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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hello again,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thanks for the go-ahead! Here's a rundown of the
story concept and what we'd like to know...</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>We've recently begun to write an open-ended piece
of historical fiction about the history of the ARPANET - specifically its early
days and the everyday/social aspects of living and working alongside such a
remarkable network. <BR> <BR>Rather than viewing the ARPANET as a
stepping-stone on the road to the modern Internet, we've been trying to look at
the early network as an entity in its own right - not just a transitional phase,
but as an important and ambitious project of its day, with great things in its
future. To that end, we've taken the unique (we hope) approach of personifying
the Arpanet (beginning life as a child, reaching adolescence by the 1972
demonstration), and having "him" interact with his developers and users, as he
matures, increasingly fitting into the student society around him.
<BR> <BR>In writing this, we've found ourselves in the awkward position of
having to write about the members of the original Arpanet team. While we have
attempted to go about this with the utmost respect, and doing as much research
as possible, most of our sources are inadequate for this; they describe Arpanet
only in the context of being something that would one day become the Internet.
We're more interested in the very early social aspects and day-to-day operations
of the lab, and how the Arpanet's future was envisioned in those days.
<BR> <BR>We'd also like to be sure we're portraying everyone involved
fairly and accurately, and we want to make sure we get the facts straight,
as well as doing justice to the unique characters of the real people behind
the story.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>
<DIV><BR>These are some of the points we're wondering about; if you could answer
any of these, that'd be great:</DIV>
<DIV><BR> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>How was Arpanet viewed/seen *at the time*? How did
it fit in the context of the era? What was its future envisioned to
be?<BR> <BR>What kinds of tests would be run on the Arpanet on a daily
basis, i.e. what would be a typical day in the lab? And who would be in
charge of performing what kind of test? What would happen in the lab other than
tests?<BR> <BR>What were some of the first things it was actually used for
other than testing the capabilities of the network? When did it begin to perform
those duties? <BR> <BR>How did people react to its potential social
aspects? Were they even considered at the time, or were they overshadowed
by its potential as a scientific/knowledge-sharing
system? <BR> <BR>What did one of the old packets actually look like?
We haven't been able to do much except extrapolate from modern
packets. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> <BR>What were some common problems that
happened during the early days of testing? Other than the famous Login
error. <BR> <BR>Was the system ever shut down at night? At which point
did they stop doing that, and what factored into that decision? At what point
did the system become too important and decentralized to shut down
*ever*?<BR> <BR>Had the ARPANET become personified in the manner described,
what advice do you think you might have given it, at various stages of
its development? <BR> <BR>It's been said that there are many
fathers and mothers of the 'net. Are there any mothers that you might consider
especially noteworthy in the early days?<BR> <BR>What was the initial
reaction to the first non-academic uses of the network? Any steps that were seen
as wrong turns? Any that were seen as wrong turns at the time but
worked out for the best eventually?<BR> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><BR>Please feel free to answer them in any order,
or to leave out any that are too obvious, too time-consuming or just
unanswerable. <BR>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The story itself, for anyone interested, is here:
<A href="http://forum.ultima-java.com/viewtopic.php?f=79&t=1353"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"
size=3>http://forum.ultima-java.com/viewtopic.php?f=79&t=1353</FONT></A> It's
a lot to read, though, and if you don't have much time, this chapter would
probably be a good introduction to the characters and concept: <A
href="http://forum.ultima-java.com/viewtopic.php?p=29299#p29299">http://forum.ultima-java.com/viewtopic.php?p=29299#p29299</A> Don't
feel obligated to look at it, though; I'm not trying to hype it or
anything.</DIV></FONT><BR> <BR>Thanking you in advance for your time,
<BR>Sytel</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>