This site does not so much treat of a subject as form the substance of an event. Billed as "The World's First Public Access Web Server and MultiMedia MOO", this site epitomizes why the Internet does not fit the categories of the online database world. These pages are not a series of texts about a "subject", but an attempt to spawn a social environment which conduces toward certain kinds of creative experiences.
In technical terms, ChibaMOO is one of the first and most successful attempts "...to combine the media rich content of the World Wide Web with the dynamic and interactive environment of MOO, creating WOO (Webbed MOO.)" For those new to the concept, MOO stands for "MUD Object Oriented", and MUD stands for MultiUser Dungeons, an online derivative of the popular fantasy game of the 80s. Therefore, "MOO is a complete virtual society where individuals socialize and interact as well as collaborate to build and create things using a really simple yet powerful object oriented programming language." So what does this all add up to?
According to SenseMedia Publishing, the sponsors of the site, "The Sprawl is one of the first significant pieces of collaborative, interactive fiction designed specifically for the World Wide Web. More than five hundred people, from all over the world are creating a fictional cyberspace of over one thousand rooms, and several thousands of objects." If this sounds like world-class decadence, it may be, but a component of this effort has relevance to the educational world: "SenseMedia Publishing will soon be opening Chiba.U dedicated exclusively to teachers and classes of students K-Ph.D."
The purpose is to open space so that groups of interested observers can explore the Web together. Collaborative Web browsing and publishing are advanced through virtual environments that transcend text-based MUDs. ChibaMOO is divided into three areas: ChibaMOO, the internal development system at SenseMedia, the Sprawl, and the World, based on reality. This review will focus on the Sprawl and the World.
The Sprawl: "The Sprawl is a virtual community where all users are given the ability to extend the cyberscape in an unrestricted manner, creating a huge and sprawling virtual reality." The place seems almost deliberately bewildering at first access. There are a series of location name hyperlinks that when clicked on yield cryptic descriptions. In order to really explore this region, one needs to learn the basics of MOOing, which consists of a series of arcane commands which allow one to communicate in the MOO. It appears that if you really want to play, you've got to telnet.
The World: Excuse my 3D-based self, but this section was a lot more appealing to me, based on reality though it might be. On the Web, the "Contents" section is baffling. The site also has "Exits" to major urban Web pages and I had hoped for some real jumping off points here, but was disappointed to find more cryptic descriptions followed by "Disconnect" messages. This looks like a "work in progress" with not much concrete to point to.
Much hype and lots of grand proclamations, but I don't fully grasp the appeal.
Prepare for a sharp learning curve. Sites like this require acculturization to the environment.