If Agora Road was a physical place, what would it look like?

[GENOSAD]

I've been working on a personal project for a while now where I try to map out what the internet would look like if it existed in a physical space. The space itself has its own rules and is its own sort of universe, but really, that's a discussion for another time.
I'm planning to put Agora Road into it since I am a frequenter of the boards, but I don't want to make any decisions for what the site would look like without first consulting you guys. As always, the question's in the title: What would Agora Road look like as a physical space?

My first thought is that it might be some sort of underground bar, maybe housed in the basement level of some unassuming commercial building. But then I remembered the theme of this place as a road, and it became a bit harder to figure out how that would look. Maybe an actual road -- some highway or caravan trail -- that passes by and connects other sites, or perhaps an oasis or caravanserai where everyone just meets up as they travel to other, unrelated places. I'm more a fan of the "highway" idea since I personally use this forum "in the background." I wander around the web and visit other sites with this forum open in another tab for me to check from time to time. In that sense it's more like I'm travelling down the road to get to other places, but every once in a while I'll talk to some other people while I do so.
The "road" analogy is a lot harder to juggle with my usual visualization of a forum, since I envision them as buildings to hang out in with different wings or rooms dedicated to different sorts of discussion. Maybe that could be consolidated somehow?

Either way, I'm interested in knowing how you fellas would visualize Agora Road.

 

[Some_porcupine]

corridors, with woolen threads and pins all around, and telegraph lines, with posters and also more threads. and doors.
threads, pins and doors everywhere.
soviet building, agral areas, liminal spaces, - but t, p, and d everywhere, connected and scattered around

 

[vulonkaaz]

 

[赤い男]

 

[wearyinternettraveler]

 

[zalaz alaza]

a cozy technological oasis like the internet cafe in slab city, which you all should go to if youve never been

 

[remember_summer_days]

 

[Z0diacK]

A 2000s internet cafe, with blue light emitting from the screens, a low-dimmed light from above and alot of cozy couches, with a nice bar with food and drinks.

Or the twin peaks hotel, I don't know why (and maybe the whole entire town per-say)

 

[Pangolin]

 

[dorgon]

I would imagine Agora looks like this

 

[RisingThumb]

This specific Garry's Mod TTT map.

 

[4d1]

My first thought is that it might be some sort of underground bar, maybe housed in the basement level of some unassuming commercial building. But then I remembered the theme of this place as a road, and it became a bit harder to figure out how that would look. Maybe an actual road

This is the aesthetic I get from this place. It's one of those places you either know or don't. I like the road idea, maybe its under a highway overpass. A small little bar which has a dim lit sign, but inside has a chill ambience.

I went and made some AI generations to try and better describe what I mean, these ones turned out kinda cool i can't lie.

 

[Digital Cheese]

Pager store for cheap voice and two-way text pagers

 

[Some_porcupine]

a cozy technological oasis like the internet cafe in slab city, which you all should go to if youve never been

kinda XDDD

WebOas.is | WebOasis | The Ultimate Startpage, Homepage, Web Portal!

Startpage, Homepage, All-in-One Web Portal For Internet & Tech Enthusiasts Who Love Exploring & Learning About The Digital Underground.

weboasis.app

 

[VaporwaveHistorian]

I always imagined a tavern. Just the regulars visit it, nothing like the big-name bars. But if you know the place, you adore it. Good food. Owner puts meat, cracks eggs, mixes onion and potatoes, and pours God-knows-what into a big cauldron to make you dinner.

It's called Agora, so it gives me some old feels too. Like, imagine a medieval tavern but people dress in all kinds of ways. Some wear toga, some look like IRA volunteers on the side. It's big, not just a drinking and eating place, but also people sit and chat. Like, one might be dozing off and the other is speaking as if he's addressing the senate on the other side of the tavern.

Cheers to that.

 

[VerityClariece]

I feel part of it is in the name itself, that it's just a space off in the middle of nowhere, a place that is tucked away and generally unknown. I could see the Twin Peaks side of things, like one other user said; but I definitely feel it would be more akin to an asian themed bar or just as the name sounds again, an internet cafe. A place where everyone is just trying to take a breath. A couple hooligans come through now and again, but that's a small price to pay for what seems like a hidden grotto.

Gotta have some vibrant colors somewhere though, for contrast. That's an absolute must.

 

[Voicedrew]

 

[Sketch Relics]

View attachment 81145

View attachment 81366

This is close, but it needs dithering, and more contrast.

 

[Some_porcupine]

View attachment 81366

 

[alix]

Agora would feel a bit "empty" from an outsider perspective, but when you get inside, you realize that it is a much more active and unique place than you thought.
If it it was a physical place, I see Agora as a very underground liminal club or lair hidden in an old computer store. It may sound a bit fantastical, but I think that's the point. A place radically different from its surroundings (the mainstream Internet)
The outside would look like an abandoned computer store, a "relic" from old times.

When you get underground that store, things become interesting. First off, the place is much more active and bigger than expected, and much more colourful too. I have two ideas in mind, with the first one being pretty close to the Garry's Mod map @RisingThumb posted, and the other is the place having a more "y2k" feeling (similar to something you would see in Matrix, Lain or pretty much any y2k media where underground culture has importance). Maybe a bit of both ideas.