Re: WEB : Mapping out communal cyberspace

Kevin Goldsmith (kmg@monk.colossal.com)
Mon, 13 Jun 1994 10:54:12 -0700


On Jun 13, 8:30am, Roger.Layton.roger@apollo.is.co.za wrote:
> Subject: WEB : Mapping out communal cyberspace
> Date: Sunday 12 June 1994
>
> I strongly believe that it will be essential to CREATE a coordinate system
> which defines WHERE things are, on a world-wide, globally agreed basis.
> In effect to create a world coordination system, so that everything not only
> has addressability as per current Internet standards, it also has relative
> positional addressability in some world - it can be placed onto a map.
>
I must disagree partly. If we create a world coordinate space, we
create virtual real estate. Who owns virtual real estate? The beauty of the
current web organization (or lack thereof) is that it is amazingly simple to
build a "homestead." You just put a page somewhere and let people know about
it. If we create a coordinate system, some organization will have to "own" it
so that there are not 1,000,000 rooms at 0,0. I prefer local coordinate spaces
with links between them.

The other reason I do not like a "world" map is that it is far too hard
to navigate. If it is still possible to have links a la HTML, no one will
bother to fly over the whole world when they can just "teleport."

KEvin

P.S. since this is my second post in two days, here is my background:
I worked at SGI for 2 years working on interactive hypermedia and Inventor. I
lead the engineering on "The Out Of Box Experience." Now I work at (Colossal)
Pictures on the R & D staff working on our real-time performance animation
system.

-- 
The wages of sin are death, but after they take the taxes out, it's more of a tired feeling really.  - Paula Poundstone

"In industry, no one can hear you scream." - me "In academia, no one cares if you scream." - me, moments later

kmg@colossal.com unitcirc@netcom.com Web Home Page: ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/unitcirc/kevin_home.html