Movatterモバイル変換

Network Working Group                                             J. MaxRequest for Comments: 2150                                    W. StickleFYI: 31                                                         RainfarmCategory: Informational                                     October 1997Humanities and Arts: Sharing Center Stage on the InternetStatus of this Memo   This memo provides information for the Internet community.  It does   not specify an Internet standard of any kind.  Distribution of this   memo is unlimited.Abstract   This document is designed primarily for individuals who have limited   knowledge of, or experience with, the Internet.   The purpose of this document is to provide members of the Arts and   Humanities communities with an introduction to the Internet as a   valuable tool, resource, and medium for the creation, presentation,   and preservation of Arts and Humanities-based content.   The intended audience is practicing artists, scholars, related   professionals, and others whose knowledge, expertise and support is   important to ensuring that the Arts and Humanities are well-placed in   the global information infrastructure.Table of Contents1.    Introduction...............................................31.1    Definition of Arts and Humanities.........................32.    What does the Internet mean to the "Artist?"...............42.1    Access to the Global Community............................52.2    Sharing Your Work and Collaborating with Others...........62.3    Freely Available Software, and Other Information..........83.    What is the Internet?......................................83.1    What is the World Wide Web?...............................94.    How does the Internet Work?................................104.1    Internet Addresses........................................114.1.1   Computer Addresses and Hostnames.........................124.1.2   Addresses of People on the Internet......................124.1.3   Information Addresses, Locators, URLs....................134.2    How Does the World Wide Web Work?.........................14Max & Stickle                Informational                      [Page 1]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 19974.3    Other, Higher Level Protocols on the Internet.............155.    Forums.....................................................165.1    Message Based Communications..............................165.1.1   Electronic Mail - email..................................175.1.2   Newsgroups...............................................175.1.3   Electronic Bulletin Board System - BBS ..................185.2    Real-Time Communications..................................195.2.1   Chat - IRC...............................................195.2.2   Multicasting.............................................205.2.3   MUD - Multi-User Dungeon.................................205.2.4   Audio/Video Conferencing.................................215.3    Archives..................................................225.3.1   Searching................................................226.    Accessing the Internet.....................................256.1    Internet Service Providers................................266.2    Computer Hardware and Software Tools......................266.3    Multimedia................................................317.    Creating Content...........................................327.1    Getting Help..............................................337.2    About File Formats........................................347.3    Creating Text and Hypertext Documents.....................357.4    Creating Graphic and Moving Images........................357.4.1   Bitmap Image Formats.....................................367.4.2   Vector Image Formats.....................................377.4.3   Video Formats............................................377.5    Creating Music and Sound Files............................387.6    Content Design Issues.....................................407.7    Publicizing Your Work.....................................418.    Issues and Challenges......................................428.1    Security Issues...........................................438.2    Viruses...................................................448.3    The Standard Disclaimer...................................448.4    Copyrights and Intellectual Property Issues...............458.4.1   Copyright................................................458.4.2   Trademark................................................468.4.3   Privacy..................................................478.4.4   Seek Professional Advice.................................478.5    Conducting Business over the Internet.....................478.6    Netiquette................................................489.    Glossary...................................................4910.   Resources, References, etc.................................5110.1   RFCs and Internet-Drafts..................................51Max & Stickle                Informational                      [Page 2]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 199710.2   Internet Documents........................................5210.3   Other Sources.............................................5310.4   Freely Available Web Browser Software.....................5410.5   The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority...................5411.   Security Considerations....................................5511.1   Formulate a security policy...............................5511.1.1  Talk to your Internet Service Provider...................5611.1.2  Make sure your systems are up to date....................5611.1.3  Use the tools available..................................5612.   Acknowledgments............................................5713.   Authors' Addresses.........................................57Appendix A.  Internet Projects of Interest to the                Arts and Humanities Communities.....................58Appendix B.  Starting Points; A brief list of related sites......60Appendix C.  Examples for using the RFC server RFC-INFO@ISI.EDU..621. Introduction   This document has been structured to provide information about, and   examples of, the wide range of functions and capabilities available   on the Internet today.  It is intended to illustrate the potential of   current networking technologies for personal and cultural growth.   Some basic functions of the Internet are described, along with their   applications and forums for building online communities of interest,   such as the World Wide Web, Email, and Network News.   This is followed by discussion and examples of hardware and software   being used to support the creation and presentation of artistic and   literary works, along with examples of how Arts and Humanities   content is being represented, stored, and retrieved on the Internet.   In addition to illustrating the great potential of the Internet, this   document provides a brief introduction to the issues and challenges   that affect the development and presentation of Arts and Humanities   content online, such as privacy and property rights.   Included is a brief Glossary, and a number of Appedices which provide   pointers to other sources of information about the Internet.1.1 Definitions of Arts and Humanities   For purposes of this document the term "Arts" includes, but is not   limited to, dance, design arts, folk arts, literary arts, media and   film arts, music, theater, and visual arts.Max & Stickle                Informational                      [Page 3]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   The term "Humanities" includes, but is not limited to, the study of   the following: language, both modern and classical; linguistics;   literature; history; jurisprudence philosophy; archaeology;   comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism and theory of   the arts; those aspects of social sciences which have humanistic   content and employ humanistic methods; and the study and application   of the humanities to the human environment.   For purposes of simplicity this document will use the word "Artist"   to mean both Artist and Humanist: "all practitioners who work in the   fields of the visual, performance, and literary arts, as well as   museum curators, librarians, and others who are involved in the   research, restoration, and presentation of that which comprises our   cultural heritage."2. What does the Internet mean to the Artist?   The Internet is exerting a profound influence on our society.  Even   now in its infancy, the effects of the Internet can be easily seen in   popular media as well as in the way we do business.  But the most   dramatic influences are in the children who are now growing up with   the net.  Many parents are aware of the influence television has over   their children.  With the advent of WEB-TV, the Internet has begun to   assimilate Television, transforming it into something more powerful.   This coming integration of information, communication and   entertainment will play a major role in teaching and shaping the   minds of those who live and grow up with it.   Because of this power, it is critical that the best parts of human   culture are represented on the Internet. If we raise the Internet   right, it will return the favor by nurturing a generation that may   well grow up wiser than ourselves.   This is where artists are needed.  Because the net is primarily built   and run by Scientists and Engineers who are creatures of mind, it is   the heart and soul of the Internet that is weak.  Artists are the   heart and soul of human culture, and must bring the fruits of their   efforts to the net to give the net culture, and future generations   their essence of humanity.   If that does not convince you, we will also introduce you to some of   the many tools artists may use to exploit the net for their own   personal gain.  As the online culture becomes a more balanced   representation of humanity, the net will become an essential tool for   collaboration, communication, and distribution of art and humanities   content.  The day is coming where those who are not on the net will   be greatly handicapped in the expression and distribution of their   works.Max & Stickle                Informational                      [Page 4]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   The net is the new frontier for the growth of humanity.  Can you   afford not to be involved?2.1 Access to the Global Community   In the past, artist's audiences and collaborators were limited to the   people around them.  Improvements in transportation and communication   have allowed these associations to expand, but even today few members   of the artistic community have gone global.  The Internet changes all   this by allowing anyone access to a global community.   A great many arts institutions and organizations have now established   sites on the World Wide Web and a significant number of online   discussion groups focus on the arts and humanities.  Consortiums of   museums and libraries are now using networking technologies to   support research and projects involving more effective ways to   collect, store, and disseminate objects of antiquity and other non-   textual primary sources, as well as textual sources.   Sites are also created by individuals and for institutions,   organizations, and businesses for reasons ranging from commerce to   simple self-expression.  The Internet connects hundreds of countries,   thousands of cities, and countless groups and individuals around the   globe.   On the Internet today you can find information on topics ranging from   art and music to guns and ammunition; among which are astronomy,   news, astrology, agriculture, acupuncture, botany, biology, zoology,   food, psychology, medicine, space exploration, genetics, media,   chemistry, microbreweries, aeronautics, scuba diving, meteorology,   neurology, artificial intelligence, mathematics, literature, wine   tasting, law, painting, photography, dance, history, social sciences,   politics, crafts, clothing, economics, genealogy, pets, sports,   languages, dictionaries, encyclopedias, technical manuals, schools,   shops, entertainment, furniture, flowers, software, hardware,   computers and the Internet, just to name a few.  Whatever your work   requires, whatever your whim desires, you can find it on the net.   People all around the world will be looking for what they want on the   net, and if you have what they want, then through the magic of the   Internet, you are their next door neighbor.   With access to the Internet, the world is at your fingertips.  Bring   your questions on health, the environment, government, and religion,   and look though volumes of documentation on your concerns, or discuss   your questions with others electronically.  Once you get used to it,   you will even be downloading more information and tools to assist you   further.Max & Stickle                Informational                      [Page 5]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   The Internet provides a forum in which diverse cultures can merge,   and allows people to visit faraway places from the privacy and safety   of their own computer.  The Internet explorer will also find that   many sites are multilingual.   Once you have the basic tools for using the Internet you will begin   to understand how easy, helpful, informative, and exciting it can be.   With a few quick strokes you have accessed a great library, museum,   or gallery, toured a faraway city, or looked up an old friend.  You   might find an out of print book you have always wanted, then either   read it on your computer screen, or print it out on your printer.  If   you do not have a printer, simply save it to your floppy disk and   bring that to a printshop or friend with a printer.  It really is   that easy.   You could spend the afternoon at the Smithsonian, or the Louvre   without ever leaving your chair.  For a more athletic adventure, you   could put your computer in front of your treadmill, and jog through   the online Olympics site.   When you are ready, you can explore deeper.  Follow other links to   smaller sites, lesser known writers, artists, poets, and thinkers,   and discover the emerging world they are creating.  With the proper   tools you can even view moving pictures, and listen to music and   other audio.   Perhaps you would like to locate a rare album, or debate one   musicians merit over anothers.  Perhaps you prefer to discuss and   compare the works of others with producers, collectors, gallery   owners or other professionals in your field, or related fields.  You   might want to find out who's hot and why.  You could also find out   where, and when shows, showings, benefits, conferences, releases,   signings, and performances are taking place, or announce your own.   They say that for every artist, there is a critic, and you could meet   one, or be one, on the Internet.2.2 Sharing Your Work and Collaborating with Others   Artists often want to share their work with other artists so that   they can get peer comments and recognition.  The Internet is a great   place to explore new ideas with other artists as well.   Perhaps you are a painter who has developed a method for keeping   acrylics moist during long sessions, or a photographer who has   discovered a new lighting technique.  You could make the information   available over the Internet to enlighten others, or to get their   feedback.Max & Stickle                Informational                      [Page 6]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   Perhaps you've had difficulty in some aspect of your work, and you'd   like to talk to others who have had similar experiences to find out   how they solved them.   There are many types of content that artists can share.  Including:      - text: stories, poetry, historic accounts, transcripts, etc.      - images of their visual work: paintings, photographs,        sculpture, etc.      - images of themselves: photographs, self-portraits, etc.      - sound files of their audio works or voice presentations of        their works: books on tape, speeches, tutorials, music, etc.      - moving pictures: video arts, performance arts, etc.      - a description of their art process and works of art      - resumes and biographical data      - contact information in the form of electronic mail address,        postal mail address, phone, etc.  Electronic mail is most        popular because it allows people to respond spontaneously.   After you've met some of the global critics, and compared your work   with others, you may feel so bold as to share your work with others.   Perhaps emailing a manuscript to a publisher, or putting up scans of   your art will entice a buyer.  Perhaps it will entice a critic to say   wonderful things about your work.   Perhaps putting your work on the Internet will bring fortune and   fame, or perhaps it will encourage others to put their work up.   Increasing the cultural content of the Internet will have profound   results in all areas of the Arts.   There are many ways of collaborating over the Internet.  As mentioned   in previous sections it is easy to see how to communicate and   exchange work with other artists from anywhere in the world.  In   addition, there are art and literature projects which explore the   Internet by asking people to submit their feelings, thoughts, and   ideas through the Internet.  Some of these projects will allow   interested people to come to them, others may be distributed in   various ways to actively seek out people interested in participation.   There are also games which are played over the Internet, by players   all over the planet.  These types of games, which are described in   greater detail inSection 5, can be both entertaining and   educational.  Some games offer players the opportunity to alter the   environment, so that ideas and information contained in the game   evolve over time into a jointly constructed experience.Max & Stickle                Informational                      [Page 7]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 19972.3 Freely Available Software, and Other Information   There is a world of useful software available to you via the   Internet.  Known as Shareware, Public Domain, or Freely Copyable, you   can find many software programs you may download and use on your own   machine, often completely free, occasionally for a small and/or   optional fee which helps the author to afford to create more software   for general use. There are also libraries, stores, and news groups   you can peruse in search of just the tool or information you want.   As you explore the Internet, you will begin to find information that   is beyond your reach without the right tools for viewing, listening,   etc.  For example, someone may have put up a sound file using a   format which cannot be recognized by the software you have installed.   In these cases, that person will often have included a pointer to the   exact tool necessary to recognize their format, or convert the   format, and you can download, install, and use this tool right away.   More information on file formats is provided throughout the document.   Using the basic tools acquired to access the Internet, you can begin   to add to your collection software tools, both for accessing the   information already on the Internet, and for creating your own   content.  After reading this document you will have the tools   necessary to find and use this information.Appendix B provides a list of Internet sites, where communication   about the arts, and freely copyable software tools and art, among   other things, can be found.   There are many people both like, and unlike, yourself with whom you   can meet, communicate, and share ideas.  Some like to just talk, you   can listen if you like.  Others like to just listen, so you and   others can talk.   There are also many forms that communication can take, from private   electronic mail, to group video conferencing, to moderated   newsgroups, to public bulletin boards.  SeeSection 5 for additional   information on Electronic Forums.3. What is the Internet?   As new users, the first question that probably comes to mind is:   "What is the Internet?"  A good answer is: "People, computers and   information electronically linked around the world by a common   protocol for communicating with each other."Max & Stickle                Informational                      [Page 8]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) was founded in the late   1960s.  Among its many projects, ARPA created a network of computers   called the ARPANET.  As other networks were created, most were   connected to the ARPANET, and the resulting network that   interconnected many networks was named, "The Internet".  At last   count, this "Information Superhighway" connects several million   computers and over 40 million users from all over the world.   The Internet should not be confused with America OnLine (AOL),   CompuServe, Prodigy, and other type service providers, which may use   their own, often proprietary protocols and are sites unto themselves   but may also have connections to the Internet.  The Internet should   also not be confused with the World Wide Web which is the topic of   the next section.3.1 What is the World Wide Web?   The World Wide Web, generally referred to as simply, The Web, is   comprised of a subset of the computers on the Internet.   You can visualize the World Wide Web as a giant magazine stand with a   vast web of strings connecting various words pictures and ideas.   Like a magazine rack, you may quickly select a chosen magazine, or   you may browse, following the strings from magazine to magazine.   More formally, the Web is vast multimedia "document" distributed   among a large number of the computers on the Internet.   There is no central hierarchy that organizes the Web.  Instead, the   information is distributed among many "Web Sites" created and used by   the many people on the Internet.  Each Web Site is much like a   magazine in that it has a Cover Page, called the Home Page, and other   pages of related information that can be connected in whatever way   the author wishes.  This "document" is in a format called "hypertext"   which allows information in the web to be linked by words or pictures   viewed on the computer.   The Web is broken up into a large set of pages, called "Web Pages",   of information connected by hypertext "links" which let you click on   a highlighted word or picture to call up a page of related   information.  This is what differentiates hyper-text from "normal"   text.  In "normal" text, each idea, sentence or paragraph is   connected in a sequence or "train of thought", from beginning to end.   In hypertext however, tracks of ideas branch out through "Links", so   that each idea may be connected to many different "trains of   thought".  This ability to follow an idea to many different   destinations allows you to read hypertext documents in a way more   naturally resembling human thought.Max & Stickle                Informational                      [Page 9]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   For example, you might create a "Cool Music" Web Page and place it on   a "Web Server", which is any computer somewhere on the Internet   running the software needed to provide access to the resident Web   Pages.  Anyone on the Internet could then use a piece of software   called a "Web Browser" to ask the Web Server to view your Home Page.   This Home Page could be a striking artwork featuring a list of your   favorite albums and a few labeled buttons.  While your music plays   from their speakers they might choose to click on any album that   catches their eye, or go to lists of information sorted by Artist,   Label, or Genre.  Once they get to the page for a particular album,   they might see the artwork, a song list, and other links to follow.   Clicking on a song might pull up the song lyrics, or perhaps even   download the song.  Or they could follow a link you provided from   your page to the HomePage of the artists record company, or to a   magazine interview of the band.  If the information is out there,   your page could link to it.   At last check there were hundreds of thousands of web sites, home   pages, and hosts on the Web.  The contents of those sites are almost   as varied.  Some pages are personal pages containing photos of family   members, lists of hobbies, or the sharing of collections such as song   lyrics.  Some pages are strictly business, selling everything from   abalone to zymoscopes.  Still other pages provide services such as   information searches, and weather reports.   Human culture is based on communication, and the widespread   availability of information and the thought-like constructions of   hypertext are the most powerful new ideas in communication since the   invention of writing.  A glance back at history will easily show how   written language has shaped our societies.  These results are only a   foreshadowing of the things to come.4. How Does the Internet Work?   While it is not necessary to understand how the Internet works in   order to use it, a brief technical overview will introduce you to   some concepts and terms that will be used in the sections ahead.   As we go into more detail here, we are assuming that you, the reader,   have at least a passing familiarity with computers.Section 6.2   provides more information on computer hardware and software.   On one level, networks are built out of wires, phone lines, and other   pieces of hardware, and the Internet is indeed built of all these   things.  The essence of the Internet however is built out of an idea   called the Internet Protocol.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 10]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   There are many different kinds of computers.  Most of them work by   encoding information into ones and zeroes, which they can manipulate   at incredible speeds.  Unfortunately, there are many different ways   of encoding information.  Computers that use different methods can be   said to speak different languages.  In order for computers to talk to   each other there must be a thing called a "Communication Protocol"   that provides a set of procedures for talking and a common language   to use.   The Internet Protocol, or IP, is the Communication Protocol that all   computers on the Internet must use and understand.  It allows   computers to find each other, and to send packages, or "packets", of   information back and forth.  Much like the Postal service reads your   country code, city code, etc., but not the contents of your letter,   the Internet Protocol does not care what is inside most of these   packets of information.  This is a great thing because it means that   other, higher level protocols may transmit any possible kind of   information simply by stuffing it into a packet and handing it off to   the software responsible for speaking IP.   Another important protocol upon which the Internet is built is the   Transmission Control Protocol, or TCP.  IP by itself provides a way   of sending a message to another computer, but no guarantee that it   will get through.  Since reliable communication is a necessity, the   TCP protocol was invented which uses IP to send packets and   guarantees their delivery by requiring the receiver to acknowledge   the information received.  TCP and IP form the heart of a group of   protocols aptly named the TCP/IP protocol suite.  This suite of   protocols provides most of the functionality of the Internet.   We will be mentioning these protocols throughout the rest of the   document.  Information on IP and other Internet Protocols can be   obtained through the resources referenced inSection 10.4.1  Internet Addresses   There are many things we would like to be able to find on the net,   including people, information, and the computers themselves.  An   important part of IP and other protocols is the way they label things   so that the computers can find and identify them.  The U.S. Post   Office finds people by their Postal Address, which is just a label   containing information about who you are, and where you live.   Likewise, the various protocols of the Internet have given computers,   people, and information, addresses which can be used to find them.   The following sections will describe several different kinds of   addresses.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 11]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 19974.1.1 Computer Addresses and Hostnames   When speaking IP, computers locate each other using a thing called   their IP Address.  Each computer on the Internet must have a unique   IP Address.  Some programs allow or require you to use the IP Address   directly, if so, it will appear as four groups of numbers separated   by dots. (i.e., 123.123.123.123) Most of the time though, you will   not need to worry about the actual IP Address number, because all   computers have a "Host Name" to which the number is mapped.   A computers hostname also comes in parts, separated by dots.  The   first part is the name of the machine, and the second part is the   name of the "domain" in which that computer is registered.   For example, if I had a machine named "foo" registered in the   commercial domain known as "com", my machine's hostname would be   "foo.com".  When speaking out loud, this machine's address would be   spoken as "foo dot com".   A domain is just an abstract category to which machines and networks   may be registered into in order to organize them.  Domains are   organized in a hierarchy of top level domains and their subdomains.   Top Level Domains include,         .edu   for educational institutions         .gov   for government sites         .com   for commercial companies         .org   for other organizations         .net   for network infrastructure sites         .us    for sites in the United States         .ca    for sites in Canada         .nl    for sites in the Netherlands         .jp    for sites in Japan   to name a few.  Domain names may be further subdivided by inserting   one or more subdomain names before the top level domain, still   separating everything with dots.  For example, "law.harvard.edu", for   the Law School at Harvard University, and "la.ca.us" for computers in   Los Angeles, California in the United States.   More information about the Domain Naming System can be found in the   documents referenced inSection 10.4.1.2  Addresses of People on the Internet   Every human being has a given name, or full name with which we   address them.  When you begin to use a computer, you will be   introduced to your "username".  Your username, sometimes called yourMax & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 12]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   user i.d., may be your initials, your last name and first initial,   your nickname, a number, or anything else that is just normal letter   or number characters.  (Your username usually cannot contain   "special" characters such as "&", or "%".)  Sometimes you get to   choose your own username, and sometimes your service provider or   system administrator will choose one for you.   Your username is used when you connect to other computers, and to   identify you in electronic mail. Your electronic mail, or Email   Address, will consist of your username followed by the symbol "@",   followed by your computers hostname.   So, for Joe Cool, who has the username "jcool", and gets his Internet   service from Dirigible Online, his email address might be   "jcool@dirigible.com".  When spoken out loud, the "@" symbol is   pronounced simply "at" so this would typically be spoken as "jcool at   dirigible dot com".   Email is moved around on the Internet using the Simple Mail Transfer   Protocol, SMTP, over IP.  Information on SMTP can be found in the   documents listed inSection 10.4.1.3  Information Addresses, Uniform Resource Locators, or URLs.   In order to retrieve information from the Internet, you need to be   able to find it and know how to ask for it.  This is the job of the   Uniform Resource Locator, or URL which functions as an address for   information.  Every file or document intended to be accessible   through the Internet has a URL.   URLs (or simplified versions of them) are now appearing frequently in   TV, billboard, and magazine advertising as a company's Internet   Address; basically the hostname of their web site.   In previous sections we've identified IP Addresses, hostnames and   email addresses; a URL contains more information.  Not only does it   tell you what the information is, and where to find it, it also tells   you precisely which protocol you need to use to retrieve it.   A URL is a machine readable, and hence somewhat cryptic, text string,   in a form such as "http://www.something.com/location/filename.ext".   This string can be broken down into the following pieces.    http    is the name of the communications protocol which can be used            to access the information.  In this case, it identifies the            HyperText Transfer Protocol, which is used in the World Wide            Web, and will be described later.  Other protocols are            described inSection 4.3.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 13]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997      :     separates the protocol from the hostname     //     indicates that what is to follow is the hostname   www.something.com  is the hostname of the computer on which the            document resides.  In this case, the "www" indicates that            it is a machine named for the fact that it is running a            World Wide Web server.  "something.com" is the domain in            which that server is registered.  Typically the "something"            part is the name of the organization running the server.     /      separates the hostname from directory on the machine in            which the information resides.   location is the location of the information on the machine            something.com.   filename is the first part of the file name of the information you            are retrieving.     .      a dot separates the filename from its extension     ext    the extension, or file "type" actually says a great deal            about the file, how to handle it, and how to present it.   The URLs you see will usually be simpler than this.  The people at   something.com assume you are going to use a modern web browser to   access the information, so they may leave off the protocol   information, "http://",  because this is probably your web browsers   default protocol.  Also, if they configure their server to have a   default homepage to display, they can leave off everything after the   hostname part of the URL.  This puts it into the form that is most   commonly seen, www.something.com.   URLs can specify any file and most protocols.  In this example, the   URL is using the protocol for moving HyperText, the HyperText   Transfer Protocol, HTTP, over IP.  More information on HyperText and   HTTP can be found in the next section, and in the Resources section.4.2 How Does the World Wide Web Work?   Web pages are computer files written in a format called HTML, the   HyperText Markup Language.  HTML is the protocol for putting specific   strings of letters and symbols (such as parentheses) into an ordinaryMax & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 14]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   text document which can specify that words link to other pages, or be   viewed in a particular type font, or display images, or many other   things when viewed with the appropriate software.  The appropriate   software would generally be a web browser.  More information about   software tools is provided inSection 6.2.   HTML is simple enough that most people can learn to use it, but rich   enough in possibility that there will always be a thriving community   of people making web pages for others.   Links within a hypertext documented are implemented using references   to the URL of the information to be linked to.   In order to download information from distant places in the web, your   computer will typically be using a protocol called HTTP, the   HyperText Transfer Protocol.  HTTP was designed to allow web browser   software to connect to web server software on other machines and   request the transmission of a web page in the form of an HTML   document and any associated images, audio, video, etc.  The latest   version of the HTTP can actually tell what type of browser is   connecting and the server is now able to better customize its default   homepage to its audience.   More information on HTML, HTTP, and hypertext can be found inSection7.3, and through the references listed in the Resources section.4.3  Other Higher Level Protocols on the Internet.   There are many other higher level protocols built on top of IP.   We've provide examples throughout the document, but we'll mention a   few here to make you more familiar with them.      telnet: a protocol for providing remote terminal service.  Telnet            software allows you to log in to remote computers across the            net by giving you a virtual terminal on that computer.      ftp: the File Transfer Protocol.  FTP allows diverse machines to            send simple files back and forth.  FTP is usually used by            archive sites to allow multiple users to download files            simultaneously.      smtp: the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol.  The SMTP specification            allows electronic mail to be sent, stored, and forwarded,            around the Internet.  SMTP does not specify how a mail            "reader" operates, just the transmission of email.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 15]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997      nntp: the Network News Transfer Protocol.  NNTP specifies how            Internet News is passed, stored and forwarded around the            Internet.      gopher: the Gopher protocol creates linkages, much like the web,            which is called, "gopherspace".  The specification allows            a gopher server to serve files in a text rather than graphic            format.   Many other protocols function on the Internet, and are specified in   technical documents, such as are referenced in the Resources section.5. Forums   Websters defines a forum as "A public meeting place for open   discussion."  In the world that could be a park or an auditorium.  In   the Internet, a forum will be electronic, but it may still feel like   a roomful of people.   Many forums exist on the Internet.  There are interactive forums   where you can share information in real-time and carry on discussions   with others.  There are message-based forums where you send or   receive a message and others involved in that forum can respond   later, and there are archived forums where information is stored, and   may be retrieved by anyone but modified only by its owner.   While we have attempted to list and describe a few of the more   popular forums, we have not created an exhaustive, complete, or up-   to-the-minute list here.  You can find information on forums, lists   and sites in many magazines and books today.5.1 Message-based Communications   In Message-based communication, a message is sent by one user, and   can be received by one or many.  For example, you might send a dinner   invitation to an individual, a couple, or a group.  In the same way,   you send electronic messages to individuals or groups.  Just like a   postal service for physical mail, there are electronic mail servers   for electronic mail.  Just like you have a physical address to which   your physical mail is sent, there is an electronic mail address to   which your electronic mail is sent.   Message-based Communications includes electronic mail, newsgroups,   and bulletin boards.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 16]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 19975.1.1 Email   Electronic mail, called EMAIL, is a system whereby a computer user   can exchange messages with other computer users, or groups of users   via a communications network.  This can be the Internet, or a smaller   internal office network.   Typical use of email consists of downloading messages as received   from a mailbox or mail server, then reading and replying to them   solely electronically using a mail program which behaves much like a   word processor for the most part.  The user can send mail to, or   receive mail from, any other user with Internet access.  Electronic   mail is much like paper mail, in that it is sent, delivered, and   contains information.  That information is usually textual, but new   innovations allow for graphics, and even sound to sent in email.   Email is superior to paper mail in that it can arrive at its   destination within minutes of being sent, and it can be replied to,   appended to, forwarded, formatted, saved, or deleted just as quickly.   Some sites on the Internet run a type of file server which can   respond with a file automatically, for those who have email but not   web or ftp access.   An email address consists of a username, and the address of the   machine to which the mail should be delivered for that user.   ReviewingSection 4.1.2, email addresses take the form   "username"@"site"."domain"  For example, if your name is Joe Cool and   you get your Internet service from Dirigible Online, where you login   as "jcool",  your email address might be "jcool@dirigible.com".   You will usually get your Email address from your System   Administrator, in a work or school environment, or from your Internet   Service Provider.Section 6 provides more information on Internet   Service Providers.5.1.2 Newsgroups   Someday everyone will be able to get their news electronically,   saving paper, money, time, and the environment.   A Newsgroup is an electronic bulletin board system created originally   by the Unix community and which is accessible via the Internet.   Usenet News forms a discussion forum accessible by millions of users   in almost every country in the world.  Usenet News consists of   thousands of topics arranged in a hierarchical form.  Major topics   include "comp" for computer topics, "rec" for recreational topics,Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 17]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   "soc" for social topics, "sci" for science topics, and there are many   others we will not list here.  Within the major topics are subtopics,   such as "rec.music" for general music content, and   "rec.music.classical" for classical music, or "sci.med.physics" for   discussions relating to the physics of medical science.   If you have access to newsgroups, it would be wise to read any   postings on the newsgroup "news.announce.newusers" first.  This   newsgroup provides detailed information on newsgroups, such as   finding the right place to post, and information on newsgroup writing   style.   Local newsgroups are those that are accessible through your   organization or company which contain news that is relevant only to   your organization.  For example, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center,   GSFC, has many internal newsgroups that are of interest only to GSFC   employees and none of the other NASA centers.  Therefore, newsgroups   have been formed to provide internal information to NASA GSFC   employees only and no one else.  Some examples are: gsfc.carpool,   gsfc.dialup or gsfc.220.civil.servants.   Another example of a local newsgroup is news that is posted regarding   your community or the vicinity in which you live.  For example, if   you lived in the Washington D.C. area some of the local newsgroups   might be:  dc.biking, dc.jobs or dc.smithsonian.   Many newsreaders are available, and many web browsers now also   support news.  The URL to use for a newsgroup will have the protocol   news: followed by the group name, as in news:dc.smithsonian.  A   domain address is not necessary, as the browser would be configured   to know which host you will get news from.5.1.3 Electronic Bulletin Board System - BBS   An Electronic Bulletin Board System, or BBS, consists of a computer,   and associated software, typically providing electronic messaging   services, archives of files, and any other services or activities of   interest to the bulletin board systems' operator.   Typically a BBS user must dial into the BBS via their modem and   telephone line, and select from a hierarchy of lists, files,   subdirectories, or other data maintained by the operator.  Once   connected, the user can often send messages to other BBS users within   the system.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 18]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   Although BBSs have traditionally been the domain of hobbyists, an   increasing number of BBSs are connected directly to the Internet, and   many BBSs are currently operated by government, educational,   research, and commercial institutions.   BBSs usually advertise their services in the backs of magazines and   newspapers and by word of mouth.  Many companies now offer a BBS via   which their customers can retrieve their latest technical support   documents and product literature.5.2  Real-Time Communications   The communications methods described inSection 5.1 involve delays   between when you send a message and when you receive a response, with   the result that both parties are not involved simultaneously.  The   net can also be used to communicate in "Real-Time" by making the sure   the delays are short enough that both parties can be involved   simultaneously in a "conversation".   Typically this is done in a text based format where each user has two   special regions on their screen: One that they type in, and another   that the other users type is displayed in.  The delay between when   one user types and the other sees it on their screen is called "net-   lag" and usually ranges from "too short to be aware of" to about 30   seconds.  Lag can occur due to network congestion or a variety of   bottlenecks including link speed, processor speed, and typing speed.   Although it is still rather expensive, it is also possible to use   both audio and video in "Real-Time".  However the reasons for it's   expense are temporary, and you should expect to see more and more of   this in the future.   Forums which communicate in real-time are the Internet Relay Chat   (IRC), the Multi-User Dungeon (MUD), Audio-Video Conferencing (AVC),   and WhiteBoard Systems (WBS).5.2.1  IRC - Internet Relay Chat, WebChat   Internet Relay Chat, or IRC, provides a text-based mechanism for   communication with multiple participants.  IRC is an interactive   forum set up in virtual rooms that you can move between, and where   others can virtually "hang out".  Chat rooms can be used to discuss   common ideas or topics, or as part of a collaborative process.  The   connection method used will be specific to each IRC site.  IRC sites   can be found using search tools, as outlined inSection 5.3.1.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 19]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   Web chat is like IRC but it is done via a web browser, and it is not   a text only forum.Section 6.2 provides more information on web   browser software.   Many webchat sites require the user to register before being able to   participate in the activity.  If any additional software is needed   based on your particular software and PC configuration the site will   point you in the right direction so you can download the necessary   software.   Some sites will provide you with chat etiquette guidelines.  Please   be sure to read the directions before you participate in the chat   session.   Once you begin to chat you may find that there are some abbreviations   used with which you are not familiar.  These abbreviations are for   various actions or phrases.  Some very common ones are: by the way   (btw), in my humble/honest opinion (imho), and ta ta for now (ttfn).Appendix B provides a few Chat sites to start you off.5.2.2  Multicasting   Multicasting is a technical term that means that you can send pieces   of data, called "packets", to multiple sites simultaneously.  How big   a packet is depends on the protocols involved and it may range from a   few bytes to a few thousand.  The usual way of moving information   around the Internet is by using unicast protocols, which send packets   to one site at a time.   You can think of multicasting as the Internet's version of   broadcasting.  A site that multicasts information is similar in many   ways to a television station that broadcasts its signal. The signal   originates from one source, but it can reach everyone in the   station's signal area.  The signal takes up some of the finite   available bandwidth, and anyone who has the right equipment can tune   it in. The information passes on by those who don't want to catch the   signal or don't have the right equipment.5.2.3  MUD - Multi-User Dungeon   A MUD is an interactive game environment where both real other   players and virtual other players exist and with whom you can   communicate to share ideas or solve puzzles, etc.   The word "Dungeon" refers to the setting of many of the original   games of this sort, in which you, our hero, must escape from a   dungeon-like environment where evil goblins, demons, and other "bad-Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 20]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   guys" are wandering around ready to kill you.  Generally the goal, in   order to win the game, is to find and retrieve some treasure, or   reach some hidden place, and find the way out.   MUDs have applications in education, as for problem solving and   leadership skills, as well as in building teamwork to share ideas and   to enhance creativity.  Having a virtual world in which people from   diverse backgrounds and cultures can come, again and again, to work   on a common project, allows ideas to accrue and cultures to grow over   time.   For more information on MUDs, and other collaborative environments,   explore the references in the appendices.5.2.4 Audio Video Conferencing   Audio Video Conferencing has many applications in the arts as well as   in business.  Using the Internet, teachers can reach students who   cannot get to their schools, doctors can give medical consultations   from around the world, and artists can perform in front an audience   they would never have otherwise.   CU-SeeMe is a freeware desktop videoconferencing software tool.  CU-   SeeMe allows Macintosh and Windows users with an Internet connection   and a desktop camera (some go for as little as $100) to see, hear and   speak with other CU-SeeMe users across the world.  This program was   developed at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, USA and is   freely available.   CU-SeeMe allows the user to have a one-to-one communication.  It is   also possible to have a one-to-many or many-to-many communication by   installing a reflector on another machine running the appropriate   software.  The reflector software must be installed on a Unix   machine.  The software can be obtained from Cornell University's CU-   SeeMe page listed inAppendix B.   Whiteboard systems also enhance audio visual conferencing.  A   Whiteboard, which is analogous to a chalkboard, is physically quite   similar.  Using a write-on wipe-off style of whiteboard, which has   been electronically enhanced, allows people on the Internet to share   text, drawings, and other graphic information which is being written   in real-time.   Software exists which allows connections between two sites, or   hundreds, over the Internet, the Web, or your telephone.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 21]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 19975.3  Archives   Archive is defined in Webster's New World Dictionary as:    n. 1 a) a place where public records, documents, etc. are kept b) a    place where material having documentary interest, as private papers,    institutional records, memorabilia, or photographs, is kept.   Archives on the Internet are pretty much the exact same thing.  The   motivation and much of the content is the same, but the media changes   (from paper files, to electronic files), and as such allows for a   much greater diversity of content.   Archives on the Internet also allow many people access to their files   simultaneously, and from all over the world.  Many archives on the   Internet still reside on Anonymous FTP Servers, which allow users to   log in without a user i.d. or password.  When connecting to these   servers the protocol used is "ftp" the File Transfer Protocol, as   mentioned previously inSection 4.3.   Any and all information that people want to make available on the   Internet can be.  This means there is a truly vast amount of   information out there, with more being added every day.  In fact   there is so much information that it is sometimes difficult and   confusing to find the information you want.  This is the topic of our   next section.   Some anonymous ftp sites are provided inAppendix B.5.3.1 Searching   One of the great challenges facing the Internet is how to organize   the vast amounts of information in ways that allow most people to   find what they want.  In theory, there may be a "perfect"   organization, but in practice, we will never achieve it.  This means   that finding the information you want on the net may require some   skill on your part.  Fortunately there are many tools and strategies   that may be helpful.   One of the all time great ideas for finding the information you want   is a thing called a search engine.  A search engine is a computer   program usually living on a remote computer that spends its time   downloading information from other computers and building an index of   what lives where.  This behavior has given them the nickname of Web   Crawlers.  What this means to you, is that you can call up the SearchMax & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 22]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   Engine's home page, and enter in a subject, name, title, or random   string pattern, which is then used to search the engines index for   stuff out on the net that seems related.  This can lead to both a   large volume of information, and some rather startling discoveries of   information from unsuspected sources.   Some of the available Searchers and Indices on the Internet include:   Yahoo      - Index of WWW sites, with search capabilitieshttp://www.yahoo.com/DejaNews   - USENET (news groups) search enginehttp://www.dejanews.com/WebCrawler -http://query.webcrawler.com/Lycos      -http://www.lycos.com/AltaVista  - WWW and USENET search enginehttp://www.altavista.digital.com/Magellan   - Index of reviewed and rated Internet sites, with                search capabilitieshttp://www.mckinley.com/   Yahoo, for example, has a high-level category called "Arts", which   has a multitude of subcategories below it, most of which have further   subdivision, each of which can contain lists of lists.   For example, to find information on Modern Dance, from a starting   point ofhttp://www.yahoo.com/, you can follow the links tohttp://www.yahoo.com/Recreation/Dance/Modern/Groups or simply type   "Modern Dance" into the search field and choose from a list of   selections returned.   On a typical attempt on March 25, 1997, Yahoo returned 4 major   categories of Modern Dance, and offered 82 other links to related   pages around the web.  Statistics, however, can be changing by the   moment.   There are many other Searchers and Indices on the Internet, and a   good way to find them, is to do a search for them in one of the   services above, or others you encounter in your travels.  The   resources inAppendix B may also be helpful.   After experimenting with the available search engines, it quickly   becomes clear that searching on a broad category can result in too   much information.  For example, a recent search at AltaVista for the   subject "Rembrandt" matched over 8500 individual items, including   information on the famous artist (Rembrandt von Rijn (1606-1669)),   His Self-Portrait, a hotel in Thailand (Rembrandt Hotel and Plaza,   Bangkok),  and a pizza restaurant in California.  (The URLs for these   sites are listed under Rembrandt inAppendix B.)Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 23]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   To be more particular in what you find, all of the available search   engines allow you to do compound searches, in which multiple keywords   are used, possibly in combination with Boolean logic operators such   as AND, OR, and NOT. For example, to focus in on Rembrandt the   artist, at the exclusion of pizza cafes, try the following advanced   search in Magellan:   Rembrandt AND artist AND portrait NOT pizza   Note that the method of entering search items differs slightly from   service to service.  When trying a new service, check the available   help topic before searching.  And as with any new skill, practice,   practice, practice!   Test of search scope:     Lycos:     rembrandt.                       1837 relevant documents     Lycos:     rembrandt and artist and portrait   6 relevant documents     Yahoo:     rembrandt                 2 Category and 39 site matches     Yahoo:     rembrandt and artist      2 Category and 11 site matches     AltaVista: rembrandt                        about "10000" documents     AltaVista: rembrandt +artist +museum          about "100" documents     WebCrawler: rembrandt.                     347 matching "rembrandt"     WebCrawler: rembrandt and artist and portrait 21 matching documents     Magellan:  rembrandt                                    666 results     Magellan:  rembrandt and artist and portrait          39379 results   You will notice, in the above statistics, that the numbers for   Magellan are quite different from the others.  This is because   different search engines may function differently.  When you do a   this+that search on Magellan, it looks for all instances of This AND   all instances of That rather than the standard response of Only   documents which contain both This AND That.  On almost all the sites   I have explored, there is an explanation of how the search process   works on that site.  You should read that explanation if you are   having trouble or need further information.   You will also begin to see patterns in the way people name, or file,   their information, which will help you find more information.  Some   may list their links to ART, while others list their links to   PAINTINGS.  Also many people put links to related pages in their   pages, so one page you find that does not have what you are looking   for, may have a pointer to another page that does have what you are   looking for. Searching is an iterative process, keep going from one   search key to another, and continue down multiple levels to see what   is out there.  Its known as Exploring, or Surfing the Net, and it is   a major part of the joy of the Internet.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 24]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 19976. Accessing the Internet   Having decided to explore the Internet, you will need some tools and   information to get you started.   Accessing the Internet in terms of simply receiving, downloading, and   viewing files, uses most of the same tools (software and hardware)   needed to create files and make them available on the Internet.   Sections6 and7 overlap a great deal in the areas of basic hardware   and software.   The Internet can be accessed in many comfortable ways: at school, at   home, at work, and even at trendy CyberCoffeeHouses.  Accessing the   Internet is not synonymous with publishing and displaying on the   Internet, however.  You may need different equipment for creating   content, then you need for retrieving content.Section 6 focuses on   the specific needs of those who wish to create content and publish on   the Internet.   If you live near a major metropolitan area you may have already begun   to see advertising for Internet access from your local telephone   company, or cable TV provider.  Contact them to get information on   equipment needed, services provided, access restrictions and costs   involved.   Local libraries and schools may now offer both Internet Access, and   instruction on Internet related subjects, including getting   connected.  Check the Internet sections of your bookstore and   magazine stands.   Do not be dissuaded if you find limited access.  The Internet will   soon be everywhere, but if you do not want to wait, then you might   consider taking matters into your own hands as these enterprising   youths did...      When several students from large universities returned home to      Taos, NM, a few summers ago, they left behind their Internet      connections.  Missing their connectivity, they approached the      owner of a local bakery and suggested he start an Internet room      where he could charge people by the hour to use the Internet.  The      entrepreneurial baker applied for a government grant and received      a few computers with high speed modems.   You may be able to find a place like this, often called a CyberCafe,   rather than having to create one.  Try your local magazine stand for   the latest periodicals, or your public library or bookstore for   pointers to other people who will know more.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 25]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   Once you have some Internet access, you can find out more about   Cybercafes, InternetCafes, and other physical Internet access points,   by searching as described inSection 5.3.1. and in the newsgroup   alt.cybercafes.6.1 Internet Service Providers   Being an Internet Service Provider (ISP) these days is pretty easy   and can be financially worthwhile, so there are alot of them, and   they are starting and failing every day.  In addition to the   information and pointers you will find in this document, many   organizations exist to help you locate, and choose a service   provider.   As with any service, be sure to get references, and get their   features and terms in writing.  Some ISPs provide access only to   their site, others may provide email only, or provide access to the   web but charge by the minute for access.  Have some idea of what you   want to do and what the vendor provides before making any deals.   Many Internet Service Providers offer free instruction to get you   started in accessing the Internet as well as creating content.  With   the competition of Internet providers, you should be able to find one   or two that offer the instruction you need.   Some organizations exist solely to recommend those who pay them.   Most Internet related magazines these days will contain extensive   advertising by ISPs in your area.   As discussed inSection 4.1, every machine on the Internet needs an   address by which it is accessed.  Even machines which are only   browsing need an address to which the browsed information is   returned.  This is actually called your IP address.  The address is   the number with which your hostname is associated.  Usually you will   get your IP address from your work, school, or ISP when you get your   configuration information for your Internet connection.  If you were   trying to get an IP Address on your own, you would go to the Internet   Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).   More information about IANA, IP addresses, and domain names can be   found in the information referenced in the Resources section.6.2  Computer Hardware and Software Tools   A basic computer system consists of a box containing a Central   Processor Unit (CPU), main controller (motherboard), and FloppyMax & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 26]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   Drive.  It will also come with a keyboard, and you will need a Hard   Drive, Memory, and a Video Monitor.  How much memory, how large a   hard drive, and how fabulous a monitor, will vary with your needs and   experience.  To connect to an ISP you will usually also need a modem.   This is simply an overview to familiarize you with some basic terms.   There are many current magazines devoted to computer and Internet   related subjects now available in most bookstores and magazine stands   which provide much better and more timely information on computers,   operating systems, software, and peripherals.   There are many types of computers available including Personal   Computers (PCs), Apple Macintosh Computers (Macs), and various Unix   based Workstations.  The most affordable systems are generally PCs   and Macs.   You may also need to choose an Operating System (OS) for the machine   you choose.  PCs can run a version of "DOS", anything from Microsoft   (Windows, NT, Windows95, etc.), or a version of Unix (BSDI, FreeBSD,   Linux, etc.) Macs can run the common Mac Windows, or Apples version   of Unix.  Workstations generally run a Unix derived OS, but there are   also quite a few machines available which run their own proprietary   OS.   Each type of system has its features, functions, and drawbacks, as   well as its proponents and opponents.  Each system has different   costs associated with it.  You will need to understand much of this   before you are ready to buy your first computer.  Much of the free   software available on the Internet, for example, was written for the   Unix operating system because that has been the main OS of the   Internet for many years.  That, of course, doesn't mean there isn't   alot of free software available for other OSs, Windows software, for   example, is becoming quite popular.  The system of choice for most   musicians is the Mac because of the variety and quality of the music   software available for them. Windows users will need a pc to run   their software.  Now, actually, there are many operating systems   available for personal computers.   Common operating systems come in two basic types; single tasking and   multi-tasking.  This is a reference to how many different things or   "tasks" the computer "seems" to be doing at once.  The earliest   computers were single tasking.  They did only one thing at a time,   and could be used by only one person at a time.  DOS is a modern   example of a single tasking operating system.  Since people rarely do   more than a few things every second, this often left the computer   simply waiting around for the next keystroke.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 27]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   Even back then, computers could do all the work needed to listen to a   human in a few milliseconds every second, so time-slicing was   invented to get more use out of computers.   A time-slicing operating system is said to be Multi-tasking. It   executes programs in little slices of time, typically shorter than 25   milliseconds (or 1/40 of a second) and switches to another task for   each new slice.  If you remember that most video runs at 25 or 30   discrete frames per second, and yet humans perceive it as continuous,   you can see how time-slicing can provide a convincing illusion of   doing many things at the same time.   Multi-tasking operating systems have the option of being set up as   single-user or Multi-user machines Windows 95 and the MacOS are   modern examples of multi-tasking operating systems that were designed   to be used by a single user most of the time.  Other operating   systems, such as UNIX, VMS, NT, and others are more prepared to be   set up as multiuser machines.  Multiuser machines are typically   connected to a network, or a network of terminals, so that more than   one person can use the processor and other peripherals at the same   time.   Some operating systems can also take advantage of Parallel Processing   hardware that actually does more than one thing at a time.  However   as of this writing, this hardware is somewhat rare and expensive, so   we won't go into the details here.   Different OSs also have different File Systems.  The File System is   the way in which your programs and other computer files are stored   and displayed.  Different Operating Systems also have different "User   Interface"s.  The User Interface is the way in which you interact   with the computers OS.  Some use "Text" interfaces, which require the   user to type all commands using a keyboard.  Others use a "Graphical"   user interface, which provides graphical images of buttons and icons   which the user "clicks" on to start programs and perform save and   delete functions among other things.   In order for the software to run on the computer, the software must   be written specifically for the operating system.  Just like Internet   traffic must use the Internet Protocol, software must speak the OS   language of the computer on which it wants to run.  Translation   programs exist, but there are still problems.   One of the problems is with file"names".  The DOS Operating System,   for example, supports names that consist of an 8-character filename,   and a 3-character "extension", separated by a ".".  For example   "foo.txt", and "myprog.exe" are valid DOS filenames, but sadly,   "foo.html" is not.  This means that HTML files on a dos system mustMax & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 28]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   use the extension ".htm" rather than the ".html" extension used on   many other systems.  This problem also affects many other common   extensions such as ".jpeg", ".mpeg" and others.   A filename's extension is very important in that it tells not only   you, but your software, the kind of file it is, and what it needs in   order to be understood.  For example, when your web browser   encounters a file with a .html or .htm extension, it will assume it   is hypertext, and will know how to display it and follow its links.   When it gets a .txt file, it knows to display it, and that it will   have no links.  Your browser can also be configured to understand   other file formats which can be made to be displayed with the   browser, or another program, or saved to disk, etc.  For example, you   might configure your browser to start up Word when it encounters a   .doc file.   File extensions indicate file format.  Just as there are different   file extensions for different text file formats, there are different   extensions for different graphic file formats.  That goes for sound   file formats, video file formats, data base files, and others.   Different software understands different file formats and will create   and display only those formats it understands.  For this reason,   software which translates a file from one format to another is often   necessary.   For example, if you create a file with Microsoft Word you will   usually save it in Word's native format as a ".doc" file. You can   also choose the "save as" option to save it as plain text in the .txt   file format.  Although some format information will be lost in the   translation, words and numbers should remain unchanged.  If you   wanted to give others access to the file, and you couldn't assume   that they all have Word, you would want to present it in .txt format.   Note that a .txt file is also easily formatted into .html.   File formats and extensions are discussed throughout the following   sections.   After you've resolved to some extent, what it is you want to do, and   what hardware and OS you'll need, there are a great deal of software   packages available to help you with all sorts of things on the   computer.   Software designed to make your life easier by using your computer,   include dictionaries and other reference materials, accounting,   bookkeeping desktop publishing and other business needs software, asMax & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 29]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   well as landscape and architectural planning software, health and   nutrition software, educational and entertainment software, and much,   much more.  Your computer need not only be your link to the world,   but also a major organizational tool in your life.   For accessing the Internet, you'll need communication software.   There are a few different pieces to this part of the puzzle.  There   is the software which communicates between the operating system and   the modem or network card, there's the software which speaks IP and   allows communication over the Internet, and there's the software   which you use which is called the "user interface", or application   program.  For accessing the web, your application will be a "web   browser".   Web browsers are available in stores that sell software packages, and   are also available free on the Internet.  Since you would not be able   to reference the online material without a browser, and since most   available periodicals will be likely to focus on commercial browsers,   the Resources section provides a pointer to a free browser available   by mail for the cost of postage, or over the Internet using the File   Transfer Protocol, FTP.   Ftp software is available both free and commercially.  Other Internet   communication software, referenced throughout this document, are   email, news, gopher, and telnet among others.   With any system, you should ensure that it contains the software and   hardware necessary to maintain both itself and your data.  While   computer data is not particularly fragile, it is still sometimes lost   due to hardware or software problems or simple human error.  For this   reason it is considered important to "back up" your system by making   extra copies of important data.  While simply copying data onto   floppy disks could work, the small storage size of the disks makes it   both time consuming and prone to human error.  Many large capacity   disk and tape drives are available with special software specifically   for doing backups.  It is highly recommended that you purchase a   backup solution along with your computer.   It is also important to protect your data from being damaged by   computer viruses.  When you connect to the net and move data back and   forth, it is possible that there can be a small piece of software   called a "virus" that could hide in some of the data and infect your   system, possibly then using your system to infect other machines that   you connect to.  These viruses are often created by misguided people   as a sort of computer prank, and can accidentally or maliciouslyMax & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 30]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   damage your data.  Fortunately it is possible to obtain virus   checking software that can regularly scan your system to see if it   has been infected.  This software is important whether you are   downloading information from the net, or using other peoples floppy   disks.  SeeSection 8.2 for more information on viruses.   Determining your ideal hardware and software configuration will take   some time and patience.  You need an understanding of what you want   to do, and how, and whether you wish to simply view, or create.   You'll also want to know the limitations and expandability potential   of the system, so you can determine if it will have a useful   lifespan.  If the machine cannot grow for the foreseeable few years,   it will become obsolete before its given you its fullest value.6.3 Multimedia   When one media is not enough.   Depending upon your needs, you may require special hardware installed   in the machine, or attached externally by cables.  These additional   pieces of hardware are known as peripherals.   The peripherals needed for accessing information on the Internet   might include the following:   - a sound card and speakers to hear sounds, music, speech, etc.   - a CD-ROM player to read commercially available computer CDs   - midi equipment for audio artists   - video equipment   - a printer to make hardcopy of files, or images   - Other equipment for creating content SeeSection 7.   Most of these peripherals will also require specialized software.  If   you plan to purchase all the hardware and software at once, find a   vendor who will connect and test all the hardware, software, and   peripherals for you.  Due to the complexity of these systems, they   can be difficult to configure for the inexperienced user.   Also, verify that the vendor will stand behind their equipment, and   this configuration in the event that it doesn't work the way you want   it to.  Hook the system up, and test it extensively right away, so as   to determine any problems before your warrantee period expires.   Many of the Internet related periodicals available run articles on   choosing a computer, as well as the latest software and hardware news   and reviews.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 31]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   You can also explore the pointers inAppendix B for the information   you need.7.  Creating Content   As the hardware and software of the net becomes cheaper and better   understood, the technology itself will become less important than the   content which lives on the net.  Many of the rewards of the Internet   will go to the people who create such content.   There are different ways to add content to the Internet.  One may   start with pre-existing content, such as paintings or stories, and   find a place for it, or one may create content specifically for the   computer such as web pages, graphics, video and audio files, etc.   Let us for the moment assume that you have already created something   which you would like to make available on the net.  There are many   ways in which you could do this.  You could deal with agencies who   provide this service professionally, find friends or others willing   to do it for free or barter, or get yourself on the net in some   fashion, learn, and create a place for it yourself.   If you chose to do it yourself, you will need your own computer and   some form of Internet access from an Internet Service Provider (ISP)   or Web Space Provider (WSP).   Once you have a place to put your content, you will need to   understand a little more about file formats.  Images may have to be   digitized, audio may have to be recorded into computer files, etc.   While hardware, such as image scanners, are readily available, there   are also many other options available.  For example, most print, or   copy shops today can do high quality image scans and some photolabs   now provide photos-on-disk as one of their services.   If you are placing your content on the Web, a web page must be   created for it in the form of an HTML document.  While this is easy   enough to do yourself, many WSPs also offer this service, and there   are also independent web page designers who may be able to do a   better job.   Creating online content involves moving your art into an electronic   form and then perhaps, re-formatting it for the Internet.  For some   art forms, the initial electronic step is fairly painless: typing a   short story, poem, novel, or other text into HTML is fairlyMax & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 32]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   straight forward.  Moving a computer graphic to the Internet may   require a conversion program to make it useful to others.  Performing   arts, sculpture, and other pieces may be more difficult to capture on   a computer disk, and may require more work and creative thinking.   Much of the information needed to help you think creatively about   publicizing your work online is available in classes, books, local   Internet cafes, and on the Internet itself.  Many Internet magazines   are available for subscriptions or individual issues can help get you   started.  Most new bookstores and, to some extent, used bookstores   provide numerous volumes of Internet information.  However, even the   most recently published books may contain outdated information.  The   latest 'standards' can be obtained directly from the Internet   Engineering Task Force, or IETF, athttp://www.ietf.org/.  The   document you are reading now is a product of that organization.  The   documents of the IETF are collected and maintained on anonymous ftp   sites, as well as in the web.  These sites are referenced in the   Resources section, andAppendix B.   A really good way to learn how to write html documents is to look at   the source code of html files already available.  Just use your   browser to look for pages you like, and then use your browsers "view   source" feature to see how it was done.   If however, you learn better by having someone teach you, you may be   interested in taking a HTML or Internet Introduction course at a   local college.  Most larger metropolitan area schools provide classes   for the basics, which can also expose you to other artists.  Make   sure you read the course description; some courses may only cover   accessing the Internet while you may want to actually be creating   documents.  If no colleges in your area offer classes, contact the   computer science department or the continuing education office and   suggest a topic.  If the school can obtain enough support, they may   offer a class the following semester.   Artists in smaller communities may need to rely more heavily upon   online sources of information.Appendix B provides some useful sites   to get you started.7.1  Getting Help   Once you are connected to the Internet, there are many more ways of   getting help with it.  Try the forums, listed inSection 5, such as   Newsgroups, Bulletin Boards, and Chat rooms.  If you have checked the   local netiquette guidelines, and behave accordingly, the Internet   community will usually be very helpful toward new arrivals.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 33]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   When looking for good consultants and web page designers, start with   the sites you like, and find out who did their pages.  Discuss your   needs with other artists, or check the phone book, library, books,   magazines and other periodicals for artist collectives and groups who   may be available to assist you.  Look for groups whose cause is   artistically motivated, rather than trusting people who are paid to   point you at a particular consultant or assistant.   Know what you want.  If it takes you a while to figure out what you   want, take that time.  This should not be something you are rushed   into.  The Internet is not going to go away.  Whatever you decide to   do, do not be afraid to ask for references.  A good provider of   services will always be happy to provide you with a list of happy   customers.7.2 About File Formats   As described inSection 6.2, there are many file formats available on   the Internet.  You'll need to understand a bit more about the formats   you'll want to present, in order to create them for others to see.   Some formats are called Public Domain, and are freely copyable, and   the software tools used to create this content is available for you   and others to download off the net.  Other formats are called   "proprietary", and are only readable and creatable using software   that must be purchased from the vendor who created it, or their   authorized reseller.   Some formats, and their associated formatting tools, come along with   other software packages.  For example, Microsoft Windows comes with a   Sound Recorder, which makes and plays back .wav files.  Apple also   offers Quicktime free for their OS, as well as Windows and others,   which also records and plays back .wav files.  So many Internet   explorers already have access to tools which will allow them to hear   your .wav file, if you were so inclined.  They may not, however, have   a player for a proprietary format for which they would need special   software.   When creating content for the Internet, its important to consider the   format most likely to be understood by your target audience.   More information on file formats can be found at:http://www.matisse.net/files/formats.html andhttp://rodent.lib.rochester.edu/multimed/contents.htm   Some artists are actually using html as an artform in itself and are   helping to push the boundaries of this exciting new medium.  The   current HTML specification can be found in the RFCs referenced in the   Resources section.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 34]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 19977.3 Creating Text and Hypertext Documents   Text files are stored on a computer by encoding the text in ASCII,   "American Standard Code for Information Interchange", which   substitutes a distinct number for each character of text, and stores   the result in a file.  Text files are often given the file extension   ".txt".   Text files can be created in many ways.  The two most common types of   programs used are called "text editors" and "word processors".   Actually both types of programs are similar.  They both allow you to   move around within the document, and add, delete, and otherwise   modify text, as well as create and save text files.  Word processors   differ from text editors in that they usually also have a great deal   of options for formatting and printing text, and may support   alternative file formats, such as ".doc" which inserts many   formatting commands that are understood by printers, but not always   by browsers.   Since HTML formatting is simply ASCII text with special formatting   commands, you may use either text editors or word processors to   create a ".html" file.  Alternatively, there are many Web authoring   tools that will allow you to use a graphical interface to specify how   you want your page to look, and will automatically generate the HTML   formatting commands and output an ".html" file directly.   Text editors, Word Processors, and other document creation tools are   available both freely and commercially for all operating systems.   Look to currently available computer related books and periodicals to   provide sources of information about text editors, word processors,   and document and web page authoring tools.   HTML is a technical specification of the Internet Engineering Task   Force, and the most current documents can be found on the IETF   site(s) listed in the Resources Section.7.4  Creating Graphic and Moving Images   Whether you want to put your existing images on the Internet, or   create new images using electronic creation tools, there are a few   basic pieces of information which will be useful.  The following two   sub-sections provide an overview of image formats, and creation   tools.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 35]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 19977.4.1  Bitmap Image Formats   Pictures may be stored on computers in many different ways.  One of   the most common, is a simple bitmap consisting of a list of pixel   colors, and header information describing how to map this list of   pixels back into the image.  Bitmap formats are .bmp in windows, and   Bitmap images may be created by scanning in existing images, or by   creating images directly on the computer, using programs such as   Adobe Photoshop, Corel Photo Paint, Windows Paintbrush, and many   others available both freely and commercially.   A scanner works very much like a copy machine, or fax machine, in   that it "scans" your artwork or text and "encodes" it into a machine   readable format of numbers and formulas.  A scanner is a hardware   tool, and usually comes with at least some of the software you need   to use it.  Generally it will connect to your computer and you will   either place your work on it, or run the scanner slowly over your   work, depending on the type of scanner you select.  Scanners are only   available commercially, and come in a variety of sizes and styles   with a variety of features and prices.  As with all computer tools,   understanding what you want to accomplish will help you decide what   you need to purchase.   Since it can take a lot of data to encode an image, there are many   different kinds of file formats that contain compressed versions of   the file data.  These formats vary greatly in how they compress the   data.  Two of the most popular compressed image formats on the net   are .gif and .jpg.   GIF, short for Graphic Image Format, compresses an image by reducing   the number of colors in the palette the image is reconstructed from,   allowing them to shrink down the size of the color specification for   each pixel.  Even if you only save a few bits per pixel, there are   typically enough pixels that the savings are significant.  Under   extreme amounts of compression, images start to look like childrens   coloring books, but it is possible to get great looking images with   moderate amounts.  GIF files typically use the extension ".gif".   The JPEG format uses complex mathematics to approximate the whole   image.  Under extreme amounts of compression, images start to look   like bizarre cubist interpretations of the original image, but   because everything about the image is compressed, it is still   possible to get dramatic reductions in file size while retaining   acceptable image quality.  JPEG files typically use the extensions   ".jpeg" or ".jpg"Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 36]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   Both of these formats are what is known as "lossy" compression   because they actually lose information from the original image, thus   degrading (hopefully by a negligible amount) the image quality.   There are also "lossless" compression schemes that offer smaller   reductions in file size, but allow perfect reconstruction of the   image.7.4.2  Vector Image Formats   Another way images may be stored is in "vector" format.  This format   is useful because of one of the techniques for creating images on a   computer.  There are programs that allow you to create images by   creating shapes like circles and polygons, and specifying colors for   them.  If the entire image is constructed this way, it is possible to   encode the list of information describing each polygon using only a   fraction of the information it would take to describe each pixel.   Vector images also have the wonderful quality that they may be scaled   without loss of image quality.  For example, if you were to enlarge a   bitmap image of a circle large enough to see individual pixels, you   will find that pixels are actually square dots, and if enlarged   enough, the circle will have very jagged edges.  However if you   enlarge a vector image of a circle, it remains perfect down to the   limit of resolution of the screen or printer, because it is stored as   the mathematical representation of a circle which is independent of   scale.   For this reason, much commercial art and layout is often done in   vector formats.   Vector formats may be created using many commercially available   software packages, and many freely copyable conversion tools are also   available.7.4.3  Video Formats   Images received by the retina of the eye persist for a short period   of time, and then fade.  A sequence of images or "frames", with small   changes, sufficiently close together, will give the illusion of a   moving picture.  How much of the picture changes between one image   and the next affects how smoothly or jerkily the movement will   appear.  Frame rates of 10 per second and above are enough to give a   reasonably realistic rendition of natural scenes.  In fact, the way   that motion is perceived by the human brain means that less detail is   required in fast moving segments of a picture.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 37]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   Video on your television, or Video Cassette Recorder (VCR), is   formatted quite differently from video formatted for viewing,   storage, and transmission over the Internet.  Disk space and   bandwidth being constantly at a premium, methods of compressing video   data have been developed to shrink the size these video files might   otherwise be.   Just as described inSection 7.4.1. regarding compression of static   images, there are different compression utilities and formats for   video images.  There are many video compression formats, and we have   provided information on two here.   MPEG (pronounced M-peg), stands for Moving Picture Experts Group.   The mpeg format creates files with a .mpg or .mpeg extension.  Mpeg   players are freely available on the Internet.  Mpeg files can be   created using a number of commercially available products.  More   information on mpeg can be found by following the links available inAppendix B under Video Resources.   Quicktime was created by Apple, and is currently available for both   Macintosh and Windows systems.  Quicktime files have a .wav extension   and can be played with many freely available viewers.  Quicktime   creation and viewing tools can be found via the links inAppendix B.   There are other video formats being created all the time.7.5  Music and Sound   The World Wide Web supports audio data as well as visual data.  The   most obvious way to send audio across the net would be to use digital   audio like that used for the Compact Disc or "CD".  However, CD   format digital audio requires 44,100 16 bit words per second for a   mono signal, and twice that for a stereo signal.  While there are   many places where one can find digital audio in Windows ".wav", or   the Macintosh ".au" format, these files typically take a very long   time to download even a few seconds of audio.  The size of these   formats makes them too inefficient for widespread use on the net   today.   It is however possible to do "useful" audio over the net. The   emerging "de facto" standard seems to be _RealAudio_, based on the   freely distributable server/player application, _RealAudio_ version   2.0, developed by the Seattle based company Progressive Networks.   First released in 1995, RealAudio allows useable digital audio in   realtime over a 28.8 kB line, and has already been put into service   on the home pages of most major record companies as well as in many   niche applications.  In addition, RealAudio provides a "Voice mode"   optimized for understandable speech transmission over a 14.4kB line.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 38]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   Unfortunately the quality of _RealAudio_ leaves much to be desired.   In particular, the sample rate in Music Mode is only 8Khz (as   compared to CD quality 44.1 Khz), meaning that all high frequencies   above 4khz are simply missing.  The resulting audio is still pleasing   to listen to, but sounds very dull and dark.   More information about RealAudio can be found at www.RealAudio.com.   Clearly Digital Audio is the way of the future, but until more   bandwidth is available to the average person, it may not be the way   of the present.  Fortunately, at least in the area of music, there is   an interesting alternative.   MIDI (the Musical Instrument Digital Interface), as developed for   electronic musical instruments (keyboards, samplers, drum machines,   etc.) works well for certain kinds of music over the net.  It   involves sending no sound sources at all, just the description of the   music -- kind of like the score, without the instruments.  If the   receiver has the right instruments on their computer (such as the   sounds defined in the General Midi soundset found on many   soundcards), they can play back the musical score.   The big disadvantage to using MIDI is that other than the limited   selection of sounds in the General Midi set, it is extremely   difficult to make sure the music sounds more than approximately like   the original.  And there is no way to handle non-MIDI instruments   such as guitar or voice, so it is useless to hear the new song by   your favorite rock and roll band.   The big advantage to MIDI is how fast it works over slow net   connections.  For example, five minutes of music, fits in a mere 30k   file, and usually will not take more than a few seconds even on the   slowest of dialup connections!  This makes it ideal for applications   such as networked games, or music to go along with a web page.   There are many ways of embedding MIDI files into HTML documents, for   Internet distribution.   Anyone who wants to add MIDI to a page can choose to use existing   public access MIDI file banks, of which there are many, or to produce   new MIDI themselves.   Crescendo is one package available for embedding MIDI files in HTMLhttp://www.liveupdate.com Crescendo works for both Macintosh and   Windows.   Helpful Links: Publicly Available Audio and Music Applicationshttp://reality.sgi.com/employees/cook/audio.apps/public.htmlMax & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 39]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   Music of J.S. Bach for keyboardftp://ftp.cs.ruu.nl/pub/MIDI/SONGS/CLASSICAL/BACH/HARPSICHORD/   RISM (repertoire of manuscript sources), plus other access to online   scholarly music resources.http://rism.harvard.edu/RISM/   Crescendo is used in the web pages athttp://mcentury.citi.doc.ca   along with a growing number of others.  One very interesting use of   Crescendo occurs on the Music Theory Online publication, a serious   scholarly site for publishing and debating musicology and music   theory.  Articles there now routinely include short musical examples,   a great sign of the future of scholarly publishing in the age of   dynamic, interactive content.http://boethius.music.ucsb.edu/mto/issues/mto.96.2.4/   Formerly, debate on musical form and structure occurred in the pages   of journals, referring usually to music examples in terms of its   visual notation.  This notation requires a certain degree of training   to decode, effectively restricting the potential readership to those   with this professional training.  With sound examples embedded   directly in the text, at least the aural effect of the music comes   across, even to those unable to read the notation accurately.  This   shift is appropriate to the newer trends in music scholarship, which   talk about music in terms of its social and cultural context, instead   of only in formal terms.7.6  Content Design Issues   Know your intended audience.  If you want more people to see your   work, you'll need to make it more accessible.   Many sites are very careful about what content they will allow access   to.  If you want all audiences to be able to view your work, make   sure you are careful about your content and language.   Another content design issue is tool friendliness.  Some machines   have limitations which will not allow them to see or hear what you'd   like them to.  For example, older or less expensive models of   monitors may have monochrome, or one-color displays, or display only   16 colors, or 256 colors.  If you create and view images which look   fabulous with a 64,000 color display, you may want to test them using   a 16 color display to see what the effect is.  Sometimes you can   modify your image slightly to get a wider audience while only having   a minor impact on the effect.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 40]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   The following sites give you pointers on what to consider when   designing a web page that is content- rich:   - Sun's Guide to Web Style -http://www.sun.com/styleguide/   - Yale C/AIM Web Style Guide -http://info.med.yale.edu/caim/manual/   - Web Development -http://www.december.com/web/develop.html   - A Guide to Creating a Successful Web Site =http://www.hooked.net/~larrylin/web.htm   - Bandwidth Conservation Society -http://www.infohiway.com/faster/This is resource for web developers with an interest in optimizing     performance.   SeeSection 8 for other issues and challenges relating to content.   Artists should post how they want their art treated on the web, and   how it may be used and post their copyright notice there.   For example, some artists allow their work to be used freely as long   as it is not used for financial gain, and request that people contact   them for permission if they wish to use their works for a commercial   purpose.   Artists need to be aware that when people view their works from the   web, their art is downloaded to the viewers computer as that is how   browsers work.7.7  Publicizing your work   The fastest way to publicize your work on the Internet, is to have   the most popular sites link to your pages.  There are many sites on   the net, such as the search sites mentioned earlier, that are   interested in listing a pointer to your site for their own purposes.   It is also helpful to have other artists link to your site and it is   great to have other art sites link to you as well.  "Art on the Net",   Art.net, offers free linking to artist sites and provides this as a   service to the artist community on the Internet.  There are also   other art related sites which do this.   It can also be helpful to put your URL on your business card.   The Internet's origins in the Research and Education communities   played an important role in the foundation and formation of Internet   culture.  This culture defined rules for network etiquette   (netiquette), and communication based on the Internet's being   relatively off-limits to commercial enterprise.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 41]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   Certain styles of marketing and advertising will therefore not be   effective on the Internet, and mass mailings or inappropriate   postings to newsgroups, will most likely do more harm to your   enterprise than good.  If you intend to do marketing on the Internet,   please read the Netiquette Guidelines documentRFC 1855 listed in the   Resources section.8.  Issues and Challenges   The Internet has many issues and challenges, among which are   security, privacy, property rights, copyrights and freedom of speech.   Security issues involve both the security of your data, as well as   your image.  Viruses can be transmitted easily over the net, and   precautions should always be taken.  If you choose to keep your own   information available on the net it can be the subject of vandalism   and theft.  You may also find yourself being persecuted for the   information you provide as more and more people join the Internet   community and feel the need to impose their morality upon it.   This is no different from any society.  We must draw our own lines,   and our own conclusions.  This section is terribly brief, and   entirely summary in nature, and is in no way intended to be   comprehensive.  It is intended to warn you and advise you.  If you   have real concerns about your property rights, copyrights, and/or   personal rights, please do your own research.  Internet laws are in   such a state of flux that they are changing as I write this, and they   will be changing as you read it.   At last check, however, freedom of speech was prevailing in the   United States, and so far the government has not upheld any laws   prohibiting the exhibition of anything on the Internet.  Support your   local constitutional rights.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 42]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 19978.1 Security Issues   There are three major security areas of which the Internet user   should be aware; Security of content, Site security, and Security of   ownership.   Security of Content, ensures that that which you put on the Internet   is not altered, or vandalized.  Some Web Servers are inadequately   secured, allowing vandals to modify your pages on your web sites,   without your knowledge or permission.  If your pages are your   business, you can imagine the problems this might cause.  Your words,   art, and other work could be changed, your image tarnished.  If you   cannot ensure that the content of your site cannot be corrupted, at   least check it frequently to ensure that it has not been.  Keep   frequent back-ups and periodically verify that you can retrieve data   from them.   Site security, will protect your data from viruses, worms, and sneak   piracy.  Some software pirates, on the Internet, use unsuspecting   sites to run their schemes.  Anonymous FTP servers which have write   permission are most vulnerable.  Pirates can upload software onto   your machine using cryptic filenames you may not even see in standard   directory listings, and then publish the softwares whereabouts for   others to download.  Not only will this compromise your reputation on   the Internet for responsible system administration, it may make you   liable for damages.  Learn what you need to learn to secure your   system, or hire some security muscle to tighten down your site for   you.Section 11 provides some good information to get you started.   Security of Ownership, involves copyrights and intellectual property   laws.  If your work is your livelihood, having your rights   compromised could be disastrous.Section 8.4 provides an   introduction to copyrights.   This document only intends to bring the issues to your attention, and   does not aspire to thoroughly cover these subjects.   Please read another project of the IETF, the Site Security Handbook   (FYI 8,RFC 2196),ftp://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc2196.   The Handbook is a guide to developing computer security policies and   procedures for sites that have systems on the Internet.  The purpose   of this handbook is to provide practical guidance to administrators   trying to secure their information and services.  The subjects   covered include policy content and formation, a broad range of   technical system and network security topics, and security incident   response.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 43]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997Section 11 provides more information on site security.8.2 Viruses   A "virus" is a program that modifies other programs by placing a copy   of itself inside them.  It cannot run independently.  It requires   that its host program be run to activate it.   The damage caused by a virus may consist of the deletion of data or   programs, maybe even reformatting of the hard disk, but more subtle   damage is also possible.  Some viruses may modify data or introduce   typing errors into text.  Other viruses may have no intentional   effects other than replicating itself.   Viruses can be transmitted over the Internet inside other programs,   but usually they are transmitted by floppy disk.  Your best bet is to   purchase a really versatile and up-to-date virus checking program   from your local software retailer, and run it over every floppy you   plan to read, and every program you plan to run, as well as   periodically over the entire machine.   Computer viruses are enough like organic viruses that many of the   same precautions apply.  Early detection is key.  Diligence will   mitigate potential damage, but frequent incremental backups are your   best strategy for recovery.8.3  The Standard Disclaimer   As you have observed throughout the document, it is not common for   you to get Internet access without having a provider of that access.   Some Providers, such as universities and business, often require that   you provide a disclaimer on every page stating that your opinions are   your own, and not necessarily those of your affiliation.  What   follows is a  sample Standard Disclaimer:      This information is provided as-is. No warranty as to the accuracy      is guaranteed.  Opinions expressed are entirely those of myself      and/or my colleagues and cannot be taken to represent views of our      employer.  If you notice something incorrect or have any comments,      feel free to mail me.   Other examples of disclaimers can be found via the search links   listed inAppendix B.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 44]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 19978.4 Copyrights and Intellectual Property Issues   The arrival of the Information Age has emphasized many questions that   human society must answer.  One of the most important of these is the   question of "Intellectual Property", which asks: "when and where is   it appropriate to allow people to own information?"   Copyright, Trademark, and Patent law are some of society's responses   to earlier versions of this question.  They support the idea of   ownership of ideas, or information, which can be used to assist the   creators of the information in making a living from its creation.   This is good for society.   It is also good for society for information to flow freely.  Our   technology, and even our society are built on a growing pool of   shared information.  If we restrict the flow of information into that   pool, then we restrict the rate at which society grows and becomes   wiser.   These two opposing drives have been highlighted by our newfound   ability to distill many different things down to information that can   be stored on a computer.  One of the computers greatest virtues is   that once you network them together, the information they hold   becomes more fluid, more easily moved, changed or copied.  This is   great for society, but may not be so great if you spent your life   creating that "information", and would like compensation.   Because Copyright, Trademark, and Patent law were never designed for   an economy built out of information, understanding how they apply to   your information can be a tricky thing.  Since these laws vary from   place to place, it is also difficult to know how to apply them to the   Internet which has no definite location.  Worse yet, most of these   laws are in the process of being rewritten today, a state that will   continue for a long time because no one seems to know what to do   about it.   With that in mind though, here is how things stand today...8.4.1 Copyright   A Copyright is first established when a work is "set in media", which   extends from paper to the Internet.  A work, once published in a web   page, for example, is said to be "owned" by its owner.  However,   applying for, and being granted, a copyright on your work by The   Copyright Office of the Library of Congress will give your rights   more legal weight.  Whether you plan to put your own works on the   Internet, or simply download the works of others, you may want to   familiarize yourself with the rights granted by "Copyright" as wellMax & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 45]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   as The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic   Works.   Sample Copyright Notice      Permission is granted to transfer this document electronically      only for the purposes of viewing it on the world wide web. Subject      to fair use provisions, the right to print this document or to      make electronic copies of this document available to others is      expressly retained although direct requests will be considered.8.4.2 Trademark   A Trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or the combination   of words, phrases, symbols or designs, used to identify and   distinguish the goods or services of one party from those of others.   Trademark issues include both Trademarks which you own, and   Trademarks which are owned by others.  If you own your own Trademark,   you may want to familiarize yourself with legal ways of protecting   it.  Some of the pointers inAppendix B provide that information, but   we recommend retaining your own legal council.   Trademark Infringement occurs when there is a "likelihood that   consumers will be mislead or confused as to the source or origin of   the goods or services.  This is the basic test used under both common   law, and U.S. Federal Law.   One issue regarding Trademarks on the Internet, is that of Domain   Names which resemble, or infringe upon registered Trademarks.  Each   case is being handled individually, and the text of cases can be   found on many Internet sites.  The short version is that if a Domain   Name is registered in good faith, "innocent registrations", the   register can often keep the name, however, if the domain name is   being used by a competitor, or to "force the trademark owner to pay a   sum of money to acquire the name", the courts will generally not   allow the register to keep the name, or profit from it.   Trademark Dilution occurs when unauthorized use of a mark on   dissimilar products or for dissimilar services causes the mark to   cease functioning as a unique identifier, or becomes consciously or   unconsciously linked with poor quality goods or services.  The   Federal Trademark Dilution Act covers these issues.  If you may put   trademarks on your web page, be sure you do not infringe upon the   rights of the owner of the trademark.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 46]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   A good rule of thumb, offered by one company with concerns for their   trademark, is that, if you mean a tissue, you should say "tissue", if   you use the Kleenex(R) name, use its Registration mark "(R)".8.4.3 Privacy   The concept of trademarks extends to personal names or likenesses, in   that you can infringe on their rights, including their right to   privacy.  This issue has both legal and ethical implications.   U.S law currently recognizes four types of invasions of privacy:   intrusion, appropriation of name or likeness, unreasonable publicity   and false light.  In most states people have a "Right of Publicity"   which gives individuals the exclusive right to license the use of his   identity.  You will want familiarize yourself with privacy law if you   want to make other peoples likeness, name, address, or others   personal information available on the Internet.   Rights vary from state to state and country to country and many   international, and U.S. sites are provided in the Law section ofAppendix B.8.4.4 Seek Professional Advice   A number of organizations exist which can be of assistance in   ascertaining the appropriate legal status, law, statute, or standing,   of your particular issue and helping you understand your rights and   responsibilities.   One of these is The Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition, CIEC.   CIEC is a large and diverse group of Internet users, businesses,   non-profit groups, and civil liberties advocates, who share the   common goal of protecting the First Amendment and the viability of   the Internet as a means of free expression, education, and commerce.   The CIEC homepage URL is listed and a number of sites in the U.S. and   other countries are represented inAppendix B, under the heading   "Law".8.5 Conducting Business over the Internet   Since people are doing business over the Internet, they want to   ensure that their personal information, credit card number, etc. is   not used or compromised in any way.  Since the Internet is a public   place, the only way to get information across it without anyone being   able to retrieve it, is to encrypt it.  Encryption, is a process for   scrambling access codes to prevent illicit entry into a system.  The   study and work for people creating these system is calledMax & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 47]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   Cryptography.   Secure HTTP (S-HTTP) provides secure communication mechanisms between   an HTTP client-server pair in order to enable spontaneous commercial   transactions for a wide range of applications.  SHTTP and SHTML are   Internet-Drafts, which are "works in progress" of the Internet   Engineering Task Force WTS working group.  The Resources section   provides information on retrieving Internet-Drafts.   You should be aware that encrypted communications are illegal in some   parts of the world.  You should check your local laws regarding legal   uses of encryption.   Before you begin installing any encryption software, back up your   files and make sure your computer is not needed for any deadline   tasks in the next few minutes or hours. If you mess up the   installation or forget some password along the way, your files will   be protected from everyone, including you.8.6 Netiquette   Like any community, the Internet has a code of conduct, for which the   users have created the term "Netiquette".  Much of it will probably   seem like common sense, but since the Internet spans many cultures'   ideas of "common sense", its worth paying attention.  Remember, when   you put something onto the Internet, you're publishing it in front of   a very large audience.   What follows is a few short ideas to start out with.  If you wish to   behave well on the Internet, you really should read:   FYI 28 "Netiquette Guidelines", (AlsoRFC 1855), October 1995.   available atftp://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc1855.txt   First of all, most forums have their own guidelines posted near the   door for new arrivals.  For Usenet News, for example, read   news.announce.newusers.  It never hurts to keep silent until you know   your audience better.  Once you join a forum, see how others behave   before making too much of an impression.  Also, try not to jump to   conclusions about others.  Internet media conveys attitudes and   emotions differently than face-to-face, or even telephone   communication.  You are also dealing with more cultural diversity on   the Internet than you are likely familiar with.  Realize that many   things have very different meanings in other cultures than they might   in yours.  Try not to take things too personally.  Avoid attributing   to malice what might be adequately explained by ignorance.  And hope   others will do the same.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 48]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 19979.  Glossary   This glossary contains a few of the words used in this document,   which were least likely to appear in any common dictionary.  If there   are other words in the document which are not in your dictionary,   some other glossaries are referenced in the Resources section which   follows.      Boolean:    adj. Of or relating to an algebraic combinatorial                  system treating variables, as propositions and                  computer logic elements through the operators AND, OR,                  NOT, IF, THEN, and EXCEPT.      access:     n. 1. A means of approaching, passage; 2. The right to                  enter or use.  v. To gain access. e.g., computer                  information.      bandwidth:  Technically, the difference, in Hertz (Hz), between                  the highest and lowest frequencies of a transmission                  channel.  However, as typically used, the amount of                  data that can be sent through a given communications                  circuit.      bit:        n. (From "Binary digIT") 1. A single character of a                  language having just two characters, as either of the                  binary digits 0 or 1.  2. a unit of information                  storage capacity, as of computer memory.      bitmap:     A graphic image format which consists of a list of                  pixel colors, or shades of gray, and header                  information describing how to map this list of pixels                  back into the image.  Bitmap formats are .bmp in                  Windows, .pict on a Macintosh, and .anm and .btm on                  Unix.      broadcast:  A special type of multicast packet which all nodes on                  the network are always willing to receive.  See also:                  multicast, unicast.      btw:        By The Way      byte:       8 bits      encryption: The manipulation of a packet's data in order to                  prevent any but the intended recipient from reading                  that data. There are many types of data encryption,                  and they are the basis of network security.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 49]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997      fyi:        For Your Information      html:       HyperText Markup Language:                  The language used to create hypertext documents.  It                  is a subset of SGML and includes the mechanisms to                  establish hyperlinks to other documents.      http:       HyperText Transfer Protocol:                  The protocol used by WWW to transfer HTML files.  A                  formal standard is still under development in the                  IETF.      hyperlink:  A pointer within a hypertext document which points                  (links) to another document, which may or may not also                  be a hypertext document      hypertext:  A document format which contains "hyperlinks" to                  other documents.      imho:       In My Humble/Honest Opinion      interactive: Capable of acting on, or influencing each other.      lag:        The failing behind or retardation of one phenomenon                  with respect to another to which it is closely                  related; time delay.      multicast:  A packet with a special destination address which                  multiple nodes on the network may be willing to                  receive.  See also: broadcast, unicast.      multimedia: Transmission that combine media of communication (text                  an graphics and sound etc.)      netlag:     time delay over the Internet.  See also: lag.      packet:     The unit of data sent across a network.      proprietary:Manufactured articles which some person or persons                  have exclusive right to make and sell. [from                  U.S.Statutes]      protocol:   A formal description of message formats and the rules                  two computers must follow to exchange those messages.                  Protocols can describe low-level details of machine-                  to-machine interfaces (e.g., the order in which bitsMax & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 50]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997                  and bytes are sent across a wire) or high-level                  exchanges between allocation programs (e.g., the way                  in which two programs transfer a file across the                  Internet).      realtime:   occuring at and in the present time      reflector:  A file server whose purpose is to receive packets from                  a source site and forward it to other sites.      ttfn:       ta ta for now  - a colloquialism for goodbye.      unicast:    An address which only one host will recognize.  See                  also: broadcast, multicast.      url:        Uniform Resource Locator:                  A URL is a compact string representation for a                  resource available on the Internet. The syntax and                  semantics for URLs are defined inRFC 1738.      virtual:    Not real, but similar in relevant ways.10.  Resources, References, etc.   The information in this document has been gleaned from the minds of   its authors and contributors, and from some of the following sources.   More information on the topics discussed can be found in these   sources, and in the information referenced inAppendix B.10.1 RFCs and Internet-Drafts   One of the most important collections of informational documents   about the Internet are written as Requests for Comment by the   Internet Engineering Task Force, IETF.  The name Request for Comment   is historical, as these documents are submitted by their authors' for   the approval of the Internet community as Internet Standards, and   valid Informational RFCs called FYIs, of which this document is one.   Basically, if the IETF collective uses a tool or resource, they   document its use in an RFC so that there is no mystery to its   functionality, uses, designations, specifications, or purposes.   More information on RFCs, FYIs, the IETF, and its organizations,   documents, policies and purposes can be found in the RFCs themselves,   or athttp://www.ietf.org/ andhttp://www.isi.edu/rfc-editor/Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 51]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997   There are many way to get copies of RFCs over the Internet (see   ConneXions, Vol.6, No.1, January 1992).  Most of these simply access   a directory of files where each RFC is in a file.  The searching   capability is generally limited to the filename recognition features   of that system.   The ISI RFC-INFO server is a system through which you can search for   an RFC by author, date, or keyword (all title words are automatically   keywords).   RFC-INFO is an e-mail based service to help in locating and retrieval   of RFCs and FYIs.  Users can ask for "lists" of all RFCs and FYIs   having certain attributes ("filters") such as their ID, keywords,   title, author, issuing organization, and date.  Once an RFC is   uniquely identified (e.g., by its RFC number) it may also be   retrieved.   To use the service send e-mail to RFC-INFO@ISI.EDU with your requests   in the body of the message.  Feel free to put anything in the   SUBJECT, the system ignores it.  This service is case independent.Appendix C provides examples for using the RFC server.10.2 Internet Documents   FYI 18 "Internet Users' Glossary", (AlsoRFC 1983), August 1996.   Available atftp://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc1983.txt   FYI 22 "Frequently Asked Questions for Schools", (AlsoRFC 1941), May   1996.  Available atftp://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc1941.txt   FYI 28 "Netiquette Guidelines", (AlsoRFC 1855), October 1995.   Available atftp://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc1855.txt   FYI 29 "Catalogue of Network Training Materials", (AlsoRFC 2007),   October 1996.  Available atftp://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc2007.txtRFC 1866 "Hypertext Markup Language - 2.0", November 1995.  Available   atftp://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc1866.txtRFC 1942 "HTML Tables", May 1996.  Available atftp://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc1942.txtRFC 2070 "Internationalization of the Hypertext Markup Language",   January 1997.  Available atftp://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc2070.txtRFC 2068 "Hypertext Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.1", January 1997.   Available atftp://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc2068.txtMax & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 52]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997RFC 2084 "Considerations for Web Transaction Security", January 1997.   Available atftp://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc2084.txtRFC 1738 "Uniform Resource Locators", December 1994.  Available atftp://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc1738.txtRFC 977 "Network News Transfer Protocol", February 1986.  Available   atftp://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc977.txtRFC 821 "Simple Mail Transfer Protocol", STD 10, August 1982.   Available atftp://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc821.txtRFC 959 "The File Transfer Protocol", STD 9, October 1985.  Available   atftp://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc959.txtRFC 1034 "Domain Names - Concepts and Facilities", STD 13, November   1987.  Available atftp://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc1034.txtRFC 1035 "Domain Names - Implementation and Specification", STD 13,   November 1987. Available atftp://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc1035.txtRFC 791 "Internet Protocol", STD 5, September 1981.  Available atftp://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc760.txtInternet Drafts   The Secure HyperText Transfer Protocol, SHTTP.ftp://ds.internic.net/internet-drafts/draft-ietf-wts-shttp-04.txt10.3 Other Sources   The Getty Research Institute for the history of art and the   humanities is one of six independent entities of the J. Paul Getty   Trust.  Its goals as a research institute are to promote innovative   scholarship in the arts and the humanities, cross traditional   academic boundaries, and provide a unique environment for research,   critical inquiry, and debate.  You can contact the institute at:      The Getty Research Institute      401 Wilshire Blvd.      Santa Monica, CA 90401      PHONE: (310) 458-9811,  FAX: (310) 458-6661   The National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH)   is a broad coalition of arts, humanities and social science   organizations formed to assure the fullest possible participation of   the cultural sector in the new digitally networked environment.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 53]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997      National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH)      21 Dupont Circle NW, Washington, DC 20036      Tel: 202/296-5346http://www-ninch.cni.org  Fax: 202/872-088610.4  Freely Available Web Browser Software   The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, National Center for   Supercomputing Applications, NCSA, developed the first Mosaic   Browser, and continues to maintain and update it, as well as making   it freely available over the Internet athttp://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/.   Hardcopy manuals and software disks and tapes can be ordered through   the NCSA Technical Resources Catalog for postage and handling charges   only.  Postage and handling on all orders must be prepaid.  For a   copy of the catalog, contact NCSA Orders by email at   orders@ncsa.uiuc.edu, by phone at 217-244-4130, or by U.S. mail at:   NCSA Orders, 152 Computing Applications Building, 605 E. Springfield   Avenue, Champaign, IL 61820-551810.5  The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority   The IANA coordinates the assignment and use of various Internet   protocol parameters, manages the Internet address space, and manages   domain names.  See:http://www.iana.org/iana/   You should get your IP address (a 32bit number) from your   network service provider.   Your network service provider works with a regional registry   to manage these addresses.  The regional registry for the US   is the Internic, for Europe is RIPE, for the Asia and Pacific   region is the AP-NIC, and parts of the world not otherwise   covered are managed by the Internic.   If for some reason your network service provider does not   provide you with an IP address, you can contact the your   regional registry at one of the following addresses:            Internic     <hostmaster@internic.net>            RIPE         <ncc@ripe.net>            AP-NIC       <admin@apnic.net>   Please do contact your network service provider first, though.  The   regional registry will want to know all the gory details about why   that didn't work out before they allocate you an address directly.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 54]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 199711. Security Considerations   There are a wide variety of ways in which systems can be violated,   some intentional, some accidental.  Of the intentional attacks, a   portion may be exploratory, others simply abusive of your resources   (using up your CPU time) but many are actively malicious.  No system   is 100% safe, but there are steps you can take to protect against   misconfigured devices spraying packets, casual intruders, and a   variety of focused assaults.   Your best defense is to educate yourself on the subject of security.   There are places on the net devoted to teaching users about security   - most prominently, the CERT Coordination Center located at the   Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon university.  You   can point your web browser (or direct your ftp connection) toftp://info.cert.org/pub/cert_faq to start.  This is a frequently   asked questions guide and general overview on CERT.  It includes a   bibliography of suggested reading and a variety of sources to find   more information.   Next, you should probably readftp://info.cert.org/pub/tech_tips/security_info   which contains a (primarily based on the UNIX operating system)   checklist to help you determine whether your site has suffered a   security breach.  You can use it to guide you through handling a   specific incident if you think your system has been compromised or   you can use it as a list of common vulnerabilities.  CERT also   maintains a wide variety of bulletins, software patches, and tools to   help you keep up to date and secure.   Before you are even online, you should consider some basic steps:11.1 Formulate a security policy.   It should include policies regarding physical access procedures,   security incident response, online privileges and back-up media.  Put   a message at the login to establish your policy clearly.   An example:   "This system is for the use of authorized users only.  It may be   monitored in the course of routine operation to detect unauthorized   use.  Evidence of unauthorized use or criminal activity may result in   legal prosecution."Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 55]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 199711.1.1. Talk to your Internet Service Provider.   Depending upon your provider and router management situation, there   are a number of things your ISP should be able to do for you to make   your site more secure.  Foremost, packet filtering on the router that   connects you to the Internet.  You will want to consider IP filters   to allow specific types of traffic (web, ftp, mail, etc.) to certain   machines (the mailhost, the web server, etc.) and no others.  Other   filters can block certain types of IP spoofing where the intruder   masks his or her identity using an IP address from inside your   network to defeat your filters.  Discuss your concerns and questions   with your provider - the company may have standards or tools they can   recommend.11.1.2. Make sure your systems are up to date.   A significant number of incidents happen because older versions of   software have well-known weaknesses that can be exploited from almost   anywhere on the Internet.  CERT provides a depository for software   patches designed by concerned net.citizens, CERT's engineers, and by   the vendors themselves.11.1.3. Use the tools available.   Consider recording MD5 checksums on read-only media (the MD5-digest   algorithm determines an electronic "fingerprint" for files to   indicate their uniqueness -comparing more recent checksums to older   ones can alert you to changes in important system files), installing   tripwire on your systems (notes size and MD5 checksum changes, among   other sanity checks), and periodically testing the integrity of your   machines with programs an intruder might use, like SATAN and crack.   [Details on MD5 are contained inRFC 1321.]   Most files and fixes go through the basics before leaving you to   figure things out on your own, but security can be a complicated   issue, both technically and morally.  When good security is   implemented, no one really notices.  Unfortunately, no one notices   when it's not taken care of either.  That is until the system   crashes, your data gets corrupted, or you get a phone call from an   irate company whose site was cracked from your machines.  It doesn't   matter if you carry only public information.  It doesn't matter if   you think you're too small or unimportant to be noticed.  No one is   too small or too big, no site is immune.  Take precautions and be   prepared.Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 56]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 199712. Acknowledgments   The following people are being acknowledged for their contributions   to this document.   Joseph Aiuto   Sepideh Boroumand   Michael Century   Kelly Cooper   Lile Elam   Sally Hambridge   Dan Harrington   Julie Jensen   Scott Stoner   Thank you all for your help.13. Authors' Addresses   Janet Max   Rainfarm   EMail: jlm@rainfarm.com   Walter Stickle   Rainfarm   EMail: wls@rainfarm.comMax & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 57]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997Appendix A.  Internet Projects of Interest to the Arts and Humanities             Communities   The commonplace insight about the web as a new distribution channel   for cultural products is that it effaces the traditional border   between producer and consumer.  Publishers exploit two-way   interactivity by re-designing the editorial mix to include reader   response.  What follows are some examples of the way creative artists   attempt to design structures flexible enough for significant viewer   input.   RENGA (http://renga.ntticc.or.jp) - An inspired transposition of a      traditional collaborative writing practice into the realm of      digital media supported by the NTT InterCommunication Centre in      Tokyo.  Renga means linked-image or linked-poem, and draws on the      Japanese tradition of collaboration which effaces the unique      notion of original author.   PING (http://www.artcom.de/ping/mapper) - by Art+Com, a Berlin      based media centre and thinktank.  Art+Com is a leader in      producing high-end net visualization projects.  Ping lets the      browser add a link, which then becomes a part of the ongoing      visual structure.  It is similar, in this sense, to the Toronto      Centre for Landscape Architecture's OASIS site.   Art+Com's T-Vision project (http://www.artcom.de/projects/terra)      which uses satellites and networked VR computers to permit an      astonishing fly-in to earth from space: acclaimed as one of the      most imaginative realizations of the potential of networked      computing.   OASIS(Image)INTERNET-DRAFT Toronto Centre for Landscape      Architecture's OASIS site requires a specialized browser, but from      a standard Netscape connection, you can view stills that give a      sense of the beautiful images produced by the collaborative      "design process".  It is introduced by its designers as follows:      Oasis is a shared 3-Dimensional navigational environment for the      world wide web.  This virtual landscape allows one to bury their      own information links throughout the terrain or to discover and      connect to new information left by others.   TechnoSphere (http://www.lond-inst.ac.uk/TechnoSphere/)   Is TechnoSphere a Game?      Yes and no. It's an experiment on a global scale, a chance to      develop complex artificial life on digital networks.  TechnoSphere      is interactive like a game, but transgresses the linear boundaries      of branching and hierarchical games narrative to enable freerMax & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 58]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997      movement.  TechnoSphere is designed to encourage a non-linear      experiential exploration.   Body Missing (http://yorku.ca/BodyMissing/index.html)      Toronto artist Vera Frenkel created this richly evocative site on      the disappearance of art and memory as an extension of her Transit      Bar installation.  It is conceived as a site open to new      'reconstructions' of the artworks confiscated during the Third      Reich.  First opened to the public as part of the ISEA95      exhibition in Montreal, it has since earned widespread critical      comment and praise.   Molecular Clinic 1.0   (http://sc_web.cnds.canon.co.jp/molecular_clinic/artlab_bionet)      Molecular Clinic 1.0 ' is an art project realized through a      collaboration between ARTLAB and Seiko Mikami, and is one of the      most elaborate custom designed art projects yet created for the      Web.  During their initial visit users should download the      MOLECULAR ENGINE VIEWER, which is a type of molecular laboratory      for their computer.  What they will see on the web site after this      initial download is a virtual space containing a three dimensional      computer generated Spider and Monolith object.  The user will be      able to navigate through and into this virtual space and can zoom      into the spider all the way to the molecular level.   File Room (http://fileroom.aaup.uic.edu/FILEROOM.html) -      Cumulative database info on Censorship, hosted in Chicago but      conceived by Spanish artist Antoni Muntadas.   Idea Futures  (http://if.arc.ab.ca/~jamesm/IF/IF.html) -      Winner of the grand prize at the 1995 Ars Electronica competition      for Web Sites, Idea Futures is a stock market of ideas, based on      the theories of mathematical economist Robin Hanson.  The 'truth'      of any claim is assigned a weight calculated by the amount of      virtual cash which members of the exchange are willing to bet.      The scheme leads might lead toward a radical democratization of      academic discourse, but just as easily, toward the trivialization      of thought.  See the following for a philosophical critique of the      system. (http://merzbau.citi.doc.ca/~henry/Matrix/Erewhon.html)   Firefly (http://www.agents-inc.com/) also a prize winner at Ars      Electronica in 1995, Firefly is an prototypical example of what      enthusiasts call a "personal music recommendation agent", which      makes suggestions for what you might like to listen to, based on a      stored profile of your own likes and dislikes, and the evolving      ratings submitted to the system by other members.  Worth visiting,      if only to understand what all the fashionable hype about      'intelligent agents' is all about; skeptics should know that evenMax & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 59]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997      the promoters of these services admit the circularity of their      systems: they're capable of reinforcing existing taste, but little      else.Appendix B:  Some other URL's of interest   Arthttp://www.louvre.fr/http://www.art.net/http://www.artnoir.com/http://www.artincontext.com/Art Educationhttp://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/art/art.html   Artistshttp://www.yoko.com/http://www.thinkage.on.ca/~dmowbray/botticelli.html   Artist Memorialshttp://www.cascade.net/kahlo.html   Audio Video Conferencinghttp://www.lll.hawaii.edu/workshops/pedagogy/audiovideo.htmlhttp://cu-seeme.cornell.edu/http://www.indstate.edu/msattler/sci-tech/comp/CU-SeeMe/Building Arts Audiences on the Webhttp://www.artswire.org/spiderschool   Chat Forumshttp://pages.wbs.net/http://acm.ewu.edu/homepage/wmundell/chathole.htm   Cryptographyhttp://www.ftech.net/~monark/crypto/index.htmhttp://www.pgp.com/Frequently Asked Questions, pointers to listshttp://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/top.html   Filtering Softwarehttp://www.surfwatch.com/http://www.solidoak.com/cysitter.htmhttp://www.cyberpatrol.com/FTP Archivesftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pubftp://athos.rutgers.edu/pubhttp://hoohoo.ncsa.uiuc.edu/ftp/Gopher Sites      gopher://peg.cwis.uci.edu:7000/11/gopher.welcome/peg/GOPHERS/gov   Lawhttp://www.findlaw.com/01topics/10cyberspace/index.htmlhttp://www.ciec.org/http://www.netlaw.com/http://www.law.cornell.edu/http://www.fplc.edu/tfield/order.htmMax & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 60]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997http://w3.gwis.com/~sarbar/http://www.eff.org/http://www.efa.org.au/Issues/IP/Welcome.htmlhttp://www.yorku.ca/faculty/osgoode/uc.htmhttp://www.lawsoc.org.uk/http://www.jurisnet.com.mx/jurisweb2.htmlhttp://www.iupui.edu/it/copyinfo/intelect.htmlhttp://law.house.gov/105.htmhttp://www.ipcenter.com/http://www.intellectual-property.co.ukhttp://www.blueriver.net/~wyrm/tele.htmlhttp://www.fplc.edu/tfield/ipbasics.htm   Librarieshttp://www.ipl.org/MUDshttp://lamar.ColoState.EDU/~mojo/kevpage/mud/http://www.lysator.liu.se/tolkien-games/http://www.godlike.com/muds/Music Productionhttp://www.ebb.ele.tue.nl/midi/index.html   Musical Groupshttp://www.dead.net/http://www.netspace.org/phish/Newshttp://www.w3.org/pub/DataSources/News/Groups/Overview.htmlhttp://www.duke.edu/~mg/usenet/Other Standards Organizationshttp://www.iso.ch/http://www.ansi.org/Photographyhttp://www.nyip.com/Referencehttp://www.ipl.org/ref/RR/      gopher://gopher.uiuc.edu/11/Libraries/writershttp://www.ex.ac.uk/~ftapson/dictunit.htmlhttp://www.learn2.com/http://www.ipl.org/classroom/userdocs/internet/citing.htmlhttp://www.theslot.com/contents.htmlhttp://www.bsdi.com/date   Rembrandthttp://www.bod.net/CJackson/rembrand/rembrand.htmhttp://found.cs.nyu.edu/fox/art/rembrandt/self1660.htmlhttp://www.siam.net/rembrandt/index.htmlhttp://www.lososos.com/Rembrandt'sCafe/   Search Siteshttp://www.yahoo.com/http://www.altavista.digital.com/http://www.lycos.com/Max & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 61]

RFC 2150          Humanities and Arts on the Internet       October 1997http://www.dejanews.com/http://query.webcrawler.com/http://www.mckinley.com/Video Resourceshttp://www.mpeg.org/http://www.maxibyte.com/mpeg_samples.htmhttp://www-plateau.cs.berkeley.edu:80/mpeg/ftp://sokaris.ee.upenn.edu/pub/MPEG2Tool/Writershttp://the-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/http://www.rain.org/~da5e/tom_robbins.htmlAppendix C:  Examples for using the RFC server RFC-INFO@ISI.EDU   To get started you may send a message to RFC-INFO@ISI.EDU with   requests such as in the following examples (without the explanation   between []):        Help: Help              [to get this information]        List: FYI               [list the FYI notes]        List: RFC               [list RFCs with window as keyword or                                 in title]         keywords: window        List: FYI               [list FYIs about windows]         Keywords: window        List: *                 [list both RFCs and FYIs about windows]         Keywords: window        List: RFC               [list RFCs about ARPANET, ARPA                                 NETWORK, etc.]         title: ARPA*NET         List: RFC              [list RFCs issued by MITRE, dated                                 1989-1991]          Organization: MITRE          Dated-after:  Jan-01-1989          Dated-before: Dec-31-1991        List: RFC               [list RFCs obsoleting a given RFC]          Obsoletes:RFC0010        List: RFC               [list RFCs by authors starting with                                 "Bracken"]         Author: Bracken*       [* is a wild card matches everything]        List: RFC               [list RFCs by both Postel and Gillman]          Authors: J. Postel    [note, the "filters" are ANDed]          Authors: R. Gillman        List: RFC               [list RFCs by any Crocker]          Authors: CrockerMax & Stickle                Informational                     [Page 62]