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CBC Archives: Internet – a “modulated anarchy” (1993)
By Rosie Perera | September 19, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Here’s a fascinating and quaint look at the Internet back in 1993, when it was a bit more civil. CBC interviews playwright and Internet enthusiast John Allen. Some choice quotes:
“It feels a bit like everyday human fellowship, but it’s bigger and more precise.”
As if “everyday human fellowship” needed improving upon? The imprecision is part of what makes it so wonderfully human. The interesting thing is that the Internet has pretty much become our major medium for “everyday human fellowship.” Is it really any more “precise” than face-to-face communication? I think the reality is the other way around. Because of missing cues (tone of voice and body language), online communication is less clear. Maybe in a sense it is more precise, because words mean exactly what they mean, but perhaps not necessarily what they were intended to mean. You need the imprecision of person-to-person conversation to avoid unintentionally offending someone.
“There’s an interesting kind of restraint that you find. I mean there’s not a lot of cursing or swearing….there’s not a lot of put-downs…there’s not screenfuls of ‘Go to hell!'”
WTF? Things sure have changed in 16 years! I wonder if that’s more a factor of society in general changing or people getting more used to the medium. The anarchy is not so modulated anymore, eh?
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