Foreword: We strongly encourage all registrants to login
to the EGC-2 interactive environment in the week prior
to the conference starting Sept 2 to familiarise
themselves with its layout and use. Very often one
of the conference operational team will be logged in
and available to provide assistance to you.
Please address any additional questions or problems
you have to egc2org at bellatrix.pcl.ox.ac.uk
EGC-2: Interactive Environment
During EGC-2 we will be hosting an interactive environment
in which registrants may hold private and group conversations,
attend scheduled discussion meetings, visit the coffee shop or
virtual bar for socializing, submit resumes and participate
in interviews in the Job Centre, and attend virtual exhibitions
where they may query company representatives about their
product lines.
The interactive environment is based on a MOO (multi user dimension,
object-oriented) which is accessible through the WWW interface at
the conference sites.
How to connect
--------------
You can connect to the MOO in three ways:
1) Using your web browser. This allows you to walk around the conference
centre, read the transcripts of meetings that have taken place, read and
send internal mail to other delegates, send short messages to connected
delegates, view personal profiles on delegates and take part in discussions.
2) Active connections using Netscape 2.0 and above. If you use Netscape
2.0 and above, you can use your web browser to take an active part in
discussions. You can do this by clicking on the 'Listen & Talk' button: a
separate window will appear allowing you to take part in discussion. (NOTE:
you should always stop the loading of this page before closing the window
or reloading the bottom frame).
3) 'Telnet' access. Provides active text-based access to the MOO. It is
highly recommended that you do not use telnet to do this, but a MOO client
instead. There is a list of MOO clients available at:
http://tecfa.unige.ch/edu-comp/WWW-VL/eduVR-page.html#Clients
If you do not have Netscape 2.0 or better this is the *only* way to get an
active connection to the MOO. This interface is not as user friendly
as the Web interface but it has the advantage of fast text-based access
which may be particularly suitable if you connect from home over a slower
modem connection.
It is *highly recommended* that you use Netscape 2.0 or above rather than
any other web browser when accessing the MOO. We will not guarantee that
any other browser will work correctly.
Things to do
------------
1. Familiarise yourself with the conference centre layout.
2. Personalise your 'home page' within the MOO. You can do this by
clicking on the 'About Me' icon in the navigation bar: add a picture, the
URL to your real home page, define your gender, give yourself a description
and edit any of the other information. You may obtain profiles
of other registrants by clicking on their name leading you to their
'home page'.
3. Try sending mail to other delegates by clicking on the 'Mailbox' icon
in the navigation bar. Remember to check your own mail regularly.
4. Either through an active connection or by 'telnetting' into the MOO,
test out the facilities for discussion. By clicking on the 'Listen & Talk'
button you will be able to observe the ongoing conversation in a room and
speak yourself by entering material in the 'say' box and clicking
'say'.
Auditoria:
There are three auditoria where the scheduled meetings on conference
presentations will take place and will consist of realtime presentation,
conversation and discussion at times that are on the conference
schedule. The meetings will be moderated by section conveners
allowing speakers to make a brief description of their presentation
and to answer questions from the audience which may be entered into
a queue. If you are a presenting author you should check the
schedule to ensure you know which time you need to be present
for your section.
Discussion Rooms:
Additionally each section has a room where ongoing asynchronous discussion
may be held throughout the conference. If you are interested in
a particular section or topic please find the appropriate
room where you may leave and add to comments on that subject.
Job Centre
----------
If you are on the lookout for future employment please locate
the Job Centre where you will have the ability to compose and
register your CV. The Job Centre can be used to schedule
private interviews during the conference.
Virtual Coffee Shop and Bar
---------------------------
Please locate the virtual coffee shop and bar for informal
conversation and socialising with colleagues both new and old.
Help available
--------------
1. There is searchable help available by clicking on the 'Help' icon in
the navigation bar.
2. When you have an active connection through the web, typing 'help topic'
in the 'Do' field will give you help on that topic.
3. When connecting by 'telnet', typing 'help topic' will also give you
help on that topic.
4. Administrators will be available at most times. Typing '@admin' (in
the 'Do' field if you are actively connected through the web) will give you
a list of the currently active administrators. If none are available, you
should use either the internal mail (through the 'Mailbox' icon in the
navigation bar) or email to contact them.
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EGC-2 is sponsored by Oxford Glycosystems and Chapman & Hall.
Conference design, organization and operation by Greenlea
Communications.
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