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 to Licklider and Taylor's concept in "The Computer as a Communication Device," computers have the potential to transform
 human communication by facilitating teamwork and information exchange. When Usenet was introduced in 1980, it provided a
 decentralized forum where people could exchange messages and have discussions about different subjects without depending on a
 central body, and which helped to partially accomplish this ideal. Decentralization encouraged the formation of communities around
 common
interests, which reflected their vision of an open network for knowledge sharing.
Licklider and Taylor were unprepared for the difficulties Usenet faced, such as spam, inadequate moderation, and trouble sustaining
 fruitful discussion. Usenet depended on asynchronous, text-based communication, in contrast to their idea of real-time, multimedia
 cooperation. Scalability problems caused significant barriers to productive exchanges as the platform expanded, departing from its
 intended smooth intellectual collaboration.