CYBERTOWN
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1) BASICS
2) BACKGROUND INFO
3) FREE HOMES
4) 3D VIRTUAL REALITY
5) CYBERTOWN CHAT ROOMS
6) PARTICIPATION
7) THE FUTURE
8) COMMERCE
9) QUESTIONS NOT ANSWERED HERE
1) BASICS
UPDATE: 31st March 1999 Earthtime
Cybertown and Colony City have joined forces under the name Cybertown. What
was Cybertown (primarily a portal to the best of Earth's Web) has now become
Old Cybertown while it is being fully integrated into the new Cybertown (where
citizens take up residence, get jobs, earn money and interact in 3D). Much of
the FAQ below relates to both. Where something relates only to one or the other,
it will say so. Old Cybertown is primarily the portal part of Cybertown. There
are also popular 2D (text) chat rooms in Old Cybertown. The 3D chat is in "New"
Cybertown.
WHAT IS CYBERTOWN?
Cybertown is a virtual community of people from all over Earth. It is a place
to get entertainment and information and it is also a gateway to the best of
the Web. It is a town set in the future on another planet and has many areas
to explore, things to do and people to meet. Much of it is also available in
multi-user 3D Virtual Reality. The residents (Colonists) of Cybertown contribute
to its creation and so basically Cybertown will become whatever its residents
make it. You can get a lot more info at the Information
Center. Despite the distance, Cybertown receives more than 10 million accesses from Earth every month as well as appearing in magazines, books, TV shows, CD-ROMs and newspapers all over the home planet.
WHERE DO I.......? HOW DO I.......?
The best way to find what's in Old Cybertown and where things are is to go to the
comprehensive Directory/Index. It's the complete
guide to everything in town. The best way to find what's in the new Cybertown and where things are is to go to the map when you get to the Town Plaza.
WHAT IS THERE TO SEE AND DO IN OLD CYBERTOWN?
If you go to the Cybertown map, you will see the basics
of what there is. You can click on the map to go to
specific places. A good starting place is the Entertainment Complex
which leads to many other areas of Old Cybertown. Town
Services has a lot of useful information including news, weather, magazines,
TV shows and movies from Earth.
WHAT IS THERE TO SEE AND DO IN "NEW" CYBERTOWN?
This is where the action is in Cybertown. It's where the citizens get their own 3D houses, furnish them and invite their friends over. It's also where the 3D chat takes place and where citizens take jobs, earn money and buy and sell stuff. It's also where the games and events in town happen. It's the most advanced virtual community on
the planet due to being the only true community that has
its own economy, its own social structure and is even
available in 3D Virtual Reality. It is a community that is
created by its own residents.
It's a community of online virtual communities
where you can build your own virtual houses and interact
in the community with others in virtual reality using
avatars. This interaction goes far beyond just exploring
and chatting with other people. You can become a Citizen, take jobs in the community and earn
community "money" (community credits). You can increase the desirability and value of your house
by "buying" custom furniture in the community VR Mall.
You can earn "money" even just by visiting Cybertown. Houses can be bought and changed. Later on you will be able to sell, trade and even
rent out your house to others. In other words there is a whole social and economic structure in
Cybertown and you can participate in it with other people from all over the world. You will be able to even do this across multiple communities, all with their own special and unique identity.
Cybertown also features technological advances such "shared-state" where actions you do with
objects can be seen simultaneously by people all over the world. So when you move the sofa in
your living room, your guests know where to now sit. You can give your house a
password so that only your friends can visit. The identity established by your avatar -
which can be completely customised - is also maintained from community to community.
Citizens will also be able to create their own customised objects
either for their own use or for trade. Citizens will also be able to create - and sell or trade -
custom houses or other living abodes as well as custom avatars. Some of the merchants selling
"real" goods in the community will give discounts for earned community
credits so your credits can go towards purchasing real-world goods and services
as well.
The purpose of Cybertown is the harmonious interchange of ideas and information between
community members and between communities and to give you something worthwhile to
create. So, make Cybertown your community and be a pioneer in the next big step in global
communication and interactivity!
WHAT SHOULD I LOOK AT FIRST?
The Guided Tour is a good place to start. Click
on the arrows at the top of each tour page to move to the next one. The "GO
THERE" button at the bottom of each tour page, starting with tour page 3, enables
you to go directly to the area of town described by that tour page. The Directory/Index
is another good place to start.
WHAT ARE THE WAYS TO GET AROUND OLD CYBERTOWN?
You can explore Old Cybertown in many ways:
1) Click on buildings on the Map image of the
town
2) Click on the underlined hypertext links on the different pages
3) Use the Directory/Index to see everything in
town
4) Use the Subway to quickly ride to any place in
town
5) Click on the 
button to find most anything in town
6) Click on the Pod to travel to many places in
town
7) Click on the Port to travel to other planets
and times
8) Use the Freeway
9) Use the Remote Navigator
10) Use the Navigation Bar at the bottom of most pages
WHAT'S THE QUICKEST WAY TO GET TO MOST OF THE
PLACES IN TOWN?
Use the Teleport
button on the Navigation Bar on the bottom of many of the pages.
WHERE CAN I GET HELP IN OLD CYBERTOWN?
Go to the Help and the new Computer
Tech Support Bulletin Boards.
The Cybertown Community Leaders have created the new Cybertown
Help System to enable you to rapidly find key help information in Cybertown.
WHAT IF I'M NEW TO THE NET?
If you're new to the Net, click here for lots of
useful information to help you understand what it's all about and how to use
it. Primarily deals with the Earth Internet.
WHAT DO I NEED IN ORDER TO SEE ALL OF CYBERTOWN?
Cybertown is best viewed with Netscape Navigator. Download the latest version
of Netscape by clicking on the Netscape Now button. Version 3.0+ includes
the ability to view our 3DVR files.
Earlier versions require the Live3D plug-in.
Cybertown also looks OK in Microsoft's Internet Explorer 4.0+ which you can
download by pressing the button to the right. We cannot recommend Internet
Explorer 3.0.
We also recommend that you view the town with your browser maximized (at 800x600)
and using 256 or more colors. A 28.8k or more modem also makes a big
difference! For the 3DVR, a Pentium is recommended.
IS THERE ONE PLACE WHERE I CAN GET ALL THE FILES I'LL
NEED?
For the full multimedia Cybertown experience you can also
download the following Netscape plug-ins and other software as and when you
need them (you'll only need to do this once - and then each time the plug-ins
get upgraded):
For single-user 3DVR for PCs, click here.
If you have Netscape 3.0, you don't need to do this.
For single-user 3DVR for Macs, click here
For multi-user 3DVR for PCs (Win95 only), click this button 
For Shockwave multimedia, click here
For The Palace multimedia chat rooms, click here
For Shades of Evil MUD, click here
for PC
For Shades of Evil MUD, click here
for Mac
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO ACCESS CYBERTOWN?
Nothing, it's basically free. There are a few "pay-as-you-play" games in the
Arcade but most of the games are free also.
WHERE DO I REPORT PROBLEMS?
At any of the many e-mail links
around town. Or at the Cybertown
Security Office.
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2) BACKGROUND INFO
HOW LONG HAS CYBERTOWN BEEN ON THE NET?
Since June 15th, 1995.
HOW POPULAR IS CYBERTOWN?
Well, it's currently getting more than 40 million accesses a month and appears in magazines, books, newspapers, CD-ROMs and TV shows all over the world every month. It's also featured on the Microsoft Network, AOL, WebTV and Prodigy.
You can check out a few of Cybertown's media reviews as well as what some of our visitors have had to say.
HOW MANY PEOPLE WORK ON BUILDING AND MAINTAINING OLD CYBERTOWN?
Two artists in a house in Los Angeles.
WHO PAYS FOR CYBERTOWN? WHO OWNS IT?
We mainly funded its creation, maintenance and expansion
by creating web sites for other companies and by building Cybertown in our "spare"
time. As Cybertown grew, we were able to spend less time on web design for
others and more time on expanding the town. The town also generates income from
advertising and other means that help keep it here. Many companies have partnered
with Cybertown to provide services for Cybertown visitors and residents in exchange
for the increased exposure. Cybertown was recently acquired by our good friends and partners, blaxxun interactive and together we have now created the "New" 3D Cybertown.
DO YOU GET PAID ANYTHING WHEN PEOPLE PAY TO BECOME MEMBERS
OF THE PALACE OR PURCHASE MERIDIAN 59?
No. We brought those technologies into Cybertown because we feel they are valuable
contributions to the Net that people should know about and experience.
WHY DO YOU DO CYBERTOWN?
Because we're a couple of artists who discovered the Net four years ago
(late to the game, I know) and completely fell in love with it and really wanted
to create something worthwhile to give something back to that growing organic
lifeforce - the Net - that had given so much pleasure to us. We do it because
it's something we love to do. That we make a living at it is all well and good,
but that's not the primary motivation.
WHAT'S THE TOWN PHILOSOPHY?
Because we have many children as visitors and residents, Cybertown is a family-oriented
town that believes in forwarding constructive uplifting values that help people
survive better in life.
Cybertown is set in a future where people are not discriminated against on the
basis of personal beliefs, sex, age or race and a future where people are not
attacked for these things. By the late 21st century in Cybertown, criminal activities,
drugs and other mind-control methods had also come to be considered unnecessary.
IS ANYONE WELCOME IN CYBERTOWN?
We don't like to discriminate but you probably won't find any drug lords or
other people who like to "survive" at the expense of their fellows in Cybertown.
WHAT ELSE WON'T I FIND IN CYBERTOWN?
Pornography or sexually-explicit links or links that encourage crime. If you
find any such in Cybertown, you can report them to us here.
This doesn't mean that we are prudes or that Cybertown doesn't have a "dark
side" - the Cyberhood - it just means that we prefer
those things and those people that uplift rather than degrade our fellows.
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3) HOMES
DO YOU PROVIDE FREE HOME PAGES?
Yes, we provide free home pages and hosting (placing them on the Web) for you.
If you click here
it will take you to a page that will enable you to create and get your home
page hosted for free right now. But, read on, as we offer a great deal more than a simple home page.
WHAT IS A HOME IN "NEW" CYBERTOWN?
It's a free place where you can invite your friends over for parties, meetings etc. in 2D or even in full 3D! Each one comes with your own chat room and message board and various other goodies. Each home has several rooms - one even has a pool and another has a pool table. In the 2D version of your home you also can upload a photo of yourself or any other picture as well as putting up other information about yourself and your favorite links. It's also a way to get a free link to your home page (if you have one) from a high profile, high visibility site and to become a member of a very fast growing community. You can even earn "money" in the part of the City where your home is and you can now buy better furniture, bigger houses etc. You will also be able to "buy" bots that can handle things for you in your home and even be pets! Your home also works in 2D so people can visit you and chat or leave you messages with only their browser. You can also open your own 3D Club. To find out more, go here.
CAN I UPDATE THE INFORMATION IN MY HOME?
Absolutely. Every aspect is fully updateable directly by you.
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4) 3D VIRTUAL REALITY
WHAT IS THE VIRTUAL REALITY ALL ABOUT?
We forsee a future where people will be wearing lightweight headsets and traveling
the Net in fully-immersive 3D Virtual Reality (3DVR) while meeting and talking
to people all over the world and exploring various experiences and worlds
together. We are putting the groundwork in place for this here in Cybertown
and we already have numerous 3DVR
worlds that you can go to and explore and talk to others in VR. It
is early pioneering days in this technology right now but in the next few
years we will see dramatic advances in speed and quality of images and experiences
available. During 1999 we are converting a lot more of Cybertown into
3DVR as well as adding a lot more interesting things to actually do while
in the VR experience.
WHAT IS MULTI-USER 3D VIRTUAL REALITY?
This is the VR where you can take a body (avatar) and move it around the VR
space, meet others with bodies and chat with them.
WHAT IS AN AVATAR?
A digital representation of yourself that you can use to move around in 3D
virtual spaces and that can communicate with others who are using avatars.
CAN I GET AN EXISTING AVATAR OR DO I NEED TO CREATE ONE?
There are dozens already available that you can get by entering one
of our multi-user VR spaces. Just by entering any of our multi-user spaces,
you automatically get a generic avatar. 3D software that exports files in
vrml format also enables you to create your own custom avatar. New software
is also becoming available that is specifically for avatar creation. We are
going to be shortly providing both custom avatars and the ability for you
to create your own.
WHICH 3DVR SOFTWARE SHOULD I USE TO VIEW CYBERTOWN VR?
To explore our multiuser VR worlds with an avatar and meet others that you
can chat with, you should use Contact from
Blaxxun. It runs best on a fast Pentium with at least 32 megs of RAM for now.
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5) CYBERTOWN CHAT ROOMS
HOW DO WE CHAT IN CYBERTOWN?
Go to Le Cafe and choose one of the many chat rooms.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT CHAT ROOMS?
Just like in a town where different people like different kinds of cafés,
different people like different kinds of chat rooms so we have several kinds
for you to choose from. There are three basic kinds of chat rooms in Cybertown:
1) Text-based chat rooms - both "safe" and "free-for-all"
2) The Palace multimedia chat rooms
3) The 3DVR avatar-based chat rooms
1) a) We have many text-based chatrooms - both HTML and Java.
There are rooms for different categories and different age groups. The features
in these rooms include: private messages, private rooms, ability to ignore
unwanted messages, images you can use, user-definable options and moderated
rooms for events.
2) The Cybertown Palace rooms (of which there are
more than 50), feature beautiful visual locations as backdrops, 2-dimensional
customizable avatars and props that you can animate and move around, music
and sound effects, games, dances and much, much more. Our Palace is a lot
of fun and very popular. You will
need special software to get into our Palace which you can get for free here.
Now also featuring Instant
Palace (no download needed)!
3) The 3DVR avatar-based chat rooms enable you to chat with other people while inhabiting and traveling around full 3D Virtual Reality spaces. This is the future of chat. And it's here now.
WHAT ARE THE BULLETIN BOARDS?
They are places where you can leave messages for other visitors or residents
or discuss specific topics such as Unexplained Phenomena.
WHERE ARE THE OLD CYBERTOWN BULLETIN BOARDS?
The Cybertown Help Bulletin Board.
The Cybertown
Colonies Bulletin Board.
The Unexplained Phenomena Bulletin Board.
The Computer Tech Support Bulletin Board.
The 3DVR Bulletin Board.
The Gamers Bulletin Board.
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6) PARTICIPATION
HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED IN THE CYBERTOWN COMMUNITY?
There are many ways: you can chat with others in the many chat rooms, you can
get a home, you can write articles for CyberNews,
you can play with others in the Cybertown MUD, you
can create content (including 3DVR spaces) for "New" Cybertown, you could also create content for the coming Cybertown TV and radio stations,
you can become a Community Leader (see below), you
can contribute to and even manage Bulletin Boards, you can moderate subject-specific
chat forums and you can showcase your art in our galleries. There will be elections
this year and you can run for office in the different parts of Cybertown.
THE CYBERTOWN CLUBS
We have now opened special interest clubs where you can meet and interact with people with similar interests. Each club has special web pages, a bulletin board and a chat room each devoted to the subject of the Club. You can either join Clubs or run Clubs as a Club Owner or both.
You can even start your own new Clubs and if you have home pages that deal with any of the themes of our Clubs, you can have them showcased in the Clubs! Register for your own Club here.
In "New" Cybertown you can even open a 3DVR Club!
HOW CAN I HELP CREATE CYBERTOWN?
You can help create new sections of Cybertown (the Campus and the Family Center
and the Women's Resources sections were created by
residents, for instance). This involves doing research on excellent sites to
add to Cybertown. You could also check the sites submitted by people who'd like
us to add them to Cybertown or to be chosen as the Cybertown Site of the Week.
You could help find and report links that are no longer working. You can become
a Community Leader and help manage Bulletin Boards
by answering people's questions and helping new visitors and residents find
their feet. You could notify us of apartments or links that violate the content
guidelines. You could act as an official liaison with Cybertown City Council
(which you could also join as it develops). You could also monitor chat rooms
and keep them pleasant. Credits, descriptive links and other rewards will be
offered for any and all help. In "New" Cybertown, there are dozens and dozens of different of jobs available which enable you to earn citycash$ that you can spend on all sorts of things in town.
If you're interested in helping Cybertown or in becoming a Cybertown
Community Leader, let us know here
and tell us something about yourself and your experience and why you'd make
a good Cybertown Community Leader.
If you find a link(s) not working in Cybertown, please report it here.
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7) THE FUTURE
WHAT'S COMING TO CYBERTOWN IN THE FUTURE?
There are many new attractions planned (some of these are already released now) for the coming years. These include:
interactive 3DVR adventure games, live music concerts (also in 3DVR), in-town
TV and radio shows (some of which will be created by Cybertown residents), better
apartment systems, celebrity chat sessions and a much expanded 3DVR experience
where there will be far more interesting things to do in VR than just chatting.
The Campus will be expanded to start delivering real-time courses in VR. The
Beyond Cybertown area will start to be built and there will be mysterious ancient
alien ruins to explore and interact with. Below Cybertown and some underwater
sections are also coming. Community Leaders and residents will start creating
a lot more of Cybertown as well as running for office in town.
WHAT'S COMING IN THE NEAR FUTURE
The First Phase of creating Cybertown has been to put in the place the framework
for vastly expanding the interactive community aspects of the town in the Second
Phase. Phase Two is now underway and will take 6 months to complete.
During the next 6 months there are going to be a great deal of changes and upgrades
to Cybertown including elections where Colonists can run for office and a lot
of 3D Virtual Reality interactive enhancements to make being in a
3D world much more fun. A lot of work is also being done in the direction
of making this much more of a community that you can really get involved in
creating yourselves. There have also been a lot of requests for better chat-room
monitoring and moderating so that is also coming as are town events. CyberNews
will also be revamped and kept more current.
We have finished surveying thousands of Colonists as to what they want
and we have obtained some wonderful and very useful feedback which will be shaping
the future of Cybertown. If you are interested in the possibility of being a
Cybertown Community Leader or contributing to the community in some other way,
there is a Cybertown Community Leader page that
will explain the opportunities and the rewards available.
Cybertown has now grown so big and so busy that it's too much work for just
2 guys! We'd like to sleep occasionally . Many of you have offered to help
and this is very much appreciated : ). So, during the next 6 months, we are
going to be giving a lot of the creation of Cybertown over to you, the community.
We will still be very much involved on a daily basis and will be available to
be in communication with you through your Community Leaders as well as in other
ways
In response to public demand, we will soon start offering Cybertown t-shirts,
jackets and other related merchandise - especially futuristic items. We are
also working on a Cybertown WEB-CD that will give a much deeper, richer experience
of Cybertown. This will be included in the new Cybertown Citizenship which will
give Citizens a lot of new benefits not available to people just visiting Cybertown.
The 3DVR aspects of Cybertown are going to be vastly upgraded in the coming months.
To see a more detailed view of where we're headed, click here.
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8) COMMERCE IN CYBERTOWN
I HAVE A STORE - HOW DO I GET IT INTO CYBERTOWN?
If you'd like your store to be in the Mall, get the details here.
HOW DO I ADVERTISE IN CYBERTOWN?
You can sponsor different parts of Cybertown or you can have advertising
banners in different
parts of the town. To integrate your advertising better you could participate
jointly with Cybertown in adding or enhancing town attractions. We welcome co-branding
joint ventures.
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9) QUESTIONS NOT ANSWERED ABOVE
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