The Line Around the World is a project that uses the internet to encourage people to make the world a little bit better place. While this may scream with idealism, it works. The Line is a collection of folks who've joined the ranks of other people like themselves, pledging in the process to do a good deed in order to earn the right to be in the Line. Then the structure of the line provides them with links to other people who feel the same way.
The results of the Line have been amazing. You could never get these people to stand in the same room without a fistfight ensuing, but they have all banded together here for a common purpose. Muslim, Cristian, and pagan alike. Gay rights activists, church pastors, environmentalists, and people from all walks of life can agree on this little bit of optimism. The Line streches from the United States to Belgium to Japan to Germany to Mexico to Luxembourg, and lots of places in between. Folks on the Line have donated to charity, prayed for those in need, volunteered in schools, and many other things. Most members resolve to have a better and more accepting attitude about the world. It's pretty great that something so simple could go so far.
Interested? Good! Here's a little bit more about how it works. Each member of the line includes a graphic of a line on his world wide web page. The line might look dramatically different from one site to the next. On either side of the line is an arrow. Clicking on an arrow will take you to another person on the line. Each person sets his site so that these arrows link to the person before and after him on the line.
That's about all there is to it. These peole do their good deeds and in return they get a direct link to some of the cooler folks on the world wide web. It's a great thread to follow in your surfing, no?
Interested in joining? GREAT! There are a few guidlines that we would ask you to read over first. To preserve the spirit of the line, and to give it a chance to flourish, each member needs to abide by these standards:

• Each person should include the line in only one of her web pages, if she has several. If you make a subpage for your portion of the line, then the links in front and back of you should go to that page, and have the option to return to your home page. A browser should be able, in one mouse click, to leave your pages entirely. While you would love to have people visit all of your pages, forcing them to do so is not in the spirit of the line. If people wish to get off the line and explore your other pages, they will.
• You are encouraged to personalize your section of the line. (Though you could copy from another; the script marked between the "cut here" parts on the first page of the line, as well as the graphics associated with that section, are hereby declared public domain. It can be accessed later on this page.) Just be sure that you include clearly -marked links to the three following things:
  1. The page before you on the List.
  2. The page after you on the List
  3. this page (the origin of the line)
• If you quit the line for any reason, (your site goes down, etc.) we ask that you send e-mail to the people in front and back of you on the line, so that they can link over the top of you. You should also send e-mail to dsedy@leland.stanford.edu, so that your name will be removed from the running list.
• No for-profit organization home pages, please. If your organization wants to help the line along, check out our corporations page. This is a list of companies that put up a link of the Line on their page, showing their approval for the spirit of this movement.
• Please make sure that the page which your stretch of the line crosses is acceptable for a general audience.
• Do the good deed! That's the whole point of the line. Don't just sign up and figure on tending to the deed later. Get out there and do some simple thing to make the world better. Volunteer your time at an elementary school, or make a donation to a worthy charity, or tell the next fifty people you meet what a great job they are doing. Whatever you decide upon, do it! (You may find that it makes you feel pretty good, and you want to go back for more!)

So that's the way it works. All there is left now is to sign up and add the Line to your page. Fill out the form by clicking on the thumbs up guy. Wait a day or so, and then come back and read the list of people on the line. (Click the eyeball to see the people on the list) Your name will appear on this list as soon as you've completed the form. Make a bookmark to the page, and come back in a day or two. As soon as people are in line on either side of you, put the links up in your page. If you need help adding the line to your page, you can access sample source code here, and then copy it into your page. Make links to the people in front and behind you. Maybe send them a welcome e-mail. Go out and do good in the world. Have a nice day.

Join the List	See the List	Surf the List

Click HERE to see a list of companies that endorse the philosophy of the line. (No financial support goes towards making the Line happen.)

The Line is maintained by an overworked college student who would much prefer to answer questions about the Line now than have to straighten out messes later. If you have any questions, just send a quick e-mail by clicking the question mark.

This page has been accessed a total of times since it was rendered fully operational on October 19th, 1995