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The language of the Internet is full of spatial metaphors. Individuals
and organizations spend time in "cyberspace," create "web sites," and
frequent "chat rooms" and "multi-user domains" (MUDs). If we view the
web as a landscape to be explored, what similarities can we say that
cyber spaces have to physical spaces? In what ways is this comparison
useful? Where does the analogy break down? If we treat the Internet as
a global village, what evidence of national or regional communities
can be found? How does the internet affect our notions of place?
Choose a web site, a chat room, a news group, or a MUD as a focus for
your exploration of the use of spatial or place-related metaphors to
describe the internet experience. What, if anything, about this site
reminds you of a physical place? How is the space defined visually and
verbally? How does the movement from page to page through links compare
to physical travel?
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