Subject:
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Re: "Justice Probes eBay for Antitrust"
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Mon, 7 Feb 2000 02:08:23 GMT
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Viewed:
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507 times
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William A. Swanberg wrote in message ...
>
> "Susan Olson" <so0s@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:FpHB1t.BJ9@lugnet.com...
>
> [snip]
>
> > We agree to disagree on this one to some extent - somedays I wonder what • would
> > happen if the NSF (a government agency) hadn't decided to allow ecommerce • to be
> > born by just keeping the 'net as a big government research project into • new
> > means of communication. If you want to take it off topic ok by me, but • I've said
> > my peace.
>
> Far be it from me to get in the middle of this one, law was about as far
> from my college major as you can get. But I do have to point out one • thing:
> the NSF(??? perhaps you mean NSA) had/has very little to do with the
> Internet. The whole thing started as a research project by the Department
> of Defense to look into decentralizing computer networks to protect against
> nuclear attack. The project was undertaken by DOD's Advanced Research
> Projects Agency, hence the early name for the network, the ARPANET. So at
> least the Cold War was good for one thing, it created the Internet. : )
If the DOD hadn't allowed the internet to expand beyond the government, it
would have just delayed the internet for a while. By the time the internet
started to be useful, Usenet was already very active in shuttling e-mail and
news around the world (well, mostly US at that time). It was clumsy, but I'm
sure something would have been cooked up to make it easier. Also note that
well into the timeframe that the internet became viable, various BBS
protocols were also operating to exchange e-mail and discussion groups
(especially Fidonet, but there were others).
Frank
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: "Justice Probes eBay for Antitrust"
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| "Susan Olson" <so0s@earthlink.net> wrote in message news:FpHB1t.BJ9@lugnet.com... [snip] (...) would (...) to be (...) new (...) I've said (...) Far be it from me to get in the middle of this one, law was about as far from my college major as you (...) (25 years ago, 6-Feb-00, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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