alb@alice.UucP (Adam L. Buchsbaum) (09/01/85)
I've been watching the net this summer, purposely taking a back seat to things, staying out of the things I was into before I originally left for school, and I made a few observations. The net right now bears little or no resemblence to its original form. When it was created up until the point it started to have a new machine explosion, it was great; a perfect medium for discussion. Right now, though, its just an anarchal screaming ground. The people with the loudest voices and biggest egos are having it out on the fields of the net, as it were. Maybe Brad Templeton was right a long time ago when he said the net was destroying himself; I didn't believe him then, but I'm inclined to now. The number of articles that I find worthwhile to read is a pitiful few compared to what's actually posted. It's a shame it's happening, but maybe its natural. The net was a great experiment in social interaction, but I think now its time to stop figuring out ways to make it continue and to start figuring out ways to replace it with a better medium. Now that we have so much knowledge about what makes it work and what destroys it, we should be able to form a USENET II that will last for many years. As an aside to all this, I want to give my public word of praise to Lauren Weinstein, who seems to be the only exception to my pessimistic opinions. From what I've seen, he's one of if not the only sane person left here. ''You'' would do good to listen to him. Well, I'm off to school again, so I won't be able to answer any replies to this statement. I had planned to post it earlier to give myself a chance to do that, but things didn't work out. Sorry. Take care, net, and try to pull yourself together! Adam