The BayMOO Prospectus


BAYMOO

To put it generically:

BayMOO is an all-text virtual reality on the Internet.

Essentially:

BayMOO is a realm on the Internet for worldwide human interaction and creation in the context of a virtual San Francisco Bay Area.

Imaginatively:

BayMOO is like writing your own play -- as you walk into it.


What you'll find here is a world of virtual objects:the Coyote's Den in the Ohlone Village, the Improv Room, the Haight-Ashbury FreakOut Room, etc.), objects (ascii atelier drawings, monitoring ventriloquist puppets, textual videocameras, etc.), tools for communication (remote paging, direct mindspeaking, *themethread lists to subscribe to, etc.) - and, most importantly, PEOPLE.


There are over 1400 people in the community of BayMOO - folks from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia, Europe - representing an astounding variety of interests. These people gather together to exchange ideas, collaborate on virtual building projects, hold meetings, festivals, and conferences. Friendships are made, ambitious ventures undertaken, imaginative worlds created - among people who may never have met each other in real life.


BayMOO is an example of what has been called life's "Third Place." Place One = home. Place Two = work. The Third Place = wherever you go to be free. BayMOO is a place where people come to use words, not only to express ideas and emotions, but to MAKE THINGS HAPPEN. Handled supplely, the text-world of BayMOO evokes the myth-world of fantasy, where words conjure actions. If this kind of freedom to create both interesting virtual objects and new friendships appeals to you, then you should see what BayMOO has to offer. There are two thematic motifs at BayMOO which the community can take advantage of:

1) The Humanities of the San Francisco Bay Area and

2) The Meanings of Water.

These are available to all who want to explore their uses, and the janitors of BayMOO urge you to use them. But those who feel called to other frontiers are welcome to help build BayMOO.


BayMOO has a one-word code of ethics:


RESPECT

As long as characters respect each others' feelings, BayMOO is a wide-open textual terrain for the imagination.

BayMOO Birthdate

NIST provided the money to allow us (the BayMOO janitors) to purchase a SUN Sparcestation to hgouse both FactoryNEt and BayMOO.