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The Internet: an in-depth report

A segment A Network Called Internet on the 1993 Peter Mansbride-helmed nightly is making another round on aggregators such as Digg, thanks to the broadcaster’s wide-eyed wowzer reaction to this thing people surf on.

Making fun of predictions gone wrong/hilarious is nothing new – take this prediction that the Internet would fail – but seems this Bill Cameron report resonates.

They’re having good fun pointing out how Cameron calls it “Internet” (without ‘the’) as “now it’s coming true, thanks to Internet.” Describing it as a “computer switchboard”, Cameron goes on to explain why Internet allows everyone to discuss anything, all with minimal “swearing or cursing.”

How we have fallen. Especially when Mansbridge informs us these Internet pioneers have to pay only $200 annually.

Cameron also gets very excited hearing back from users across the world, this text letter received with no intonation or body language. He introduces us to emoticons. What, : ) means “I am kidding”? And : ( means the opposite? Looks like emoticons went through a broken-telephone evolution.

It’s hard not to giggle when Cameron rocks out on USENET boards, asking about the Internet’s main appeal. The replies pour in. Imagine if someone today told you they get on the Net because “I can indulge my deep and abiding passion for all things Thai.” (Thai snuff porn? Thai street fights?) Or “It has more soul than any human being I know.” You’d tell him to stop playing World of Warcraft.

The CBC classic is more than just a few chuckles. Nostalgia surfaces, as if we can recall the good ol’ Web pages before they got swamped by trolls. Sure, those BBS days were often frustrating, but it felt like simpler times, like living away from the city. Mansbridge and Cameron were warning us – maintain the Internet as communication network where the good and ugly coexist, somehow harmoniously.

CBC, we’re due for a follow-up.[rssbreak]

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