The Amateur
Computerist
Fall 2022 Toward 25 Years of the Netizen Book (Part 2) Volume 35 No. 2
Table of Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Page 1
Computers & Society Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 2
Researching the “Net” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 4
New Net Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 8
Graduation Presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 8
Good Press Coverage of the Net and Netizens . . Page 10
Original Call for a Netizens Association . . . . . . . . Page 11
New List: Netizens Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 15
Proposed Netizens List Charter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 16
Netizens Netbook Finally in a Print Edition . . . . . Page 19
Bastille Day Celebration in NYC . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 20
Call for Submissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 21
Oral History of the Internet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 21
Introduction
The year 2022 marks the 25
th
Anniversary of the
May 1, 1997 publication of the print edition of Neti-
zens: On the History and Impact of Usenet and the
Internet by Michael Hauben and Ronda Hauben. This
issue is again part of the celebration of that Anniver-
sary. The articles here are mostly posts to the Usenet
online discussion system made by Michael Hauben
from 1992 to 1997.
The first posts are a request for references or
suggestions for a Computers & Society class Michael
was taking. Michael wrote that computers and concur-
rent technologies have had a significant impact on
communications and that he was interested in the
impact that this will have on people’s lives. These
posts were part of the process by which the ideas for
the Netizens book were explored and by which some of
the articles in the Netizens book got written.
The second article is a speech Michael gave in
April 1994, based on one of the chapters of the Net
Book, “The Netizens and the Wonderful World of the
Net: An Anthology” put online in January of that year.
It begins, “Welcome to the 21
st
Century. You are a
Netizen, or a Net Citizen, and you exist as a citizen of
the world …” and is the early draft for Chapter One of
Netizens: On the History of Usenet and the Internet.
The next article, “New Net Book” was the post
on Usenet announcing the event that launched the Net
Book. Michael wrote, “This Net Book is for those who
want to contribute to the care and nurture of the Net.”
His post gave details how to access the Net Book from
a gopher server or on his homepage.
That article is followed by Michael’s speech at a
party celebrating his and his friends graduation from
Columbia College in 1995. In that speech Michael
begins telling of his connection with Japan and his
Japanese netizen friends. He describes how, two days
before the party, a camera crew from TV Tokyo came
to the Columbia University campus to interview him
for a documentary. Michael explained his understand-
ing of netizens to the TV Tokyo interviewers. He told
them, “The internet is not about computers and iso-
lated experiences, it is a very social, human experi-
ence.” Later, after that documentary aired in Japan, a
few computer science students in Japan contacted
Michael. Some of the result of those contacts is told in
other posts in this issue. Also in that speech, Michael
explained that he came to Columbia wondering why
are Americans so complacent. After four years at
Columbia and being active on the Internet, he had an
answer. He wrote, “By connecting to others with simi-
lar interests, questions and problems, along with peo-
ple with different understandings, it is now possible to
try and do something about the world, and to gain
some power in how one lives his or her life.”
The next four articles are posts resulting from
Michael’s Fall 1995 visit to Japan which was upon the
invitation of Professor Shumpi Kumon. On Jan 1, 1996
there was a Japanese newspaper article about netizens
and Michael’s visit. It quoted Michael extensively and
concluded, “The discoverer of Netizen is also a person
of practice.” With a computer science student in Japan,
Michael issued a call for a Netizens Association,
documented in three articles here. The Japanese stu-
http://www.ais.org/~jrh/acn/
Page 1
dent argued if there are netizens around the world they
need their international association. In the post,
“Original Call for a Netizens Association,” Michael
tells the story of Professor Kumon’s invitation and the
trip that resulted and his collaboration with Hiroyuki
Takahashi who proposed the need for the Netizens
Association. In “Proposed Netizen List Charter,”
Michael shares most of the first 40 responses that the
call for a netizens association received.
In May 1997, Michael was able to joyously post,
“Netizens Net Book Finally in a Print Edition (-:”.
Then on July 14, he announced the “Bastille Day
Celebration in NYC” of the newly published print
edition of the Netizens book. From the cover of the
book, he quoted Martin Greenberger, “Michael and
Ronda Hauben sketch out a provocative declaration of
Netizen rights in their appendix to this engrossing,
well researched, and very useful book.” Michael also
quoted Tom Truscott, “Netizens is an ambitions look
at the social aspects of computer networking. It exam-
ines the present and the turbulent future, and especially
it explores the technical and social roots of the Net.”
In the post, Michael gave the time, place and
subway information for the celebration. He saw the
choice of Bastille Day was, “In recognition of Bastille
Day and the efforts for people around the world to gain
influence in the developing of democracy around the
world.” For Michael, the internet and netizens gave the
people of the world a chance for more democracy.
To carry on the work Michael began, in 2002
Ronda Hauben posted a “Call for Submissions that
Develop or Explore the Concept of Netizen.” She
wrote: “It is now 10 years later. We would like to doc-
ument the further development and application of the
concept of netizen (and of the vision of the future of
the net) that developed since Michael’s research in
1992/1993. Also we want to project into the future
about what the emergence of the netizen can mean to
the further development of the Internet and of our
society in general.”
More recently, on March 14, 2022 a tribute to
Michael and his work appeared in Chinese as a blog
post by Dr Fang Xingdong. We conclude the issue
with an English machine translation of the blog post.
Dr. Fang is the director of the OHI (Oral History of the
Internet ) project. On the blog he said there is a sugges-
tion that the project “publish a book for the story of
their family of three.” The Amateur Computerist would
welcome such a book.
[Editor’s Note: The following were posted to Usenet on Oct 5 and
Oct 8, 1992. They are a request for references or suggestions and
other help about the progressive impact computers have had on
communication. Post like these were part of the process by which
some of the articles in the Netizens book got written.]
Computers & Society Class
by Michael Hauben
I am taking a Computers & Society Class right
now and need to figure out what would be important to
write my term paper about. I am also thinking of pro-
posing a major or concentration on Computers &
Society. For this paper I am thinking about writing on
the progressive impact computers have had on commu-
nications. So, I would appreciate any references or
suggestions anyone might have to offer. By sugges-
tions I mean what people think would be a worthwhile
question in the combination of computers and commu-
nications that would be worth focusing on.
The Following are just notes I made to myself.
But if you feel there is a way further to build on them,
please let me know.
Thanks!
Michael,
Paper Topic Ideas for Computer & Society
My paper will focus on the developing role and
importance of telecommunications (or maybe the com-
bination of computer and communication technology.)
Possible topics would be:
1) The Equalitarian role computers play in communi-
cations. (How conferencing plus BBSs allow anonym-
ity and thus remove many intimidations putting ideas
in the front. Also because anonymity allows as many
people as possible to participate in whatever time
frame. Basically allows anyone who wants to speak the
right to speak.) Facilitation of freedom of speech.
2) How computer networks facilitate the transfer of
information and flow of information. More specific?
Spreading information to a wider body of people.
allowing people to become more educated.
3) Making the world a smaller place … allowing for
new international communities to form. (based on
common interests, backgrounds, or abilities.)
4) What Usenet is and what it might or could become,
or what direction it is going in? What potential exists?
Or is my question: did telecommunications help
Page 2
bring the Berlin wall down and the events in eastern
Europe? Also remember how students in China
(Tianiman Square) and France utilized the new tele-
communications technologies.
Help needed with Communications and
Computers
by Michael Hauben
I am taking a Computers & Society class and the
following is the proposal I handed into my teacher. I
appreciate if anyone has any comments on it. Or can
help me with references and/or a better clarification or
sharpening of a topic. Thanks, Michael
Computers & Society Term Paper
Proposal
Computers and concurrent technologies have had
a significant impact on communications. I am inter-
ested in writing on the impact that this combination is
having and will have on people’s lives. The combina-
tion of computers and communications has led to
enormous networks that transmit and carry numerous
different types of information and data. In Computers,
Communications and Society, Murray Laver wrote:
Cost apart, territorial distances are no long-
er a barrier … . If the present trend con-
tinues, then by 1980 more than 90% of the
world’s computers would be linked to com-
munication systems. This combination
promises to be exceptionally important be-
cause its effect will not be confined to one
section of technology, nor to technology
alone. The collection and exchange of in-
formation underlies all that we do, and the
structures and functions of industrial soci-
ety depend absolutely on its prompt and
ample supply. A major change in informa-
tion techniques is bound to affect every
aspect of out lives – economic, social, po-
litical and domestic – and we need to be
alert and aware of what is happening if we
aspire to direct its course. (Oxford, 1975, p. 1)
This flow of information can selectively be
accessed, allowing the individual to make the informa-
tion suit him or her. This is a fundamental change from
the traditional mode of the mass media making the
individual conform to it. The world is becoming more
accessible while at the same time growing in size. New
international communities are forming (based on com-
mon interests, backgrounds, and abilities.)
The combined efforts of people interested in
communication has led to the development and expan-
sion of the global communications system. Ithiel de
Sola Pool in Technologies Without Boundaries wrote:
The system becomes part of the largest
machine that man has ever constructed –
the global telecommunications network.
The full map of it no one knows; it changes
every day. (Cambridge, 1990, p 56)
This system has grown because of the interest
people have in communicating with the world outside
of themselves. The voluntary nature of this system has
lead to an enormous collection of generally helpful
resources in other people and collections of informa-
tion.
A current material example of the fundamental
powers of this communications and information revo-
lution is Eastern Europe. Much of the changes there
were assisted through the opening up of information
and communication. The organized form of Usenet
News assists in the connections. This example might
possibly serve as a foundation for my premises. A
useful pointer is the following quote from “The Infor-
mation Technologies and East European Societies” in
East European Politics and Societies:
The perception of serious technological
backwardness, and the desire to end it, lie
at the heart of Eastern Europe’s economic,
political, and social upheaval … . The
computer and its related technologies have
contributed most to the industrial world’s
rapid economic restructuring and have
high-lighted Eastern Europe’s economic
deficiencies most clearly. (vol. 5, no. 3,
Fall 1991, p. 394)
My research will consist of materials from books
and my personal experiences. Along with this, I will
interact with the Net and think of interviewing people
involved with the development of various parts of the
global communications network, along with personal
observations from people who participate in Usenet.
As an example of the helpful resources, I posted
a message in several newsgroups to gain help in fig-
uring out a useful and interesting topic. In response I
received over 10 email responses from around the
world offering help.
Page 3
[Editor’s Note: The following is a speech given to the Columbia
University Student ACM Chapter on April 24, 1994. It was based
on a paper titled “The Net and Netizens: The Impact the Net has
on People’s Lives,” originally available as Chapter 7 of the Net
Book “The Netizens and the Wonderful World of the Net: An
Anthology” at:
http://www.columbia.edu/~hauben/project_book
.html and later as the basis for Chapter 1 of the book Netizens: On
the History and Impact of Usenet and the Internet, IEEE Com-
puter Society Press, 1997.]
Researching the “Net”:
On the Evolution of
Usenet News and the
Significance of the Global
Computer Network
by Michael Hauben
I. You are a Netizen, or a Net Citizen
Welcome to the 21
st
Century. You are a Netizen,
or a Net Citizen, and you exist as a citizen of the world
thanks to the global connectivity that the Net makes
possible. You consider everyone as your compatriot.
You physically live in one country but you are in
contact with much of the world via the global com-
puter network. Virtually you live next door to every
other single Netizen in the world. Geographical sep-
aration is replaced by existence in the same virtual
space.
The situation I describe is only a prediction of the
future, but a large part of the necessary infrastructure
currently exists. The Net – or the Internet, BITNET,
FIDOnet, other physical networks, Usenet, VMSnet,
and other logical networks and so on – has rapidly
grown to cover all of the developed countries in the
world. Every day more computers attach to the exist-
ing networks and every new computer adds to the user
base – at least twenty five million people are intercon-
nected today. Why do all these people pass their time
sitting in front of a computer typing away? They have
very good reason to! Twenty-five million people plus
[in 1994] have very good reason not to be wrong.
[Twenty-five years later, in 2019, there were 4.3
billion active internet users.]
We are seeing a revitalization of society. The
frameworks are being redesigned from the bottom up.
A new more democratic world is becoming possible.
According to one user, the Net has “immeasurably
increased the quality of … life.” The Net seems to
open a new lease on life for people. Social connections
which were never before possible, or which were
relatively hard to achieve, are now facilitated by the
Net. Geography and time no longer are boundaries.
Social limitations and conventions no longer prevent
potential friendships or partnerships. In this manner,
Netizens are meeting other Netizens from far-away
and close by that they might never have met without
the Net.
A new world of connections between people –
either privately from individual to individual or
publicly from individuals to the collective mass of
many on the net – is possible. The old model of central
distribution of information from the Network Broad-
casting or Publication Company is being questioned
and challenged. The top-down model of information
being distributed by a few for mass-consumption is no
longer the only News. Netnews brings the power of the
reporter to the Netizen. People now have the ability to
broadcast their observations or questions around the
world and have other people respond. The computer
networks form a new grassroots connection that allows
the excluded sections of society to have a voice. This
new medium is unprecedented. Previous grassroots
media have existed for much smaller-sized selections
of people. The model of the Net proves the old way
does not have to be the only way of networking. The
Net extends the idea of networking – of making con-
nections with strangers that prove to be advantageous
to one or both parties.
The complete connection of the body of citizens
of the world that the Net makes possible does not exist
as of today, and it will definitely be a fight to make
access to the Net open and available to all. However,
in the future we might be seeing the possible expan-
sion of what it means to be a social animal. Practically
every single individual on the Net today is available to
every other person on the Net. International connection
coexists on the same level with local connection. Also
the computer networks allow a more advanced connec-
tion between the people who are communicating. With
computer-communication systems, information or
thoughts are connected to people’s names and elect-
ronic-mail addresses. On the Net, one can connect to
others who have similar interests or whose thought
processes they enjoy.
Netizens make it a point to be helpful and
friendly – if they feel it to be worthwhile. Many Net-
Page 4
izens feel they have an obligation to be helpful and
answer queries and follow-up on discussions to put
their opinion into the pot of opinions. Over a period of
time the voluntary contributions to the Net have built
it into a useful connection to other people around the
world. The Net can be a helpful medium to understand
the world. Only by seeing all points of view can any
one person attempt to figure out either their own
position on a topic or in the end, the truth.
Net Society differs from offline society by
welcoming intellectual activity. People are encouraged
to have things on their mind and to present those ideas
to the Net. People are allowed to be intellectually
interesting and interested. This intellectual activity
forms a major part of the information that is carried by
the various computer networks. Netizens can interact
with other people to help add to or alter that informa-
tion. Brain-storming between varieties of people pro-
duces robust thinking. Information is no longer a fixed
commodity or resource on the Nets. It is constantly
being added to and improved collectively. The Net is
a grand intellectual and social commune in the spirit of
the collective nature present at the origins of human
society. Netizens working together continually expand
the store of information worldwide. One person called
the Net an untapped resource because it provides an
alternative to the normal channels and ways of doing
things. The Net allows for the meeting of minds to
form and develop ideas. It brings people’s thinking
processes out of isolation and into the open. Every user
of the Net gains the role of being special and useful.
The fact that every user has his or her own opinions
and interests adds to the general body of specialized
knowledge on the Net. Each Netizen thus becomes a
special resource valuable to the Net. Each user contrib-
utes to the whole intellectual and social value and
possibilities of the Net.
II. Licklider, the Visionary
The world of the Netizen was envisioned some
twenty five years ago by J.C.R. Licklider and Robert
Taylor in their article “The Computer as a Communi-
cation Device” Science and Technology, April 1968).
Licklider brought to his leadership of the U.S., Depart-
ment of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects
Agency (ARPA) a vision of “the intergalactic com-
puter network.” Whenever he would speak of ARPA,
he would mention this vision. J.C.R. Licklider was a
prophet of the Net. In his article Licklider establishes
several helpful principles which would make the com-
puter play a helpful role in human communication.
These principles were:
1) Communication is defined as an interactive creative
process.
2) Response times need to be short to make the “con-
versation” free and easy.
3) The larger network would form out of smaller
regional networks.
4) Communities would form out of affinity and com-
mon interests.
Licklider focused on the Net comprising of a
network of networks. While other researchers of the
time focused on the sharing of computing resources,
Licklider kept an open mind and wrote:
The collection of people, hardware, and
software – the multiaccess computer to-
gether with its local community of users –
will become a node in a geographically
distributed computer network … . Through
the network … therefore, all the large com-
puters can communicate with one another.
And through them, all the members of the
supercommunity can communicate with
other people, with programs, with data, or
with selected combinations of those re-
sources. (Licklider and Taylor,
ex.org/licklider.html, p. 32.)
Licklider’s understandings from his 1968 paper
have stood the test of time, and do represent what the
Net is today. His concept of the sharing of both com-
puting and human resources accurately describes
today’s Net. The networking of various human connec-
tions quickly forms, changes its goals, disbands and
reforms into new collaborations. The fluidity of such
group dynamics leads to a quickening of the creation
of new ideas. Groups can form to discuss an idea,
focus in or broaden out and reform to fit the new ideas
that have resulted from the process.
The virtual space created on non-commercial
computer networks is accessible universally. This
space is accessible from the connections that exist;
whereas social networks in the physical world gener-
ally are connected only by limited gateways. So the
capability of networking on computer nets overcomes
limitations inherent in non-computer social networks.
This is important because it reduces the problems of
population growth. Population growth no longer means
limited. Rather that very growth of population now
means an improvement of resources. Thus growth of
population can be seen as a positive asset. This is a
Page 5
new way of looking at people in our society. Every
new person can mean a new set of perspectives and
specialties to add to the wealth of knowledge of the
world. This new view of people could help improve
the view of the future. The old model looks down on
population growth and people as a strain on the envi-
ronment rather than the increase of intellectual contri-
bution these individuals can make. However, access to
the Net needs to be universal for the Net to fully utilize
the contribution each person can represent. Once
access is limited, the Net and those on the Net lose the
full possible advantages the Net can offer. Lastly the
people on the Net need to be active in order to bring
about the best possible use of the Network.
Licklider foresaw that the Net allows for people
of common interests, who are otherwise strangers, to
communicate. Much of the magic of the Net is the
ability to make a contribution of your ideas, and then
be connected to utter strangers. He saw that people
would connect to others via this net in ways that had
been much harder in the past. Licklider observed as the
ARPANET spanned two continents. This physical con-
nection allowed for wider social collaborations to
form. This was the beginning of Computer Data net-
works facilitating connections of people around the
world.
My research on and about the Net has been and
continues to be very exciting for me. When I posted
my inquiries, I usually received the first reply within
a couple of hours. The feeling of receiving that very
first reply from a total stranger is always exhilarating!
That set of first replies from people reminds me of the
magic of E-Mail. It is nice that there can be reminders
of how exciting it all is – so that the value of this new
use of computers is never forgotten.
III. Critical Mass
The Net has grown so much in the last 25 years,
that a critical mass of people and interests has been
reached. This collection of individuals adds to the
interests and specialties of the whole community. Most
people can now gain something from the Net, while at
the same time helping it out. A critical mass has de-
veloped on the net. Enough people exist that the whole
is now greater than any one individual and thus makes
the Net worthwhile to be part of. People are meshing
intellects and knowledge to form new ideas. Larry
Press made this clear by writing:
I now work on the Net at least two hours
per day. I’ve had an account since around
1975 but it has only become super impor-
tant in the last couple of years because a
critical mass of membership was reached.
I no longer work in LA, but in cyberspace.
Many inhabitants of the Net feel that only
the most technically inclined people use the
Net. This is not true, as many different
kinds of people are now connected to the
Net. While the original users of the Net
were from exclusively technical and scien-
tific communities, many of them found it a
valuable experience to explore the Net for
more than just technical reasons. The nets,
in their early days, were only available in a
few parts the world. Now however, people
of all ages, from most parts of the globe,
and of many professions, make up the Net.
The original prototype networks (e.g.:
ARPANET in the USA, NPL in the United
Kingdom, CYCLADES in France and
other networks around the world) devel-
oped the necessary physical infrastructure
for a fertile social network to develop.
Einar Stefferud wrote of this social connec-
tion in an article, The ARPANET has pro-
duced several monumental results. It pro-
vided the physical and electrical communi-
cations backbone for development of the
latent social infrastructure we now call
‘THE INTERNET COMMUNITY.’ (Con-
neXions, Oct. 1989 Vol. 3 No. 10. p. 21.)
Many different kinds of people comprise the Net.
The University Community sponsors access for a
broad range of people (students, professors, staff, pro-
fessor emeritus, and so on). Programmers, engineers
and researchers from many companies are connected.
A K-12 Net exists within the lower grades of education
which helps to invite young people to be a part of our
community. Special Bulletin Board software (for
example Waffle) exists to connect Personal Computer
users to the Net. Various Unix bulletin board systems
exist to connect other users. It is impossible to tell
exactly who connects to public bulletin board systems,
as only an inexpensive computer (or terminal) and
modem are required to connect. Many common bul-
letin board systems (for example fido board) have at
least e-mail and many also participate through a
gateway to Netnews. Prototype Community Network
Systems are forming around the world (e.g.: In Cleve-
land – the Cleveland Freenet, In New Zealand – the
Page 6
Wellington Citynet, In California, the Santa Monica
Public Electronic Network, etc.) Access via these com-
munity systems can be as easy as visiting the commu-
nity library and membership is open to all who live in
the community.
In addition to the living body of resources this
diversity of Netizens represent, there is also a continu-
ally growing body of digitized data that forms a set of
resources. Whether it is Netizens digitizing great liter-
ature of the past (e.g.: the Gutenberg Project), or it is
people gathering otherwise obscure or non-mainstream
material (e.g.: Various Religions, unusual hobbies,
fringe and cult materials, and so on), or if it is Netizens
contributing new and original material (e.g.: The Ama-
teur Computerist Newsletter), the net follows in the
great tradition of other public bottom-up institutions,
such as the public library or the principle behind public
education. The Net shares with these institutions that
they serve the general populace. This data is just part
of the treasure. Often living Netizens provide pointers
to this digitized store of publicly available information.
Many of the network access tools have been pro-
grammed with the principle of being available to
everyone. The best example is the method of connect-
ing to file repositories via FTP (file transfer protocol)
by logging in as an “anonymous” user. Most (if not all)
World Wide Web Sites, Wide Area Information Sys-
tems (WAIS), and gopher sites are open for all users of
the Net. It is true that the current membership of the
Net Community is smaller than it will be, but the net
has reached a point of general usefulness no matter
who you are.
All of this evidence is exactly why there could be
problems if the Net comes under the control of com-
mercial entities. Once commercial interests gain con-
trol, the Net will be much less powerful for the ordi-
nary person than it is currently. Commercial interests
vary from those of the common person. They attempt
to make profit from any available means. Compuserve
is an example of one current commercial network. A
user of Compuserve pays for access by the minute. If
this scenario would be extended to the Net of which I
speak, the Netiquette of being helpful would have a
price tag attached to it. If people had had to pay by the
minute during the Net’s development, very few would
have been able to afford the network time needed to be
helpful to others.
The Net has only developed because of the hard
work and voluntary dedication of many people. It has
grown because the Net is under the control and power
of the people at a bottom-level, and because these peo-
ple have over the years made a point to make it some-
thing worthwhile. People’s posts and contributions to
the Net have been the developing forces.
IV. Network as a New Democratic Force
For the people of the World, the Net provides a
powerful way of peaceful assembly. Peaceful Assem-
bly allows for people to take control over their lives,
rather than that control being in the hands of others.
This power has to be honored and protected. Any
medium or tool that helps people to hold or gain power
is something that is special and has to be protected.
(See “The Computer as Democratizer,” Amateur Com-
puterist Newsletter, Vol. 4, No. 5, Fall 1992.) J.C.R.
Licklider believed that access to the then growing
information network should be made ubiquitous. He
felt that the Net’s value would depend on high connec-
tivity. In his article, “The Computer as a Communica-
tion Device,” Licklider argues that the impact upon
society depends on how available the network is to the
society as a whole. He wrote:
For the society, the impact will be good or
bad depending mainly on the question:
Will ‘to be on line’ be a privilege or a
right? If only a favored segment of the pop-
ulation gets a chance to enjoy the advan-
tage of ‘intelligence amplification,’ the net-
work may exaggerate the discontinuity in
the spectrum of intellectual opportunity.
(Licklider and Taylor,
/licklider.html, p. 40)
The Net has made a valuable impact to human
society. I have heard from many people how their lives
have been substantially improved via their connection
to the Net. This enhancement of people’s lives pro-
vides the incentive needed for providing access to all
in society. Society will improve if net access is made
available to people as a whole. Only if access is uni-
versal will the Net itself truly advance. The ubiquitous
connection is necessary for the Net to encompass all
possible resources. One Net visionary responded to my
research by calling for universal access. Steve Welch
wrote: “If we can get to the point where anyone who
gets out of high school alive has used computers to
communicate on the Net or a reasonable facsimile or
successor to it, then we as a society will benefit in
ways not currently understandable. When access to in-
formation is as ubiquitous as access to the phone sys-
tem, all hell will break loose. Bet on it.”
Page 7
Steve is right, “all hell will break loose” in the
most positive of ways imaginable. The philosophers
Thomas Paine, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and all other
fighters for democracy would have been proud.
Similar to past communications advances such as
the printing press, mail, and the telephone, the Global
Computer Communications Network has already fun-
damentally changed our lives. Licklider predicted that
the Net would fundamentally change the way people
live and work. It is important to try to understand this
impact, so as to help further this advance.
[Editor’s Note: On January 12, 1994, a book party was held at
Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn, Michigan to launch
an online book. The following short announcement was posted on
Usenet announcing the launch and giving details on how to access
the new net book whose title was, “The Netizens and the Won-
derful World of the Net: An Anthology.” The announcement is at
http://www.ais.org/~jrh/acn/ACN6-1.pdf in the Amateur Com-
puterist Vol. 6 No. 1.]
New Net Book
In honor of the 25
th
Anniversary of the ARPA-
NET and of the UNIX operating system, and the 15
th
Anniversary of Usenet News, I am proud to announce
a Net Book. This Net Book provides some of the his-
torical perspective and social context needed to under-
stand the advance represented by the global telecom-
munications network. This Net Book is for those who
want to contribute to the care and nurture of the Net.
The Book’s title is: The Netizens and the Won-
derful World of the Net: An Anthology.
Any comments on the book would be welcome,
as it is currently in draft form. We are making it avail-
able as we feel it will be helpful for people, and your
comments will help us to make the book more val-
uable.
In addition, it would be worthwhile to have the
book published in a printed edition. Any suggestions
toward this would be appreciated.
A draft is now available via anonymous ftp at:
wuarchive.wustl.edu in the directory:
/doc/misc/acn/netbook.
The book is also available to browse via gopher
on the gopher server: gopher.cic.net in the directory (or
by going through the menus):
e-serials/alphabetic/a/amateur-computerist/netbook
My .gopherrc entry looks like this:
Name=Netizen’s Net Book
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/e-serials/alphabetic/a/amateur-computerist/
netbook
Host=gopher.cic.net
URL: (For WWW browsers like Mosaic, lynx, cello,
etc.)
gopher://gopher.cic.net/11/e-serials/alphabetic/a
/amateur-computerist/netbook
or from my homepage at:
under the link to its title.
Click:
here
-Michael Hauben,
[Editor’s Note: The following was presented on May 21, 1995 at
a party celebrating the graduation of Michael Hauben and some
of his classmates from Columbia College. It appears at:
https://
www.ais.org/~jrh/acn/ACn24-1.pdf, pp. 36-38.]
Graduation Presentation
My graduation did not end at the May 1995
Columbia University Commencement ceremonies. I
did receive my Diploma on May 17, but my graduation
was not completed until May 19. On that Friday, I was
interviewed about the internet by a Japanese camera
crew for a television documentary to be shown on TV
Tokyo. In speaking with these people the result of my
four years both here at Columbia and connected to the
outside world was revealed.
During the interview I described Netizens and the
world-wide community which the internet and Usenet
News make possible. Netizens are people who use the
various computer communications networks and feel
they are citizens of this net. People desire to communi-
cate with others around the world. In order to commu-
nicate, to share information and to have a discussion,
it is necessary to share a common space and to accept
differences. People who connect to the internet will-
ingly help others and work collectively to have a place
which allows their personal speech and which allows
the speech of others. It is in this spirit of an open
forum that we are holding this party today. The inter-
net and other communications networks are about
Page 8
people and are about people communicating with each
other. It is this understanding and experience which I
shared with the interviewers. The internet is not about
computers and isolated experiences, it is a very social
human experience.
I entered Columbia asking the question “Why are
people, so complacent in this country?” I asked this
question on my application essay in 1990 considering
that people in Eastern Europe and China were fighting
their governments for a better life and a better world,
while here at home little seemed to be happening to
combat the worsening times.
In thinking about this question, I chose the joint
Philosophy/Economics major as my prospective major.
My introduction to the Columbia bureaucracy came
about when upon visiting campus, I discovered this
major had been turned upside down, and was now
based in the Economics Department rather than the
Philosophy Department and was renamed Economics
and Philosophy. The emphasis was: similarly shifted
from classical philosophy to contemporary economics.
In arriving at Columbia and setting up my com-
puter account, I connected to the world by using Use-
net Newsgroups. My Unix account, hauben@colum-
bia.edu, gave me access to Usenet Newsgroups which
are public discussion forums that are circulated around
the world. It was in discussions on these newsgroups
that I developed my academic study. I was fascinated
by the internet and Usenet News and wanted to find
out more about this network which connected people
from around the world.
It was on the internet and Usenet where I posed
questions and conducted research into what other peo-
ple found valuable about being and how it was impor-
tant in their lives.
In researching these questions during different
history and literature classes, along with several inde-
pendent studies, I became an active participant of the
Usenet Newsgroups and mailing lists. I submitted
questions and thought pieces to these forums, and
people around the world responded with their opinions
and thoughts. I became interested in the Net itself, and
I posed questions about it . Many people found they
shared this interest, and they connected to me and
contributed their understandings of the value of the Net
to their lives. Many of these private electronic mail
messages and public Usenet responses were extremely
thoughtful. I also raised questions about how it was
possible for such a medium to develop where people
were helpful to total strangers. In starting to research
the history of the internet and Usenet News, students
and professors who were part of that history sent me
personal accounts and supporting documentation.
My papers and research about the internet and
Usenet have been guided and helped by many real
people around the world. When I finished my papers,
I contributed back to the Net by making them publicly
available and asking for comments and criticism. In
addition to various responses of that sort, I also re-
ceived much encouragement and support. People wrote
thanking me for making my writings available.
Also, I received various requests from professors
and others to reprint and make my writings available
to classes and other more public forums. This support
was of course in addition to help and encouragement
from my parents. All of this support came outside of
Columbia. There were two professors in the Computer
Science Department, namely Professor Unger and
Professor Greenleaf, and there was Professor Garton
from the Music Department who were helpful, but
there was very little help from the university or com-
puter science department as a whole. My connection to
the outside world and community is what has both
made my research possible, and provided feedback that
this research was important and valuable to others. I
have mainly enjoyed the time I have spent at Columbia
because of the feedback I received from other people
saying they appreciated my effort, and that my writ-
ings have been useful for more than just a grade.
Identification of this value to society came slow-
ly but surely. People sent various e-mail messages, and
this was helpful, but did not feel to be lasting. These
past two years have been marked by various events
which have helped to solidify my understanding of the
value. The word Netizen started to appear both and in
print. Papers I wrote were published in three journals.
Ronda and I gave several presentations in New York
City and Michigan from the book we put together. A
radio station in California interviewed me last semes-
ter. And currently Ronda and I are negotiating with a
publisher to publish our book in a printed form. Lastly,
professors from the Global Communications Institute
in Japan have been communicating with me about my
participating at a conference in Japan later this year.
The interview on Friday was the culminating event
which identified that this work has been recognized as
important.
After four years, I feel I have answered the ques-
tion with which I entered Columbia. The internet and
Usenet News provides a place where people can
Page 9
communicate with other people at a grassroots level to
make their lives better and to attempt to make the
world a better place. By connecting to others with
similar interests, questions and problems, along with
people with different understandings, it is now possible
to try and do something about the world, and to gain
some power in how one lives his or her life.
All in all, while Columbia has been a difficult
place to live for the last four years, it has been an
honor to be able to contribute to the world some under-
standing of how to make a better future.
[Editor’s Note: The following post appeared on Usenet on March
4, 1996. In it the author gives the background to an article that
appeared in Japanese in the Nishi-Nippon Press on January 1,
1996. A translation into English of that article follows the author’s
introduction.]
Good Press Coverage of the
Net and Netizens
by Michael Hauben
I visited Japan in November 1995 to speak at the
Hyper Network Conference, Beppu Bay '95. The con-
ference theme was “The Netizen Revolution and the
Regional Information Infrastructure.” The conference
theme was chosen in an attempt to understand what
principles would help expand the Internet in Japan.
While at the conference, a reporter from the
Nishi-Nippon Shimbun interviewed me. The article
based on the interview about my research and Netizens
was published in the Nishi-Nippon newspaper New
Years Day special edition. It was special that it was
published in the New Years issue, as it helps to wel-
come a new era with the new year. The Nishi-Nippon
Press is located in Fukuoka City, Oita Prefecture.
Following is a rough translation of the article that
conveys the significance of the role Netizens have had
in building the Net to be a cooperative communica-
tions medium which benefits the larger community.
This translation is being distributed on Usenet
with permission from the publishers of Nishi-Nippon
Shimbun.
Peace,
Michael
English Translation of Article in
Nishi-Nippon Shimbun,
January 1, 1996 Issue
by Michiko Sato
Translated by Mieko Nagano and Ken’ichi Nagano
Netizen Revolution
Do you know the word “Netizen”?
This is a new word made of “network” and “cit-
izen.” Michael Hauben (22), a graduate student of
Columbia University in the USA first advocated the
word three years ago.
His definition is “Those people who are eager to
create a better society by exchanging creative opinions
through personal computers.”
This word has spread with the explosive growth
of the Internet. Netizens are people from all types of
backgrounds. Their activity extends beyond consid-
erations of country, race, gender or age.
This word is now being highlighted on a global
scale through the explosive proliferation of the Inter-
net. From homes, communities, companies, and
schools, a vast number of Netizens are communicating
using the Internet beyond border, race, gender, and
age.
How do they change the world?
The advocator Michael Hauben and some mem-
bers of COARA, a representative grass roots PC
communication group, came to talk on the value of
Netizenship.
MAIN ARTICLE
Mr. Michael Hauben, the advocator of Netizen,
speaks quietly, yet his claim is fully apparent.
“Systems of top down hierarchical communica-
tion are being challenge. The distribution of communi-
cation will be emphasized from now on. Everybody
tries to communicate to make the society better”
He explains the definition of Netizen and contin-
ues “For example, an ordinary person can be a re-
porter. One can send news to the rest of the world.”
He was 12 years old when he first used com-
puters to communicate with other people.
“I joined a local network in Michigan. I became
aware of the activities of people to exchange opinions,
to help each other, and to share knowledge. That was
a new experience for me,” he recalls.
This experience sent him to Columbia Univer-
Page 10
sity’s computer science department. One of the fruits
of his research work is the concept of Netizen. The
new word has proliferated world-wide through the
Internet.
“I was delighted to find that the concept of
Netizen was being discussed widely in Japan.”
He reflects on his first impression in attending
the Hyper network Beppu Bay Conference '95.
“Communication is the very basic tenet of Neti-
zenship. The microcomputer is a mere tool. Therefore,
what is wonderful is that so many people joined the
session in Beppu to see each other.”
Prior to the conference, he received an e-mail
welcoming him from a COARA member. In return, he
brought a cook book as a present. “I browsed her home
page and learned she loved cooking” he explained
simply.
The popularization ratio of PCs in Japan is
remarkably reaching 15 % of the whole population.
But this is still low compared with Western countries.
“Also in the U.S., the PC became much more
popular when the price of personal computers was
lowered. Besides price, there are a lot of problems to
be solved, such as improved interfaces, more and
better training and so on. But those problems will soon
be solved and the Net will spread further.”
“Just net surfing or making a home page for
show does not make a real Netizen. What is important
is having a strong will to encourage discussions.”
The discoverer of Netizen is also a person of practice.
Michael Hauben Teachers College
Dept. of Communication
Amateur Computerist Newsletter,
http://www.columbia.edu/~hauben/acn/
WWW Music Index, http://www.columbia.edu/~hauben/music/
[Editor’s Note: The following is a post that appeared on March 5,
1996 in the Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom also known as
TELECOM Digest. It contains a post to that newsgroup on March
4, 1996 with the subject “The need for a Netizens Association.”]
Original Call for a Netizens
Association
Article: 52786 of comp.dcom.telecom
From: TELECOM Digest Editor
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: The Need For a Netizens Association
Date: Tue, 05 Mar 1996
Organization: TELECOM Digest, PO Box 4621,
Skokie, IL 60076
An interesting message reached me today that I
thought several of you might be interested in. If you do
wish to continue the discussion, please send your
comments direct to the author as shown below and not
to the Digest itself. Perhaps at some future point the
author will be so kind as to summarize responses for
the Digest and submit them to me for publication.
PAT*
Hauben)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: The need for a Netizens Association
Date: 4 Mar 1996
Organization: Columbia University
Reply-To: [email protected]
The recent passing of the telecommunications
bill in the USA demonstrates the lack of understanding
by Congress and the government about the value of the
Net and what it really is. In light of this, there seems a
need for people to organize and form a Netizens
Association. The following summary of a trip I made
to Japan in November 1995 describes the genesis for
this idea. Please e-mail me or respond publicly if you
have suggestions or can help.
Hiroyuki Takahashi is the co-proposer for Neti-
zens Association.
Toward a Netizens Association
/Michael Hauben
A little under one year ago, I received a letter
sent through the Internet, via electronic mail. The letter
was sent by a professor from Japan, and concerned
studies we were both interested in. This communica-
tion between people concerned common interests de-
spite differences in age, language, and culture. While
Professor Shumpei Kumon knew English and was
studying global communication, there were still real
barriers of distance and time. I hope to show how the
new technologies are helping to alleviate these barriers
and help bring us into a new age of communications
where the old rules and ways are no longer the guiding
rules and ways.
Page 11
What brought Professor Kumon and me together
was our shared interest in the globalization of culture
and society through the emerging communications
technologies. The specific concern was about the
emergence of Netizens, or people who use computer
networks who consider themselves to be part of a
global identity. The Netizen is part of a developing
global cooperative community. I first used the term
“Netizen” in 1993 after researching people’s uses for
the Internet and Usenet. Professor Kumon’s first com-
munication to me follows:
Date: Tue, 28 Feb 1995
From: [email protected] (Shumpei -
Kumon)
Subject: Netizen
Hi,
I am a social scientist in Japan writing on
information revolution and information-
oriented civilization. Since I came across
the tern “netizen” about a year ago. I have
been fascinated by this idea. It seems that
the age of not only technological-industrial
but also political-social revolution is com-
ing, comparable to the “citizen’s revolu-
tion” in the past. I would very much like to
do a book on that theme.
Yesterday, I was delighted to find your
Netizen’s Cyberstop. You are doing a great
job.
shumpei kumon
Professor Kumon also asked if I was the first to
use the term Netizen. Part of his studies are socio-
linguistics, so he is interested in the development and
use of language over time. Netizen had come to
replace the term netter or networker in Japan to de-
scribe people who use computer networks.
In response to my return message, Professor
Kumon offered his understanding of Netizen as “peo-
ple who abide in networks and are engaged in collabo-
rative propagation of information and knowledge just
as citizens abide in cities and are engaged in commerce
and industry.” He continued, “In this sense we can
perhaps find the origin of netizens in Europe of 13-15
th
centuries, just as first citizens in modern civilization
appeared in Europe of 12
th
century as commerce re-
vived there.” Professor Kumon concluded the message
by asking if I was interested in visiting Japan. He said
he could make this possible.
At the time I did not know where this would lead,
but I responded that I would be very much interested
in visiting. Japan was an unfamiliar country for me.
Previously in my education I did do some research into
the secondary education system, and found it to be a
very stressful environment. Otherwise I had some
general interest in the culture. However, I was unfamil-
iar with Professor Kumon, and the institutions he was
connected to, the Global Communications Institute
(GLOCOM) of which he was the director and the
International University of Japan. However, this
contact with him, and soon with his colleagues brought
me to Japan. One of the planning directors of
GLOCOM, Izumi Aizu, wrote me shortly after Profes-
sor Kumon, and mentioned a conference in November
to which they might invite me. Before the real invita-
tion actually arrived, several other events took place.
Izumi Aizu arrived in New York City in late
April, and we spoke of many things. Most interesting
was how he saw the Internet being a direct challenge
to traditional Japanese culture. While people normally
go by their last names in Japan, the Usenet and Internet
culture encourages first-name familiarity. Professor
Kumon’s e-mail address was made up of his first
name, not his last. The style of writing in e-mail is
usually informal. The ease of use encourages people to
use the medium as if it were in between writing a letter
and making a phone call. E-mail, Usenet and the world
wide web (WWW) encourage people to share their
original thoughts and creations with the world. I have
been told that Japanese culture encourages people to
represent the larger grouping they are part of. The
concept and history of Netizen strikes a good mid-
point between being individualistic or having a group
identity. Netizens represent themselves, but as part of
the larger group. The many-to-many technology gives
people the chance to represent themselves, but in the
context of contributing to the whole community.
During Izumi’s visit, we also briefly spoke of some of
the barriers to the spread of the Internet in Japan and
the United States. A big concern of Izumi’s was who
could or should pay to spread the Internet in Japan.
There are other social and technical hurdles to over-
come in order to spread the Internet throughout Japan.
Izumi described more of the work of the
HyperNetwork Society which was connected to a
network community in Oita Prefecture and described
some about the conference I was being invited to speak
at in November. He also asked if I was willing to be
interviewed for a television special that would be
created for Japanese TV introducing Netizens and
Page 12
describing the Internet.
Two days after my graduation from Columbia
College in May, the two film-makers arrived to con-
duct their interview and to film me and Columbia.
They explained that their film would be aired on TV
Tokyo, a NHK television channel on an educational
TV show in July, 1995.
The airing of the TV program about the Internet,
communications and multimedia was very important to
my later trip to Japan. My connection to Japan would
broaden out from the initial contact by the members of
GLOCOM. After July 2, I received several e-mail
messages from other people in Japan.
A student in his final year of undergraduate study
at Saitama University wrote on the very day the TV
show was on in Japan. In his e-mail, Hiroyuki
Takahashi explained that “I discovered your idea –
Netizen … . I feel attracted to your concept. I would
like to talk with you about netizen and so on. I want to
spread netizen among networker in JAPAN.” (email of
July 2). He asked if he could copy to his public com-
puter server in Japan the documents about Netizens
that I have publicly available through my Columbia
University web pages.
I responded yes, and wrote, “I am glad to hear
you are trying to spread Internet access to the public.
We thus have a common goal. :-)” (email July 2, 1995)
Hiroyuki wrote back “Yes we can collaborate on
that purpose.”
He had apologized saying that his English was
not very good. I responded that “unfortunately, I speak
no Japanese, but appreciate that we can communicate.”
Hiro wrote back saying “Nationality has no longer
senses on the network. Everybody stands on same
starting points. :-)”
He wrote that there were many problems in
trying to spread the Internet in Japan as computer
networking had grown a lot in the past two years. He
explained: “[In the] Last two years [the] computer
network environment in Japan grew up marvelously so
most of Japanese included mass media, market and
ordinary men cannot catch up with the growth and they
are expecting too much.” Hiroyuki explained “So now
I am seeking how to spread network environments.”
(e-mail July 4, 1995)
The connection to GLOCOM similarly flour-
ished, and I was asked to contribute a chapter to
Professor Kumon’s planned book about Netizens
tentatively titled “The Netizen Revolution.” In addi-
tion, I submitted a paper for inclusion in a newspaper
special supplement whose theme was “The Media
Revolution.”
More people sent me e-mail, and I posted pub-
licly to public newsgroups like soc.culture.japan and
fj.life.in-japan. This connection with people from
across the globe whose native language was different
was occurring because the computer and communica-
tions technology had developed to 1) break down the
geographic and time barriers, and 2) break down the
social barriers which exist in all cultures, but which are
traditionally strong in Japanese culture. These changes
are helping all cultures and societies to become more
global, in both making their contribution to the larger
world and to receive back from the world.
I heard from Izumi several times after July
concerning the conference, and the final invitation
arrived in August. Izumi invited me to make a presen-
tation on “Netizen concept and issues.” Izumi also
mentioned that there would be two other Internet
conferences in Kobe that it might be possible to attend.
In November, plans for my visit to Japan were
worked out. I was asked to prepare a 20 minute talk
and to submit a description of my talk for the confer-
ence program.
I wrote Hiro telling him I would be visiting Japan
and asked if it would be possible to meet him. I also
posted on some Japanese Usenet newsgroups asking if
there were suggestions about my visit.
Hiro wrote back that he would be very happy to
meet me. He said that “We can discuss or talk about
many things; netizen, internet, computing and so on. I
am very happy to see you :-)” (email Nov 16)
When I was in Japan, we met and had dinner. We
spoke of many things including the lack of professors
at his University who understand the computer tech-
nology. I learned that he and other students managed
the campus computers and networks. Hiro also worked
toward introducing the Internet and spreading its use in
Japan. When I asked how I could help, he mentioned
that he wanted help to translate some of the netizens
writings into Japanese. I said I would be helpful if he
had any questions. Then I left Tokyo and went to the
HyperNetwork conference in Oita. Similar to what
took place in Tokyo, I received an extremely warm and
friendly welcoming from many of the people from
COARA and the BBC '95 conference. My presentation
in Beppu concentrated on describing the emergence of
Netizens and analyzing the development of the public
communications medium know as the Net. Following
is a definition of Netizens presented in the speech,
Page 13
“Netizens are the people who actively contribute
toward the development of the Net. These people
understand the value of collective work and the com-
munal aspects of public communications. These are the
people who actively discuss and debate topics in a
constructive manner, who e-mail answers to people
and provide help to new-comers, who maintain FAQ
files and other public information repositories, who
maintain mailing lists, and so on. These are people
who discuss the nature and role of this new communi-
cations medium. However, these are not all people.
Netizens are not just anyone who comes , and they are
especially not people who come for isolated gain or
profit. They are not people who come to the Net
thinking it is a service. Rather they are people who
understand it takes effort and action on each and
everyone’s part to make the Net a regenerative and
vibrant community and resource. Netizens are people
who decide to devote time and effort into making the
Net, this new part of our world, a better place.” When
I got back to Tokyo, Hiro came to visit again, and he
brought several members of his computer club with
him. The computer club was the Advanced Computer
and Communication Engineering Studying Society
(a.k.a. ACCESS).
I had also received email from Mieko Nagano in
November before my visit to Japan who said she was
housewife active in the community network COARA
which sponsored the Hyper network conference. Her
e-mail was an invitation to the conference from some-
one outside of GLOCOM. In a later email she wrote
that she was moved by my concept of Netizen which
she shared in my understanding 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.” (email Oct. 29, 1995)
She wrote that she was not able to “comprehend
high-class discussions in the past conferences.” “I only
enjoy,” she continued, “as a ordinary housewife, com-
munication with good-willed and good-sensed people
through COARA and/or E-mail on real name basis.”
“What is great for me,” she noted, “is that I can
talk to the people all over the world instantaneously
and look around various sites full of information
including images and sounds.” (Oct. 29)
When I arrived at the hypernetwork conference,
there were stickers and hats declaring “Netizen in
COARA.” After the conference, Mieko explained:
Naming after NETIZEN, as Mr. Hauben
advocated, COARA members prepared in
advance ‘Netizen sticker’ appealing to be
COARA constituent by attaching the logo
on their chests of clothes and welcomed
our guests. (email Dec 12, 1995)
After our visit, I wrote Hiro that I was very
happy to have met him and his friends from their
computer club at his University. In his email when I
returned home he asked if there was a Netizens Asso-
ciation. He wrote in a P.S. in an email of Dec. 6
“Netizen association is available? If not in Japan, I
want to make it.” I told him I did not know of any and
asked him what he had in mind for a Netizens associa-
tion to do. He responded:
I think [a] Netizen Association is a guide
into tomorrow’s Internet world. Internet
and other network[s] have a flood of elec-
trical informations. So people cannot swim
very good in Internet. So Netizen Associa-
tion tell or advise how to swim or get se-
lected information. The association act as
guide. Oh, and we have to spread informa-
tion about concept of netizen. But making
association process has many difficult
points, I think. So we have to give careful
consideration to the matter.
“Please let me know your idea,” he added. (email Dec.
12, 1995)
Hiro also wrote that he and his classmates had a
“translation team” that was “now reading carefully”
through the Netizens article. “And next Thursday and
Friday,” he wrote, “our club has big presentation about
Internet in my university, so we are very hard [at
work] this week.” (from Dec. 9, 1995 email.)
Others wrote to explain their interest in the
concept of Netizen. The response was important
because as I found out while in Japan, the word ‘net-
izen’ meaning ‘network citizen’ would have a different
meaning in the Japanese culture. The term or concept
of citizen differs from the American meaning as the
individual finds meaning in the group organizational
setting and not separately. This means the meaning of
the concept rather than the surface of the term was
understood.
While in Japan, I met many people interested in
spreading the Internet. Those involved, young or old,
found it important to try and connect people to the
Internet as a way forward into the future. Young
Page 14
people were happy to have a new tool to challenge the
old conventions of society. I was more surprised to
find others of older generations still interested in this
new technological medium which was challenging the
traditional Japanese social customs. More importantly,
however, was the global connections and broadening
of people the Internet brings. Mieko, Izumi, Professor
Kumon and Hiro were all working toward making it
possible for the Japanese people, from any part of
Japan, to be able to communicate with others around
the world.
Michael Hauben, Teachers College Dept. of Communication
Netizens Netbook,
http://www.columbia.edu/-hauben/netbook/
WWW Music Index, http://www.columbia.edu/-hauben/music/
[TELECOM Digest Editor’s Note: Thank you for a very fine
presentation to the Digest readers today. I quite agree that a
Netizen’s Association would be a marvelous idea. I wonder what
other Digest readers think of this proposal? I believe we should at
this time unanimously appoint Mr. Hauben as Chairperson or
President of the Netizens Association in the United States and
encourage him to work with not only his counterparts in Japan but
to aid in beginning Netizen Association chapters or groups all
over the world. And Michael, you can count me in as a member
from the very beginning. PAT]
* Pat Townsend moderated the TELECOM Digest, the Usenet
newsgroup, comp.decom.telecom. The TELECOM Digest was a
long running newsgroup and email distribution focused primarily
on telephony technology and other aspects of telecommunications.
The TELECOM Digest Archives are available at:
digest.net/archives/back.issues/.
[Editor’s Note: The following is a post Michael Hauben made to
Usenet newsgroup nyc.general and others on April 3, 1996. It con-
tained the list announcement for a netizens association. It is at:
https://groups.google.com/g/nyc.general/c/PJXRHE1jVJ4/m/Kx
UWDoFJ83IJ.]
New List:
Netizens Association
I posted to these newsgroups a month ago a call
for the formation of a Netizens Association. We are
one step closer, as a mailing list is now formed to plan
and discuss some an association. Following is the list
announcement and in the next message I will send the
proposed list charter.
Please e-mail me if you have any problems
subscribing to the mailing lists or any thoughts. My e-
mail is [email protected].
Regards,
/Michael Hauben
NEW LIST ANNOUNCEMENT: NETIZENS
ASSOCIATION
During a recent trip to Japan, I met a number of
networking enthusiasts who were interested in spread-
ing the Internet in Japan. They found the Netizen con-
cept to be helpful in their efforts. One student who I
met in Tokyo, Hiroyuki Takahashi, suggested that
there was a need to form a Netizens Association. This
association could work toward educating people and
helping them to gain literacy in both the technical and
social aspects of working, living and playing on the
Net. In addition, this Netizens Association would func-
tion as a forum to bring people together to protect and
advance the Net as a new public commons and global
community. I propose to work toward forming a proto-
type for a local Netizens Association chapter. The
success of a few such chapters could lead to the
spreading of chapters focused around educational
institutions or communities. This would be in conjunc-
tion with efforts by people working for similar goals in
other countries across the globe like Japan, and Can-
ada. (From Toward a Netizens Association: Proposed
Netizens List Charter)
In response to these common goals, it was
proposed that a Netizens Association be formed. Such
an association would fill two purposes, 1) to bring
together netizens interested in nurturing the net and 2)
to spread knowledge and literacy to those not. To that
p u r p os e, th e ma jo r do m o m ai l i n g l i s t
[email protected] has been created. This list will
begin the discussion toward the principles, goals and
questions for such an association. I would hope local
Netizen Association chapters would form based on this
list. These associations could help spread Net Literacy
and encourage both new and old users to contribute to
the Net. See WWW page:
/~hauben/netizen/ for more information.
How to Join:
Send an e-mail message to netizens-request
@columbia .edu with the message body of: subscribe.
If this does not work, send e-mail to:
[email protected] with a message body of
subscribe netizens. If neither way works, write me at:
Page 15
DIGEST version of the list, send e-mail to netizens-
Michael Hauben, Teachers College Dept. of Communication
Netizens Netbook,
http://www.columbia.edu/~hauben/netbook/
WWW Music Index, http://www.columbia.edu/~hauben/music/
[Editor’s Note: The following is a post Michael Hauben made to
multiple Usenet newsgroups on April 3, 1996. It contained the
proposed Netizens List Charter for a netizens association. It is at:
https://groups.google.com/g/comp.edu/c/GJq-0VVCF44/m/B37y
YZX1fYEJ.]
Proposed Netizens List
Charter
Draft for Comment
The global computer communications network
now stretches around the world. However, there are
many places within reach of the Net which are cur-
rently not connected, either because of lack of money, of
knowledge, or of other factors impeding access. There
are many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and ser-
vices spreading, but these commercial entities do not
guarantee that everyone who would be interested in
connecting with the world will have the ability to do
so. Also, the personal computer is not affordable to a
great number of people around the world. Just as it is
important to the American society as a whole to
connect our nation together, so there is a similar need
in other countries and a need to form a truly global and
universal computer communications network. This is
a difficult undertaking but one currently more in reach
than ever before.
There is a growing body of people who identify
as members of a global community which communi-
cates electronically over the world-wide computer
communications network. These people have come to
understand the value of the communication ability
facilitated by the Internet and identify as citizens of the
Net, or as Netizens. Netizens are people who work to
contribute to the growth and collaborative community
of the Net. The word describes those who help new-
comers on the Net to understand the value of the Net
by teaching how to utilize it and contribute back to it.
The idea of Netizen has now spread around the world
and is used in a variety of ways. The idea represents a
helpful way to portray the principles and the vision of
the social advancement that the global connection of
netizens networking worldwide can make possible. It
is important to support this vision and these principles.
There is a need, to act toward making the community
available to all. Infrastructure needs to be established
which would allow broad access and the chance to
teach the new literacy of both computer and other
skills. The Internet is currently under pressure from
business and governments around the world to go in a
direction that strays from the guiding vision of the
original ARPANET pioneers who saw an intergalactic
network that would be a public intellectual utility.
Usenet pioneers envisioned discussion groups being
made available around the world and at low cost as
part of an emerging WorldNet which would be world
wide and multifaceted.
In response to a call for people interested in
forming such an association of netizens I received
responses from about 40 different people. The re-
sponses mainly came from North America, with a
number from Japan and Europe. The overwhelming
sentiment however, where ever the response came
from, was “how can I help?” There was an urgency
present in the messages.
Concern existed with how to communicate suc-
cessfully across cultures and societal differences.
“What needs to be accomplished?” was asked. A
desire was expressed to think globally enough to make
such an organization international in scope. So while
benefits were seen in offline organizing, it was impor-
tant to tie these efforts together in a way which con-
tributed to a new global cooperative community. The
grassroots development was highlighted as a difference
between this possible association and current societies
focusing on technology and the Internet.
It is important to bridge the gap between the
discussion about access and availability with offline
grass-roots action and development. The component
will guide the physical world development and feed-
back from that experience will inform the discussions.
Individuals in localities concerned with the further
development, expansion and accessibility of the Net
help the technology by spreading literacy and under-
standing about the new global community breaking
previous social and geographic boundaries. Given the
vision of a future networked world and the tenuousness
of the current time in realizing this vision, it is impor-
tant that concerned individuals come together to
discuss how to protect and expand the world, while
Page 16
working with others toward making the networked
future a reality.
During a recent trip to Japan, I met a number of
networking enthusiasts who were interested in spread-
ing the Internet in Japan. They found the Netizen con-
cept to be helpful in their efforts. One student who I
met in Tokyo, Hiroyuki Takahashi, suggested that
there was a need to form a Netizens Association. This
association could work toward educating people and
helping them to gain literacy in both the technical and
social aspects of working, living and playing on the
Net. In addition, this Netizens Association would
function as a forum to bring people together to protect
and advance the Net as a new public commons and
global community. I propose to work toward forming
a prototype for a local Netizens Association chapter.
The success of a few such chapters could lead to the
spreading of chapters focused around educational
institutions or communities. This would be in conjunc-
tion with efforts by people working for similar goals in
other countries across the globe like Japan, and Can-
ada.
While I have global concerns and contacts, it is
important to start locally and concentrate on forming
local associations that will help those in particular
areas learn about the value of networking and help
them to spread what they have learned to their schools
and communities.
I also see the need to have public access to
Usenet and email available via public terminals in
schools, libraries, and other public places. Part of the
work of a local Netizens Association might be to
encourage government, school and library officials to
make such access available. Also, I am forming a
mailing list for people to discuss the principles behind
a Netizens Association. In addition, this list will be for
communication about the formation of local chapters
and the discussion about how Netizens can support the
Net and help work against ignorant actions against the
Net by individuals or groups.
This is an important time in the development of
a new form of human communication that the com-
puter makes possible. The recent passage in the USA
of the Communications Act of 1996 will be setting up
machinery in the USA to determine whether access
will be available to all or limited to the few. It is a
struggle in all countries to make access available to all
who desire it. This is a call for people to come together
to discuss and work toward these goals.
Appendix
Following is a summary of the concerns and
thoughts expressed by those who responded to my
initial post about the need for a Netizens Association:
How serious is this effort to create “chapters” of the
Netizen’s Assoc.? … I think I can help you in a small
way and, if, after reading my thoughts, you still think
so, let me know.
I … educate people on a daily basis about the net.
I have started a popular Internet Interest Group in the
store and loved doing it. One of the ways I stay in-
formed is subscribing to the Cyber-Rights mailing list,
amongst others.
fascinating sub-study of the ability of the virtual world
Netizens to have an impact upon the physical world in
which they interact.
We are so engrossed with what the technology
can do, we fail to log off in time to stand up for the
potential in the physical world. It is no wonder we get
things like the CDA, we are children with new toys
trying to convince professional adults we are serious.
I would like to believe that the manifesto of the
DigitaLiberty people, technology will save us, will
eventually become true. Maybe it will for my child’s
grandchildren. Today we need to act in the real world.
How would you feel about me putting together a Net-
izen chapter? I am moving to a new city in a couple of
weeks and the chance exists that I may not have to
work right away. In other words, time. The main pur-
pose would be to educate those offline or those but
[who are only] reading the ads.
make me a netizen.
Has much research been done on “individual
base reasoning,” I wonder? When we think of mem-
bership to a race, country or region, we are faced with
a multitude of problems including overlapping, etc.
But on an individual basis, persons are members of
their individual community of one and also one of the
5.8 billion that make up our human population. Of
course, as a living being or glob of matter we are also
members of something bigger, but considering persons
on an individual basis, human level, as in a Netizen
Association seems to be the natural flow of things, and
less problematic than race, nationality, etc.
I suspect that you are receiving overwhelming
Page 17
support for a Netizens Association.
May I suggest one point that should be included
in the mission statement? – To minimize the damage
to the benefits of existing cultures, while facilitating
the benefits of change to those cultures.
If there is anything that I can do to assist you
please contact me.
Was anything I could do to assist in such an
effort. Do you plan on forming a mailing list (or is
there already one to which I can subscribe)?
Have you been working at all at home on this
idea or is this an international thing?
I have all kinds of questions, reservations and
concerns, but I shall defer expressing them until I learn
how the concept develops.
“netizen” phenomenon is to look at it in terms of
it being an incredibly successful “meme.”
What needs to be accomplished?
The degree of ignorance displayed by the “ex-
perts” giving presentations on the topic was, in fact,
shocking. It seems to me very bad laws are made on
the basis of ignorance this profound. What do you
suggest?
I’d be interested in being on you mailing list, as
long as you don’t think I’ll get swamped.
I’d be very interested in joining if it doesnt cost
a lot.
* It seems now that a day doesn’t pass without
another attack from a government on our ability to live
freely on the Net:
– U.S. (encryption restrictions; CDA; state AG suits; …)
– China (Internet packet filtering; ISP licensing)
– Germany (newsgroup)
– Singapore (Internet packet filtering; ISP licensing)
* While you note a colleague said netizens “are
especially not people who come for isolated gain or
profit” I would hope that you wouldn’t use this to
screen people out. My work is my life and I believe
this is also the case for others in our company as well
as millions of other Netizens. Certain people or disci-
plines may not like “profit,” but, being intellectually
honest, profit (what’s left from the harvest after costs)
is what lets us eat.
I believe that the WELL and the River are held
back because they never developed the grand scheme
for a truly global community.
I think it embodied very well a few aspects of the
Internet, such as fast global communication, and a
sense of community.
Automatically assume that japan would have
been up to date on this latest technology
I wanted to lend a hand. The Internet in western
Japan has really taken hold in the last six months, and
I’m trying to promote its use esp. among students and
ESL/EFL learners.
Global Netizen Organization … . I certainly
believe the spirit of the NET, or ordinary people
having an unfettered voice and being able to talk with
others all over the world will bring world peace and
respect for all cultures.
Also, tell me what would be involved in my
being the “Canadian” connection for the Netizen
Organization?
I think one needs a sharp aim if such an associa-
tion will have any chance of being more than a flea.
How about an adopt an “offliner” program? Get
them up and running & educate them on the impor-
tance of what they are using? If you do get a mailing
list going please subscribe me. I feel I must warn you
that I believe these can get in the way of real action.
I am used to groups such as the “Association for
Computing Machinery,” the Internet Society (a society
promotes the Internet), and so on. That is completely
backwards from what the Netizens Association would
be, I would think.
I am working in the conventional communication
fields and I feel that our old society will be getting
attacked and blamed by the netizens. There will be
some frictions between both societies, but I do not
worry about them. As people who are engaging in the
communication fields know the essence or the purpose
of communication. They enjoy first to make the pass
road between unknown worlds, then to have a contact
with unknown people and finally to become close
friends.
Page 18
I feel the netizen idea is very similar to that of
amateur ham radio. Reminding the idea of young age,
I would like to cooperate with netizens to make the
peaceful netizen world. Thank you for your message.
One of the problems which I think its problem is,
growing Internet in Japan seems forming “Japanese
cyber space.” I know that there’s no physical barriers
in cyber space, but language barriers are hard to cross
for many Japanese. Many young people are excited by
web, and start to surf and making their web pages. But
most of their web pages are made for Japanese and
they only surf for Japanese pages.
I am afraid that Japan is tend to be isolated and
too nationalistic. If they meet serious argument, they
tend to misunderstand to be threatened. So I think indi-
vidual Japanese should communicate with individual
people outside Japan. And I strongly think THE NET
is the only chance to do it.
Those deeply involved become elitist and not
only don’t wish to help others become involved, but
often want to discourage people from becoming
involved. In the case of the internet this should go the
opposite way.
Have Netizen organizations been formed or will
they be? And what would their duties be exactly?
Well, I think of anything you succeeded in
demonstrating how the net can transcend such tradi-
tional boundaries and how such a perceived different
group of people can share such universal goals.
What I am left confused with is the persuasive
side of the e-mail message. So if there’s any call to
action message – specifically – embedded, then I
didn’t catch it. But again, I doubt that would be the
main thrust of what you wrote.
Don’t get me wrong, Michael, I’m not trying to
discredit what you are saying. I love the hope and
excitement you exhibit talking about this. But you
need to examine more closely how cultures work,
imho, to further yr argument. Again, my opinions.
However, I’m curious and a bit confused about
your idea of a Netizen’s Association. Are you propos-
ing a global group of Netizens that can act as a politi-
cal lobby for net rights/consciousness in individual
countries? Sort of like a Green Party comprised of Net
regulars who wish to move toward a global conscious-
ness facilitated by the Net?
Is there some way to have a presence on Usenet
as well as setting up a mailing list to work toward a
Netizens Association?
Michael Hauben, Teachers College Dept. of Communication
Netizens Netbook,
http://www.columbia.edu/~hauben/netbook/
WWW Music Index, http://www.columbia.edu/~hauben/music/
[Editor’s Note: The following is a post Michael Hauben made to
multiple Usenet newsgroups on May 30, 1997. It contains his
joyful announcement that Netizens: On the History and Impact of
Usenet and the Internet has appeared in a print edition. This post
is at:
https://groups.google.com/g/comp.edu/c/if-m9bfvsnc/m/5X
6rD0RXZOIJ.]
Netizens Netbook Finally in a
Print Edition (-:
The Netizens Netbook is now in print! After
three long years, it is nice to see at last a print edition.
It is a tribute to the Net and the contributions and
support of many of you that it has finally appeared in
an “old-world” book.
The draft remains at:
/~hauben/netbook/ which we will try and update when
we get the chance to be the latest version.
The book’s full title is Netizens: On the History
and Impact of Usenet and the Internet and the authors
are Michael Hauben and Ronda Hauben. The ISBN
number is 0-8186-7706-6. The publisher is the IEEE
Computer Society Press.
If you do not see it in your local bookstore, you
can ask them to get copies in by giving them the above
information.
We welcome people interested in reviewing the
book or other comments. Write Ronda at:
Thanks for the help and support!
/Michael,
The table of contents is as follows:
Foreword: By Tom Truscott
Preface: What is a Netizen?
Introduction: Participatory Networks
Page 19
Part I – The Present: What Has Been Created and
How?
Chapter 1 – The Net and the Netizens: The Effect the
Net has on People’s Lives
Chapter 2 – The Evolution of Usenet: The Poor Man’s
ARPANET
Chapter 3 – The Social Forces Behind The Develop-
ment of Usenet
Chapter 4 – The World of Usenet
Part II – The Past: Where Has It All Come From?
Chapter 5 – The Vision of Interactive Computing and
the Future
Chapter 6 – Cybernetics, Time-sharing, Human-Com-
puter Symbiosis and Communities: Creating a
Supercommunity of Communities
Chapter 7 – Behind the Net: The Untold Story of the
ARPANET and Computer Science
Chapter 8 – The Birth and Development of the
ARPANET
Chapter 9 – On the Early History and Impact of UNIX:
Tools to Build the Tools for a New Millennium
Chapter 10 – On the Early Days of Usenet: The Roots
of the Cooperative Culture
Part III – And the Future?
Chapter 11 – The NTIA Conference on the Future of
the Net Creating a Prototype for a Democratic Deci-
sion Making Process
Chapter 12 – “Imminent Death of the Net Predicted!”
Chapter 13 – The Effect of the Net on the Professional
News Media: The Usenet News Collective and Man-
Computer News Symbiosis
Chapter 14 – The Net and the Future of Politics: The
Ascendancy of the Commons
Chapter 15 – Exploring New York City’s Community:
A Snapshot of NYC.General
Part IV – Contributions Toward Developing a Theoret-
ical Framework
Chapter 16 – The Expanding Commonwealth of
Learning: Printing and the Net
Chapter 17 – ‘Arte’: An Economic Perspective
Chapter 18 – The Computer as Democratizer
Bibliography
Glossary of Acronyms
Appendix
Proposed draft Declaration of the Rights of Netizens
Michael Hauben, Teachers College Dept. of Communication
Netizens Netbook,
http://www.columbia.edu/~hauben/netbook/
WWW Music Index, http://www.columbia.edu/~hauben/music/
[Editor’s Note: On July 14, 1997 a book party was held in NYC
to celebrate the publication in May of that year of Netizens: On
the History and Impact of Usenet and the Internet. Below is an
announcement of that event that was posted in soc.culture.french.]
Bastille Day Celebration
in NYC
In recognition of Bastille Day and the efforts for
people around the world to gain influence in the
developing of democracy around the world, we have
chosen Bastille Day to celebrate the publication of the
print edition of Netizens.
Labyrinth Books and the IEEE Computer Society
present a reading, book discussion and party celebrat-
ing the release of Netizens: On the History and Impact
of Usenet and the Internet by Michael Hauben and
Ronda Hauben.
Martin Greenberger, Director of the Center for
Digital Media, UCLA, writes, “Michael and Ronda
Hauben sketch out a provocative declaration of Net-
izen rights in their appendix to this engrossing, well-
researched, and very useful book. The Haubens reserve
the term Netizen for positive contributors to the Net,
the good citizens whose heroic precursors from the
1960s are richly chronicled in a flowing historical and
sociological account that is not to be missed.”
Thomas Truscott, co-developer of Usenet, says,
“Netizens is an ambitions look at the social aspects of
computer networking. It examines the present and the
turbulent future, and especially it explores the techni-
cal and social roots of the Net.”
Join us at Labyrinth Books
536 West 112
th
Street
NYC (between Broadway and Amsterdam)
on Monday, July 14
th
at 6:30 pm.
For a look at the contents of the book, go to
http:
//www.columbia.edu/~hauben/netbook/, to see an early
Page 20
draft version. Call 212.865.1588 for more information.
This event is free, and refreshments will be
served. To reach Labyrinth Books, take the 1/9 subway
line to 110
th
Street and walk two blocks north, and turn
right on 112
th
Street.
Michael Hauben, Teachers College Dept. of Communication
Netizens Netbook,
http://www.columbia.edu/~hauben/netbook/
WWW Music Index, http://www.columbia.edu/~hauben/music/
[Editor’s Note: The following is a call for submissions posted on
the Usenet newsgroup comp.decom.telecom on Sept 2, 2002. It
can be seen at:
https://groups.google.com/g/comp.dcom.telecom
/c/rPUqiE2yeK0/m/JZRQ51G_eBMJ.]
Call for Submissions that
Develop or Explore the
Concept of Netizen
The emergence of the netizen was formulated by
Michael Hauben as part of the research he was doing
in 1992/1993. He recognized that there were people
who considered themselves to be citizens of the net
(net.citizen). These users were seeking to spread
access for all to the Net. They understood the impor-
tance of the Net in spreading human to human com-
puter facilitated communication. These users recog-
nized the need to contribute to make the Net a valuable
resource for all.
Michael formulated the concept in an intro-
duction to the new world that was being born . (See
introduction and conclusion to “The Net and the
Netizen: The Impact the Net has on People’s Lives,”
first posted in 1993, and then published in a print
edition in 1997 and also available at:
umbia.edu/~hauben/netbook.)
Some of Michael’s early research appeared on
Usenet and then in the Amateur Computerist newslet-
ter. His research inspired others to apply or develop the
concept of netizen.
It is now [2002] 10 years later. We would like to
document the further development and application of
the concept of netizen (and of the vision of the future
of the net) that developed since Michael’s research in
1992/1993. Also we want to project into the future
about what the emergence of the netizen can mean to
the further development of the Internet and of our
society in general.
We are seeking submissions, including articles,
poems, cartoons, stories, plays etc. that develop or
explore the concept of Netizen that has emerged along
with the development of the Internet and Usenet.
Submissions are due Sept 30, 2002. Please write
and let us know if you will have a submission or if you
have an idea/interest/suggestion for the upcoming
issue.
Long live the netizen and netizenship.
Send submissions to: [email protected] or [email protected]
Ronda Hauben
Editor: The Amateur Computerist
[TELECOM Digest Editor’s Note: I personally would like to see
all the regular contributors here get essays to Ronda ASAP for this
upcoming issue of ACN. She and Michael are good people to
have around. Their book a few years ago, ‘Netizens’ was widely
read and admired by many of us. Do what you can for her please.
PAT]
[Editor’s Note: On March 14, 2022, Dr Fang Xingdong, head of
the OHI (Oral History of the Internet) project in China posted
about Michael Hauben and his family on the blog china website
in Chinese. Earlier that day, Ronda and Jay Hauben had a zoom
session with Dr. Fang and his staff introducing themselves and
answering questions about Michael. The following is a machine
translation into English of Dr Fang’s blog post. The original can
be seen at:
Oral History of the Internet
A Special Interview:
“Netizen” Michael Hauben
On February 27, I received an email from Ronda
Hauben, saying that she had seen books published of
Internet oral history interviews and that she had
learned about the Oral History of the Internet project
during a WeChat video with Academician Hu Qiheng.
Later, I also received an email from Academician Hu
Qiheng. Of course I am no stranger to them. I knew
about them in the 1990s. Ronda Hauben’s son,
Michael Hauben, coined the term “Netizen,” and in
1997 the two co-authored a splendid Internet history
book, Netizens: On the History and Impact of Usenet
and the Internet.
Page 21
Michael, who was born on May 1, 1973, pro-
posed to study computing at the age of 5; in the first
grade of primary school took his work to participate in
the science exhibition only for senior students, and
became the only junior student to participate in the
exhibition; At the age of 10, he used a TV as a monitor
and a Timex Sinclair computer with 3K memory, and
wrote games on this computer together with his father
Jay Hauben; he became active in major BBSs in the
early 1980s and was in one of the earliest computer
user groups. In 1993, the term “Netizen” was coined
during his undergraduate studies. The term was coined
in his article titled “The Net and Netizens: The Impact
the Net has on People’s Lives,” which quickly spread.
He was not yet 20 years old then.
At the university level, although Michael Hauben
was a computer major, he preferred courses such as
philosophy and ethics, and was a music lover, rather
than courses such as economics. In the late 1990s, with
the rise of the Internet wave, the whole world was in a
frenzy for the commercialization of the Internet. As an
important capital market, New York is undoubtedly the
center of the myth that the Internet benefits. However,
Michael Hauben has always focused on the spirit of
openness and sharing of the Internet, rather than the
commercialization opportunities brought by the Inter-
net. His speeches and writings adhere to the pure
Internet spirit. The evolution of his mother, Ronda
Hauben, also reflects this rare purity. In an article titled
“What the Net Means to Me,” Michael firmly believes
that the Internet will remain public, open, and non-
commercial. “The Internet means personal power in a
world where there is little or no personal power.” “The
Internet is, by its very nature, communication between
individuals … a vehicle for the dissemination of peo-
ple’s ideas and aspirations.”
He entered Columbia University in 1991, major-
ing in computer science, graduating in 1995. He
obtained his master’s degree in 1997, and also pub-
lished the book “Netizen” in the same year. Michael
Hauben, or his family of three, is not only the creator
of the word “netizen,” but also endows the word with
a soul, which is the best embodiment of the Internet
spirit of openness, sharing, freedom and equality or the
spirit of “netizen.” Their love for the Internet, their
enthusiasm and passion for spreading the Internet to
the world, is very contagious. However, it is very
deplorable that in 1999 Michael Hauben was involved
in a car accident and passed away in June 2001 at the
age of 28. After the tragic loss of their only child,
Ronda Hauben and Jay Hauben took up the unfinished
mission of their son and continued to work hard to
promote the spirit of “Netizen” around the world.
The story of Ronda Hauben’s family of three fits
perfectly with the original intention of the Oral History
of the Internet Project. Therefore, this video interview
is of special significance. Zhong Bu said that our
project will publish a book for the story of their family
of three. Today’s interview is the first, Ronda Hauben
and Jay Hauben share the story of the three of them.
This interview method is also the first time. When they
talked about the story of their beloved son, the two
complemented each other, and many vivid stories
emerged, which made us deeply infected. Their parent-
child relationship is so harmonious, the parents are
willing to give Mike all the assistance they can.
Doing the oral history of the Internet is indeed a
very hard job, but at this time, our inner harvest is
unparalleled. I hope that our work is for the Internet
and the world, and we can dig out more wonderful
people and things. Through their stories and their lives,
the true meaning of the Internet spirit will be more
manifested, and the brilliance of the Internet spirit will
be further reflected.
This year, the Internet Oral History Project turns
15 years old, and this harvest is undoubtedly our
greatest motivation. The first interview, was in the
morning in China, an hour and a half passed quickly,
and it was already late at night in New York. It can’t
be too late, so, we look forward to the second time for
further in-depth chat.
[At the bottom of the blog post was this statement
about Internet Oral History by Dr Fang Xingdong]
Whether history is created by the masses or
heroes of the times, it is always created by people.
Whether it is the times that create heroes, or the heroes
who create the times, create history and change the
course of history, it is often a part of individuals who
stand out. At an important juncture in the historical
process, they did not miss the critical moment en-
trusted by the times, relying on their own personal
characteristics and unique effort and made unique
contributions and impossible miracles. They are the
representatives of the historical process, and they are
the models that condense the changes of the times.
Focusing on and deeply penetrating them can better
restore the splendor of history and show the unique
Page 22
creativity of human beings. It is no exaggeration to say
that these people are the instigators and leaders who
pushed China from a semi-agricultural and semi-
industrial society into an information society. It is the
hero and heroine who promotes the entire human race
from industrial civilization to higher information civi-
lization. Their personal achievements and significance
of the times will continue to be highlighted and recog-
nized over time.
EDITORIAL STAFF
Ronda Hauben
William Rohler
Norman O. Thompson
Michael Hauben (1973-2001)
Jay Hauben
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The opinions expressed in articles are those of their
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Computerist newsletter. We welcome submissions from
a spectrum of viewpoints.
ELECTRONIC EDITION
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