debenedi@yale-com.UUCP (Robert DeBenedictis) (12/09/83)
USENET: a case study American Studies 212a - Popular Culture and Mass Communication in America Professor Leslie Rado Robert J. DeBenedictis everyone i know is lonely with god so far away and my heart belongs to no one so know sometimes i pray take the space between us fill it up some way take the space between us fill it up fill it up "Oh My God" by The Police on Synchronicity LOS ANGELES, Dec. 1 -- Several times a week, Karyn Zoldan, a 35-year-old clerical worker, sits down at a computer in her home here and spends several hours exchanging thoughts on life, love and other matters with people she has never met. She now counts them among her best friends. --The New York Times, December 2, 1983 This is not a plea for the simple life, a return to nature, or a general rising against the machines. It is nothing but a warning to anyone who will listen, and it says: put not thy trust in princes. We have long since ceased to put our trust in the princes who wear coronets, but we now rely instead, and no less blindly, on those which wear winking lights and give off a low hum when their buttons are pressed. That trust is as misplaced as the other kind, and although the microelectronic technological revolution may usher in a paradise on earth, it will usher it in with the serpent already in residence. The silicon chip will transform everything, except everything that matters, and the rest will still be up to us. --The Times of London, October 3, 1978 Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired from vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. from "Innocents Abroad" by Mark Twain My head is reeling. Communications. Computers. The Future. Where will it all lead? It's soooo new! This paper is going to focus on a recent product of the union of Computers and Communications. I will look at a communications network called USENET. What is USENET? In some sense, USENET does not exist. There is no one person, no one machine, no one set of software that is USENET. USENET is the name given to the structure and organization of hundreds of machines across the world, a handful of computer programs, and somewhere between 5000 and 20000 individuals. "USENET is defined as all sites receiving newsgroup net.announce." (#1) This last sentence will become clearer as you read this paper. I will describe USENET by analogy. Imagine that you, and some others, wish to share information regarding taxes. One way to do this is to create a publicly accessible bulletin board. You might put a sign on the bulletin board saying "THIS SPACE FOR THE DISCUSSION OF TAXES." Whenever you, or someone else, come across an interesting article regarding taxes you copy it and thumbtack it to this bulletin board. People also post comments on the articles to the bulletin board. This concept of a public forum or conference seems like such a good way to disseminate knowledge that you may wonder why it isn't more common. One reason is that it requires a significant amount of effort to post articles. Even though the bulletin board is publicly accessible, many people may have to go out of their way to get to it. Also, there needs to be some scheme for easily recognizing articles you have already read. Many of these problems can be overcome by hiring a messenger. The messenger's job is to copy each article on the bulletin board and then bring these copies to you at your office. Each time a new article appears the messenger is responsible for copying it and forwarding it to you. Additionally, the messenger posts your comments for you. The messenger allows you to fully participate in the life of the bulletin board without having to actually commute to the bulletin board itself. Now imagine that everyone who reads the bulletin board hires a messenger. Once this is done you no longer need the physical bulletin board! Instead your messenger visits two or three other messengers. If these other messengers have articles you haven't seen yet your messenger copies them for you. Also, if you have any comments you want to make your messenger gives each of these messengers a copy of them. These other messengers also visit still other messengers in such a way that all articles and comments eventually reach all messengers. Now, simply replace the messengers with machines at various sites (offices); and replace the visits with phone calls. Voila! a close approximation of USENET. USENET, though, has many bulletin boards. Also, USENET allows you the option of posting an article to a specific individual without letting the other members of the bulletin board community read it. ----- End of Part 1 ----- "Now, You're Never Alone" Another Message In The Bottle from Robert DeBenedictis
debenedi@yale-com.UUCP (Robert DeBenedictis) (12/09/83)
* USENET: a case study American Studies 212a - Popular Culture and Mass Communication in America Professor Leslie Rado Robert J. DeBenedictis everyone i know is lonely with god so far away and my heart belongs to no one so know sometimes i pray take the space between us fill it up some way take the space between us fill it up fill it up "Oh My God" by The Police on Synchronicity LOS ANGELES, Dec. 1 -- Several times a week, Karyn Zoldan, a 35-year-old clerical worker, sits down at a computer in her home here and spends several hours exchanging thoughts on life, love and other matters with people she has never met. She now counts them among her best friends. --The New York Times, December 2, 1983 This is not a plea for the simple life, a return to nature, or a general rising against the machines. It is nothing but a warning to anyone who will listen, and it says: put not thy trust in princes. We have long since ceased to put our trust in the princes who wear coronets, but we now rely instead, and no less blindly, on those which wear winking lights and give off a low hum when their buttons are pressed. That trust is as misplaced as the other kind, and although the microelectronic technological revolution may usher in a paradise on earth, it will usher it in with the serpent already in residence. The silicon chip will transform everything, except everything that matters, and the rest will still be up to us. --The Times of London, October 3, 1978 Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired from vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. from "Innocents Abroad" by Mark Twain My head is reeling. Communications. Computers. The Future. Where will it all lead? It's soooo new! This paper is going to focus on a recent product of the union of Computers and Communications. I will look at a communications network called USENET. What is USENET? In some sense, USENET does not exist. There is no one person, no one machine, no one set of software that is USENET. USENET is the name given to the structure and organization of hundreds of machines across the world, a handful of computer programs, and somewhere between 5000 and 20000 individuals. "USENET is defined as all sites receiving newsgroup net.announce." (#1) This last sentence will become clearer as you read this paper. I will describe USENET by analogy. Imagine that you, and some others, wish to share information regarding taxes. One way to do this is to create a publicly accessible bulletin board. You might put a sign on the bulletin board saying "THIS SPACE FOR THE DISCUSSION OF TAXES." Whenever you, or someone else, come across an interesting article regarding taxes you copy it and thumbtack it to this bulletin board. People also post comments on the articles to the bulletin board. This concept of a public forum or conference seems like such a good way to disseminate knowledge that you may wonder why it isn't more common. One reason is that it requires a significant amount of effort to post articles. Even though the bulletin board is publicly accessible, many people may have to go out of their way to get to it. Also, there needs to be some scheme for easily recognizing articles you have already read. Many of these problems can be overcome by hiring a messenger. The messenger's job is to copy each article on the bulletin board and then bring these copies to you at your office. Each time a new article appears the messenger is responsible for copying it and forwarding it to you. Additionally, the messenger posts your comments for you. The messenger allows you to fully participate in the life of the bulletin board without having to actually commute to the bulletin board itself. Now imagine that everyone who reads the bulletin board hires a messenger. Once this is done you no longer need the physical bulletin board! Instead your messenger visits two or three other messengers. If these other messengers have articles you haven't seen yet your messenger copies them for you. Also, if you have any comments you want to make your messenger gives each of these messengers a copy of them. These other messengers also visit still other messengers in such a way that all articles and comments eventually reach all messengers. Now, simply replace the messengers with machines at various sites (offices); and replace the visits with phone calls. Voila! a close approximation of USENET. USENET, though, has many bulletin boards. Also, USENET allows you the option of posting an article to a specific individual without letting the other members of the bulletin board community read it. ----- End of Part 1 ----- "Now, You're Never Alone" Another Message In The Bottle from Robert DeBenedictis