The MicroMUSE Charter Updated 11 November 1994 0. Introduction --------------- This document, having been updated and approved by the administration of MicroMUSE, defines the history, goals and purposes of MicroMUSE. It is organized in this fashion: 1. Mission Statement 2. History 3. Theme 4. Administrative Hierarchy 5. Bylaws 6. References 1. Mission Statement -------------------- MicroMUSE is chartered as an educational multi-user simulation environment (MUSE) and virtual community with preference toward educational content of a scientific and cultural nature. The MicroMUSE administration works towards the development of MUSE technology to enhance the exchange of ideas, the learning process, and the expression of creative writing for individuals of all ages and backgrounds. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Southern Maine (USM), Bolt Beranek and Newman (BBN), and the Merrimack Education Center (MEC) provide the computing resources for the continuing existence and development of MicroMUSE and associated services to the K-12 community with the understanding that these resources are used in accordance with the general policies and guidelines of the sponsoring institutions for propriety and with relevance to their educational mission. Because these institutions are funded in part by Federal taxes, the MicroMUSE administration is obligated to ensure that these taxpayer dollars are not used to support activities of a questionable or objectionable nature. 2 History --------- MicroMUSE was founded under the name of MicroMUSH by Jin in the summer of 1990. Based upon TinyMUSH, a program written by Larry Foard, MicroMUSH was centered around Cyberion City, a space station orbiting earth of the 24th century. The initial MicroMUSH database was largely due to the efforts of the Wizards Jin, Trout_Complex, Coyote, Opera_Ghost, Snooze, Wai, Star and Mama.Bear. Leet (Larry Foard) and Bard (later known as Michael) were, along with Jin, the primary programmers. In the fall of 1990, Moulton arrived on MicroMUSH. With his guidance, the futuristic Multi-User Student Hangout (MUSH) began to evolve from its gaming/recreational origin into the broader-based virtual community with a real potential for an enhanced educational process. A new group of Directors gradually replaced the old Wizards: Jin, Moulton, Michael, Ender, Erk, Priam_Agrivar, Koosh (later known as shkoo) and Aslan. A new administrative hierarchy replaced the loose association of Wizards and the first Charter was written and approved in the spring of 1991. Also in the spring of 1991, MicroMUSH was renamed MicroMUSE; and the greatly-changed TinyMUSH program was renamed TinyMUSE with Larry Foard's blessing. MicroMUSE moved from its original home on manray, a Sun 4/110 workstation at the California State University in Fresno, California, to chezmoto.ai.mit.edu, a machine in the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory under the jurisdiction of Dr. Hal Abelson of MIT. In March of 1993, Dr. Barry Kort (aka "Moulton") founded the Consortium for the Development of Educational Muse Technology and Infrastructure. This organization, linked via e-mail, includes Dr. Kort's research group at BBN Labs, Maricopa Community College, University of Southern Maine (USM), and DeAnza Community College of Cupertino, CA. Proposals for grants were submitted to the National Science Foundation by BBN Labs and by the University of Southern Maine. Authors of the BBN proposal include Dr. Kort, Billie Hughes, Martha Kanter (President of DeAnza Community College), and Wally Feurzeig and Paul Horwitz of BBN Labs. Julie Ellis wrote the proposals submitted by USM to the NSF. The NSF was favorably impressed by the BBN Labs proposal and agreed to fund part of the work. One of the small grants at USM has also been approved. The vision of MicroMUSE was enhanced by the introduction of K12 teachers and students to the Internet and thus to MicroMUSE. Parkview Education Center at Bridgewater, Nova Scotia was one of the first K12 schools to gain Internet access and begin using the Muse. Unfortunately, although the students were quite active, the faculty never became involved, and ultimately restricted access to out-of-hours periods. Rob Reilly of the Lanesboro School (K-8) in western MA was one of the first teachers to begin using MicroMUSE regularly with his students. Since then, educators around the US and Canada have been exploring MicroMUSE with their students in pursuit of new tools for learning offered by the MicroMUSE Learning Community. The Graham and Parks Alternative School of Cambridge, MA has been exploring the Muse as an adjunct to its participation in the NSF-funded National Testbed for Educational Networking. Many students from G&P are on Micro, and they also have their own private Muse on a machine at the school itself. The students invited selected collaborators whom they meet on MicroMuse to participate in projects on the private Muse at G&P. There is limited faculty participation to-date in the G&P Muse, but it is hoped that this will change. MicroMUSE has brought along several sister MUSEs with educational purposes. MariMuse was the first successful startup of a sister site to serve the educational needs of an academic community. In addition to Phoenix College, MariMuse serves elementary school children from the Longview School at Phoenix in a special outreach program in cooperation with the Phoenix Think Tank. This highly-successful and visible program was instrumental in gaining NSF interest and support for continuing the program on a funded basis. Other educational Muse sites have sprung up at the University of Vermont at Montpelier (ECO-Muse) and St. Michael's College in Vermont (SMC-Muse). DeAnza Community College also brought up a Muse under the direction of its new President, Martha Kanter. G&P Muse at the Graham and Parks Alternative School and MEC-Muse at Merrimack Education Center in Billerica, MA, are private educational Muses serving students in programs at those two institutions. Lexington High School in Lexington MA also has a private Muse, and a new site is under development at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in Cambridge, MA. MicroMUSE has always had some element of space exploration present in its theme and database. Initially, Coyote built a linear model of the solar system with a room representing each planet. Using the first Corporation (Space_Builder), Ender, Erk and Lord_Soth expanded this into a two-dimensional construct, with linked rooms establishing the orbit of each planetary body and programmed objects representing the planets and moons. The interest in space resulted in the creation of the Space Administration, headed initially by Ender. Priam_Agrivar took over the reins of the Space Administration shortly after the completion of the two dimensional model. With Yarus, Priam_Agrivar led the Space Administration to develope a three dimensional space() that was hard-coded into the TinyMUSE program. In the fall of 1993, the Charter was re-written as the Charter and Bylaws to incorporate procedural guidelines and updated definitions for the organizational structure, which now included a Department of Guides and changes to the Advisory Board. During this time it was also determined that space() would be moved to a separate MUSE at some later date, due to limitations of computer memory and disk space. In the spring of 1994, repeated attacks by hackers forced the MicroMUSE Administration to restrict and then terminate guest access. A new Membership registration process was created, led primarily by Aslan, Los, MacDuff and Frnkzk. Los was the Head of Guides, MacDuff was the newly appointed MicroMUSE Mediator of disputes and conflicts, and Frnkzk was brought in by Moulton as the new Director in charge of code development. This registration procedure involved the concept of mentoring; that is, new Members would be introduced to MicroMUSE culture by experienced Mentors. Cyberion City was split between two MUSEs: MicroMUSE retained most of the infrastructure; Cyburbia became the home to the residential areas. For more information, see reference [1] and [13]. 3. Theme -------- MicroMUSE is based on an optimistic vision of the 24th century. The central setting is Cyberion City II, a gigantic, cylindrical city in orbit around the Earth, 36 kilometers long and 15 kilometers in diameter. Cyberion's residents are scholars who live in a unique community dedicated to learning, teaching, and the preservation of knowledge. Although many tourists and other visitors regularly visit Cyberion, permanent residence is granted to only a few, selected from tens of thousands of applicants, from schools and universities across Earth and the offworld colonies. Cyberion's residents are all commonly referred to as 'scholars', whether they are students, teachers, or researchers. Scholars spend much of their time in academic and social discussions, sharing knowledge and experiences from their different cultures and backgrounds. Many choose to study in special learning environments and classrooms. Still others spend a great deal of time off-station, traveling throughout the solar system. Many scholars devote their time to building interactive exhibits designed to preserve or explore specific elements of humankind's knowledge and culture. Much of Cyberion is devoted to these exhibits, making it the largest and most unique museum ever built. Some of the most advanced technologies ever known have come out of Cyberion's research labs. Matter transmission and a radically advanced information and communications system are two such breakthroughs made in the last ten years. Great advances have also been made in robotics, artificial intelligence, space travel, biotechnology, and in many other fields. These advances have become part of life in Cyberion. Artificial life coexists peacefully with human life, communication between scholars is almost instantaneous, matter is routinely transported across many kilometers using power from fusion reactors and energy collectors, and the imaginations of the scholars are brought to life through a combination of tactile holograms, genetically engineered life, biomechanics, and intelligent computers. All in all, Cyberion is one of the crowning examples of the human drive to learn and grow. For more information on Cyberion City II,see reference [2]. 4. Administrative Hierarchy --------------------------- The administration of MicroMUSE is organized by a group of people called the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors holds ultimate responsibility for the success of the Mission Statement displayed in this document. It has final say on the appointment of new administrative volunteers to existing or new positions within the administrative hierarchy, the changes to MicroMUSE, and the allocation of scarce resources under its control. The Board of Directors ensures that MicroMUSE follows the path outlined in the Mission Statement. For more information on the organizational structure developed by the Directors, see the Bylaws. 5. Introduction to the Bylaws ----------------------------- The Bylaws of MicroMUSE defines the procedural guidelines and organizational structure of the MicroMUSE Administration. It is maintained as a separate document from the Charter to facilitate updates. 6. References ------------- 1) History of MicroMUSE, by Shohin and Calliope 2) Cyberion City II, Inside and Outside, by Aslan 3) The MicroMUSE Charter 1991, by the Executive Council 4) MicroMUSE Introduction, by Aslan 5) Letter to Officials; Letter to New Users, by Michael (revised by Aslan) 6) Mentoring Guidelines, by Los 7) Mentoring Qualifications, by MacDuff 8) Mentoring FAQ, by Ender 9) Membership, Registration and Mentoring helpfiles, by Los ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 10) Project and Corporation Guidelines, by the Advisory Board 11) Code of Conduct, by the Advisory Board 12) MicroMUSE FAQ 13) History of space(), by Priam_Agrivar and Carrie_Gram 14) MicroMUSE Bylaws, by the Advisory Board These documents and more information may be found through anonymous ftp to musenet.bbn.com or through gopher to cyberion.bbn.com