It is possible to make icontexts without using the Java functionality of contemporary browsers. Although some aspects of the project-- such as concurrent, collaborative editing--are not possible with this more basic interface, it is nonetheless possible create new icontexts using [iconform] or the [image upload] tools. Also, links between icontexts can be edited without using Java. 'Reading' and viewing them does not require Java either.

The Icontexts are all 50x50 grids of ASCII text. If your browser supports Javascript, you will see editing tools for modifying the mapping between each character, for example 'A' and its associated color. The colors are signified in a hexidecimal format that is common in web layout design. To see the significance of these hexidecimal codes, you can peruse the [hexidecimal color palette].

Icontext does not support some characters. It is limited to the characters that make up the ASCII set. Also, be aware that only 50 lines, of no more than 50 characters each, can appear in a single icontext. Longer contributions must be broken up into parts, which can be linked to one another. These limitations are not meant to enforce brevity or the Roman alphabet, they are simply practical decisions made to facilitate completion of this project; perhaps at some future time, there will be support for other character types, like Kanji characters.