1. Register and Sign in (the system requires a DSL or faster network connection).
2. Control the camera by using the panoramic map at the bottom of the camera page. In that image, select a focus area by left clicking with your mouse and dragging to set the desired camera frame. If the camera image does not appear, you may need to load Java2 (go to www.java.com and download "Get it Now")
3. Capture and post your photos by clicking "capture image" and entering a photo caption.
4. View yours and others photos by clicking "photos" link.
5. Read and contribute commentary by clicking a photo thumbnail.

More Details

Sign in page

• If you are a new user, you must register before signing in. All it takes is a screen name and an email address where we can send your password.
• If you are a return user, sign in using your email address and assigned password.

Camera page

The live camera display
• The top left of the page displays the live video feed from wherever the camera is currently focused.
• The top right of the page displays other users with whom you are currently sharing the camera control.
• The bottom half of the page displays a panoramic map of the camera’s range, with a superimposed box that indicates the camera’s current focus area.

Control the camera
• Use the panoramic map display to control the camera.
• In the map, use your mouse to draw a box on the area at which you would like to point the camera.
• The size of the box that you draw determines the camera’s zoom. The smaller the box, the closer in the camera will zoom.
• If you are the only one signed in, the camera will focus on the area that you selected. .
• If others are signed in, the system will compute the optimal shared camera position using an algorithm we developed (see Exact and Distributed Algorithms for Collaborative Camera Control, Dezhen Song, A. Frank van der Stappen, and Ken Goldberg, Fifth Workshop on the Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics, Nice, France. Dec 2002.).
• Your "influence" value (on the right by your name, is based on how many people have commented on your photos, and how many comments people make after your comments on other people’s photos. The higher your influence, the more control you have over the camera when others are signed in.

Capture and post your photos
• A "key" phrase to inspire photos and commentary is posted each week based on archives from the Free Speech Movement (http://www.fsm-a.org/)
• When you have a shot in the live video feed display that you feel reflects the key phrase, click "capture image."
• The photo that you just captured will pop up. Enter a caption and click "ok" to post the photo and caption to the website.
• You can post up to 5 images per day.
• You can comment on as many photos as you’d like. See the note on "influence" value above.

Other features
The Chat, Pano, and Mem buttons allow you to toggle between different ways of viewing the panoramic map.
• Chat
  Chat with other users by typing text into the input box beneath the list of users and hitting your enter key. Toggle your chat text off and on by clicking "Chat."
• Panorama
  Click "Pano" to toggle through three panoramic map modes: color, black and white, and black.
• Memory
  Click "Mem" to display the last few focus areas at which the camera was pointed.

Photos page

View photos
• View photos sorted by number of comments, time of photo capture, or recent comments by clicking each sort option.
• Go directly to a specific photo id by selecting the radio button, typing the photo id into the input box, and clicking "go."
• View only the photos captured by a specific photographer by selecting the radio button, typing the photographer’s screen name into the input box, and clicking "go."
• View only the photos associated with a specific key by selecting a key from the drop-down menu and clicking "go."

Read and contribute commentary
• Click a photo thumbnail to view photo detail and read commentary.
• Contribute commentary by entering your commentary into the text input box and clicking "add commentary."

Content Policy: Please be respectful of other members. we reserve the right to remove images or commentary that provoke complaints from members.