellan:
Rembrandt +artist -pizza
Humanities and Arts [Page 12]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
Note that the method of entering search items differs slightly
from service to service. When trying a new service, check the
available help topic before searching. And as with any new
skill, practice, practice, practice!
++ Joe: art.net; Internet Yellow pages
++ Let them know that searching is an iterative process, keep going,
++ from one search key and continue, multiple levels... part of the joy
++ of the net, exploring the net.
Test of search scope:
Lycos: <unavailable>
Yahoo: rembrandt 11 matches
Magellan: rembrandt +artist +portrait 1309 links
AltaVista: rembrandt +artist +portrait "about 10000" links
WebCrawler: rembrand artist portrait 17299
4. Accessing the Internet
Accessing the Internet in terms of simply receiving, downloading,
and viewing files uses most of the same networking tools (software
and hardware) needed to create files and make them available on the
Internet. This Chapter and the next overlap in the areas of basic
hardware and networking software.
The Internet can be accessed in many comfortable ways: at school, at
home, at work, and even at trendy CyberCoffeeHouses. Accessing the
Internet is not synonymous with publishing and displaying on the
Internet, however. You will need different equipment for creating
vs. retrieving content. This chapter describes how to do both, but
first you will need to get your feet wet with Internet terminology.
A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is a type of Internet 'address'
which identifies where a file (text, graphic, audio, video, etc)
resides. The URL may look like
'http://www.machine.com/directory/file_name.extension.' Just like
humans who live in different types of residences: condominiums,
houses, mobile homes, igloos, etc., files reside in different types
of computer servers. (Computers that are connected to a network
(such as the Internet) and distribute information are generally
called servers.) Unlike a human address, the document's type of
residence must be identified in its URL. For example, if the
document lives on a World-Wide Web server, its URL will start with
http:// (which stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol). If the file
calls a File Tranfer Protocol server home, its address will start
with ftp:// (for File Tranfer Protocol). Other common residences
include gopher:// and telnet://.
Humanities and Arts [Page 13]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
After the type of residence is identified, the document's URL
describes the exact computer that houses the document. The name of
the computer contains letters or numbers unique to that
computer. This name is called an Internet Protocol (IP) address and
describes the type of neighborhood the computer resides in. For
example, all the servers that belong to a specific organization will
contain similar numbers (but each individual server will still
contain a unique indentifier). This means that all the computers
that are associated with the US government will belong to the
neighborhood '.gov'. Computers in Canada belong to the '.ca'
neighborhood. Numerous neighborhoods around the world are given
'.'distinctions.
Neighborhoods can be further divided into sections. For example, all
the servers at the White House in the US may have '.whitehouse.gov'.
To distinguish between all the servers at the white House, another
set of letters (or numbers) is needed:
'president.whitehouse.com'. Thus, a WWW server at the White House may
have the URL: 'http://president.whitehouse.com' .
But, this address just identifies the document's neighborhood; to
find its house, the URL must include more specific information. A
neighborhood is generally divided into streets. Likewise, a computer
server is divided into directories or folders. Steering through a
server to find a document may require many directories. For example,
a graphic may reside in a directory called 'icons'. (The names of
directories differ on all computers.) If the graphic is called
help.gif, its URL may be
'http://president.whitehouse.com/icons/help.gif'. '.gif' is a
document extension that describes its format. Document formats
include .html,.txt (for text documents) .gif, .jpg (for graphics),
.ram, .wav (for audio), and others.
4.1 Getting Started
++ Non-electronic media (magazines, etc.) containing pointers
++ Organizations, pointers to cyber-coffee houses, educational
++ institutions or programs, etc.
Creating online content involves moving your art into an electronic
format and then, perhpas, re-formatting it for the Internet. For
some art forms, the intitial electronic step is fairly painless:
translating a short story, poem, novel (or any type of creative
writing that doesn't have much desktop publishing formatting, for
example) into HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is fairly straight
forward. Likewise, moving a computer graphic to the Internet
requires a convertor program to make the graphic follow the right
format (please see the Web Provider section below). Performing arts,
sculpture, and other pieces that are hard to capture on a computer
disk, require more work and creative thinking.
Humanities and Arts [Page 14]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
Much of the information needed to help you think creatively about
publicizing your work online is available in classes, books, local
Internet cafes, and on the Internet itself. Many INternet magazines
are available for subscriptions or individual issues can help get you
started. Most new bookstores and, to some extent, used bookstores
provide numerous volumes of Internet information. However, even the
most recently published books may contain outdated information. For
the latest 'standards' contact the IETF.
If you learn better by doing, rather than reading, you may be
interested in taking a HTML or Internet Introduction course at a
local college. Most larger metropolitan area schools provide classes
for the basics, which can also expose you to other artists. Make
sure you read the course description; some courses may only cover
accessing the Internet while you may want to actually be creating
documents. If not colleges in your area offer classes, contact the
computer science department or the continuing education office and
suggest a topic. If the school can attain enough support, they may
offer a class in the following semester.
Many Internet Service Providers (see below) will offer free classes
to get you started accessing and sometimes creating on the Intnernet.
With the competition of Internet providers, you should be able to
find one or two that offer the classes you need.
Artists in smaller communities may need to rely more heavily upon
online sources of information. To learn about using the Internet,
you may want to use point a WWW browser to ???
++
For more information creating your own content, the following sites
should be helpful: ???
++
If your hometown college does not offer classes about the Internet,
you may still be able to find a helpful outlet. When several
students from large universities returned home to Taos, NM, a couple
summers ago, they left behind their Interent connections. Fearing
that they would have withdrawal symtoms, they approached the owner of
a local bakery and suggested he start an Internet room where he could
charge surfers by the hour to use the Internet. The entrepenurial
baker applied for a governmental grant and received a couple
computers with high speed modems.
You may be able to find CyberCafes (rather than building one) by
talking with local people or reading the 'Computer Science' magazine.
Unfortunately, this local newsletter is generally only available in
large Metropolitan areas in the United States (North America?) You
may need to surf the Internet to locate the cafes. One searchable
index of cafes is available via the Yahoo web page at:
http://www.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Cyberculture/Internet_Cafes/
. Another list of Internet Cafes is available at
http://www.cyberiacafe.net/cyberia/guide/ccafe.htm.
Humanities and Arts [Page 15]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
You may want to use a web crawler, or web search engine, to find a
cafe. Yahoo is a common search engine (http://www.yahoo.com). In
the search field type the name of the city/state/country and
'Internet Cafe' or 'CyberCafe'. The newsgroup alt.cybercafes should
also provide some helpful information. The cafes, some of which
offer a local bulletin board (either online or on the wall), provide
a great atmosphere for discussing Internet issues.
4.2 Internet service providers
Being an Internet Service Provider (ISP) these days is pretty
easy and can be financially worthwhile, so there are alot of
them, and they are starting and failing every day. In addition
to the information and pointers you will find in this document,
many organizations exist to help you locate, and choose a service
provider. In any case, be sure to get references, not only for
the ISP but also for the organizations who recommend them. Some
organizations exist solely to recommend those who pay them.
++ Include pointers to providers lists
++ include a discussion about Free-Nets and public access sites
++ Michael will try to track Free-Nets down for Canada
++ libraries, community centers, etc.
++ provide basic information about the process for locating ISP's
++ Include International
++ research lists to lists of isp's.
The following is sent out by the IANA in response to a request
for an IP network number assignment.
You should get your IP address (a 32bit number) from your
network service provider.
Your network service provider works with a regional registry
to manage these addresses. The regional registry for the US
is the Internic, for Europe is RIPE, for the Asia and Pacific
region is the AP-NIC, and parts of the world not otherwise
covered are managed by the Internic.
If for some reason your network service provider does not
provide you with an IP address, you can contact the your
regional registry at one of the folling addresses:
Internic <hostmaster@internic.net>
RIPE <ncc@ripe.net>
AP-NIC <admin@apnic.net>
Please do contact your network service provider first,
though. The regional registry will want to know all the gory
details about why that didn't work out before they allocate
you an address directly.
++ newspapers, consultants, get references, ipnic, telephone companies
++ electronic arts organizations - Jonathan Kean "will look at it"
Humanities and Arts [Page 16]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
4.3 Computer Software and Hardware Tools
A basic computer system consists of a box containing a Central
Processor Unit (CPU), MotherBoard, and Floppy Drive. It will
also come with a keyboard, and you will need a Hard Drive,
Memory, and a Video Monitor. How much memory, how large a hard
drive, and how fabulous a monitor, will vary with your needs and
experience.
To connect to an ISP you will also need a modem and a phone line.
Your normal telephone line will do, but if you have call-waiting
you may want to disable it for the duration of your networking
session so that you do not lose data to a lost connection.
There are many types of computers available including PC's, Macs,
and other Workstations. The most affordable systems are
generally PCs and Macs. You may also need to choose an Operating
System (OS) for the machine you choose.
Personal Computers (PCs) can run a version of DOS, anything from
Microsoft(R), or a version of Unix (BSDI, FreeBSD, Linux, etc.)
Apple MacIntosh computers can run the common Mac Windows, or Apples
version of Unix. Workstations generally run a Unix derived OS.
With any system you should ensure that it contains the software
and hardware necessary to maintain itself as well as your data.
Make sure you get backup media, and backup and virus checking
software with any operating system.
Determining your ideal hardware and software configuration will
take some time and patience. You need an understanding of what
you can, and wish to, create, and how. You'll also want to know
the limitations and expandability potential of the system, so you
can determine if it will have a useful lifespan. If the machine
cannot grow for the forseeable few years, it will become obsolete
before its given you its fullest value.
Depending upon your needs, you may require special hardware
installed in the machine, or attached externally by cables.
These additional pieces of hardware are known as peripherals.
The peripherals needed for accessing information on the
Internet might include the following:
- a sound card and speakers (to hear sounds, music, speech, etc.)
- a cdrom player (to read stored images of artwork)
- midi equipment for audio artists
- video equipment for participating in video forums
- Other equipment for creating content See Chapter 5
Most of these peripherals will require specialized software. If
you plan to purchase all the hardware and software at once, find
a vendor who will connect and test all the hardware, software,
and peripherals for you. Due to the complexity of these systems,
they can be difficult to configure for the inexperienced user.
Humanities and Arts [Page 17]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
4.4 Scanners, recorders, encoders/decoders, multimedia.........
++ need info.
5. Creating Content
Access to a computer, or someone with a computer is necessary in
order to add content to the Internet. Artists can put their work
on the Internet through agencies, consultants, other artists, and
friends, or by either buying, renting, leasing or borrowing
equipment. Artists using their own machines will still need
Internet Access, in the form of an "Internet account" via an
organization, job, school, or an Internet Service Provider (ISP)
where they may also have their Web Page. In addition to an ISP,
one can also get web space from a dedicated Web Space Provider (WSP).
For the World Wide Web, the computer is used to create html
formatting and the various types of files used to share art
(ie. image, sound, motion files, etc.). Once an artist gets
their work digitized and stored on cdrom or disk, they will need
the computer to edit the files and incorporate them in the html
documents.
++ Alone or with Assistance overview
++ What you do will indicate the equipment needed and the format you'll
++ want to create. Intro to Software needed for use with speakers,
++ scanners, multimedia, etc.
5.1 When you need assistance: Consultants, Web Page Designers,
Providers, etc.
++ Trusted judges of good consultants, web page designers, etc.
++ discuss with other artists
++ collectives
++ decide what you want
++ How to find them and choose them.
++ get references
5.2 Basic design issues: Understanding Formats
(Sound, Image, Text, Hypertext)
++ first list, define, and describe, formats and extensions...
Some artists are actually using html as a medium in itself and are
helping to push the boundaries of this medium creating perhaps a
new bleeding edge in this technology.
++ What content exists now? What is a thumbnail?
++ Mention scanners, tablets, speakers, recorders,
++ encoders/decoders, slide reader video equipment, software needed,
++ wav, mpeg, jpeg, gif, jpg, Compression: jpg vs gif
++ soundtracker mods aka .mod, J. "Sheer" Pullen
Humanities and Arts [Page 18]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
** Save in-depth for the appropriate subsection.
++ Don't forget Examples: How people are creating content ...
5.3 Text and Hypertext
++
5.4 Graphic and Moving images
++
5.5 Music and Sound
The World Wide Web supports audio data as well as visual data.
The most obvious way to send audio across the net would be to use
digital audio like that used for the Compact Disc or "CD".
However, CD format digital audio requires 44,100 16 bit words
per second for a mono signal, and twice that for a stereo signal.
While there are many places where one can find digital audio in
Windows ".wav", or the Macintosh ".au" format, these files
typically take a very long time to download even a few seconds
of audio. The size of these formats makes them too inefficient for
widespread use on the net today.
It is however possible to do "useful" audio over the net. The
emerging "de facto" standard seems to be _RealAudio_, based on the
freely distributable server/player application, _RealAudio_ version
2.0, developed by the Seattle based company Progressive Networks.
First released in 1995, RealAudio allows useable digital audio in
realtime over a 28.8 kB line, and has already been put into service
on the home pages of most major record companies as well as in many
niche applications. In addition, RealAudio provides a "Voice mode"
optimized for understandable speech transmission over a 14.4kB line.
Unfortunately the quality of _RealAudio_ leaves much to be desired.
In particular, the sample rate in Music Mode is only 8Khz (as
compared to CD quality 44.1 Khz), meaning that all high frequencies
above 4khz are simply missing. The resulting audio is still pleasing
to listen to, but sounds very dull and dark.
More information about RealAudio can be found at www.RealAudio.com.
Clearly Digital Audio is the way of the future, but until more
bandwidth is available to the average person, it may not be the way
of the present. Fortunatly, at least in the area of music, there is
an interesting alternative.
Humanities and Arts [Page 19]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
MIDI (the Musical Instrument Digital Interface), as developed for
electronic musical instruments (keyboards, samplers, drum machines,
etc.) works well for certain kinds of music over the net. It
involves sending no sound sources at all, just the description of the
music -- kind of like the score, without the instruments. If the
receiver has the right instruments on their computer (such as the
sounds defined in the General Midi soundset found on many
soundcards), they can play back the musical score.
The big disadvantage to using MIDI is that other than the limited
selection of sounds in the General Midi set, it is extremely
difficult to make sure the music sounds more than approximately
like the original. And there is no way to handle non-MIDI
instruments such as guitar or voice, so it is useless to hear
the new song by your favorite rock and roll band.
The big advantage to MIDI is how fast it works over slow net
connections. For example, five minutes of music, fits in a mere
30k file, and usually will not take more than a few seconds even
on the slowest of dialup connections! This makes it ideal for
applications such as networked games, or music to go along with a
web page.
There are many ways of embedding MIDI files into HTML documents,
for WWW distribution.
Anyone who wants to add MIDI to a page can choose to use
existing public access MIDI file banks, of which there are many,
or to produce new MIDI themselves.
Crescendo is one package available for embedding MIDI files in HTML
http://www.liveupdate.com Crescendo works for both Macintosh and
Windows.
Helpful Links: Publicly Available Audio and Music Applications
http://reality.sgi.com/employees/cook/audio.apps/public.html
Music of J.S. Bach for keyboard
ftp://ftp.cs.ruu.nl/pub/MIDI/SONGS/CLASSICAL/BACH/HARPSICHORD/
RISM (repertoire of manuscript sources), plus other access to
online scholarly music resoruces. http://rism.harvard.edu/RISM/
Crescendo is used in the web pages at http://mcentury.citi.doc.ca
along with a growing number of others. One very interesting use of
Crescendo occurs on the Music Theory Online publication, a serious
scholarly site for publishing and debating musicology and music
theory. Articles there now routinely include short musical
examples, a great sign of the future of scholarly publishing in
the age of dynamic, interactive content.
http://boethius.music.ucsb.edu/mto/issues/mto.96.2.4/
Humanities and Arts [Page 20]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
Formerly, debate on musical form and structure occured in the
pages of journals, referring usually to music examples in terms of
its visual notation. This notation requires a certain degree of
training to decode, effectively restricting the potential
readership to those with this professional training. With sound
examples embedded directly in the text, at least the aural effect
of the music comes across, even to those unable to read the
notation accurately. This shift is appropriate to the newer
trends in music scholarship, which talk about music in terms of
its social and cultural context, instead of only in formal terms.
5.6 Content Design Issues
++
5.7 Publicizing your work
++
6. Issues and Challenges
** Reminder that this is BRIEF! Summary in nature, and in no way
** to be considered binding, etc. etc...
++ Censorship issues, need *your* help.
6.1 Security Issues see Section 10.
++
6.2 Viruses see also Security Section 10.
++ jkrey has a very specific general information rfc on viruses...
++ What they can do, where they come from, how to mitigate
++ damages, "yes they can get you!"
6.3 Rights
++ Intro to protecting your copyright on the Internet.
++ References: Copyright law, cases, etc.
** Remember Laws on Intellectual property are constantly changing!
++ examples of: copyright, trademark, disclaimers, international
++ concerns big issue re: other countries who do not recognize U.S law
++ goes both ways... respecting others copyrights
++ dan to send pointers to eff and blue ribbon
++ The implications of the Telecom Reform Bill with regard to
++ Freedom of Speech.
++ INTERNATIONALIZE: ie: Canada will not allow the import of anything
++ that is "degrading" to women. Etc.
Humanities and Arts [Page 21]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
6.4 Conducting Business over the Internet
++ Secure transaction are possible, pointers to pgp, etc.
6.5 Netiquette
++ The Responsible Use of the Network document outline, and pointers.
++ ie: AVOID SHOUTING
FYI 28 "Netiquette Guidelines", (Also RFC 1855), October 1995.
** This was produced by the RUN WG, and they will be meeting at
** San Jose to work on extensions and updates to the above document.
++ It never hurts to keep silent til you know your audience better.
++ Not being offended by others, ie: don't take it personally
++ keeping in mind international cultural differences, etc.
7. Glossary
++ point to userglos, trainmat, and useful stuff that needs to be on
++ the same doc. for ease of use
FYI 29 "Catalogue of Network Training Materials",
(Also RFC 2007), October 1996.
FYI 22 "Frequently Asked Questions for Schools",
(Also RFC 1941), May 1996.
FYI 18 "Internet Users' Glossary", (Also RFC 1983), August 1996.
** words contained within this document which need to be defined for
** the audience: boolean,
8. Resources
++ Places to find more information of use and interest.
++ specific arts and humanities studies, projects, programs, getty
Much of the information provided by this document was gathered
from other documents. Wherever important to the discussion, a
pointer to the document was given, however, many more documents are
available on many other topics.
8.1 Request for Comment
One of the most important collections of informational documents
about the Internet are written as Requests for Comment by the
Internet Engineering Task Force. The name Request for Comment is
historical, as these documents are submitted by their authors' for
the approval of the Internet community as Internet Standards, and
valid Informational RFCs called FYIs, of which this document is
one. Basically, if the IETF collective uses a tool or resource,
they document its use in an RFC so that there is no mystery to its
functionality, uses, designations, specifications, or purposes.
Humanities and Arts [Page 22]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
More information on RFCs, FYIs, the IETF, and its organizations,
documents, policies and purposes can be found in the RFCs themselves,
by a number of means.
8.1.1 The ISI RFC-INFO service
There are many way to get copies of RFCs over the Internet (see
ConneXions, Vol.6,No.1, January 1992). Most of these simply access a
directory of files where each RFC is in a file. The searching
capability (if any) is limited to the filename recognition features
of that system.
The ISI RFC-INFO server is a system you can search for an RFC by
author, date, or keyword (all title words are automatically
keywords).
RFC-INFO is an e-mail based service to help in locating and retrival
of RFCs and FYIs. Users can ask for "lists" of all RFCs and FYIs
having certain attributes ("filters") such as their ID, keywords,
title, author, issuing organization, and date. Once an RFC is
uniquely identified (e.g., by its RFC number) it may also be
retrieved.
To use the service send e-mail to RFC-INFO@ISI.EDU with your requests
in the body of the message. Feel free to put anything in the
SUBJECT, the system ignores it. (All is case independent,
obviously.)
Examples of messages to send to RFC-INFO@ISI.EDU can be found in
Appendix C. of this document.
9. References
++ should we create [#] footnotes?? ie: ISN doc, etc.
++ reference the publications and/or sites of key
++ arts and humanities organizations (e.g. Getty, NINCH)
10. Security Considerations
** jkrey points to site sec. handbook:
** "The "current" Work in Progress for the Site Security Handbook WG
** is the I-D - draft-ietf-ssh-handbook-03.txt. This group is also
** working on a companion document for the "user". Stay tuned for
** the I-D. They should have that out before San Jose."
There are a wide variety of ways in which systems can be violated,
some intentional, some accidental. Of the intentional attacks, a
portion may be exploratory, others simply abusive of your
resources (using up your CPU time) but many are actively
malicious. No system is 100% safe, but there are steps you can
take to protect against misconfigured devices spraying packets,
casual intruders, and a variety of focused assaults.
Humanities and Arts [Page 23]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
Your best defense is to educate yourself on the subject of
security. There are places on the net devoted to teaching users
about security - most prominently, the CERT Coordination Center
located at the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon
University. You can point your web browser (or direct your ftp
connection) to
ftp://info.cert.org/pub/cert_faq
to start. This is a frequently asked questions guide and general
overview on CERT. It includes a bibliography of suggested reading
and a variety of sources to find more information.
Next, you should probably read
ftp://info.cert.org/pub/tech_tips/security_info
which contains a (primarily based on the UNIX operating system)
checklist to help you determine whether you're site has suffered a
security breach. You can use it to guide you through handling a
specific incident if you think your system has been compromised or
you can use it as a list of common vulnerabilities. CERT also
maintains a wide variety of bulletins, software patches, and tools
to help you keep up to date and secure.
Before you are even online, you should consider some basic steps:
10.1 Formulate a security policy.
It should include policies regarding physical access procedures,
security incident response, online privileges and back-up media.
Put a message at the login to establish your policy clearly.
An example:
"This system is for the use of authorized users only. It may be
monitored in the course of routine operation to detect
unauthorized use. Evidence of unauthorized use or criminal
activity may result in legal prosecution."
10.1.1. Talk to your Internet Service Provider.
Depending upon your provider and router management situation,
there are a number of things your ISP should be able to do for you
to make your site more secure. Foremost, packet filtering on the
router that connects you to the internet. You will want to
consider IP filters to allow specific types of traffic (web, ftp,
mail, etc.) to certain machines (the mailhost, the web server,
etc.) and no others. Other filters can block certain types of IP
spoofing where the intruder masks his or her identity using an IP
address from inside your network to defeat your filters. Discuss
your concerns and questions with your provider - the company may
have standards or tools they can recommend.
Humanities and Arts [Page 24]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
10.1.2. Make sure your systems are up to date.
A significant number of incidents happen because older versions of
software have well-known weaknesses that can be exploited from
almost anywhere on the internet. CERT provides a depository for
software patches designed by concerned net.citizens, CERT's
engineers and by the vendors themselves.
10.1.3. Use the tools available.
Consider recording MD5 checksums on read-only media (the MD5
message-digest algorithm determines an electronic "fingerprint"
for files to indicate their uniqueness -comparing more recent
checksums to older ones can alert you to changes in important
system files), installing tripwire on your systems (notes size and
MD5 checksum changes, among other sanity checks), and periodically
testing the integrity of your machines with programs an intruder
might use, like SATAN and crack. [Details on MD5 are contained in
RFC 1321.]
Most files and fixes go through the basics before leaving you to
figure things out on your own, but security can be a complicated
issue, both technically and morally. When good security is
implemented, no one really notices. Unfortunately, no one notices
when it's not taken care of either. That is until the system
crashes, your data gets corrupted, or you get a phone call from an
irate company whose site was cracked from your machines. It
doesn't matter if you carry only public information. It doesn't
matter if you think you're too small or unimportant to be noticed.
No one is too small or too big, no site is immune. Take
precautions and be prepared.
11. Acknowledgements
Joseph Aiuto
Michael Century
Kelly Cooper
Lile Elam
Dan Harrington
Julie Jensen
Walter Stickle
12. Authors' Address
Janet Max
jlm@rainfarm.com
Scott Stoner
stoner@artsedge.kennedy-center.org
Humanities and Arts [Page 25]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
Appendix A.
++humanities computing projects, research projects,
++text encoding project (michael century) need to maintain perspective
++of the historic art archives and the "current" art in culture
++AHIB? Marty Harris, Susan Sigfried NIDGE?
Examples of Projects on the Internet of Interest to the Arts and
Humanities Communities
The commonplace insight about the web as a new distribution
channel for cultural products is that it effaces the traditional
border between producer and consumer. Publishers exploit two-way
interactivity by re-designing the editorial mix to include reader
response. Here follows some examples of the way creative artists
attempt to design structures flexible enough for significant
viewer input.
RENGA (http://renga.ntticc.or.jp) - An inspired transposition of a
traditional collaborative writing practice into the realm of
digital media supported by the NTT InterCommunication Centre in
Tokyo. Renga means linked-image or linked-poem, and draws on the
Japanese tradition of collaboration which effaces the unique
notion of original author.
PING (http://www.artcom.de/ping/mapper) - by Art+Com, a Berlin
based media centre and thinktank. Art+Com is a leader in
producing high-end net visualization projects. Ping lets the
browser add a link, which then becomes a part of the ongoing
visual structure. It is similar, in this sense, to the Toronto
Centre for Landscape Architecture's OASIS site.
Art+Com's T-Vision project (http://www.artcom.de/projects/terra)
which uses satellites and networked VR computers to permit an
astonishing fly-in to earth from space: acclaimed as one of the
most imaginative realizations of the potential of networked
computing.
OASIS (http://www.clr.toronto.edu/PROJECTS/Oasis/Oasis1.html)
Toronto Centre for Landscape Architecture's OASIS site requires a
specialized browser, but from a standard Netscape connection, you
can view stills that give a sense of the beautiful images produced
by the collaborative "design process". It is introduced by its
designers as follows:
Oasis is a shared 3-Dimensional navigational environment for the
world wide web. This virtual landscape allows one to bury their
own information links throughout the terrain or to discover and
connect to new information left by others.
Humanities and Arts [Page 26]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
TechnoSphere (http://www.lond-inst.ac.uk/TechnoSphere/)
Is TechnoSphere a Game?
Yes and no. It's an experiment on a global scale, a chance to
develop complex artificial life on digital networks. TechnoSphere
is interactive like a game, but transgresses the linear boundaries
of branching and hierarchical games narrative to enable freer
movement. TechnoSphere is designed to encourage a non-linear
experiental exploration.
Body Missing (http://yorku.ca/BodyMissing/index.html)
Toronto artist Vera Frenkel created this richly evocative site on
the disappearance of art and memory as an extension of her Transit
Bar installation. It is conceived as a site open to new
'reconstructions' of the artworks confiscated during the Third
Reich. First opened to the public as part of the ISEA95
exhibition in Montreal, it has since earned widespread critical
comment and praise.
Molecular Clinic 1.0
(http://sc_web.cnds.canon.co.jp/molecular_clinic/artlab_bionet)
Molecular Clinic 1.0 ' is an art project realized through a
collaboration between ARTLAB and Seiko Mikami, and is one of the
most elaborate custom designed art projets yet created for the
Web. During their initial visit users should download the
MOLECULAR ENGINE VIEWER, which is a type of molecular laboratory
for their computer. What they will see on the web site after this
initial download is a virtual space containing a three dimensional
computer generated Spider and Monolith object. The user will be
able to navigate through and into this virtual space and can zoom
into the spider all the way to the molecular level.
File Room (http://fileroom.aaup.uic.edu/FILEROOM.html) -
Cumulative database info on Censorship, hosted in Chicago but
conceived by Spanish artist Antoni Muntadas.
Idea Futures (http://if.arc.ab.ca/~jamesm/IF/IF.html) -
Winner of the grand prize at the 1995 Ars Electronica competition
for Web Sites, Idea Futures is a stock market of ideas, based on
the theories of mathematical economist Robin Hanson. The 'truth'
of any claim is assigned a weight calculated by the amount of
virtual cash which members of the exchange are willing to bet.
The scheme leads might lead toward a radical democratization of
academic discourse, but just as easily, toward the trivialization
of thought. See the following for a philosophical critique of the
system. (http://merzbau.citi.doc.ca/~henry/Matrix/Erewhon.html)
Humanities and Arts [Page 27]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
Firefly (http://www.agents-inc.com/) also a prize winner at Ars
Electronica in 1995, Firefly is an prototypical example of what
enthsiasts call a "personal music recommendation agent", which
makes suggestions for what you might like to listen to, based on a
stored profile of your own likes and dislikes, and the evolving
ratings submitted to the system by other members. Worth visiting,
if only to understand what all the fashionable hype about
'intelligent agents' is all about; skeptics should know that even
the promoters of these services admit the circularity of their
systems: they're capable of reinforcing existing taste, but little
else.
Appendix B: Some other URL's of interest
Arts on the Net
http://www.art.net/Welcome.html
Artist Memorials(?)
http://www.cascade.net/kahlo.html
Writers
http://the-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/
http://www.rain.org/~da5e/tom_robbins.html
Photography
http://www.nyip.com/
Personal Journals
http://grateful.dead.net/RobertHunterArchive.html
http://www.cjnetworks.com/~jessa/
Musical Groups
http://www.dead.net (Grateful Dead)
http://www.netspace.org/phish/ (Phish)
Humanities and Arts [Page 28]
INTERNET-DRAFT Sharing Center Stage on the Internet
Appendix C:
To get started you may send a message to RFC-INFO@ISI.EDU with
requests such as in the following examples (without the
explanation between []):
Help: Help [to get this information]
List: FYI [list the FYI notes]
List: RFC [list RFCs with window as keyword or
in title]
keywords: window
List: FYI [list FYIs about windows]
Keywords: window
List: * [list both RFCs and FYIs about
windows]
Keywords: window
List: RFC [list RFCs about ARPANET, ARPA
NETWORK, etc.]
title: ARPA*NET
List: RFC [list RFCs issued by MITRE, dated
1989-1991]
Organization: MITRE
Dated-after: Jan-01-1989
Dated-before: Dec-31-1991
List: RFC [list RFCs obsoleting a given RFC]
Obsoletes: RFC0010
List: RFC [list RFCs by authors starting with
"Bracken"]
Author: Bracken* [* is a wild card matches everything]
List: RFC [list RFCs by both Postel and Gillman]
Authors: J. Postel [note, the "filters" are ANDed]
Authors: R. Gillman
List: RFC [list RFCs by any Crocker]
Authors: Crocker
List: RFC [list only RFCs by S.D. Crocker]
Authors: S.D. Crocker
List: RFC [list only RFCs by D. Crocker]
Authors: D. Crocker
Retrieve: RFC [retrieve RFC-822]
Doc-ID: RFC0822 [note, always 4 digits in RFC number]
Help: Ways_To_Get_RFCs [to get the list of RFC library hosts]
Help: Manual [to retrieve the long user manual]
Help: List [how to use the LIST request]
Help: Retrieve [how to use the RETRIEVE request]
Help: Topics [list topics for which help is
available]
Help: Dates ["Dates" is such a topic]
List: keywords [list the keywords in use]
List: organizations [list the organizations known to the
system]
Please try using this service. Report problems to
RFC-MANAGER@ISI.EDU
Humanities and Arts [Page 29]
