Cosma / Documentation / About / Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What does Cosma mean?
What is Cosma?
Who uses Cosma?
What’s the best way to view Cosma?
What does Cosma cost?
Is Cosma “free” or “open” software?
Can I pay to add a link or post to Cosma?
Can I recommend a link or post to add to Cosma?
What if I don’t want my content recommended and/or linked to on Cosma?
Is Cosma *really* made with hand edited ASCII/TXT/HTML?
Can I help with Cosma in some way?
Is Cosma a new project?
Is Cosma finished?
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It is the (nonexistent) feminine form of the Greek word cosmos which is defined by Oxford as “The universe seen as a well-ordered whole.”
Cosmos : Greek kosmos (masculine) an orderly harmonious systematic universe – M. Webster
Cosma : Greek kosma (feminine) an orderly harmonious systematic description of the universe
Cosma is the “The universe of knowledge seen as a well-ordered whole.” — M. E. Hopper
What is Cosma?
Cosma is a systematic, top-down inventory of the most valuable, interesting and fun Knowledge Resources in the world, and it has unique ways to navigate and explore them. The resources have been organized into hundreds of subjects and posted on pages that are organized in a special Content Outline. Each page has carefully selected links to world-class resources, and the links are sorted by a classification scheme called the Knowledge Form. Organizing links into logical and consistent categories makes it possible to have over a hundred links per page that are still reasonably useful.
There are also 3D interfaces called Worlds that enable truly spatial Knowledge Navigation.
Finally, there are over a hundred Adventures in Knowledge that are journeys through timely and fun resources on the Web.
Back when Cosma was conceived forty years ago, it was designed to be used by highly gifted middle-school students (180+ IQ). Then the audience expanded over the years.
Then Cosma evolved so that it could be used by over a thousand students in undergraduate and graduate courses that M. E. Hopper taught at various academic institutions.
This lead to teachers across a wide range of grade levels and subjects using it.
Home-schoolers and their parents have found and used the site, too.
Tens of thousands of curious wanders have used Cosma by clicking on “Magic Windows” in the virtual world SecondLife since Knowledge Places debuted there back in 2006.
More than fifty thousand people used “Toy Worlds” that were posted on RoundMe (now defunct).
At this point, there have been over a million users across time and platforms.
It has become clear that Cosma is for anyone who enjoys learning!
What’s the best way to view Cosma?
The Cosma website is technically viewable on screens of any size ranging from phones to walls. However, it looks best and is easier to navigate on a computer screen or in landscape mode on a phone or tablet.
Cosma was founded upon a deep commitment to the democratization of knowledge. It is first and foremost a “free” knowledge utility. Technically, it is freeware.
Is Cosma “free” or “open” software?
No, absolutely not!
The cost to use Cosma is zero, but it is not “free” or open” software in the legal sense of those terms.
All unique interface elements, organizational structures, list of links, posts, images and worlds are copyrighted, so they should not be reproduced.
Please do not copy or web-wack and re-post/mirror any part of Cosma.
Can I pay to add a link or post to Cosma?
No, absolutely not! It is not a paid directory, and it is not about raising revenue, getting “traffic,” being a promotional vehicle or any other form of commercialism. It is a 100% non-profit, advertisement free educational site, and it will remain so in the future! It is simply about identifying the highest quality knowledge resources and providing visitors with neat ways of navigating and exploring them. That is all that counts, and that is all that will ever count.
Can I suggest a link or post to add to Cosma?
If you believe that you know of a world-class resource that is missing from Cosma, then yes, contact me (M.E.Hopper) via email and suggest that it be added. However, please be aware that there are many such requests per day, and they seldom result in something being added. Furthermore, you will only receive a response if your suggestion is accepted. Finally, there are no opportunities to write original content like an article or post at this time, and requests to do so will receive no response.
What if I don’t want my content recommended and/or linked to on Cosma?
No problem. Please do the logical (and polite) thing to do in such circumstances. Contact me (M.E.Hopper) via email, and request that I remove it. I’ll be happy to oblige your request. Please do not use other forums to denigrate or complain about the site.
Is Cosma *really* made with hand edited ASCII/TXT/HTML?
Yep, it’s entirely coded in raw ASCII/TXT/HTML by me (M.E.Hopper).
Can I help with Cosma in some way?
Since Cosma is not a funded project, and money is neither requested nor accepted for anything, there is no budget for publicity. It depends entirely upon word of mouth to gain new users. Therefore, if you find Cosma useful and/or interesting, please tell someone else, or better yet, two or more others about it.
Thank you!
Is Cosma a new project?
No, it is just the newest iteration of an project that has been evolving for over thirty years.
The first prototype was created in the 1980s using HyperCard in color that ran on an Apple IIGS with ProDOS, and the Knowledge Resources Inventory, 3D Interfaces and audience have evolved gradually through many generations since then.
This is a timeline of the evolution of Cosma.
HyperCard (1987 – 1994)
The World (1994 – 2006)
Wikispaces (2006 – 2016)
SecondLife (2006 – Present)
WordPress (2016 – Present)
RoundMe (2017 – 2022)
Kuula (2022 – Present)
No. Only about half of the existing inventory has been posted, so far.
There are currently hundreds of pages with tens of unique links per page, so this means that there are roughly ten thousand links now. Of course, many of the links lead to resources that then link to thousands of other resources, so you can already use Cosma to access millions of content specific resources in just a few clicks.
When the existing inventory is fully posted, there will be around a thousand pages with as many as a hundred links per page.
However, it still won’t be “finished” then. Both the Web and the technologies used to create Cosma are constantly changing. That means that Cosma can never be “finished” in the traditional sense of the word.