Yes. I actually have great hopes for the virtual worlds and multi-user spaces. I think there is a lot of potential for this format and I am committed to helping in any way I can to see it's potential fulfilled. I thought by this time that we would be further long in virtual worlds development. Unfortunately the whole Dot.com bomb has hurt this format and many others. But I still have hope if people will keep developing for it and getting the word around to other people. The other problem was I think the software was ahead of the hardware. Only now are typical PCs able to handle the VRML format to where it is close or even better than game systems.

2- Where are the pioneers now? You are seldom seen in public places.

The original crew (20-30 original Pointworld people) are still around. We use a message board that was originally created for us by blaxxun to talk and have fun. We have now moved the message board off the blaxxun site onto the www.pointworlds.com site. We still talk daily even if it's not in the virtual worlds themselves. Occasionally we'll schedule a "pile-in" and meet in Pointworlds and mess around in there.

There are a few who still hang out in Cybertown but I think since many of us remember the good ole days in the original Pointworlds and were forced to commute over to Cybertown and put to "work", we got burned out after a while with all the politics. It also became a major time drain for all of us. It's probably a good thing that we eventually stepped aside and made way for new leaders to take the reigns and bring in fresh ideas. We decided to recreate the original Pointworlds on our own domain and retire there where rules and security are scarce. We also wanted it there as a historical document to where it all started.

3-What do you think of being seen as a legend? In my research, I used many tools to reach the heart of Cybertown's History. In searching machines, Cybertown is referred to as a "cyber jewel", a preciosity.How do you see your work in such a grandiose context?

I certainly don't see us as a "legends". We were just lucky enough to be there at the beginning. I just think that it's our duty to keep the history of the beginning of these places alive, so there's a record of how it all started and to document the great work that blaxxun and early builders did to create these spaces and community. We really didn't know what we were doing in the beginning. We were just having fun chatting away with new people and investigating how all this stuff worked. We had no idea what VRML was at the time. Those early questions have shaped the last 5 years of my life.

4-If you could change something in the present Cybertown, what would that be?

I'd like to see more fun and activities brought into the worlds. They are still too static now. There needs to be more content created for the users. Unfortunately, this takes time and a staff to create it. We started to get there with the "live" concerts and games that were created when we were working for Cybertown, but once the staff was let go it all slowed down. The highlight of my experience with Cybertown was managing the production of the Orgy concert. Everyone working on that really put their heart and soul into making that happen.

5- How much time do you spend online now? And in the beginning of the story?

It's pretty much all day and most of the night these days. I work on the computer doing computer graphics and managing a team of detailers and designers with a solid connection all day so I can communicate with anyone online at the time. At home we have a cable connection on 24/7 with 5 machines hooked up on a network so even though I'm not always in a 3d world I'm always connected.

6- How did you feel,, being the first Mayor of Cybertown?

That was an incredible honor and great experience. Between the virtual weddings, the staff meetings, the rants and raves to blaxxun to get the things that all the users wanted for Cybertown I was kept pretty busy. The amount of email was astounding. I still shiver to this day when I open my email package and think I'm going to see hundreds of email pour in and I'll be spending the next few hours answering them. These days it's all spam and easy to delete.

7- What are, according to your opinion, the things a Mayor must have in mind in a huge virtual community ?

An open mind and and open ear. Listening to all sides of an issue and then making a rational decision became a big part of the job. The other part is keeping a constant dialog going between the users requests and the builders/programmers. But these days with the staff being gone that isn't much of an issue. It's great to see Cybertown still flourishing without new features being added daily.

8- Did Cybertown evolve according to a director plan, or at random?

Both. A lot went into the planning but it's actual evolution was pretty chaotic, and that just made it more fun to watch develop. The user input had a lot to do with that. Many great ideas, that no one had ever thought of before, where implemented into the community.

9- To what do you atribute the staff crisis, common to all Colonies?

The lack of new features and contact with the team of creators to keep things fresh and evolving. I hope that people will take the responsibilities to manage the places and keep them alive. I also think that part of it was that there was a lot of work in the beginning with all the new features being developed, but maybe without that, there doesn't need to be as many people managing the hoods. To be honest, I was unaware of the problem until you mentioned it.

10- What are the main moral values which inspired the creation of a family oriented site? Would you say that they have been preserved?

For the most part I think so. The values are there in the people. Of course there are some users that abuse the privilege of being part of this community but most of it is harmless. Security needs to back off a bit and try to direct the users into being good citizens and not become auto-ban machines. There are some of the original pointworld people who have even been banned from CT by security idiots who are abusing their power. That has to stop.

Thank you again for your inestimable help.
I am doing my best to give Point World a nice gift.