The Web embodies the anti-foundational philosophy of postmodernism in a number of ways. First, the model upon which the Web is based is not the traditional one-to-many of traditional broadcast media, but a many-tomany model in which no one controls the message. Second, the Web effectively has no controlling center or hierarchy. The medium is radically decentered. Nobody controls the Internet.18 Third, the medium is not stable. It is evolving at an unprecedented rate and in unpredictable directions. The ground is always in motion. There is no foundational control and no one architect; rather, the Web is created by the millions of interactions of all its members.
The logic of the Web is quite different from that of the physical, linear world. The Web is hypertext and hypermedia. It is free of the constraints of traditional writing. A hypermedium is not a closed work with a stable meani ng, but an open fabric of links that are in the process of constant revision and supplementation. The traditional author's voice is undermined, and the traditional relationship between author and reader is overthrown. Each reader creates his or her own text and own meaning.
Not surprisingly, the issue of copyright and intellectual property law has become a major issue on the Web. Sites like Total News manage to use other news providers' proprietary content for their own ends while avoiding a breach of copyright laws. The manipulation, editing, threading, and recombination of text, images, sound, and video are fashionable on the Web.
In the fastest growing segments of MOOs and GMUKs there is no game or competition, other than spontaneous role playing and symbolic exchange. In short, there is no overall purpose or goal, no rules or regulation. Individuals create their own rules, reasons, and relations--none is prespecified.
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