invitation to chat

invitation to chat

usability home

what I've learned so far

try it now!

list o' resources

excerpts from the March 2000 chat

invitation to chat

a blank page

From: Deena <textra@chisp.net>

Reply-To: textra@chisp.net

Subject: [Event] ELO Usability chat March 29

Please join us for an Electronic Literature

Organization (ELO) Chat

Wednesday March 29th at

21:00 Eastern

20:00 Central

19:00 Mountain

18:00 Pacific

12:00 Sydney (Thursday)

Go to http://lingua.utdallas.edu:7000 and sign

in as guest, then type @go eliterature.

Topic: "How does your work 'read'? - and can

usability techniques help you understand what your

readers experience?"

You've worked long and hard on a hypertext,

blended media, or other electronic work. There are

a myriad of ways into and out of the work--many

of which may surprise you. Is it possible to

discover what a reader sees - reads - thinks -

feels?

Julianne Chatelain founded the usability program

at a hypertext software development company, and

has watched readers experience non-fiction

hypertext, including "interactive video", CBT,

online help, dedicated HT tools, and web pages,

since 1979. Recently she's worked with some of

ELO's hypertext creators to explore whether

usability techniques can help authors "follow the

reader" and get a sense of how their works are

experienced.

Join our guest Julianne Chatelain, host Deena

Larsen, and other electronic writers to explore

ways to use usability testing (both formal and

informal) to check on how your work is perceived.

You may want to check out your reader's emotions,

or the effect on the work of reader expectations

and desire for control in path- following. Online

handouts will be available.

[That's what you're reading right now...-ed.]

These biweekly chats provide an opportunity for

creative writers and readers to get together and

discuss the exciting innovations and

possibilities in hypertext and other forms of

electronic literature. Each chat features a

special guest from among the leading lights of

the electronic literature world. Chats are

archived at http://www.eliterature.org/.

INSTRUCTIONS ON JOINING THE CHATS

To take part in the ELO chats, just go on the web

to the Lingua MOO and sign in as a guest. To enter

LinguaMOO, click on the URL:

http://lingua.utdallas.edu:7000

Your browser must be either Netscape

Communicator version 4.08 or newer, or Microsoft

Internet Explorer version 4.0 or newer. Java,

Javascript, and Cookies must be enabled for the

system to work.

You must log in as guest, but you will be

prompted to enter your real name on the next

screen.

Once in LinguaMOO, type in @go eliterature to

get to the electronic literature chat room.

Once there, you can type a quotation mark " and

your text to start talking.

You can also type @who to find out who else is

there.

If you'd like to learn more about MOOing,

please e-mail Deena Larsen at textra@chisp.net

for a short tutorial.

We hope you'll join us for this exciting chat.

------------

Electronic Literature Organization

http://www.eliterature.org/

Come on over to explore the amazing possibilities

Note from Julianne: if you're reading this after the chat session is over, write me anyway (at home please). I'd be very interested to experience your work and learn whether any of these techniques were effective for you as an author.