That makes the Web into a strange sort of thing. It's for email, for instant messaging, for shopping, for playing, for listening to music, for tricking people, and for doing things not yet invented.

Yes, the Web is a strange sort of thing. In fact, it is in some ways more like a place than like a thing. Just like you can do things in a place, you can do things on the Web. What you can do in a place depends on the type of place it is. If it's a schoolroom, you can learn. If it's a schoolyard, you can play. If it's a space station, you can tumble around in zero gravity and play a very odd game of pick-up-sticks.

So, if we want to understand the Web, we should ask what type of place it is. And that's a very good question.

Links to Explore

International Space Station