Organica

SITE SPECIFICATIONS AND HISTORY (Boring, but useful to consider)

The original version of this site launched March 29, 1995 at archon.lib.umn.edu, a server I administered at the Social Welfare History Archives as part of an experimental data retrieval project.  The disastrous results of a failed tape backup destroyed over 500 images, which had to be rescanned from the original periodicals in April, 1997.

The Organica.org domain name was acquired in November, 1998, and the site transferred--along with my personal server--when I left the University of Minnesota.

In 1999, I joined the staff of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.  During my stay at Taliesin West, no fixed IP was made available and the site lapsed from May, 1999 until June, 2001, when I moved to California.  At that time I began the redesign of the site into its current form. 

The displays presented here are optimized for 17" screens running at a minimum resolution of 800 by 600 pixels (1024 x 768 is even better).  Most smaller images will display in timely fashion over a 56.6K baud modem, though the newer and larger files are preferably accessed through DSL or T-lines.

There are two things going here that may interfere with instant gratification.  First, a restoration.  This site went down when I moved to Arizona to work at Taliesin West.  I could not get a fixed IP address to serve the domain.  At the time Internet service disappeared, I was in the middle of repairing damage caused by a tape backup failure that obliterated many of the original thousand or so pages.  Second, this restoration process supported conversion of the information to a new database management program.  Some of the links and images are accordingly incomplete or in transition.  You should not bookmark individual pages in the frames-based display sets.  You won't get the whole frameset back, only the one subframe, and won't be able to navigate or see the context.  As the iMac says on occasion, "It's not my fault."  It's the technology.

About the variability of quality in images:  The advent of the World Wide Web accelerated, perhaps exacerbated a significant trend in information exchange, the shift from text to graphic as the primary focus of display.  The original contents of this site were developed from 1994 to 1996.  Consequently, the resolution and size of the image files reflects the limitations of equipment in that period of ancient history.  I no longer have access to most of the rare materials to rescan them, so they remain what they were to begin with.  Older images are small, and often lack what is now considered sufficient detail.  Newer images offer several display resolutions, including very large files.  Avoid downloading these unless you have a broadband connection, or really truly want to wait for one to two megabytes of data.  You will be warned about file size by the link when necessary.

Additionally, these pages were first coded in HTML.  Evolution in web programming brought the implementation of database-driven Active Server Pages and custom libraries after 1998.  Periodic interruptions of work, due to personal or other circumstances (vide above), have contributed to an uneven conversion process.  If something isn't working, just send me an e-mail (mark AT organica.org) and I'll see if I can get you the information.  There are over 3,000 images and texts available on more than 1,500 web pages or their equivalents.  As of 7/15/2002, the site went far beyond what was offered prior to the abovementioned equipment and service failures.  Progress happens.

Links are provided at various opportunities to several other, highly indexed views of the databases "behind the curtain."  These were developed in frames, with the intention of coding ActiveX controls or JavaScript to refine the display.  While the goal of doing so remains, I believe that data entry is presently the higher priority.  Some of the larger returns can be slow to download, and you will need to manipulate the frame boundaries to get a readable display in some instances.  Be patient.  This all works off a very old Pentium 200 computer whose continued function amazes me.

The site is presently designed only to convey information at a basic level for reference use.  No popup ads or sound bites allowed.  When the conversion advances sufficiently, I want to make pretty-pretty graphics and introduce Flash.  Everyone can then dance in the streets.  Finally, since this is a personal labor of love I tend to make editorial comments.  In places, these are supposed to be humorous.  They are only my passing opinion, which is always seeking more information, and not meant to stir argument or debate.  Enjoy.