Appendix A
Something I found interesting in the section The Origins of the Internet was the IETF because I am a big fan of the everyman archetype. In media this archetype is the audience stand in, to make them feel like they can be a part of the action. The Internet Engineering Task Force was a group of volunteers in the 80s and now they develop standards for the Internet. It’s really inspiring to think maybe I could be a part of grand change.
I also have a fondness for the soft spots of humanity. The first thing the Internet was used for - after military use - was communication. Yes, it was to send research information, but people love to keep in touch. From a defense standpoint in the 50s DARPA developed circuit/packet switching to minimize inefficiencies in sending information. As the project grew and became less about defense, the goal for most of the 70s was “how to more effectively share information,” which brings TCP/IP into play as well as FTP. When computers became more widespread sending e-mail was its main use. It’s amazing to think how much of what is normal to us every day was a matter of nationwide security seventy years ago.