Usenet 1994 October/usenetsourcesnewsgroupsinfomagicoctober1994disk1.iso/answers/virtual-worlds/meta-faq

Internet Message Format | 1993-12-14 | 39KB

Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!nic.hookup.net!news.kei.com!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!emory!ogicse!netnews.nwnet.net!news.u.washington.edu!stein2.u.washington.edu!scivw
From: [e-mail] (Aaron Kaleva Pulkka)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds,sci.answers,news.answers
Subject: EPUB: Sci.Virtual-Worlds Monthly Meta-FAQ
Summary: This is the Frequently Asked Questions post for sci.virtual-worlds, which contains information on: the newsgroup purpose, moderating group, submission guidelines, suggested readings, terminology, and archives.
Message-ID: <2ejf62$[e-mail]>
Date: 14 Dec 93 04:24:34 GMT
Article-I.D.: news.2ejf62$hgn
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Followup-To: sci.virtual-worlds
Organization: Human Interface Technology Laboratory, Seattle, WA, USA
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Last-modified: 1993/12/13
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Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu sci.virtual-worlds:10647 sci.answers:729 news.answers:15745

Archive-name: virtual-worlds/meta-faq

             ###########################################
             ###     Sci.Virtual-Worlds Meta-FAQ     ###
             ###     (Frequently Asked Questions)    ###
             ###                                     ###
             ###            version 3.0              ###
             ###   Compiled by Aaron Kaleva Pulkka   ###
             ###      <[e-mail]>     ###
             ###                                     ###
             ###         comments/additions:         ###
             ### <[e-mail]> ###
             ###########################################


             ###########################################
             ###               Contents              ###
             ###########################################

                1.0     Scivw Moderating Group
                        1.1     Background
                        1.2     Biographies
                        1.3     Addresses
                2.0     Posting Policy
                        2.1     Editing
                        2.2     Rejecting
                        2.3     Cross-posting
                        2.4     Subject-line Tags
                                2.4.1   Announcements
                                2.4.2   Discussions
                                2.4.3   Digests
                        2.5     Digests
                3.0     Suggested Readings
                        3.1     Newsgroups
                        3.2     Mailing Lists
                                3.2.1   VIRTU-L
                                3.2.2   Glove-List
                                3.2.3   Rend386
                                3.2.4   Others
                        3.3     Periodicals
                                3.3.1   General
                                3.3.2   Technical
                        3.4     Books
                                3.4.1   General
                                3.4.2   Technical
                                3.4.3   Fiction
                        3.5     Bibliographies
                4.0     Glossary
                        4.1     General
                        4.2     Technical
                        4.3     Others
                5.0     Archives
                        5.1     HITLab Knowledge Base
                        5.2     Others


             ###########################################
             ###             Section 1.0:            ###
             ###        Scivw Moderating Group       ###
             ###########################################


### 1.1 Background ###################################################

        Since sci.virtual-worlds (scivw) was created by Robert "Bob"
Jacobson and Howard Rheingold early in 1990, its estimated worldwide
readership has grown to well over fifty thousand ["USENET Readership
report for Nov 93", news.lists].  Rheingold, the first moderator, saw
scivw as a

        ...scientific newsgroup for discussing research and
        development in virtual reality on a less formal, more
        frequent, more highly distributed basis than the welter of
        professional organizations, conventions, conferences, and
        journals that served as communication media for the individual
        disciplines that were converging on VR.
        [199-200, Chapter 9: Reality on Your Retina, "Virtual Reality"]

        From the beginning, the Human Interface Technology Laboratory
(HITLab) has sponsored the newsgroup by providing the neccesary
resources to facilitate and archive its discussions.  The director of
the HITLab, Tom Furness, has been eager to foster the exchange of
information between VR researchers and to develop an on-line database
of VR information.

        As the newsgroup's scope and readership have grown,
administration has progressed from the single moderatorships of Howard
Rheingold and Steve Aukstakalnis to the moderating group that serve it
today.  The switch to co-moderation occurred when Bob Jacobson
promoted Mark DeLoura from the resident moderation software hacker to
full co-moderator, in charge of the archive and FAQ construction.  The
growth of scivw has also spawned the need for a new newsgroup,
sci.virtual-worlds.apps, which former moderators Jacobson and DeLoura
co-founded in 1992.  A personal reflection on the history of
sci.virtual-worlds, by Mark DeLoura, can be found in the HITLab
Knowledge Base:

ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/virtual-worlds/faq/other/scivw-history.part1

        Sci.virtual-worlds.apps was created as a spin-off of
sci.virtual-worlds, "...for the discussion of pending and actual
applications of virtual worlds technology in industrial, commercial,
educational, and entertainment settings" [Bob Jacobson, RFD for
sci.virtual-worlds.apps].  Sci.virtual-worlds remains the general
forum for discussing software/hardware development, interface design,
related conferences/events, philosophical issues, emerging standards,
and other relevant topics.

        The current Scivw Moderating Group contains seven members of
the HITLab team (a balance of staff and students) led by the Research
Librarian, Toni Emerson: Michael "Squish" Almquist, Daniel Pirone,
Jerry Prothero, Aaron Kaleva Pulkka, T. M. Ramstad, and Mark Takacs.
The eighth member of the group, Gregory B. Newby at UIUC, has been
maintaining the newsgroup's electronic mail redistribution list since
1991.  Toni, Aaron, and Squish perform the traditional moderation
tasks of administrating, posting, and archiving.  The balance of the
moderating group act as consultants: managing quality, gathering
information, and providing technical support.


### 1.2 Biographies ##################################################

MICHAEL ALMQUIST <[e-mail]> - Michael Almquist (aka.
"squish") has been hanging out at the HITLab for over two years now
after obtaining a BS in Computer Science.  He is currently in charge
of administrating equipment and resources and following his dreams.
Dreaming includes (and not restricted to): 3D sound, speech generation
and recognition, visualization/abstraction/navigation of data
environments, useful agents, and the continual evolution of a VROS.
Passions: skateboards, comic books, Da Vinci-isms, KILLER netrek
player, and living.

TONI EMERSON <[e-mail]> - Since 1991, Toni has
been participating in the HITLab Knowledge Base project.  Now she
works full-time as the lab's Research Librarian and caretaker of the
growing ftp site.  She has a Master of Librarianship from the
University of Washington and two Bachelor of Arts degrees in Spanish
and Drama.  Member of ALA, ASIS, SLA, EFF, IEEE, and ACM.  Toni is
obsessed with the Internet and the research of virtual worlds
development.

GREGORY B. NEWBY <[e-mail]> - Greg is an Assistant
Professor in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science,
and a Research Scientist at the National Center for Supercomputing
Applications, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  Greg
has been involved with VR since his days at Syracuse University, where
he received his Ph.D.

DANIEL PIRONE <[e-mail]> - Daniel Pirone has a BS
in Computer & Information Science.  He has been actively researching
complex adaptive systems (and their relations to VR) for the past 3
years.  He has actively manipulated the Knowledge Base project since
June, 1991.  Hobbies - psychogeography, bandsaw follies, & zymugy.

JERRY PROTHERO <[e-mail]> - Jerry is a Research
Assistant at the HITLab, currently finishing his master's in
Industrial Engineering.  His primary areas of interest are the
applications of virtual interfaces in the field of medicine and human
factors.

AARON KALEVA PULKKA <[e-mail]> - Aaron earned his B.S.
in Computer Engineering at the University of Washington, where he is
currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Computer Science & Engineering.  After
two years as an intermittent volunteer in the HITLab, Aaron is now
actively researching alternative HCI hardware, multi-participant
environments, and intelligent software agents.  For his Ph.D.
qualifying project, he is designing the graphical user interface for a
Unix domain Softbot.  When time permits, he enjoys playing/programming
video games and Muds.

T. M. RAMSTAD <[e-mail]> - Tori is a volunteer in the
HITLab, working on the Knowledge Base Project.  Her background is in
theatre, where she has worked for the past couple af years as a stage
manager.  She is studying directing, and made her debut last year.
She comes to this project out of a fascination with the internet, and
an interest in the entertainment applications of VR.  She also
co-moderates rec.arts.cinema with Aaron.

MARK TAKACS <[e-mail]> - Tak, a CSE undergraduate
refugee from the midwest, moved to Seattle in September 1991 to pursue
a master's at the HITLab.  Mark has just finished his master's thesis
(Prolix: A text based participant system for VR) and spends more time
than he can spare exploring the internet, programming Muds, and doing
the Seattle club/dance scene.  Mark's other scholarly (and not so
scholarly) interests include simulation, visualization, graphical
design, multi-user systems, entertainment applications, short fiction,
cinema, beach volleyball, and dancing.


### 1.3 Addresses ####################################################

        The individuals listed above should not be contacted for
general newsgroup communications.

Newsgroup submissions should be sent to:

        <[e-mail]>

Questions, comments, or suggestions should be sent to:

        <[e-mail]>

Snail-mail may be sent to:

        Scivw Moderating Group
        c/o Toni Emerson, HITLab
        University of Washington, FJ-15
        Seattle, WA, 98195
        USA



             ###########################################
             ###             Section 2.0:            ###
             ###            Posting Policy           ###
             ###########################################


### 2.1 Editing ######################################################

        We will not edit portions of submissions to correct spelling,
grammar, or content.

        In order to make articles and subsequent quotations more
readable, we may reformat them so that each line contains less than 71
characters and ends with a carriage-return/line-feed [you can save us
some time by doing this before submitting].

        Oversized signatures may be truncated [please respect the
general Usenet guideline of 4 lines, maximum].

        We may edit the subject-line for clarity and consistency [see
section 2.4].

        We may edit the comment portion of followups to previous
postings, if it is too long or not pertinent to the reply.


### 2.2 Rejecting ####################################################

        Although we expect most submissions will be posted, we do have
certain guidelines by which we will reject articles.

We will not post:
        - articles that are not coherently related to virtual worlds,
        - flames (any posting that directly attacks person and/or idea
          without objective, analytical content), or
        - comments directed to the moderators (unless of general
          interest).

        If we receive multiple submissions expressing essentially the
same idea, we may only post one.

        ANYTIME we decide not to post a submission, we will send a
message to the author indicating why it is not being posted.


### 2.3 Cross-posting ################################################

        We do not generally allow cross-posting between
sci.virtual-worlds and other moderated newsgroups, unless the articles
are submitted separately (this is due to a limitation in the way the
Usenet handles moderated newsgroups).  Moreover, there is rarely a
need to cross-post between sci.v-w and sci.v-w.apps, since these
newsgroups have different focal points.

        We do not allow re-posting of copyrighted material (such as
articles from the ClariNet News Services) without proper permission.
You may, however, submit a summary of, review of, or pointer to such
material -- or contact the author and request that they post directly
to sci.virtual-worlds.  Since we are unable to check the copyright
authority of each submission, we rely on you to use good judgement
when posting.


### 2.4 Subject-line Tags ############################################

### 2.4.1 Announcements #############

ADMIN:         Related to newsgroup administration.
ANNOUNCE:      Miscellaneous.
CONF:          Conference descriptions, dates, deadlines, etc.
CFP:           Call for papers (for conferences/journals).
EDUC:          Description of educational opportunity.
EPUB:          Electronic publications, reports, papers, etc.
EVENT:         Descriptions of various, non-conference events.
JOB-OFFERED:   Employment opportunities.
JOB-WANTED:    Shameless self-promotion.
ONLINE:        Online services, ftp sites, etc.
PUB:           Books, journals, etc.

### 2.4.2 Discussions ###############

APPS:          Applications of virtual worlds in various domains.
DESIGN:        Human factors, standards, and other design issues.
ENTERTAIN:     Entertainment/game applications.
INDUSTRY:      Where the industry is, or is heading.
MISC:          Items that don't fit into any other category.
PHIL:          Philosophical musings about reality, etc.
REV-APPS:      Review of experience with an application.
REV-CONF:      General review or report on a conference.
REV-ENTERTAIN: Review of experience with an entertainment app.
REV-EVENT:     General review or report on an event.
REV-ONLINE:    Reviews of online services, publications, etc.
REV-PUB:       Review of books, journals, etc.
SCI:           Scientific issues such as health, physics, etc.
SOC:           Social phenomena and culture.
TECH:          Hard technology, data, software, hardware, etc.

### 2.4.3 Digests ###################

DIGEST:        Weekly digests containing related messages.

DIGEST:        Virtual Interface Marketplace
        FOR-SALE:       Products/items for sale/re-sale.
        INVEST:         Looking for, or offering, investment ops.
        NEW-PROD:       Product announcements (commercial ads).
        REV-NEW-PROD:   Non-commercial reviews of products.
        WANTED:         Entities wanting to obtain hardware/software.

DIGEST:        Virtual-worlds Info Booth
        EDUC:           Information on educational opportunities.
        INFO:           General information requests/answers.
        REFS:           Reference and citation requests/answers.
        SPECS:          Technical specification requests/answers.
        TERMS:          Questions/answers about terminology.
        WHO:            Searching for people involved in the field.

DIGEST:        Scivw Request
        COMMENT:        A comment concerning the admin of scivw.
        QUESTION:       A question about scivw, of general interest.
        SUGGESTION:     A suggestion for how things "should" be done.


### 2.5 Digests ######################################################

        The three digests, "Virtual Interface Marketplace,"
"Virtual-worlds Info Booth," and "Scivw Request," are weekly posts
containing a collection of related messages (posted Monday, Wednesday,
and Friday, respectively).  Since we will not post empty digests, a
skipped issue indicates that we received no relevant submissions that
week.

        The first part of each digest will include a list of the
subject lines from the posts contained in the digest, allowing for a
quick check to see if the digest contains anything of specific
interest to you.

        These digests may be plodded through on your newsreader or you
may use your mailreader to read each message in the digest separately
(assuming your mailreader can read folders in 'mailbox format').
Reading a digest in mailbox format requires these simple steps:

From your newsreader:
         - save the digest to a file,
Using your string replacement tool (like a text editor):
         - replace all strings ">From " with "From "
           (between, not including, the quotes; the spaces
            are important),
From your mailreader:
         - open the file as a folder.

        Now the individual posts will appear as if they are separate
mail messages, and can be treated as such.  The subject lines will
coincide with those on the posts and can be used to determine which
ones to delete and which ones to read.

To respond to an author directly:
        reply as you would with e-mail
        (be sure the "To: " header is appropriate).
To post a follow-up:
        change the "To: " header in your reply, replacing the
        author's address with "[e-mail]"
        Do NOT follow-up to the entire digest as one message.



             ###########################################
             ###             Section 3.0:            ###
             ###          Suggested Readings         ###
             ###########################################


### 3.1 Newsgroups ###################################################

        There are many Usenet newsgroups which contain information
relevant to various aspects of the diverse virtual-worlds community.
Members of the Scivw Moderating Group regularly monitor many of the
groups listed below, for items relevant to our discussions.

Newsgroup:              Description:
----------              ------------
alt.3d                  Discussions of 3 dimensional imaging.
alt.cyberpunk           High-tech low-life.
alt.cyberpunk.tech      Cyberspace and Cyberpunk technology.
alt.cyberspace          Cyberspace and how it should work.
alt.education.distance  Learning over nets etc.
alt.graphics.pixutils   Utilities for viewing computer graphic images.
alt.toys.high-tech      High tech toys.
comp.ai                 Artificial intelligence discussions.
comp.ai.fuzzy           Fuzzy set theory, aka fuzzy logic.
comp.arch               Computer architecture.
comp.cog-eng            Cognitive engineering.
comp.databases          Database and data management issues and theory.
comp.dsp                Digital signal processing.
comp.graphics           Computer graphics, art, animation, image processing.
comp.graphics.*         Many other graphics related groups.
comp.human-factors      Issues related to human-computer interaction (HCI).
comp.infosystems.www    The World Wide Web information system.
comp.multimedia         Interactive multimedia technologies of all kinds.
comp.music              Applications of computers in music research.
comp.org.eff.news       News from the Electronic Frontiers Foundation. (Mod)
comp.os.research        Operating systems and related areas. (Mod)
comp.realtime           Issues related to real-time computing.
comp.research.japan     The nature of research in Japan. (Mod)
comp.risks              Risks to the public from computers & users. (Mod)
comp.robotics           All aspects of robots and their applications.
comp.simulation         Simulation methods, problems, uses. (Mod)
comp.society            The impact of technology on society. (Mod)
comp.speech             Research & applications in speech science & technology.
comp.sys.sgi.graphics   Graphics packages and issues on SGI machines.
comp.theory.dynamic-sys Theory of dynamic systems.
rec.arts.cinema         Discussion of the art of cinema. (Mod)
rec.arts.int-fiction    Discussions about interactive fiction.
rec.arts.startrek.tech  Star Trek's depiction of future technologies.
rec.games.frp.cyber     Discussions of cyberpunk related roleplaying games.
rec.games.mud.announce  Informational articles about multiuser dungeons. (Mod)
rec.games.mud.misc      Various aspects of multiuser computer games.
rec.games.netrek        Discussion of the X window system game Netrek.
rec.games.video.arcade  Discussions about coin-operated video games.
rec.games.video.misc    General discussion about home video games.
rec.games.video.sega    All Sega video game systems and software.
rec.parks.theme         Discussions of theme parks.
sci.cognitive           Perception, memory, judgement and reasoning.
sci.electronics         Circuits, theory, electrons and discussions.
sci.fractals            Objects of non-intergral dimension and other chaos.
sci.med.telemedicine    Clinical consulting through computer networks.
sci.optics              Discussion relating to the science of optics.
sci.research            Research methods, funding, ethics, and whatever.
sci.virtual-worlds      Virtual Reality technology and culture. (Mod)
sci.virtual-worlds.apps Current and future uses of virtual-worlds tech. (Mod)


### 3.2 Mailing Lists ################################################

### 3.2.1 VIRTU-L ###################

        VIRTU-L and VRAPP-L are the mailing list mirrors of
sci.virtual-worlds and sci.virtual-worlds.apps, respectively.  Greg
Newby <[e-mail]> OR <[e-mail]> is the
administrator for both lists and can be contacted if you experience
problems with the automated system.

        To subscribe to either list, send an e-mail message to the
automated list server <[e-mail]> OR <listserv@uiucvmd
on Bitnet>, with the following text in the body of the message:

        subscribe listname Your Full Name

(of course you need to replace "listname" with either "virtu-l" or
"vrapp-l" and you need to replace "Your Full Name" with your actual
name, do not use quotes and do not use your userid).

        For more information consult the lists' FAQ in the HITL
Knowledge Base:

ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/virtual-worlds/faq/other/FAQ_virtu-l


### 3.2.2 Glove-list ################

        The glove-list was created in 1991 to provide a rapid
communication channel to hackers adapting the Power Glove for use in
low-cost VR systems.  J. Eric Townsend <[e-mail]> is the
administrator for this list, but should be contacted directly ONLY if
you experience problems with the automated system.

        To subscribe to the glove-list, send e-mail to the automated
list server <[e-mail]>, with the following text in
the body of the message:

        subscribe glove-list Your Full Name

(you will be subscribed with the address you send the e-mail from).

        For more information, consult the Glove-list FAQ in the HITL
Knowledge Base:

ftp.washington.edu:/public/virtual-worlds/faq/other/FAQ_glovelist


### 3.2.3 Rend386 ###################

        There are currently two mailing lists related to rend386: one
for announcements, and one for discussion.  If you encounter trouble
using the automated server, you may contact the administrators at
<[e-mail]>.  To get the complete instructions
on subscribing, send e-mail to <[e-mail]>.

        To simply subscribe to either list, send e-mail to the
automated list server <[e-mail]>, with either or
both of the following lines in the body of the message:

        subscribe rend386-announce
        subscribe rend386-discuss

[For an brief explanation of what rend386 is, see section 4.2]


### 3.2.4 Others ####################

        There are many other mailing lists and discussion groups which
are relevant to the discussions taking place here, such as:

        - Iris On-Line
          (cross-posted to sci.virtual-worlds each month)
        - VIGIS-L
        - America On-line: VIRTUS
        - CompuServe: CYBERFORUM
        - GEnie: Cat 16, Top 6
        - WELL: VR
        - BIX: virtual.world

        For more information on these and more, consult the latest
issue of the "Information Resources in Virtual Reality" (IRVR) in
the HITLab Knowledge Base:

ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/VirtualReality/HITL/tech-reports/irvr.txt


### 3.3 Periodicals ##################################################

### 3.3.1 General ###################

CyberEdge Journal: The World's Leading Newsletter of Virtual Reality.
Newsletter 6/year.  Ben Delaney, editor [Email: [e-mail]].

Virtual Reality Report: The International Newsletter of VR.
Newsletter 10/year.  Meckler Publishing [E-mail: [e-mail]].

VR Monitor: The Journal of Virtual Reality.  Newsletter 6/year.
Matrix Information Services [Email: [e-mail]].

Wired.  Magazine 12/year.  San Francisco, CA: Wired USA Ltd. ISSN
1059-1028 [Email: [e-mail]; pure culture, nothing
technical].


### 3.3.2 Technical #################

AI Expert.  San Francisco, CA: Miller Freeman, Inc [August issues
feature Virtual Reality; they have also been publishing a Special
Report on Virtual Reality in July, for the last two years].

Computer Graphics.  Journal published by the Special Interest Group on
Computer Graphics of the Association for Computing Machinery. ISSN
0097-8930.

PCVR: Virtual Reality and the IBM Personal Computer.  Magazine+disk
6/year.  Gradecki Publishing [Email: [e-mail]].

Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments.  Journal 4/year.
Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. ISSN 1054-7460 [Email:
[e-mail]; unsurpassed technical resource].

Real Time Graphics. Newsletter 10/year. CGSD Corporation [Email:
[e-mail]].


### 3.4 Books ########################################################

### 3.4.1 General ###################

Ellis, S.R. (ed.) (1991). "Pictorial Communication in Virtual and Real
Environments."  London: Taylor & Francis. ISBN: 0-748-40008-7.

Jacobson, Linda (ed.). (1992). "Cyberarts: Exploring Art &
Technology."  San Francisco, CA: Miller Freeman, Inc. ISBN:
0-879-30253-4.

Pimentel, Ken and Teixeira, Kevin. (1993). "Virtual Reality: Through
the New Looking Glass."  New York, NY: Intel/Windcrest/McGraw Hill.
ISBN: 0-830-64064-9.

Rheingold, H. (1991). "Virtual Reality: Exploring the Brave New
Technologies."  New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Trade. ISBN:
0-671-69363-8.


### 3.4.2 Technical #################

Laurel, B. (ed.) (1990). "The Art of Human-Computer Interface Design."
Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. ISBN: 0-201-51797-3.

Sheridan, Thomas B. (1992). "Telerobotics, Automation, and Human
Supervisory Control."  Cambridge, MA & London: The MIT Press. ISBN:
0-262-19316-7.

Shneiderman, Ben. (1992). "Designing the User Interface: Strategies
for Effective Human Interaction." 2nd Edition.  Reading, MA:
Addison-Wesley. ISBN: 0-201-57286-9.

Stampe, Dave and Roehl, Bernie and Eagan, John (1993). "Virtual
Reality Creations."  Waite Group Press. ISBN 1-878739-39-5 [includes
Rend386 executables on a PC-disk].


### 3.4.3 Fiction ###################

Card, Orson Scott. (1991). "Ender's Game."  New York, NY: Tom Doherty
Associates. ISBN: 0-812-51349-5.

Gibson, William. (1984). "Neuromancer."   New York, NY: ACE Science
Fiction. ISBN: 0-553-28174-7.

Gibson, William. (1993). "Virtual Light."  New York: Bantam Books.
ISBN: 0-553-07499-7.

Jacobson, Karie (ed.) (1993). "Simulations: 15 Tales of Virtual
Reality."  New York, NY: Citadel Press.

Stephenson, Neal. (1992). "Snow Crash."  New York: Bantam Books.

Vinge, Vernor. (1987). "True Names...and Other Dangers."  New York,
NY: Baen.


### 3.5 Bibliographies ###############################################

        For a more complete list of publications, consult the latest
issue of the IRVR in the HITLab Knowledge Base:

ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/VirtualReality/HITL/papers/tech-reports/irvr.txt

        For a list of citations of specific articles on VR, consult
one of the bibliographies in:

ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/VirtualReality/HITL/Bibliographies/

such as "Selected Citations from the Literature" named: emerson-B-93-2.txt



             ###########################################
             ###             Section 4.0:            ###
             ###               Glossary              ###
             ###########################################


### 4.1 General ######################################################

        Many of the terms listed in this glossary do not have a
single, universally accepted definition.  The definitions listed below
have been compiled from years of discussions and borrowed from other
glossaries.

        "Virtual Reality Terms" (1993), compiled by Joe Psotka and
Sharon Davison, can be found in the HITLab Knowledge Base:

ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/virtual-worlds/faq/other/VR-glossary

        Another useful collection of definitions, called the "Virtual
Reality Glossary" (July 1992), was compiled by L. Jacobson for the
Virtual Reality Special Report of AI Expert [see section 3.3.2].

### Artificial Reality:
This term was coined by Myron Krueger in the mid-1970s to describe his
non-immersive "computer-controlled responsive environments."  The full
body motion of the participant effects the computer generated
environment, displayed on a screen.  For more information, see
"Artificial Reality II" (1991).

### Augmented Reality:
The use of transparent HMDs to overlay computer generated images onto
the physical environment.  Precisely calibrated, rapid head tracking
is required to maintain cohesion.

### Cyberspace:
This term was originally coined by William Gibson, in "Neuromancer"
[see section 3.4.3], to describe the shared virtual universe of the
world's computer networks, where both participants and data could be
seen, heard, and touched.  This term has come to describe the more
familiar global information space.  Our telephone conversations,
Usenet discussions, and ATM transactions all take place in cyberspace.

### MUD:
Multiple User {Domain, Dungeon, or Dialogue}.  These are typically
text-based environments which allow many users to communicate and
build worlds in "real-time."  There are many different types of MUDs:
discussion, fantasy adventure, science-fiction adventure, and others.
        For more information, consult the three-part FAQ on Muds and
Mudding in the HITLab Knowledge Base:

ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/virtual-worlds/faq/other/FAQ_mud.1
ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/virtual-worlds/faq/other/FAQ_mud.2
ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/virtual-worlds/faq/other/FAQ_mud.3

### Presence:
The feeling of actually being in an environment, whether it is real,
augmented, or virtual.  This is a defining characteristic of an
immersive VR system.

### Projected Reality:
A computer system which uses projection televisions to provide an
individual or group with windows to a virtual environment.

### Teleoperation:
The remote operation of a robotic system.  If the human interface
provides an immersive environment, then it can also be called
"telepresence."

### Virtual Reality (VR):
This term is attributed to Jaron Lanier, to describe an immersive,
interactive simulation of realistic or imaginary scenes.  Common usage
of this term would indicate that the immersive component is not
required.  However, many researchers strongly believe that immersion
is as important as interactivity.

### Virtual World:
A 3d model of an environment comprised of a set of objects or
entities, which can be experienced as a virtual reality.


### 4.2 Technical ####################################################

### 6d or 6dof:
Six degrees of freedom can be specified as: pan, zoom, swivel, pitch,
roll, and yaw.

### BSX:
Bram Stolk's X-windows based graphical MUD system.  Regenesis, built
using the BSX system, was the first publically accessible MUD on the
internet to combine combine text and 2d color graphics.

### CyberMan:
A 6d stationary input device made by Logitech.  This device measures
only the direction a force is applied, not the magnitude.

### DataGlove:
A gesture recognition device developed by VPL Research.  Magnitude of
finger flexation is determined by measuring the amount of light that
escapes from the scratched surface of a fiber optic strand in each
finger. Position and orientation of the hand is determined by an
external sensor, such as the Polhemus.

### HMD:
A Head mounted display strictly refers to a graphical display device,
although it is usually coupled with position tracking and earphones
for 3d sound.

### PGSI:
The PowerGlove Serial Interface provides users the ability to connect
their glove to any personal computer.

### Polhemus:
A sensor device which uses electromagnetic coils to provide a 6d
position and orientation measurement.

### PowerGlove:
Gesture recognition device developed for the Nintendo Entertainment
System by Abrahms/Gentile Entertainment and licensed to Mattel Toys
(out of production).  Magnitude of finger flexation is determined by
measuring the change in resistance of a piezioelectric strip in each
finger.  Position and orientation of the hand are measured by built-in
ultrasonic sensors.

### REND 386:
A real-time polygon renderer for Intel 386s and up.  Used in
combination with a 3d display device, such as Shutter Glasses, and a
3d input device, such as the PowerGlove, hackers can create virtual
environments at home.

### Shutter Glasses:
Liquid crystal glasses which cover each eye alternatively, in sync
with the alternating display of images for each eye, produce a 3d
effect.

### Spaceball:
A 6d stationary input device which measures both magnitude and
direction of an applied force.

### VEOS:
The Virtual Environment Operating {System, Shell} was developed at the
HITLab as a foundation for building distributed virtual worlds.

### VRD:
The Virtual Retinal Display, developed at the HITLab, is a display
approach wherein lasers are used to scan images directly onto the
retina.  This has the potential of greatly reducing the size, weight,
and power consumption of displays, while increasing the resolution.


### 4.3 Others #######################################################

### CAVE:
An interface characterized by projection devices on the walls used to
facilitate immersion, such as the CAVE "virtual reality theater" in
the Electronic Visualization Laboratory at the University of Illinois
at Chicago.

### HITLab or HITL:
Human Interace Technology Laboratory in Seattle, Washington.

### UIUC:
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.

### UNC-CH:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.



             ###########################################
             ###             Section 5.0:            ###
             ###             FTP Archives            ###
             ###########################################


### 5.1 HITLab Knowledge Base ########################################

        The HITLab Knowledge Base is currently accessible by anonymous
ftp (use the login name "anonymous" and use your email address as the
password) at:
        ftp.u.washington.edu
        [140.142.56.2]

There are two public hierarchies at that site, that are maintained as
part of the HITLab Knowledge Base project:

ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/virtual-worlds/
ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/VirtualReality/

        The first, /public/virtual-worlds/, has been maintained by Bob
Jacobson of WorlDesign and Mark A. DeLoura of the University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill.  Many thanks for their efforts.  This archive
is now being reconstructed by the new Scivw Moderating Group (Toni
Emerson, Aaron Pulkka, et al.).  Much of the information in this area
is out of date, please contact us with corrections.  The contents and
organization of this archive will be changing on a daily basis, please
forgive us for any inconvenience this may cause.

Current contents of /public/virtual-worlds/:
        Meta-FAQ:       Latest version of the sci.virtual-worlds
                        Frequently Asked Questions post.
        Meta-FAQ.z:     The previous file, compressed (using gzip).
        cheap-vr/:      Information on SEGA glasses, cheap PC VR
                        programs, and the like.
        citations/:     A bibliography of interesting VR-related material.
        faq/:           An extended Frequently Asked Questions
                        directory, which contains product
                        descriptions, research developments,
                        conferences, school information
                        and other useful items.
        faq.tar.z:      The previous directory, in one file.
        fly/:           Demonstration code for a terrain database
                        fly-through software package.
        multiverse/:    An X-windows based multi-user graphical
                        environment with sample worlds.
        papers/:        Papers posted to the newsgroup.
        postings/:      All past postings to sci.virtual-worlds.
        uploads/:       Please send mail to the Scivw Moderating Group
                        before uploading any files.
        veos/:          Source code to the HITLab's Virtual
                        Environment Operating Shell.
        virtus/:        Four demos of Virtus Walkthrough for the Mac.

        This hierarchy will eventually only contain the FAQ files and
posting archvies.  The rest of the information will gradually be
organized and moved into the second hierarchy,
/public/VirtualReality/.  This area is still under construction, so
the contents and organization are subject to change.

Current contents of /public/VirtualReality/:
        HITL/:          Bibliographies, tech-reports, thesises, data
                        files and more, from the HITLab.
        UNC/:           Abstracts and tech-reports from the UNC-CH.
        misc/:          Various papers and articles.
        uploads/:       Please send mail to the Scivw Moderating Group
                        before uploading any files.


### 5.2 Others #######################################################

        The site listed above is the only one maintained by the Scivw
Moderating Group.  For a list of other sites, try the "VR Sites List"
in the HITLab Knowledge Base:

ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/virtual-worlds/faq/other/vr_sites.93.10

        Another useful source of information is the Virtual Reality
Internet Resources (VRIR) guide, which can be found in the HITLab
Knowledge Base:

ftp.u.washington.edu:/public/VirtualReality/HITL/papers/General/VRIR.txt