Introduction

Machine-Space is a hypertext document designed to be as interactive as possible. You will choose which links you follow and when, and whether or not you read the entirety of a page before moving on. There is no predetermined flow or order to how the pages should be read. There is no navigation mechanism between pages that do not contain links to each other in the text, nor is there an index of all pages. You will never have to use your browser's “Back” button because the every page links to at least one other page. The counter-intuitive aspects of the design of the project are in place to ensure that there is no inadvertent hierarchy between pages (with the exception of the main page as a starting point). I have made every attempt to create a hypertext that cannot possibly be transposed on paper without losing a great deal of its meaning; this is because I feel the form of the project is entirely essential to its subject matter. Obviously, it is fitting to present academic work about the Internet in hypertext, but that is not all that is at stake in Machine-Space. You will notice that the project does not arrive at a conclusion in a linear fashion, and perhaps it does not arrive at a conclusion at all. The project is designed to mirror the nature of the Internet: both are complex, unfolded systems that the user can explore as he or she sees fit, without the limitations of a linear path. Of course Machine-Space is far more quantitatively limited than the Internet at large, and so the experience will not be of something infinite. However, I have attempted to produce a multiplicity of conclusions, a web of inter-connected ideas and arguments that provide a theory of the Internet as chaotic as the Internet itself.

All software used in the creation of Machine-Space is open source (with the exception of my operating system, Mac OS X, but even that is based on an open source kernel). I believe that open source software is a wonderful example of the capacity the Internet has to escape capitalism and I am continually inspired by those who work to make computers more useful simply because computers should be useful and information should be accessible by everyone. The software I used for the project includes NeoOffice 2.2.2 (word processor/HTML editor), Cyberduck 2.8.2 (FTP client), and Quicksilver build 3814 (utility). The project is currently housed on the server at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.

As noted on the front page, this project is licensed under Creative Commons. Because the Internet provides so many opportunities for the sharing and adaptation of media, I believe it is important that we abandon the capitalist business model that demands monetary compensation for the use of one person's intellectual property. Old copyright laws no longer apply when people have the option to instantly download, adapt, and share media. Digital Rights Management has no place in a community where we create so that as many people as possible can hear what we have to say. It has cost me nothing just to build this project; it should cost you nothing to read or share it. That said, it is my hope that this project will continue to grow and include work from my peers. One of the more pessimistic ideas I put forth in Machine-Space is that of a mutually paralytic opposition between those who seek to commandeer the Internet for the proliferation of capitalist ideology, and those who seek to use the Internet's capabilities to dismantle the old ways of thinking. Creative Commons and the open source movement are just two of the ways we can work as a community to break the stasis and build an Internet for the people.

Questions, comments, and miscellany may be directed to mae dot saslaw at gmail dot com.