[Air-l] Usenet as a Model for the Growth of the Net.

[Jay Robert Hauben]

Hi,

I think the readers of the Air-l list should be interested in the 
question "How Will the Net Grow? 

Jay
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                How the Net Will Grow?

A framework in which to take up that question was presented in a
talk at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California on May 23,
2001 and at Google, Inc. on June 1. Using the history of Usenet
and the current questions raised by the purchase by Google, Inc.
of the Deja.com 1995-2000 archives of Usenet the talk emphasized
the strength of Usenet as a model for the future of the Net.

A streaming video of that talk is on line at

       http://www.stanford.edu/class/ee380/

It can be seen using a browser with a video viewer plugin by 
clicking the View Video button for May 23.

The title of the talk which is by Ronda Hauben is:

              Usenet and the Usenet Archives
The Challenges of Building a Collaborative Technical Community

Abstract:

In 1981, Mark Horton, one of the early developers of Usenet,
wrote that "USENET exists for and by the users, and should
respond to the needs of those users."

Almost twenty years later, in the Fall of 2000, almost 4000
people signed a petition directed to Deja.com asking them to
either maintain the archives online that they had compiled of
Usenet posts, or to transfer it to someone who would continue to
keep it online and to provide it with an appropriate home.

These two events, separated by almost twenty years, help to
highlight an important achievement and yet a significant
challenge for our times. Usenet was created as a users's network.
What are the implications of this design principle on the
continuing development and scaling process of Usenet?

How do the contributions and collaborative efforts by the users
affect Usenet's continued development? The technical
collaboration and support that Usenet provides for people around
the world is valued, as reflected by the petition to Deja.com.  
Yet there are problems that develop as Usenet develops, such as
the problem of archiving Usenet and maintaining that archive and
access to it in a way that recognizes the concerns of the online
community and provides a means to respond to these concerns.

As Usenet scales new problems develop. But so too does the body
of experience of how to understand and approach these problems.

Usenet is not only about open source and user developed content.
It is also an example of user involvement in the administration
and developing architecture of the network itself. As such,
Usenet is a working model of grassroots development.

What are the implications of this model toward the broader
challenge of the continuing development of a collaborative
technical community? Although focusing on Usenet and its
development, this talk will also explore the implications of this
model toward the general problem of the need for the continued
development of a collaborative technical community.


Url:  http://www.stanford.edu/class/ee380/

Please send comments to this list and also to ronda at panix.com
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