In the context of this special edition on electronic litterature and language, particular
attention will be given in this Perspective section to Web Works making special use of
text. Complementing the Feature elaborated by Anne-Marie Boisvert and focusing
specifically on literature, we will generally discuss attempts made by text to negotiate
the computer as a medium and the Internet as means of communication in Web Art.
The computer brings a visibility, materiality, space and structuring possibilities to text
that differ from the printed page. The processing of text, the creation as well as the
hierarchical organization of files, generates new conceptions concerning text manipulation.
Finally, these new avenues of exploration add to the possibilities already offered by the
Internet, as, for example, collective text creation, and the use of programs available
on the Web.
To deal with these many aspects, we have collected and reviewed several Web Works around
these questions in the following sections:
Collaborative texts,
Text's New Space,
Text Generating Programs,
Language Atomization,
Moving Text.
Sylvie Parent
Translation: Anne-Marie Boisvert
