Re: CS-234 Discussion

CS234 <cs234@lhmerino.dont-email.me> wrote:

This thread is intended for the students of

 CS-234: Technologies for democratic society

 
How does Usenet fit into the vision presented by Licklider and Taylor in
"The Computer as a Communication Device"?
 
Reflect on:
- Which aspects of their vision are realized through Usenet?
- What aspects have evolved differently from what they imagined?
 
Feel free to respond to comments made by your classmates as well.

As Licklider and Taylor predicted in "The Computer as
 a Communication Device", a multiaccess site (Usenet) brings
people of similar interests together by using interconnected computers
 as communication devices that don't require proximity,
 which simplifies communication and helps people save money
 (the overall access to internet increased as the costs
decreased, which they also predicted).
 For the case of Usenet, it wasn't widely available to everyone
at the time it was popular: you had to have access to a computer
and be familiar with how to use it, as the interface wasn't
well developped and easy to use for everyone, which wasn't their vision.
It also wasn't, not even nearly, developped well enough for people
 to choose it over real life communication (we can say that even today
 with our developped websites and apps, some people would still prefer
 face to face meetings, which they thought would be over.)