February 1998

Following is a review by Karin Geiselhart of Netizens.
It will appear in an upcoming issue of Internet Research.

Netizens: On the History and Impact of Usenet and the Internet

by Michael and Ronda Hauben
IEEE Computer Society, 1997, ISBN 0-8186-7706-6.
345 pages

reviewed by Karin Geiselhart
k.geiselh...@student.canberra.edu.au

Netizens delivers on its title. It provides a chronicle of the
development of the Internet, and particularly the venerable part
called Usenet. It is almost an ethnographic study, as the authors
are also long term participants on Usenet. Not surprisingly, the
book reflects some of the character and contains some of the
benefits and drawbacks of Usenet itself, as many of the chapters
were first posted on the Internet. There are repetitions, homely
but sincere writing, overlapping themes and a good dose of
acronymic jargon in some places which might deter the
uninitiated. Some sections, replete with copies of postings or
appended with detailed notes, almost look like what we have
become so used to scanning through on our screens.

But beyond these idiosyncrasies, Netizens is a book which
champions grass roots democracy. It speaks for and through the
on-line citizens who helped shape the Net in its early days. The
unfolding of ARPANET and unix is much more than a story of
problem solving and the scientific method applied to new realms
of computing. Like a fairy tale or myth we can enjoy hearing in
many different versions, the birth of the Internet goes deep into
our cultural psyche. It embodies what we want to believe about
technological change: that it has loftier intent along with
entrepreneurial energy. Of course, this is a very American story,
so it is appropriate that it be told from the Haubens' American,
yet gently challenging perspective.

This is where Netizens is most interesting and highlights a theme
which is today much muted: the role of blue sky research and
government funding. Their history assembles detailed quotes from
many of the pioneers. Back in 1968 Licklider and Taylor, of the
Advanced Research Projects Agency, envisaged a network of
computers which would move communication capabilities far beyond
the linear transportation model of sender to receiver which
prevailed at the time. They understood the potential for users
being "active participants in an ongoing process", and foresaw
the development of communities based on affinity and common
interests.

These were not visions with immediate commercial payback, and
perhaps they never will be. The technical difficulties in
establishing such a global network could only be handled through
substantial amounts of non-profit funding, which is what ARPANET
was given. One of the twists in the Internet story which lifts it
to the level of near myth is the irony that the project had a
military goal, but this required linking civilians so they could
share information. The founding of unix had almost religious,
and certainly philosophical undertones. The Haubens refer to
descriptions of its development as "a system around which a
fellowship would form." Here they touch on another grand theme of
the Internet, reflexive progression. They ask, with innocent and
irrefutable logic: "How else should one go about designing
communications programs but on an operating system designed with
the basic principle of encouraging communication?"

Thus emerged a system which put power in citizens' fingertips and
minds and eyes, provided a many to many capability, and raised
the possibility of a read and write media as a counter to global
leviathans. In their chapter on the effect of the net on
professional news media, they again present real people's views
and experiences to document their theoretical position. I must
admit to a tiny thrill of recognition and pride, when I saw a
quote from an Australian journalist of my acquaintance. And the
pleasure of reading their book was enhanced by having met the
Haubens at a conference or two. Probably nothing can replace face
to face friendliness over a shared meal.

But they could not be further from an academic elite. Although
Ronda in particular draws on seventeenth and eighteenth century
economic works and philosophers, the book never loses sight of
its democratic intent. A further theme of universal access
penetrates each part of this history: past, present, future, and
theoretical framework.  

While the comparison between the Internet and the invention of
the printing press is now commonplace, they flesh it out with
succinct and pertinent quotes from Elizabeth Eisenstein's seminal
book on the printing press in early modern Europe. And always
highlighting the role of both technologies in opening new domains
of learning, sharing, participating.

Unfortunately, one of their own examples shows the naivete in
hoping for empowerment through technology alone. In late 1994,
the National Telecommunications Information Administration held a
virtual conference to consider future directions for the US
infrastructure. There was an outpouring of support for the social
benefits of the Internet from all corners of the country.
Eloquent arguments were made for universal access. However, the
public's input to NTIA was not acted on, and the US backbone of
the Internet was privatised in May 1995. Another sad coda to that
episode is that, according to the Haubens, only 80 public access
sites to the on line conference were made available in libraries
or other public places.

Correctly, they note that "One of the most difficult dilemmas of
our times is how to deal with the discrepancy between the need
for more public input into policy development and the actions of
government officials who ignore that input."

These tensions, like the theme of universal access, remain
critical, even as electronic commerce spreads, supposedly in
response to "market forces." By offering us detailed insights
into the early days of these still unresolved issues, Netizens
reminds us that technology should serve the people.

They include part of a poem by Vint Cerf, another founding father
of ARPANET. Written in the late 60s, it reveals his recognition
of the intimate play between art and science, linked by a common
thirst for knowledge. I could not help but remember his words as
a keynote speaker at the Internet Conference in Montreal, nearly
30 years later, in response to a question from Scott Aiken, one
of the founders of the Minnesota e-democracy project: "Democracy
doesn't scale."

Netizens is an affirmation by the authors on behalf of all their
fellow Usenet contributors, and all of us who have benefitted in
some way from the altruism and free information which flows
across the Internet. Theirs is an optimistic mantra: democracy
can scale.

-------------------
Karin Geiselhart
PhD student
Faculty of Communication
University of Canberra
http://student.canberra.edu.au/~u833885/home.htm 
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