And as a model of space, HTML doesn't really make any sense, which is why
VRML doesn't work. HTML is a hypertext, an index, a library catalog. It
is a point sampling of a space, or rather of many spaces... it is not in
itself a continuous space. And that is why from a technical standpoint the
notion of VRML as a form of web browsing is stillborn. A 3d space requires
a unifying site in order to exist, to be shared, and to thereby become
significant. Even if the site is distributed, continuity of space and time
must be preserved across site boundaries, or else the existence of space is
lost.
If the designers of VRML had thought about network protocols (how space is
transmitted to multiple parties) and distributed spatial databases (the
loci of shared spatial experiences), they would have arrived at either a
highly centralized and authoritative MUD server model, or a de-centralized
non-authoritative peer-to-peer Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS)
model. And if they cared about the evolution of online communities, they
would have chosen MUDs. DIS is good for simulating a war, because nobody
is in authority in a war, and therefore authority is contested at each
spatial site. The only source of authority in DIS is that each computer
knows the rules of the physical universe, and that all combatants will
"fight fair," obeying the rules of the universe. This is very much like 2
teams agreeing to a game of football, each team promising not to cheat, and
each team actually making good on the promise. Whereas in the MUD model,
the MUD server is the referee, and has absolute authority for what exists
on the playfield. This is necessary for online communities because
cultures are dynamic, they are not subject to hard and fast rules. If you
put every social group in the USA into the same physical space, and there
were no rules or authorities for the ordering of the space, you would soon
find yourself in a war zone. And hence back to DIS protocol.
Cheers,
Brandon J. Van Every <vanevery@blarg.net> DEC Commodity Graphics
http://www.blarg.net/~vanevery Windows NT Alpha OpenGL
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