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how has the www help or hurt?

updated wed 29 jul 98

 

ClayArt Moderator on sat 25 jul 98

I'm giving a talk to a ceramics conference in about a month that has to do
with ceramics in virtual world of the World Wide Web, email, computers, and
information sharing.

I'd be interested in hearing (PRIVATELY) from those of you on clayart how
any of the above have affected your life as a ceramist.

What's the best thing on the WWW for ceramics? Or for art in general?

What would you like to see that's not available on the web (or that there
should be more of on the WWW)?

What would you like to see less of on the web (try to keep this ceramics
related or art related, okay?)?

Do you feel empowered by having access to the WWW and clayart? Or intimidated?


Again, PLEASE SEND REPLIES PRIVATELY to me at richard.burkett@sdsu.edu or
rburkett@rohan.sdsu.edu

Don't feel like you have to write a treatise. Short comments are actually
preferable, thanks.

Thanks in advance for your comments,

Richard - almost at the end of my short tenure as the moderator of clayart


Richard Burkett - School of Art, SDSU, San Diego, CA 92182-4805
E-mail: richard.burkett@sdsu.edu <-> Voice mail: (619) 594-6201
Home Page: http://rohan.sdsu.edu/dept/rburkett/www/burkett.html
CeramicsWeb: http://art.sdsu.edu/ceramicsweb/
HyperGlaze@aol.com & http://members.aol.com/hyperglaze/

Russel Fouts on mon 27 jul 98

Richard.

>> PLEASE SEND REPLIES PRIVATELY <<

No, I don't think so. Asking for people to respond privately, especially to
questions about the impact of the web on ceramics in particular and art in
general is to say that the open discussion which is the life blood of a
discussion list, the very reason for the creation of the listserve
technology in the first place, is worthless.

Not only is discussion, exchange, interchange the "raison d'etre" for the
discussion lists, it's why the Internet, itself, was created in the first
place. For the free exchange of information between academics and
researchers. And people have done a lot to make and keep the means of that
exchange open and easy.

Clifford Stoll, astronomer reluctantly turned hacker hunter in "The
Cuckoo's Egg" wasn't as concerned in his hunt by the information that the
hackers were stealing as he was by the potential damage it could do to his
online "community". In creating barriers to keep the hackers out, the
universities and research institutions also risked making it very difficult
for researchers to share information.

This is one of my communities, a global community where information is not
only the currency but also the goods exchanged.
"PLEASE SEND REPLIES PRIVATELY" is counter to the spirit of that community.

How has the internet impacted ceramics and art? By making a whole world of
art easily accessible. But the internet's real value is participation in an
international exchange. Being able to look at a potter's work on a web page,
or a virtual exhibition, or use an online glaze base is valuable but being
able to discuss issues and techniques with potters of every calibre from all
parts of the globe is phenomenal.

"PLEASE SEND REPLIES PRIVATELY" limits that participation and if the reason
for that limit is fear of the volume of correspondence in a moderated list,
then lets add another moderator. Busy as I am, I can't possibly have less
free time than Richard, Joe or Mary and if it would mean seeing less of
"PLEASE SEND REPLIES PRIVATELY" I'll volunteer.

I ran across my original clayart subscription message from 1994, the topics
at the time were Truth (John Tilton), Bats (Louis Katz), making decals
(Suzanne Wolfe), Golem (Stuart Altman and Richard Gralnik) and alternative
throwing lubricants (me). This discussion list has been a source of
inspiration, humour and friendship as well as a technical resource. Let's
not limit that. The only things that should be discussed off list are off
topic. PLEASE SEND REPLIES PUBLICLY.

Russel

Russel Fouts
Mes Potes & Mes Pots
Brussels, Belgium
32 2 223 02 75
Http://users.skynet.be/russel.fouts
Http://www.japan-net.or.jp/~iwcat

PLEASE SEND REPLIES PUBLICLY.