Mendelroom Information Page

The Mendelroom and General Moo Information

What is the Mendelroom?

Mendelroom is a virtual space designed for teachers and students who wish to share their experiences, thoughts and questions while using MendelWeb. It currently consists of two shared "rooms", realized using computer programs called MOOs. Connecting to Mendelroom opens a telnet connection, and if your machine is big enough to run a graphical Web browser (e.g. NCSA Mosaic, or Netscape), you can probably use MendelWeb and Mendelroom at the same time.

To get into a Mendelroom, you can login at Diversity University (a computer located in Washington D.C.), and, after connecting as a guest, type @go #12766; or login to the BioMoo in Tel Aviv and, after connecting as a guest, type @go Mendelroom. The Mendelrooms on these computers are "shared", so if you are in the Mendelroom at BioMoo you will be able to interact with those in the Mendelroom at DU, and they will be able to interact with you.

Please don't connect to Mendelroom just to find out what a Moo is like. For that, try a basic educational Moo like College Town, or the famous, and often frenetic Lambda Moo. If you want information about, or lists of, different Moos (and other multi-user programs), the best single-page introduction I've found is still Steve Thorne's MUDs, MOOs & MUSHs. You might also take a look at the Moo Document Library maintained by Jerome P. McDonough (also at Berkely). For more information about Mendelroom please keep reading here.

What is a Moo?

A MOO is a computer program that creates a virtual space in which many users can be connected simultaneously, and interact with each other by speaking and acting (e.g. waving, smiling, pointing, etc.) Specifically, a MOO is object-oriented, which simply means that inside a Moo everything, including you, is represented as an "object"; thus, users can interact not only with other users but with objects in the space as well. These objects can be looked at (by typing 'look object-name'), some can be read, others you can write on, and some can be manipulated in other ways.

For example, in the Mendelroom at BioMOO, there is an object called a "greenboard", which is something like a traditional blackboard or whiteboard. When you are in the Mendelroom and type 'look greenboard' you will see a description of it; if you type '@examine greenboard' you will also see a variety of verbs that can be used to manipulate the greenboard. In the Mendelroom at Diversity University, the same thing is true of the "peaboard". If you are interested in knowing some of the commands commonly used in a MOO, see the Moo Quick Reference.

About the Mendelroom at Diversity University

Diversity University provides both a campus and classroom environment. When you connect to DU, login as a guest (by typing "connect guest"), and then type 'map' you'll get an idea of the enormous range of subjects, and the great number of educational resources available at DU. Mendelroom (#12766) is located in the Science Building at DU (#657), in Biology Hall (#2487), visible from the Biologists' Dorm (#6788) and the Biology Nexus (#5888). To get to the Mendelroom, just type "@go #12766".

DU has a Web gateway, so when you use a Web browser, while connected by telnet to DU, you can read texts and view images that are a part of the virtual rooms you enter. Here is a set of instructions for using the Web-Moo system at Diversity University:

Login at DU. (A separate window should open.) Read the instructions, and connect as a Guest. You will be assigned a guest name by the MOO. To get to the Mendelroom type @go #12766.
Once you are in the Mendelroom, type @webpass. This will return a number that is your password for using the DU Web Gateway. If you're not sure what your character name is, type look me and you'll see your character name on the first line that appears.
Now, using your Web browser (rather than the telnet window), connect to the DU Web Gateway Page (http://128.18.101.106:8888), and you'll see fields for both your character's name and a password. Enter both and click on the button that says "Open a Web Window to Diversity University." You'll see that the browser will display the Web version of the Mendelroom.
Note:If you are using Netscape 3.0 on a Windows 95 or Unix machine, or MS Internet Explorer on a Windows 95 machine, you will notice that you also have the option of opening a connection to DU that integrates both the hypermedia pages and the telnet client in a single Web browser!
To get back to MendelWeb from the Mendelroom (without using the "Back" button or a bookmark), click on the Mendelroom Announcements, which includes a hyperlink back to MendelWeb.
To leave DU at any time, just type @quit in the telnet window.

About the Mendelroom at BioMoo

The BioMoo Homepage describes the BioMoo as "a virtual meeting place for biologists." Located at the Weizmann Institute of Science, it is designed primarily for biology researchers, though there are a number of users interested in science education and the history of biology

BioMoo has a Web Interface too, so when you use a Web browser, while logged in at the BioMoo, you can read texts and view images that are a part of the virtual rooms. If you wish to see what the Mendelroom at the BioMoo looks like, without logging in to the Moo itself, you can enter as a "ghost", using the User ID "anonymous" (no password is necessary). You won't be able to see who is in the Mendelroom, but you will be able to see many of the objects, including a MendelWeb Screen that is actually a hyperlink that will take you back to MendelWeb!

The Web-Moo interface at BioMOO is similar to that at DU (both were designed by MOO Wizards Gustavo Glusman and Eric Mercer, among others). To use the Web part of BioMOO, do the following:

Login at BioMoo. (A separate window should open.) Read the instructions, and log in as a Guest. Then type @go Mendelroom.
Once you are in the Mendelroom, type @webpass. This will return a number that is your password for using the BioMOO Web Gateway. If you're not sure what your character name is, type look me and you'll see your character name on the first line that appears.
Using your Web browser, connect to the BioMoo Web Gateway Page (http://bioinfo.weizmann.ac.il:8888), and you'll see fields for both your character's name and a password. Enter both and click on the button that says "Open a Web Window to BioMOO." You'll then see that the browser displays the Web version of the Mendelroom.
Note:If you are using Netscape 3.0 on a Windows 95 or Unix machine, or MS Internet Explorer on a Windows 95 machine, you will notice that you also have the option of opening a connection to BioMOO that integrates both the hypermedia pages and the telnet client in a single Web browser!
To leave the Biomoo at anytime, just type @quit in the telnet window.
To get back to MendelWeb from the Mendelroom (without using the "Back" button or a bookmark), use the MendelWeb Hyperlink.

Gustavo Glusman (at Weizmann) and Eric Mercer (at Caltech), have done a remarkable job at creating and developing the Web-Moo systems at BioMOO and DU, and I hope fully integrated Hypermedia-Moo systems will become commonplace on the Web in years to come.

Blumberg's hours in the Mendelroom

I am in the Mendelroom every Wednesday from 12:00-2:00 p.m. (EDT), and usually drop in each day for messages and to take care of mail. If you want to discuss Mendel, MendelWeb, or science studies generally, feel free to drop by. If you leave a message on one of the boards, I'll respond as soon as I can. If my scheduled hours change, as they occasionally do, the new ones will appear in this space.

MendelWeb was conceived and created by Roger B. Blumberg.

[email protected]