Nick GaydosMay 2, 2023
petersuber

Always worth remembering. The #web could have been proprietary infrastructure.
https://www.npr.org/2023/04/30/1172276538/world-wide-web-internet-anniversary

"30 years ago this week…something called the World Wide Web launched into the public domain…#CERN owned Berners-Lee's invention and…had the option to license [it] out…for profit. But Berners-Lee believed that keeping the web as open as possible would help it grow…[He] eventually convinced CERN to release the World Wide Web into the #PublicDomain without any #patents or fees."

#IP #WWW

May 1, 2023 at 12:58pmWeb
Show threadpetersuberMay 2, 2023

Also see the anniversary statement from @w3c (#W3C).
https://www.w3.org/blog/2023/04/30th-anniversary-of-licensing-the-web-for-general-use-and-at-no-cost/

"CERN’s decision to provide unencumbered access to the basic Web protocols and software developed there was instrumental to the success of the technical work done at the World Wide Web Consortium. The decision to base the Web on royalty-free standards from the beginning has been vital to its success."

30th anniversary of licensing the Web for general use and at no cost | W3C Blog

Show threadAjayMay 6, 2023
@petersuber @w3c The history: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/yinhistory/EP37-The_Internet.mp3
Show threadDancingwiththebelovedMay 1, 2023
@petersuber the age of social responsibility seems to have been subsumed by the age of me-first. Berners-Lee is a hero... (or maybe a villain?🤔)
Show threadPsittacus cafeinaMay 2, 2023

@Dridge3770 @petersuber
That's a myopic view of history. Berners-Lee was participating in a long tradition that continues everywhere except in the world of capital, and rejecting the traditions of that selfsame capital.

Like, literally in the same breath were also mentioned Compuserve and AOL, built by people in and from the same 'age'.

Show threadaardvarkMay 1, 2023
@petersuber it’d have given gopher a chance!
Show threadMark GardnerMay 5, 2023
@aardvark @petersuber When I first saw #Gopher in 1992 (on a text-only terminal, natch), I thought it was The Future. You could follow a link from information on one computer to information on another in one step!
Show threadaardvarkMay 5, 2023
@mjgardner @petersuber made me a little less impressed with that first Yahoo page
Show threadAaron HuslageMay 5, 2023
@mjgardner @aardvark @petersuber it was absolutely transformative.
Show threadSzczeżujaMay 6, 2023
@mjgardner
Hey, I’m looking for people who remember the 90s Gopher experiences.
gopher://sdf.org:70/0/users/szczezuja/novice/2021-12-11-Cont-how-you-were-using-the-Internet.txt
It would be great to hear your story. :-)
@aardvark @petersuber
Show threadMorten BayMay 1, 2023
@petersuber So could the Internet itself, if Xerox PARC's protocol had won out over TCP/IP. Or any of the other big-corp protocols.
Show threadGromsMay 1, 2023
@MortenBay @petersuber might be interesting alternatives 4 corporate nets
Show threadLilly HunterMay 1, 2023
@petersuber Paid for by taxes.
Show threadSouthern LeftistMay 1, 2023
@petersuber
Finally, good inventors who don't withhold for profit.
Show threadMark GardnerMay 5, 2023

@petersuber I vividly remember the early days of the web when it was unclear whether it would matter to average people compared to walled-garden services like #AOL (then #AmericaOnline), #Prodigy, or #CompuServe.

IMHO the web’s early rise depended on two other factors:
• Graphical #browsers like #NCSA #Mosaic on mainstream computer operating systems (1993)
• Decommissioning of the US government-funded #NSFNET backbone, effectively ending restrictions on commercial Internet traffic (1995)

Show threadSpark Purcell (they/them)May 6, 2023
@petersuber that was the best decision to make the internet open and non proprietary. But not too long after that they made the worst decision of the entire history of the internet when they allowed commercial use.