Maybe we should spill coffee on each of the pages.
At 02:27 PM 4/24/2002 -03-30, you wrote:
>Since we've raised the online collaboration issue (wikis, swikis, twikis,
>all things nice and cuddly), plus the
>shipping/binding/collecting/distributing issues, I think it's time we
>thought about the format. Practicality is an issue, of course, as is
>simplicity, but to my mind the online and offline formats are radically
>different.
>
>A wiki can allow us to have an open forum, everybody adding their recipes,
>etc., but there's something about a _book_ which makes it different.
>Surprisingly, it _is_ an issue of practicality.
>
>A book is, first and foremost, an object, something you can pick up, carry
>with you, leaf through, spill your coffee on, etc. It's a particular
>device for dealing with written information. Somebody, a long time ago,
>had the idea to pick up a scroll of writing, cut it in equal parts, bind
>them together, then number the pages. Suddenly reference, search, etc.,
>became much faster, as did storage and organization. Good. The question
>is, the electronic text format is a step back in this sense. We're back to
>the scroll, moving up and down a text with no reference to specific parts
>or elements. We still can't beat the comfort of a book, its
>high-definition, etc.
>
>So, whatever we choose to do, a wiki and a book are two radically
>different projects, and each would fulfill a different purpose, issues of
>ease of completion and practicality aside.
>
>
>In my own humble opinion, a cookbook brings to my mind the idea of a book,
>i.e., something stuck between the toaster and the coffee-maker.
>
>
>�?
>
>Kamen
>---
>http://6digit.tripod.com
>http://sixdigit.swiki.net
>
>
>See Dave Matthews Band live or win a signed guitar
>http://r.lycos.com/r/bmgfly_mail_dmb/http://win.ipromotions.com/lycos_020201/splash.asp
>
>
