# A Fine View

> creative work by David Knoebel

**Wikidata**: [Q132198745](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q132198745)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/a-fine-view

## Summary
A Fine View is a creative work and application authored by David Knoebel, published in 2000. Built using Adobe Flash as its software engine and distributed as a web page, this English-language work is documented in the Electronic Literature Knowledge Base (ELMCIP) with identifier 3704.

## Key Facts
- **Creator**: David Knoebel is the sole author of A Fine View.
- **Publication Date**: The work was published in the year 2000.
- **Software Engine**: Adobe Flash was used as the underlying technology to create A Fine View.
- **Distribution Format**: The work is distributed as a web page, making it accessible via internet browsers.
- **Language**: A Fine View is an English-language work.
- **ELMCIP Identifier**: The work is cataloged in the Electronic Literature Knowledge Base with ID 3704.
- **Classification**: A Fine View is simultaneously classified as both a creative work and an application.
- **Wikidata Description**: The authoritative description states it is a "creative work by David Knoebel."

## FAQs
### What is A Fine View?
A Fine View is a digital creative work created by David Knoebel in 2000, built using Adobe Flash technology and distributed as a web-based application.

### Who created A Fine View and what tools were used?
David Knoebel authored A Fine View using Adobe Flash as the software engine, which was a prominent platform for interactive web content at the turn of the millennium.

### When was A Fine View released and how can it be accessed?
The work was published in 2000 and is distributed in web page format, suggesting it was designed for access through internet browsers during the early era of web-based electronic literature.

### What type of work is A Fine View and where is it documented?
A Fine View is classified as both a creative work and an application, and it is formally documented in the Electronic Literature Knowledge Base (ELMCIP) under identifier 3704.

### What language is A Fine View in and why does this matter?
The work is in English, which positions it within the Anglophone tradition of electronic literature and digital art that emerged in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

## Why It Matters
A Fine View represents a significant artifact from the formative period of electronic literature and web-based creative applications. Published in 2000, it captures a pivotal moment when Adobe Flash was becoming a dominant platform for interactive artistic expression online. The work's dual classification as both creative work and application highlights the blurred boundaries between traditional artistic categories and software development that characterized early digital art. Its inclusion in the ELMCIP knowledge base with a specific identifier (3704) indicates its recognized value within the scholarly community studying electronic literature, ensuring its preservation and study for future generations. As a web-distributed piece from this era, A Fine View exemplifies the transition from standalone software to networked creative experiences, documenting how artists like David Knoebel leveraged emerging web technologies to reach audiences in novel ways. The work's English-language context also places it within important cultural and technological developments in North American and European digital arts scenes at the millennium's turn.

## Notable For
- **Adobe Flash Pioneer**: Being created with Adobe Flash in 2000 positions it among early works using this technology for artistic purposes before Flash's widespread adoption for web animation and interactive media.
- **Dual Classification**: Its simultaneous categorization as both "creative work" and "application" reflects the hybrid nature of electronic literature, where artistic intent merges with software functionality.
- **ELMCIP Documentation**: Formal cataloging in the Electronic Literature Knowledge Base (ID: 3704) establishes its significance within the academic field of digital humanities and electronic literature studies.
- **Web-Native Distribution**: Distribution as a web page in 2000 demonstrates forward-thinking approach to accessibility, predating many contemporary web-based art platforms.
- **Millennial Context**: The 2000 publication date places it at a culturally significant moment, capturing the technological optimism and creative experimentation of the early internet era.

## Body

### Identity and Classification
A Fine View occupies a unique position in digital arts taxonomy through its dual classification as both a creative work and an application. This hybrid categorization acknowledges that the piece functions simultaneously as an artistic expression and as functional software designed for end-user interaction. The Wikidata description formally identifies it as a "creative work by David Knoebel," establishing its primary identity as an authored artistic piece. However, its technical implementation as an interactive experience built in Adobe Flash equally qualifies it as an application in the software sense. This dual nature reflects broader debates within electronic literature communities about how to classify works that exist at the intersection of art and technology.

### Authorship and Attribution
David Knoebel stands as the singular author credited for A Fine View. The attribution is consistently documented across multiple knowledge systems, with references pointing to the ELMCIP entry (ID: 3704) as a primary source of authority. The work's metadata includes the property P12204 with value '3704', which serves as a stable identifier linking the work to its documentation in the Electronic Literature Knowledge Base. This level of detailed attribution ensures proper scholarly citation and helps track the provenance of the work within digital humanities research.

### Technical Architecture
The technical foundation of A Fine View rests entirely on Adobe Flash, which served as its software engine. In 2000, Flash (then owned by Macromedia before Adobe's acquisition) represented cutting-edge technology for creating rich, interactive web content. The choice of Flash as a development platform indicates that the work likely featured animation, interactivity, multimedia elements, or complex visual compositions that were difficult to achieve with standard HTML of the era. The engine specification is explicitly documented with the same reference key (P12204: 3704) that appears throughout the work's metadata, ensuring consistency across data sources.

### Publication and Distribution History
A Fine View was published in 2000, a landmark year that marked both the turn of the millennium and a peak period of innovation in web-based creative works. The distribution format is specified as "web page," which in the context of a Flash-based work suggests it was embedded within an HTML page and delivered through standard web browsers. This distribution strategy made the work accessible to anyone with the Flash plugin and an internet connection, representing a democratized approach to art distribution that bypassed traditional physical media. The publication date is corroborated by the same ELMCIP reference (P12204: 3704) that anchors other core facts about the work.

### Institutional Documentation and Preservation
The Electronic Literature Knowledge Base (ELMCIP) has assigned A Fine View the identifier 3704, formally incorporating it into the scholarly infrastructure for studying digital literature. This assignment indicates that the work has been deemed significant enough for academic preservation and study. ELMCIP serves as a critical resource for researchers, educators, and students in the field of electronic literature, and inclusion within its database suggests that A Fine View contributes to the understanding of digital poetic forms, interactive narratives, or other electronic literary modes. The consistent referencing of this ID across the work's metadata demonstrates a commitment to linked data principles that connect creative works to their critical reception and scholarly context.

### Linguistic and Cultural Context
A Fine View is categorized as an English-language work, situating it within the Anglophone electronic literature movement that gained momentum in North America and the United Kingdom during the late 1990s and early 2000s. This linguistic designation helps researchers understand the cultural and literary traditions that may have influenced the work, from language-specific poetic forms to the particular technological discourses circulating in English-speaking digital arts communities at the time. The language specification also aids in cataloging and discovery, allowing the work to be properly sorted within multilingual databases and research collections.