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History of Web Based Communities
Before we address the various types of
web Based Communities, it would be wise to first consider the history of the
internet, as well as its intended application. In “The Vision of Interactive
Computing and the Future” (Hauben, 1995), Michael Hauben states that,
“understanding the history of the current global computer networks is a
crucial step towards building the network of the future. There is a vision
that guided the origin and development of the Internet, Usenet and other
associated physical and logical networks. What is that vision?” While it is
true that current applications may have exceeded the original vision, the
blueprints of the internet were drawn by a few visionaries in the late
1960’s.
The successful launch of the Russian satellite
Sputnik in 1957 gave momentum to the Cold War left the U.S. at an apparent
technological disadvantage. In response to the perceived imbalance of power,
President Eisenhower issued directive 5105.15 which established the Advanced
Research Project Agency (ARPA). Staffed with some of the most brilliant
minds of the time, the agency became a hotbed of research for technology and
defense whose initial project was the successful launch of an American
satellite. On January 31, 1958, Explorer 1 was launched. Carrying a small
scientific payload, this satellite achieved stable Earth orbit and became
the vehicle by which the magnetic radiation belts around the Earth were
discovered. ARPA, in a coordinated effort with other agencies and
contractors, had proved its worth. Nuclear insecurities resulting from the
Cold War remained however and the goals of ARPA continued to evolve. In the
early sixties, ARPA turned its focus on developing a network of computers
that could survive a nuclear attack. This was to insure a continuation of
communication for the purpose of command and control functionality. J.C.R.
Licklider was chosen in 1962 to head ARPA’s research in computer technology.
Considered a visionary, Licklider saw an advantage in making the
government’s use of computers more interactive, simultaneously linking them
from separate locations. Licklider felt that achieving this goal could be
expedited if ARPA’s contracts were moved from the private sector (military),
to "the best academic computer centers" (ARPA draft, III-7). This laid the
foundation to what would latter become known as ARPANET. At this time, the
dominant computing mode was batch card processing, the results of which
could take over a day. Licklider felt that this type of processing would
lack the responsiveness or functionality to serve in an interactive
environment and immediately sought to develop advanced processing
techniques. His office was renamed “The Information Processing Techniques
Office” (IPTO). According to the ARPANET Completion Report, Licklider
nicknamed the computer specialist that he had gathered for this project as
the “Intergalactic Network” (ARPA draft, III-7).
Licklider envisioned that computer networks
could serve as vehicles of communication linking individuals from multiple
locations, effectively creating networked communities. Though Licklider left
ARPA before the physical aspects of a computer network had been created, he
successfully passed this vision on to Robert Taylor who became his successor
at the IPTO. Speaking of Licklider, Taylor remarked, "Lick was among the
first to perceive the spirit of community created among the users of the
first time-sharing systems. In pointing out the community phenomena created,
in part, by the sharing of resources in one timesharing system, Lick made it
easy to think about interconnecting the communities, the interconnection of
interactive, on-line communities of people," (ARPA draft, III-21). Prior to
this time, computers were simply machines that processed numbers, the
function of which was known as an “arithmetic engine”. The ARPANET project
found itself at odds with the very industry whose interest it was to
support. "The computer industry, in the main, still thinks of the computer
as an arithmetic engine. Their heritage is reflected even in current designs
of their communication systems.' They have an economic and psychological
commitment to the arithmetic engine model, and it can die only slowly..." (ARPA
draft, III-24). In opposition to the arithmetic engine computer model, the
ARPA draft further stated that, "The ARPA theme is that the promise offered
by the computer as a communication medium between people, dwarfs into
relative insignificance the historical beginnings of the computer as an
arithmetic engine" (ARPA draft, III-24).
The first nodes of the ARPANET which
consisted of computers at four universities were brought online in 1969.
These were the Stanford Research Institute, the University of Utah, and two
campuses of the University of California. On October-29, 1969, Charley Klein
of UCLA attempted to connect to the computer at the Stanford Research
Institute. He typed the letter “L”. Researchers at SRI confirmed that the
letter “L” had appeared on their screen. Klein then followed with the letter
“O” which also was confirmed at SRI. As Klein typed the letter “G” however,
the system crashed. This humble beginning, though not a complete success,
demonstrated with only the transmission of two letters that a network of
linked computers was indeed possible. Improvements in communication
protocol, routers to direct traffic and additional computer sites quickly
followed and the Internet was born. Licklider’s dream of networked
communities became a reality as email list and discussion groups formed
between researchers in multiple locations. |
