On Sat, 9 Feb 2002, Brian Chase wrote:
> For one, most of the people here remember what the 'Net' was like before
> it was overrun with commercial traffic. Probably 95-99% of the people
> using the internet and Usenet now have no clue that it used to be at
> least somewhat more useful. Stupidity always existed for sure, but the
> S/N ratio was at least a lot better than 0.5. Now it's probably more
> like 0.001. Given the historical insight we possess, can we not create
> something better, based on that insight, than what currently exists?
I don't want to piss on this fire because the idea in concept is cool and
fun and is good for burning hours away needlessly, which I'm always up
for.
But I find this comment to be overly dramatic. Saying that the internet
"used to be at least somewhat more useful" is like saying it was easier to
start a fire with two sticks. Give me a break. And the only "noise"
there is on the internet is the noise that you decide to tune in to.
The internet is pull, not push. The internet of today is bigger, faster,
and better than the internet of 10 years ago, infinitely more useable,
infinitely more useful, and I'm sorry but there's no going back.
Creating a UUCP network for the hell of it is fine folly. Contemplating
a replacement of the internet is foolish folly.
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
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Received on Sun Feb 10 2002 - 17:08:43 GMT