[ih] The Sub-atomic Physics of The Internet

[Jack Haverty]

My apologies - yes, I should have looked to Astronomy rather than
Physics on seeing that graphic.

The deja vu experience I was trying to relate was from two historical
seminal events. 

One was in the late 60s, when many sites, usually universities, had
computer facilities, and one could "choose" which to use, usually by
choosing an institution to join.   The movers and shakers at ARPA had
multiple terminals, one for each institution they were sponsoring, and
it was tedious to constantly shift back and forth to interact with their
remote colleagues.   To address that issue, ARPA created the ARPANET.

Through the 70s and 80s, other network technologies appeared, and one
could choose which to use, and interact with others on that network. 
But some projects required interactions between different networks.  So
ARPA created TCP/IP, which formed the basic "glue" of The Internet.

Now, in 2020, dozens of large social media "platforms" have evolved,
built on The Internet, yet it is very tedious to interact across their
boundaries (as Dave Crocker illustrated).   AFAIK, no one has yet
created the "SocialNet" to glue them all together.

I agree choice is a good thing.  It allows one to pick a mechanism most
suited to your own needs.  It fosters competition and survival of the
fittest.

But one particular "choice" has been very popular - the choice of using
a mechanism that integrates the various "planets" into a cohesive
community.  In the 70s, the ARPANET grew explosively because it provided
that cohesion among diverse computers.  In the 90s, the Internet
similarly exploded across the world, integrating all sorts of physical
networks.

Now we have a lot of "planets" again.   There are even more
"planetesimals" if you consider all the forums and discussion groups,
media publications with hyperactive "comments" areas, and other such
closed communities.   Personally, I find it virtually impossible to keep
track of it all, and not miss things that I really should see.   I don't
seem to have the choice of using a cohesive interface to multiple
planets.   At least I haven't found it.

My deja vu sense tells me that it's a similar situation to that at the
time of the ARPANET and Internet emergence.  ARPA seems to have gone on
to other things, so I just wonder who will continue the pattern of
Internet History.  And if.

/Jack Haverty