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.

One of Licklider's grand visions for the then-future of computer-based
communications was the creation and unification of communities comprised
of people of common interests rather than people of common geographic
backgrounds. With Usenet, this grouping of communities was evident
through the hierarchical structure of its worldwide newsgroups;
namespaces such as "humanities" and "sci" clearly exemplify this.

The concept of an OLIVER didn't quite turn out the way that Licklider
had predicted. At least in UseNet, we don't really see any sort of
software agent acting on behalf of the users. Many of the smaller
matters such as trivial administrative tasks still require some degree
of personal attention.