Six Myths
Unmasking Cyber Lore
You've heard that the Internet is a division of the Illuminati? Or perhaps
that it's a cyberpunk wasteland? The CIA is definitely involved -- isn't
it? Finding out what the Internet is only represents half the battle. You
also need to know what it's not.
John December sets out to tear down some of the most extreme Internet myths.
With the persistence of a Web spider, misinformation
and myths about the vast Internet seem to crawl out of nowhere. These myths
obscure the basic functions of the Internet and actually sell short its
true potential.
Is the Internet a dangerous, lawless place, or a new utopia, brimming with
democracy and conviviality? Or is it something quite different? Cutting
through the misinformation requires some knowledge. Here, then, are six
of the biggest myths, and the realities behind them.
MYTH 1: The Internet is a single network controlled by one organization.
FACT: The Internet is actually a patchwork of commercial, educational,
government, and public and private networks, all cooperating to achieve
an open, interconnected communications system.
BOTTOM LINE: The term "Internet" refers to the electronic
pathways used worldwide for online communication. Similar to the global
telephone system, the Internet comprises many networks operated by different
organizations.
These components include various global communications networks -- Internet,
BITNET, UUCP, FidoNet -- as well as commercial
online services and large commercial network ventures, such as NetworkMCI
and IBM's Global Net. The makeup of these large-scale networks is even more
complex. For example, there is an Internet portion of the Internet that's
not just one network, but tens of thousands of networks run by independent
organizations sharing rules for exchanging information. The operators of
these networks interconnect them so that their users can communicate with
each other.
MYTH 2: The Internet is free.
FACT: Don't believe it for a moment. All of the Internet's conduits,
computers, and information resources are paid for by someone. Often an organization
provides free Internet access to its members as part of an affiliation.
But, for people lacking Internet access through an organization, getting
on the Internet carries a price tag.
BOTTOM LINE: For people who receive Internet access as part of their
employment or student status, the Internet may seem free. However, organizations
pay for the infrastructure, equipment, and connections to gateways (exchange
points for trading Internet traffic), and hire commercial providers to supply
their connections to the Internet itself.
People who don't have organizational access can join commercial services
offering Internet access. National providers such as America Online, CompuServe,
Delphi, and Prodigy offer a variety of services and varying kinds of Internet
access. A variety of local access providers and bulletin-board systems also
provide Internet connections.
Customers access these services through dial-up phone lines and pay for
phone calls to the service. The price varies depending on whether the number
is local, toll free or long distance. Once online, the user may face an
hourly or a flat monthly fee for a fixed number of access hours. Online
services may also charge extra for "premium" services.
MYTH 3: The Internet will usher in a new age of democracy, a socio-political
nirvana.
FACT: People created the Internet, people run the Internet, people
drive what happens on the Internet -- and people are human. No inherent
technological properties of the Internet will bring democracy or a new age
of global community.
BOTTOM LINE: When the telegraph was invented, some thought the capacity
for instant global communication would end war. The arrival of the telephone
was greeted by many as the start of a new era of democracy, in which citizens
could contact government representatives directly. Radio and television
were expected to link the inner cities with the far-flung corners of the
country, creating a common cultural identity and a rallying point for democracy.
While the Internet offers innovative ways for people to communicate, it
isn't going to save the world any more than the telegraph, telephone, radio,
and television did. Sending e-mail to president@whitehouse.gov
won't get you the ear of the president any easier than if you called (202)
456-1414. The Internet can connect you to information from the White House
(http://www.whitehouse.gov), as
well as federal agencies (http://www.fedworld.gov/).
This access to government information has exciting potential. But information,
unless it is significant and serves the needs of its users, is just expensive
PR. The passion and imagination of people are what drives technology to
create meaning.
MYTH 4: Internet users are cyberpunks and the content they create
is cyberporn.
FACT: While some consider portions of the material on the Internet
to be immoral, obscene, or useless, much of it is no more controversial
than what's found at a public library or in a bookstore.
BOTTOM LINE: The Internet is like a large city -- it's a public space,
and people choose to express themselves in this space in quirky, surprising,
sometimes offensive, and frequently mundane ways. Internet information reflects
the whole range of human activities and interests.
For example, in discussion groups on the Internet, professionals, students,
and educators routinely take part in specialized and detailed online discussions
about educational research and issue-oriented topics.
A wide range of information providers can be found on the Internet. The
Central Intelligence Agency (http://www.ic.gov/)
provides information, as do the governments of Canada (http://debra.dgbt.doc.ca:80/opengov/),
Singapore (http://king.ncb.gov.sg/),
and Japan (http://www.glocom.ac.jp/),
and the European Community (http://www.echo.lu/).
Corporations are on the Internet, among them General Electric (http://www.ge.com/)
and the Bank of America (http://www.bofa.com/),
as well as smaller organizations such as WZLX Radio 100.7 FM, "Boston's
Classic Rock" (http://www.wzlx.com/wzlx/index.htm),
and the Stillwater, OK, Chamber of Commerce (http://www.okstate.edu/stillwater/introduction.htm).
Stereotypes of the Internet as the home of trivial ramblings or sexually
explicit material often arise when the focus is on particular segments of
activity. The Usenet newsgroup alt.food.waffle-house may be pretty silly,
and the newsgroup alt.sex.girl.watchers may be offensive -- but these activities
don't characterize the whole Internet.
The challenge of the Internet is to learn to find the best that it has to
offer and to avoid the silly and the salacious -- unless that's what you're
looking for.
MYTH 5: The Internet is chaotic. There's simply no way to find anything.
FACT: While no Internet information-collection or resource-searching
tool is flawless, there are landmark collections and tools on the Internet
that you can use to find what you want.
BOTTOM LINE: The Internet's physical infrastructure isn't centrally
planned, and information on the Internet isn't hierarchically organized.
Finding things on the Internet takes knowledge and skill, but it can be
done.
For example, the Web's interplay of hypermedia and graphical Web browsers
gives users an efficient point-and-click interface. On the Web, a user can
reach landmark subject collections such as Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.com),
and search for resources containing keywords with Web spiders such as Lycos
(http://lycos.cs.cmu.edu/). In each
Internet information space, landmark subject trees and searching tools help
users find information. The Internet isn't simple, but it's far from chaotic.
MYTH 6: The Internet is hostile to newcomers -- the hapless newbies.
FACT: While a newbie can get mercilessly flamed for ignoring or flouting
the Internet's social customs, there are plenty of ways a new user can get
up to speed in a hurry.
BOTTOM LINE: Not many beginner tennis players would even consider
running onto the court at Wimbledon and joining a match in progress. Instead,
a new player typically seeks out information and support -- by taking a
class, learning from a teacher, watching tennis videos, or reading books
about playing. A new player then spends time practicing the basics before
playing a game.
Newcomers to the Internet should spend some time learning its behavioral
standards, not just its technical necessities. The Internet has any number
of different cultures. The liveliness of the Internet derives from the people
who take part in it, and different communities of people have different
social norms.
A good spot for a new user to visit is the Internet Web Text (http://www.rpi.edu/Internet/Guides/decemj/text.htm).
This guide provides directions to starting places for learning about the
Internet. New users can also learn about the Internet by observing online
groups and getting a "feel" for them before actually participating.
The first stop for a newbie to Usenet should be news.announce.newusers,
where introductory material is continuously posted. Within other newsgroups,
a new user can find lists of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and answers,
which describe that group's knowledge and practices.
-- John December
Internet Landmarks Reference Card
Like myths throughout the ages, those about the Internet constantly shift
shape, acquiring new silhouettes and more marvelously outrageous personae
with each telling. And, again like their predecessors, Internet fables are
really attempts to grapple with the riddles of existence, to answer those
basic, angst-inducing questions: Who are we, and why are we here? Maybe
the Internet can't or won't definitively answer those questions for us,
but it can help us in our quest for discovery. Journeying within it, we
learn more about the things that interest us and about the world around
us. Here are some landmark resource collections and tools to help you avoid
getting lost in cyberspace ...
Web space
TTT Yahoo http://www.yahoo.com/
RRR Lycos http://lycos.cs.cmu.edu/
Gopher space
TTT Jewels http://galaxy.einet.net/GJ/index.htm
RRR Veronica gopher://veronica.scs.unr.edu/11/veronica
FTP space
TTT Usenet FAQs ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/
RRR Archie telnet://archie@archie.sura.net
RRR Archie http://web.nexor.co.uk/archie.htm
WAIS space
TTT RRR Servers http://server.wais.com/directory-of-servers.htm
Telnet space
TTT Hytelnet telnet://hytelnet@access.usask.ca
TTT Hytelnet http://www.cc.ukans.edu/hytelnet_html/START.TXT.htm
RRR Galaxy http://galaxy.einet.net/search.htm
Usenet
TTT Newsgroups news:
alt.internet.services
comp.internet.library
alt.best.of.internet
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