(FYI - Those of you who have joined the list lately, and to remind
those of you who have been around for a while :-)
I began this list because I am working on a PhD dissertation on
Usenet. It set out to be an ethnography of the net but has worked
itself around until it is now *a* history of Usenet. That project
has three points of attack (if you will):
1. This list as a forum for discussion.
2. Interviews with the founders and the "movers and shakers" of the net.
3. An archive of the materials I gather
(transcripts of the interviews excepted).
The comment above about information being gradually forgotten
anecdotes, is, I hope, being addressed by No.s 2 & 3 above.
If you have material about the history of Usenet - netnews articles
that pre-date February of 1981, mail traffic from lists like the
backbone mailing list, copies of papers and journal/magazine
articles that pertain to the net, please send copies this way.
(Note that the archive includes many things that were available only
in hardcopy - things like the original invitation to join the net -
which I will someday catalog and perhaps add to the electronic
storehouse as GIFs or something).
If you are one of the folks that were instrumental in the progress
of the net and I haven't talked to you, I will be (assuming you're
willing to be interviewed). To date I've done about 20 FTF interviews
and plan on at least an additional 20. If I haven't contacted you
and you would like to contribute, please send mail and let's see if
we can't find a time and place to talk. Fortunately, Usenix is
coming to SD this Winter -- it always brings me a few folk.
Finally, I'd like to thank all you folks who participate here, and
encourage you to continue. I agree with the sentiment that the
history of Usenet is an important part of the history of the global
computer network. And it's a lot of fun gathering that history.
bj
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This page last updated on: Jul 1 09:16