I'd like to invite members of the Mark Twain Forum to explore a new way of discussing Twain on the web with a new, free discussion tool that makes it possible for any number of people to engage in a discussion of a particular word or sentence or paragraph of any online Twain text. I have just created a Mark Twain discussion group on Reframe It, a technology launched last week (there are links to some articles that describe Reframe It in detail pasted below. The truth-in-advertising department requires me to note that the technology was my son's idea & he helped develop it.) Step (1) Go to http://reframeit.com using either Firefox or Internet Explorer (Firefox is slightly preferable at this point, but both work). (Or go to http://reframeit.com/groups/search?category=%2Fgroups%2Fsearch&q=mark+twain&x=0&y=0 to see the Twain discussion group) Step (2) download the free extension on your computer and join "Reframe It." Now you're ready to go. Click on "Groups." Put "Mark Twain" in the search box. You'll get to the Mark Twain discussion group. Mouse over the far-right little orange icon. It will say "Join this Group." Click on it. Now go to any Twain text on the web or any web page that you want to relate to Twain, highlight the line or paragraph you want to comment on, or ask a question about, and then post your comment or query in the adjustable margin that will appear on the right of your screen. (At this point anything in html works--which is basically any web page--but not pdfs yet). Your comment will be visible to anyone else who has downloaded Reframe It and who goes to the web page that you're commenting on. (When the "share your comment" option comes up, the Twain group will come up, as well. Check that box and your comment automatically get's routed to anyone in the Twain discussion group.) You are also welcome to respond to other people's comments on a particular page, as well. I posted a query/comment about an intriguing resemblance between a line of a Dunbar poem and a line from Roughing It. Also another about "Running for Governor." A full list of all the comments in the Twain discussion group will appear on the main Reframe It web site when you go to the Twain group. (The site gives you various ways of following what's been posted in the Twain discussion group. It's very intuitive and easy to use.) If any of you would like to use Reframe It for a class (not necessarily on Twain) you can create a "private" group for your class (only people whom you authorize to post to that group may post comments or read what has been posted ). Or you could create "restricted" group for your class (only people whom whom you authorize to post to that group may post comments, but the comments will be visible to the public.) And, of course, if you're interested in other things besides Twain---just annotating web pages you find interesting, or infuriating, or helpful, or whatever, once you've downloaded Reframe It, you can do all of that on other topics, as well. (You'll find it's quite addictive). (A feature that I've found useful, as well, is using it for my own note-taking: create a private group of one--just you--and any time you find a web page with useful information on it for your research, highlight a line or section of it, post a little note to yourself in the margin, and when you go to your little one-person 'group,' you'll see links to all the web pages that you marked as useful. Grad students are finding this quite useful, as well.) As you'll see many of the comments on the site so far relate to politics and environmental issues. But there's no reason why we can't use it for discussions about literature. Anyway, feel free to get the ball rolling. Twain is ideal for this since so many key texts are online. P.S. If you've written a book and would like to be invited to comment as a 'Noted Authority,' email me the title of the book you'd like to feature & I'd be glad to arrange for you to get such an invitation. A link to your book on Amazon will automatically appear under your name whenever you post a comment. --- stories from in the media last week on Reframe It: "Clearly, the service could be a huge boon for teachers trying to stir class discussion, but also seems streamlined enough to steal recreational web surfers from less organized annotation and social bookmarking apps." --Venturebeat <http://venturebeat.com/2008/10/08/reframe-it-lets-you-take-notes-in-the-mar gin-of-the-web/>http://venturebeat.com/2008/10/08/reframe-it-lets-you-take-n otes-in-the-margin-of-the-web/ "With a low learning curve and a strong focus on annotation, research, and a clean UI, Reframe It is a great option for groups and small businesses to collaborate when researching the web." Ars Technica (<http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081009-hands-on-reframe-it-sets-out -to-annotate-discuss-the-web.html>http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081 009-hands-on-reframe-it-sets-out-to-annotate-discuss-the-web.html) "ReframeIt represents one of the better implementations of social annotations we have seen so far." -Readwriteweb <http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/reframe_it_annotating_the_web.php>http ://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/reframe_it_annotating_the_web.php "Pretty remarkableŠ. Reframe It is a commendable piece of work. You'll need a few minutes to familiarize yourself with it, and you'll have to appreciate the way it lives within Firefox and IE. But once you do, its value becomes quite clear and in fact grows the more it is used" -- Mashable <http://mashable.com/2008/10/08/reframe-it/>http://mashable.com/2008/10/08/r eframe-it/ >>"Reframe It-- My #1 cool tool for 2008" >><http://www.starcircus.org/?p=488> http://www.starcircus.org/?p=488 >><http://freetech4teachers.blogspot.com/2008/10/tool-for-sharing-internet-r esearch.html#links> >> "Reframe It could be a good tool for students that are working on a collaborative research project. By using the Reframe It extension students can discuss the merits of the things they find. Students can also use Reframe It to discuss how they are going to use the resources they find on the Internet. Reframe It could also be useful for teachers conducting online courses. With the browser extension installed conversations about an article or other digital resource can be conducted while everyone is looking at the same resource." http://freetech4teachers.blogspot.com/2008/10/tool-for-sharing-internet-research.html#links "Reframe It 'Talmudifies' the Web" <http://alwayson.goingon.com/permalink/post/29557>http://alwayson.goingon.co m/permalink/post/29557 http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/10/prweb1443954.htm