Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.
Elegance of World Outlines
Author: Russell Lipton Posted: 9/24/2000; 11:36:23 AM Topic: Elegance of World Outlines Msg #: 21679 Prev/Next: 21678 / 21680
Reading and pondering today's DaveNet as it evolves.Structure (here: outlines) limits but, like all structure, it also makes creativity possible. Music itself, with its many classic structures, fully demonstrates this principle.
I am still trying to get my mind around the amazing collaborations that Radio Userland will make possible, based around the consistent application of outlining to writing (in all its forms) online - weblogs, playlists, directories, discussion, chat and email.
(Considering programming as a kind of writing a la Knuth et al, collaborations in that domain should be very exciting as well).
There really is something seminal here, imho.
I tend to think the world outline is parallel to the current Web (neither identical nor orthogonal). It makes me wonder whether the distant future won't have n-Webs, each based around an irreducibly elegant organizing principle that enable people ("P"-to-P) more opportunity for joyful community.
(Of course, they will communicate and interpenetrate, yet not necessarily be subsumed into each other).
The so-far classic Web arose from the irreducibly elegant and simple notion of the "link". The next may indeed arise from the principle of the "outline".
Why not?
I can also see why it is so important for Userland to nail the opportunities and dangers of open source. Opening this up to tens of thousands of developers (not a dozen; not a hundred) is crucial. Yet, losing integrity or control so it all turned into chaotic noise would be disastrous.
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