Further Thoughts about Netizens

Community Networks allow citizens of a community to connect to the global computer communications network. This enables community members to communicate with others in their community and with the world. In addition, community networks often facilitate communications and distribution of information between citizens about their local and national governments. In democratic countries, this might facilitate a greater role for citizens in the governmental process. Community network access should be available for those in the public sector who are acting as representitives of themselves and their ideas. Community network access should only be available for those of the private sector who are contributing to the education or research of the whole network. Those in the private sector who are only interested in advancing their own profits should gain access to the Network via other avenues.

Netizens are Net Citizens who utilize the Net from their home, workplace, school, library, etc. These people are among those who populate the Net, and make it a resource of human beings. These netizens participate to help make the Net both an intellectual and a social resource.

The concept of community networking would enable people from around the world to connect to the Net, and in the process connect to other citizens from around the world. This in turn would help further the growth of the Net by connecting a diversity of people who have various opinions, specialties and interests. This worldwide connection of people and other information resources of different sorts will help the world move forward in solving different societal problems.

Paper commenting on Netizens and the diversity of uses people have found for the Net and how it was affected their lives: "The Net and the Netizens: The Impact the Net has on People's Lives" by Michael Hauben available via gopher, FTP, or WWW.

Vision Behind the Concept of Global Community Networking

A Net which will grow to encompass all possible resources. In order to facilitate the free flow of information sharing.

Netizen's community suggests that we use the current state (circa 1994) of the Internet/NSFnet/Usenet/etc as a model for the upcoming NII. In order to do this, it is necessary to be aware of the history of the Net. Various texts for this exist:

  • NSFNET Acceptable Use Policy or here at the end of the article.
  • - Helpful regulation which helps define the NSFnet (backbone of USA Internet) to be for sharing via an educational orientation (as opposed to profit making orientation). This regulation has helped the Net to grow.

    The Netizens and the Wonderful World of the Net: An Anthology of Articles on the History and Impact of the Net

  • WWW Site: http://www.columbia.edu/~hauben/netbook_contents.html
  • Gopher Site: gopher.cic.net
  • FTP Site: wuarchive.wustl.edu

    Chapters of particular historical interest

  • Chapter 1 - Usenet History
  • Chapter 3 - ARPA & Usenet History
  • Chapter 4 - ARPA & Usenet History
  • Chapter 6 - ARPAnet and Network Working Group(NWG) History
  • Chapter 9 - Historical Connection to the Printing Press

    - An Anthology of historical perspective and social context needed to understand the advance represented by the global telecommunications network. This net-book is for those who want to contribute to the care and nurture of the Net.

    The Origins of RFCs by Stephen D. Crocker

  • excerpted from larger RFC 1000 - RFC Reference Guide
  • rfc1000.txt - the full text, INDEX of rfcs included (much LARGER file)
  • Usenet History Archives are accessible via anonymous FTP at weber.ucsd.edu in the directory /pub/usenet.hist
  • Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Usenet - Helpful description of how Usenet is defined.
  • History of the Internet - Directory of Internet History Texts at the InterNIC

    Netnews Newsgroups of Interest

    alt.culture.internet
    The culture(s) of the Internet.
    alt.culture.usenet
    The USENET community.
    news.future
    The future technology of network news systems.
    alt.current-events.net-abuse
    Discussion about what constitutes "net abuse"
    alt.internet.media-coverage
    Discusion about the mass media's coverage of the Internet.
    comp.infosystems.interpedia
    The Internet Encyclopedia.
    alt.uu.future
    Teaching and learning in the Usenet University.
    alt.amateur-comp
    Discussion of issues involving grassroots achivements and labor issues for those who love computers.
    news.misc
    Discussions of USENET itself.
    news.admin.policy
    Policy issues of USENET.
    comp.society
    The impact of technology on society (Moderated).
    comp.society.cu-digest
    The Computer Underground Digest (Moderated).
    comp.society.development
    Computer technology in developing countries.
    comp.society.folklore
    Computer folklore & culture, past & present (Moderated)
    alt.folklore.computers
    Stories & anecdotes about computers. historical disc.
    comp.society.futures
    Events in technology affecting future computing.
    comp.society.privacy
    Effects of technology on privacy (Moderated).
    alt.politics.datahighway
    Discusion about the present and future of the "data highway"

    Non-electronic Reference Sources

    Bellovin, Steve M. and Mark Horton, "USENET - A Distributed Decentralized News System," an unpublished manuscript, 1985.

    Heart, F., A. McKenzie, J. McQuillan, and D. Walden, Arpanet Completion Report, Washington, 1978.

    Woodbury, Gregory G. _Net Cultural Assumptions_

    Vision Texts

    The Editors Scientific American. _Information_ W. H. Freeman Comp. San Francisco 1966 (In particular the articles "Time Sharing on Computers" Fano and Corbato, and "Information" McCathy)

    Kenemy, John. _Man and the Computer_. Charles Scribner's Sons NY, 1972

    Licklider, J.C.R and Albert Vezza, "Applications of Information Systems", Proceedings of the IEEE, Nov 1978

    Licklider, J.C.R. and Robert Taylor, "The Computer as a Communication Device" from "In Memoriam: J.C.R. Licklider 1915-1990," Aug. 7, 1990, p. 40; reprinted by permission from Digital Research Center; originally published as "The Computer as a Communication Device," in "Science and Technology", April, 1968, pg. 40

    Hauben, Michael, "The Social Forces Behind the Development of Usenet News.", _The Netizens and the Wonderful World of the Net_, unpublished off-line.

    Antonoff, Michael, "Fighting City Hall at 2400 Baud", Personal Computing, October 1989, (Special Issue "Computing in America IV"), pg. 170-172

    Michael Hauben / hauben@columbia.edu