Forums/Discussion Groups
"CHALKBOARD"
http://plexus.org/chalkboard
Those who believe that messaging forums are often boring and the discussions are mostly pointless will be proven wrong by this site. "CHALKBOARD" is hosted and maintained by Stephen Pusey and PLEXUS; the other participating sites are artnetweb, and NSAD. The forum consists of several areas: among them are "@salon," hosted by Stephen Pusey and focusing on the promotion of creativity and enlightenment; and "artseen," a place to review and discuss art with moderator Jeffrey Kurland. You may also search for that discreet object of desire in "utopia"--hosted by G.H.Hovagimyan--or exchange thoughts about landscape, space, perspective and our shared surface with moderator (and IA columnist) Robbin Murphy in the area "land." (Vol. 1 No. 6, October '96)
"Rhizome"
http://www.rhizome.com
Mark Tribe's "Rhizome Internet" is designed as a forum and comprehensive resource of information for everybody interested in the field of new media art. The site features the searchable "Rhizome Contentbase" and allows you to subscribe to two email lists, "Rhizome Raw" and "Rhizome Digest" (filtered from the raw list). Rhizome already has a reputation for its "high end" discussions--there are a lot of recognizable names among the subscribers. The geographically dispersed "Rhizome" community includes artists, authors, designers, programmers, musicians, curators and critics. If you aren't afraid of "intellectuals" and academic discussions, Rhizome's lists are the ones you want to join. (Vol. 1 No. 6, October '96)
"TalkBack!"
http://talkback.lehman.cuny.edu/tb
"TalkBack!"--a project of the Center for Long Distance Art & Culture, located at Lehman College Art Gallery, NY--is a forum for critical discourse conceived and edited by Robert Atkins. The articles and discussions featured here should provide interesting reading for anyone involved in the digi-cultural world (the topic of the first anniversary issue is "Community/Virtual Community"). The site also features "Out There," an annotated and rated guide to online artworks, museum sites, and other roadside attractions along the infobahn.
(Vol. 1 No. 10, February '97)
Historical Sites
"WebAcropol"
http://www-media.dbnet.ece.ntua.gr/wacro/index.htm
This is a nicely designed site that actually may provide the visitor who packs the requisite amount of imagination an impression of what it's like to visit the Acropolis. This possibility is in large part due to the brief informative texts that frame each image, and to the arrangement of the images in such a way as to replicate the approach through the main entrance, the Propylaia. For good measure, the site includes B&W photographs of the Acropolis from earlier moments in modern time, and promises to shortly also offer a VRML tour. (Vol. 1 No. 7, November '96)