The culture of net navigation
| Date | 01 April 1993 |
| Pages | 335-345 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb045256 |
| Published date | 01 April 1993 |
| Author | Rick Gates |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Exploring
the
Nets
The culture of
net
navigation
Rick Gates
In
this
column,
I'd
like to deviate
from
the normal
focus
on the
mechanics
of network
tools and
instead
take
some
time
to step
back
and
reflect
on the
culture of network navigation.
There can be
no
denying that the
Net
is
larger than
ever,
has
more users than ever and is more popular than ever before.
Just last week, CNN (Cable News Network) carried a short
piece on the Internet, complete with
a
few sentences from Ed
Krol!
Given the popularity of the Nets, users around the globe
are looking for ways to 'get wired', or become part of this
growth. But novice users sometimes finds themselves with
what
is,
in many
cases,
a
user-hostile
environment.
There are
unfriendly interfaces, strange data standards, spurious com-
munication problems, and frequently changing and evolving
resources. The rewards are data on demand and faster com-
munications.
So how do we overcome the difficulties? Well, an impor-
tant first step is the realization that the Nets are in many re-
spects a complex collection of data, information, people,
tools,
resources,
rules,
money
and ideas that really comprise a
culture. View the Net
as a
culture
and the
difficulties become
comprehensible, if not immediately solvable.
So
I'd
like to examine a
few
aspects
of
this
Net-culture
that
I believe are important for novices to keep in mind as they
take
their
first
steps
in this
virtual world.
First, let's take
a
look
at the
history of
the
Internet...
Net history
I
like to
break
the
history of
the
Internet down
into three
main
phases:
Phase
One:
The Net as
Project
(mid
1970s to mid 1980s)
During
this
phase,
the
Net
was the
domain of
the
researcher.
Strictly speaking,
the
Internet was not in existence at this
point. The Internet grew out of
a US
Department of Defense
funded project
known as ARPANet
(Advanced Research
Pro-
jects Agency
Network).
Most of
the
research at
this
time was
on how to
build fault-tolerant, robust networks.
This type of environment affected the types of
tools
that
were available at the time. All of
the
tools for computer-to-
computer communication were very terse, command-driven
and
highly efficient
at
sending
chunks
of
data
from
one site
to
another. There were relatively few computers involved and
user expectations
were
realistic.
Phase
Two:
The
Net
as Club (mid 1980s to early 1990s)
During this phase, the Net was the domain of the academic
computing professional.
This is the phase during which
the
Internet truly began to
emerge.
More universities began
to group
together to support
regional networks which
in turn were
connected
to the
Net.
In
the
US,
the National Science Foundation began funding the
'backbone' which tied together super-computing centers and
the regional networks connected
into this
structure.
At individual sites, the local network experts (usually the
computing
center)
managed
the
communication between
that
site and the rest of the world. The resources and tools that
came out
of
this phase
reflect
this
orientation.
More
flexibility
was added
and the
number of computers
and users
connected
grew rapidly. Still the resources were efficient, command-
driven interfaces that were written by the very people using
them, i.e. the academic computing professionals. Thus user
expectations
met
reality.
This was also a time when novice users
were
pretty much
on
their
own.
The Nets
seemed
a place
of privilege
and
proto-
col,
complete with hidden doors (and
traps),
insiders and se-
cret handshakes. One either learned through the tutelage of
others,
or
through
lots
of
time,
hard work
and
mistakes.
This is the phase that I see
us just beginning
to
leave.
Phase
Three:
The Net
as Community (early 1990s to ???)
During
this
phase,
the Net will
become
the
domain of
the
user.
As
mentioned,
the
Net is
an extremely popular
place
today.
It seems that millions are interested in getting access to the
Internet as soon as possible. I would venture to guess that
today,
most users
having
access to the
Internet
have
been con-
nected for
less
than
a
year.
We are beginning to see some of the trappings of such a
bottom-heavy environment. Suddenly, there is a demand for
Internet training. Books about the Internet are quite popular
and the tools that we are beginning to see are moving away
from command driven interfaces, and toward menu and
graphic interfaces. The great amount of
resources
available,
coupled
with the large
number of newer
users,
has led us to an
environment
where
current user expectations exceed reality.
The Electronic Library, Vol.
11,
No. 4/5, August/October 1993 335
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