SKEIN is a space on the Web for the sharing of creative works. Members can post to the site, and readers can add their comments to posted works. It's by no means finished, though; the site that you see is a first draft, intended to inspire ideas and criticism not only for what we share, but for the site itself. There are many, many features Skein's users will no doubt want to have, and over time those features will be added by the able-bodied geeks who have volunteered to build and administer the technology behind the curtain.

Granted, there is already a surfeit of writing on the Web, which begs the question, "Why Skein?" Why indeed. For one thing, submitting a work to Skein is very easy -- more or less a matter of copying, pasting, and choosing a few options about who can view a piece and how it can be commented. For another, Skein is intended to be the forum for a small community. Although it may grow, it will never be larger than a handful of writers. It is designed for a personal, integrated focus on works. As a result, we allow for as much flexibility and creativity as is technologically possible. It can accept prose, poetry, graphics, and sound files. Someday it will likely accept other media forms, like web pages themselves. Skein will evolve over time as its users figure out what sorts of flexibility and creativity they want to see added to its capabilities. It hums along quietly and simply now, but it also crackles with possibilities.

Because of its youth and its broad design principles, it is hard to say concisely what Skein is for. Skein is for displaying a picture you're proud of from that beginning photo class. Skein is for posting a first draft of your statement of purpose for graduate school so your friends can offer revision suggestions. Skein is for uploading the MP3 you've made of a song you've written, or the lyrics, or the sheet music, or all three, and asking people what they think of it. Skein is for short stories, quote boards, and scrapbooks. Skein is for keeping in touch. Skein is for peer review, or maybe a community bulletin board. Skein is even for repetitious litany. When you cram a bunch of inspired people into a room together, it sparks ongoing crazy, stimulating, and inspiring intellectual fireworks. Skein is the scaffolding upon which to build this artistic dialogue, free of the limitations of geography.

 
At the moment, Skein allows the posting of text, pictures, and sounds. Right now, it is an intentionally limited online community. But it's democratic, possibly communistic, and a wee bit anarchistic, so who knows what it will be a month or a year from now. Its users spin its future.

For questions about this project, contact devel@skein.org. To report bugs, contact bugs@skein.org.