ELE@psuvm.psu.edu (Jeremy Crampton) (03/19/91)
You may be interested in the following announcement. Apologies for any duplication of this notice. ANNOUNCING A NEW LIST FOR CARTOGRAPHY, INFO GRAPHICS, SCI-VIZ, AND RELATED AREAS: -INGRAFX- (Information Graphics) Hello! INGRAFX is a new listserv devoted to the interdisciplinary areas of cartography, information graphics and scientific visualization. As owner of the list, I would like to invite all those who have an interest in the broad range of images known as "graphics" (maps, photographs, drawings and information or quantitative graphics) to consider signing up. Please do not take these requirements too formally! Ideally, the discussion will be uninhibited and free-flowing. Candidate topics for discussion might be; the relation of maps to graphics as a whole (are they different kinds of represen- tation?); the philosophy of graphic representation (what theories are there of graphic representations, and how does a graphic "represent" segments of the world); how can we use graphics in education; to what extent does "graphicacy" matter in today's world; what is the relationship between academic or scientific graphics, and graphics in the popular media; can we or should we accrue rules for "good" graphics; are there graphic variables or elements that are basic to all graphics, and can these be used in animation? In general our aim is for an *informal* discussion which is cross-disciplinary, and about graphics. ***How to Join in*** Curious to see what's going on so far? Why not sign up now? To *sign up*, send a message to: LISTSERV@PSUVM (bitnet) or LISTSERV@PSUVM.PSU.EDU (internet) and include the following: SUB INGRAFX <your name> where <your name> is your actual name, not your email address. DO NOT send this message to INGRAFX@PSUVM as this is where you send your messages. (You do not need to include the '<>' around your name.) No other text is needed. E.g., SUB INGRAFX j w crampton On bitnet you can also sign up by using the TELL command, e.g., TELL LISTSERV AT PSUVM SUB INGRAFX j w crampton Once you are a subscriber you can retrieve any files that have been archived on the listserv, including the monthly discussion logs, and other files of interest. To see what is there, either TELL or send a email note to LISTSERV AT PSUVM or LISTSERV AT PSUVM.PSU.EDU with the command INDEX INGRAFX. Once you have decided on a file you can retrieve it by using the GET command. E.g., TELL LISTSERV AT PSUVM GET 'File name', or GET 'Another file'. To *post a note*, send an email note to INGRAFX@PSUVM. ***Future Discussions on the List*** As a geographer/cartographer, I am particularly interested in getting fellow cartographers to join in the debate. Especially students. However, one of the goals of the list is to broaden cartographic debate to include consideration of the many forms and roles of graphics in today's highly visual world. To this end, the list will be interdisciplinary. It will seek to include people from the worlds of information graphics (see the work by Edward Tufte for one position on this), scientific visualization, and the media (_USA Today_ style graphics?...) To my knowledge there does not yet exist such an interdisciplinary forum for the discussion of graphics as a whole. I would also like to have people share their graphics. This can be done by compressing and converting a file to binary form. I do not encourage posting of these files to the list, but those people interested in swapping graphics should describe what they have, and what they'd like to see, on the INGRAFX list. Transactions could then take place over private email, with a list of available graphics being held in our archives. Reviews, either of software, books or articles on graphics, are also especially encouraged. If you have been asked to write one and can't wait to see it in "print," send it to INGRAFX (retaining your copyright). We aim to create an informal environment for the discussion of all issues related to graphics. This might also include discussion of ideas you are working on for future articles, or research projects announcements of job openings, interesting graphics you have discovered, or just general commentary with a graphic flavor. -- jeremy..