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 DeBenedictisdebenedi@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