Screen capture from Community Access

Community Access is composed of different forums that allow people to communicate online concerning a wide variety of topics related to the online art community. Forums are divided into three categories: ‘Community’, Left Brain’, and ‘Right Brain’. The ‘Community’ category focuses on expanding our diverse communities. Sample threads include ‘Volunteer Opportunities’ and ‘Art Education’, where discussions intend to allow interested individuals to further themselves in the art/design communities. We also encourage visitors to give us feedback and critiques in this section, regarding anything about the look, functionalities, presentations, etc. of the site.

Community Access offers two other categories where people can find out information relating to their specific disciplines. In the ‘Right Brain’ category, people can express what they think of the art and design worlds. They find inspiration to further develop their work. In the ‘Anti-Commercial’ section, the forum explores art and design work that challenge the notion of commercialism. People can input their expressions in words, images or whichever format they see fit. In a recent message, an individual uploads an image of an American flag that examines the omnipresence of the corporate world. Stars on the flag are replaced with corporate logos. The exchange of this type of dialogue is fostered throughout the category.

As our technologies are rapidly moving forward, the Internet is supplied with new tools and programs on an ongoing basis. New programming languages are continually being developed to replace others. The scene is typical, which is why the ‘Left Brain’ category provides forums for designers and developers to catch up with the latest technical skills.

Under the ‘Left Brain’ category, there are forums such as ‘Actionscript’, ‘PHP’, ‘Javascript’, ‘New Software’, ‘Dreamweaver MX’, etc. People can post their questions and get help from others, find out about the best programming books, or what Dreamweaver MX extensions are available and where to get them.

Since a central tenant of community-building is communication, Community Access allows for just that in an open, accessible environment in the BetaSpace community.