INTRODUCTION
 
               On the Development and Significance of the 
                 Participatory Global Computer Networks
 
     A new millenium is approaching. To welcome this transition to a new 
era, computers and people around the world are interconnecting and 
interacting in a manner that is unprecedented. There are modest estimates 
that as many as 25 million people and a million computers are being 
connected via the Net. And the number is growing every day. Yet very few 
people know how the Net has evolved, and only a few have a perspective as 
to what its future direction should be.
 
     This is a book about the creation and development of this 
participatory global computer network. It is about the history of the Net 
and the impact it is having on the lives of people today. The goal of 
this book is to provide needed perspective to make it possible to 
understand what impact the Net can have on the present and on the future 
of our society.
 
     The following questions have been helpful to this research:
 
1) What is the vision that inspired or guided people at each step? 
 
2) What was the social or technical problem or need that they were 
trying to solve?
 
3) What can be done to help to nourish the further extension and
development of the Net and the social advance that the Net represents? 
 
4) How can the Net be made available to a broader set of people?
 
     One of the pioneers recently described how those who were involved 
in the early days of networking did not understand what particular 
changes their work would lead to, but they did understand that what they 
were doing would fundamentally change the world. He described how he 
realized that once two people across the continent could communicate via 
this new technology, then it would be possible for people around the 
world to communicate.
 
     For those who are just becoming acquainted with Usenet and the 
Internet, beginning with Part I will provide an introduction to the on-
line world and to some of the advantages of this new world. A glossary 
will be provided with brief definitions of technical terms and acronyms 
for those new to the Net. Readers already familar with the Net may want 
to start with Part II, "The Past". All readers should find Part III, "The 
Future" and Part IV, "Contributions Towards a Theoretical Framework" 
useful. Also, though, readers can choose to begin with any particular 
section or article that is of interest, since these have been written to 
be read independently. These articles are intended as a contribution 
towards documenting the significance and nature of this eighth wonder of 
the world and the global communication it makes possible.
 
     Today people around the world are communicating via these new 
technologies, and this communication is having a profound impact on 
people's lives. Knowing the details of how this participatory global 
computer network has been built will make it possible to build on the 
achievement that it represents. Knowing where these developments have 
come from can help to judge what is the next step forward. The creation 
of time-sharing and of packet switching and of the Global Computer 
Network they have made possible are providing a powerful thrust forward 
for those who understand and are able to implement these new communication
technologies.
 
                                Ronda Hauben
 

Last Updated: October 24, 1995
   ===============================================================

This article is a draft chapter from Michael Hauben's 
<hauben@columbia.edu> and Ronda Hauben's <rh120@columbia.edu> netbook
titled "Netizens: On the History and Impact of Usenet and the Internet." 
*Commercial use is prohibited*

Please send us any comments about this draft. Send comments to
both hauben@columbia.edu and rh120@columbia.edu.