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The Web Is 16 Today

GuNgA-DiN writes, "Today marks the 16th anniversary of the World Wide Web. According to the timeline on the W3.org site: 'The first web page [was] http://nxoc01.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html. Unfortunately CERN no longer supports the historical site. Note from this era too, the least recently modified web page we know of, last changed Tue, 13 Nov 1990 15:17:00 GMT (though the URI changed.)' A lot has happened in 16 years and this little 'baby' has grown into quite the teenager."

235 comments

  1. Confirmed? by aedan · · Score: 5, Funny

    Has Netcraft confirmed this?

    1. Re:Confirmed? by YA_Python_dev · · Score: 4, Interesting
      The URI changed, so it's not the oldest page on the net.

      Well, the content is still the original one and (surprise!) is still almost 100% valid HTML 4.01 Transitional! I kid you not: try it for yourself!

      The only missing thing is the DOCTYPE declaration, but everything else is just fine: call it a tribute to the incredible backward/forward/whatever compatibility and flexibility of HTML!

      --
      There's a hidden treasure in Python 3.x: __prepare__()
    2. Re:Confirmed? by Da_Weasel · · Score: 1

      It definitely has nothing to do with the article. Must be an automated post, but what is the motive? Hmmmm.....?

      --
      If you must!
    3. Re:Confirmed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      dada21 wrote this as part of a first post to this story earlier today.

      The post generated some puzzled "looks" because it counted 833 (840 with subject) words (4,591/4,628 characters) of quite elegantly written drivel, which is pretty amazing even for a subscriber's first post. Aside from being obviously well thought out, there were no spelling errors, and near perfect and/or perfect grammar. It is what you would call "academic quality".

      The story covered Steve Ballmer's recent trip to India and discussion with local Indians about FOSS. The poster's essay described his own contentions that Indian society is a less-than-ideal playground for FOSS.

      It seems unlikely that he'd have such an essay prepared just in case a story regarding FOSS and India were to be submitted, but it also seems unlikely that he's so quick on the draw. I still have to proofread everything at least twice (and ALWAYS end up changing things at the last second; clarifying ideas, ensuring a consistent direction, adding anecdotes, removing redundancy, correcting grammar, et cetera) and I'd consider myself a well established writer with many years of experience. I type at roughly 140 WPM with near perfect accuracy, but I'm sure I couldn't have coughed up that report on the fly like that, even with Firefox's toy spellchecker. If it's authentic, my hat's off.

      Accordingly, he was accused of being a shill for a proprietary software company (such as MS or Sun) and of being informed well ahead of time of the story's debut.

      The original story submission came from "an anonymous reader".

      Why this little tidbit turned up all of a sudden is mysterious indeed. My guess is someone trying to provoke dada21 in some harmless (but puzzling) way, or possibly dada21 trying to spark even more self-sensation.

      Further info would be interesting, but not necessarily appreciated...
      --
      ~An anonymous reader (who incidentally found said drivel quite worthless if not arrogant).

    4. Re:Confirmed? by rhinocero · · Score: 1

      The libertarian conspiracy that controls the internet, obviously.

    5. Re:Confirmed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      To the hills!

    6. Re:Confirmed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The site's slashdotted. Here's a mirror.

    7. Re:Confirmed? by Drooling+Iguana · · Score: 1

      Aren't conspiracies supposed to be quiet and secretive? Why is it then that Libertarians never seem to be able to shut up?

      --
      ... I'm addicted to placebos
  2. Is she legal yet? by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 1

    Dang...

    1. Re:Is she legal yet? by Throtex · · Score: 5, Funny

      Legal? I'm sure she could teach you a thing or two!

      Everything I never wanted to know about sex I learned on the Internets. :P

    2. Re:Is she legal yet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Only if you access her from Canada

    3. Re:Is she legal yet? by Kandenshi · · Score: 2, Funny

      And a few things you didn't want to know I imagine =\

      ewww @ tubgirl

    4. Re:Is she legal yet? by Svippy · · Score: 0, Funny

      How can a series of tubes be female?

      Or more importantly, how would you do it with a series of tubes?

      --
      Clicked pie.
    5. Re:Is she legal yet? by dysplay · · Score: 5, Funny

      A lot has happened in 16 years and this little 'baby' has grown into quite the teenager.

      And like most teenagers, has an over-abundant collection of porn.

    6. Re:Is she legal yet? by plantman-the-womb-st · · Score: 3, Funny

      One word. Fallopian.

      --
      Say bad words about my book, in cold oatmeal, or I shall sue!
    7. Re:Is she legal yet? by drinkypoo · · Score: 2, Funny
      how would you do it with a series of tubes?

      One word: fleshlight. Of course, that's also only one tube, but it's a starting point...

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    8. Re:Is she legal yet? by Kent+Simon · · Score: 5, Funny

      Don't bother man, everyone and their grandmother has been on her, and if you aren't careful you can catch a virus ;)

      --
      Kent Simon Multitheft Auto
    9. Re:Is she legal yet? by Terminal+Saint · · Score: 1

      Actually, it's my understanding that in most US states the age of consent is 16, not the commonly assumed 18.

      --
      It's sad when choosing an installation directory on your own qualifies you as an "advanced user."
    10. Re:Is she legal yet? by fireman+sam · · Score: 1

      Fallopian:

      - A person who collects, or has intimate knowledge of the fallopia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallopia
      - A duality of tubes

      --
      it is only after a long journey that you know the strength of the horse.
    11. Re:Is she legal yet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      or from behind :P

    12. Re:Is she legal yet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So Hayden Panattiere is fair game then?

      Thank you, Jesus! (k I spose I could wait a year... nah)

    13. Re:Is she legal yet? by skotte · · Score: 1

      right click, Save Image As... "the Cheerleader.jpg"

      Ok, is the world safe yet?

  3. Does this mean we get a John Water's movie? by feyhunde · · Score: 2, Funny

    And what state/country is the internet? Just wondering if she's legal.

    --
    I'd say more, but my guild is raiding.
    1. Re:Does this mean we get a John Water's movie? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I believe that you would do her even she wasn't the age of consent.

    2. Re:Does this mean we get a John Water's movie? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I swear her MySpace profile said she was 18...

  4. well... by SkankinMonkey · · Score: 0

    Does that mean it's legal in most states now?

  5. Well, you can still see it. by Umbrae · · Score: 5, Informative

    You can still see a version of TheProject.html at

    http://www.w3.org/History/19921103-hypertext/hyper text/WWW/TheProject.html

    although I'm not certain how outdated it is, the 1992-11-03 seems to be encouraging.

    1. Re:Well, you can still see it. by Umbrae · · Score: 1

      Last modified date for parent page says: Thursday, December 03, 1992 2:37:20 AM

    2. Re:Well, you can still see it. by foobsr · · Score: 2, Interesting

      For the real historian:

      http://groups.google.com/group/comp.archives/msg/a 77343f9175b24c3?output=gplain

      There you have it all (and there is not much new yet :)

      bang "gmdzi!unido!mcsun!uunet!aplcen!uakari.primate.wis c.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!math.lsa.umich.edu !math.lsa.umich.edu!emv " for the bucks ?)

      a public domain version of Lisp

      and, of course

      "Don't forget to send in your license form. Enjoy."

      CC.

      --
      TaijiQuan (Huang, 5 loosenings)
    3. Re:Well, you can still see it. by Zeinfeld · · Score: 4, Interesting

      OK, who was the last person to surf the entire Web? By this I mean visit every site manually. I did that sometime in November 1992. Took me about 8 hours. At the time there were about 100 sites that were linked to the CERN list of sites.

      --
      Looking for an Information Security student project suggestion?
      Try http://dotcrimeManifesto.com/
    4. Re:Well, you can still see it. by HeroreV · · Score: 1

      How is that related to the web?

    5. Re:Well, you can still see it. by mightyQuin · · Score: 1

      Our IT manager (who likely doesn't know what IT is an acronym for) recently had on a list of "to do" items:

      • Fix the Internet

      That one always caused a few smirks from the programming staff.

      back in '92 it could have been possible.

      --
      Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some idea balls to remove from a manatee tank.
    6. Re:Well, you can still see it. by foobsr · · Score: 1

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_search_engine

      As we all know, search engines do not matter with regard to the web ... wait, Google?

      dot.com bubble - not in a way connected to either the web or money and no bang at all; uucp - no relation to the history of the web either.

      http://www.lemonodor.com/

      Semantic web and LISP? Never heard of either.

      Public domain? GPL? Licences? What is that all about.

      Go educate yourself.

      CC.

      --
      TaijiQuan (Huang, 5 loosenings)
    7. Re:Well, you can still see it. by Albert+Sandberg · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'm working on it! (but got stuck on slashdot for some reason)

  6. Meh ... it will never take off by Average_Joe_Sixpack · · Score: 5, Insightful

    In 1993 on a University VAX my bet would of been Gopherspace. It had Archie and Veronica for godsake!!

    1. Re:Meh ... it will never take off by 0racle · · Score: 1

      There is no way putting Archie and Veronica together was going to result in anything that got anything done.

      --
      "I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
    2. Re:Meh ... it will never take off by gwyrdd+benyw · · Score: 1
      In 1993 on a University VAX my bet would of been Gopherspace

      Yep, my friends will never let me forget my initial assessment of the web in 1993: "that's stupid." :) I was also a big fan of gopher (being a university student at the time as well).

      --

      I adblock all animated gifs.
      Blessed be the prime numbered slashdotters
    3. Re:Meh ... it will never take off by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      All this time and you still can't spell "would HAVE". Would of? What the hell does that even mean?

    4. Re:Meh ... it will never take off by Scarletdown · · Score: 1
      All this time and you still can't spell "would HAVE". Would of? What the hell does that even mean?


      I think it's pretty obvious that in this particular context, would of means would have.

      --
      This space unintentionally left blank.
    5. Re:Meh ... it will never take off by Sheridan · · Score: 1


      Yeah - me too.
      </aol>

      Gopher all the way. A colleague showed me this WorldWideWeb thingy from his NeXT station, but I really couldn't see the point.

  7. Shame... by ibjhb · · Score: 1

    It is a shame that the original page still isn't up.

    1. Re:Shame... by ibjhb · · Score: 3, Informative
    2. Re:Shame... by qzulla · · Score: 2, Funny
      Cool! The first example of teh is here.

      qz

  8. I Call by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dupe

  9. Aww, sweet 16 and never been kissed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh wait...

    1. Re:Aww, sweet 16 and never been kissed? by zptao · · Score: 2, Funny

      So what kind of Sweet 16 party are you going to have? Going to get a ferrari cake?

    2. Re:Aww, sweet 16 and never been kissed? by overtly_demure · · Score: 1

      Don't be such a prude, or perhaps feign innocence. Embrace it.

  10. Thanks Al Gore by fit4130 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Thank you Al Gore. He's the most important man of the 21st century, hands down.

    1. Re:Thanks Al Gore by cyber0ne · · Score: 1

      He is a 10th level Vice President, after all.

      --
      http://publicvoidlife.blogspot.com
    2. Re:Thanks Al Gore by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1

      Al Gore invented the Internet, not the web. You'd have thought that on Slashdot people would know the difference...

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    3. Re:Thanks Al Gore by Penguin+Programmer · · Score: 1

      No, no, Al Gore invented the _internet_, not the _web_. There's a huge difference!

  11. Oh, My Gawd, Now You've Done It! by darkonc · · Score: 4, Funny

    You've just slashdotted the entire World Wide Web!

    --
    Sometimes boldness is in fashion. Sometimes only the brave will be bold.
  12. Cool by Tarlus · · Score: 1

    The Web is old enough to drive, now.

    --
    /* No Comment */
    1. Re:Cool by ZachPruckowski · · Score: 2, Funny

      That's good. Now when my secretary sends me an Internets, it can drive a dumptruck through the tubes to my computer. That'll fix the clogged pipes problem.

    2. Re:Cool by kbox · · Score: 1

      It's not old enough to drive in the UK... But i can now legally have sex with it here (unless it's a homosexual man)

    3. Re:Cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      no.The web is old enuf to be driven.

    4. Re:Cool by gwbennett · · Score: 0

      and it were a truck instead of a series of tubes, it could drive itself!

      --
      Where is this free beer everyone on Slashdot keeps talking about?
    5. Re:Cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But the insurance will bankrupt you. I'll let it drive my old 1996 Honda Accord with car monitor until it can buy the insurance itself.

    6. Re:Cool by Andrew+Aguecheek · · Score: 1

      ... Homosexual sex between 16 year olds was legalised in 2003.

      --
      Tomorrow, I may eat another house plant
    7. Re:Cool by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1

      You know, that's the second time I've seen someone point that out on Slashdot in a week. It's amazing how much attention Slashdot seems to be paying to the legality of having sex with 16-year-old boys...

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    8. Re:Cool by bcat24 · · Score: 1

      Well, quite a few Slashdotters are 16, myself included (though I'm straight), so that could explain the interest in teen sex.

    9. Re:Cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Except in Northern Ireland, where the age of consent is 17, for everyone.

  13. Teenager ? TEENAGER ? by unity100 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    GROWN ? Boy, if we are talking about the 'web', it is on the brink of ascending into supernatural dimensions, growth and 'lore' wise.

    It has become a connection that binds us who are all over the world, it has become a revealer of truth that uncovers the hiddens in the doings of wrongdoers, it has become a place that chinese and canadian and namesoever teenagers come play in, it has become a place where we can find anything in, it is reshaping politics, nations, lives, even inner thoughts of people.

    'It' is actually 'us'. We are the web.

    Welcome to utopia being realized

  14. Remembering SGML by RobertB-DC · · Score: 4, Funny

    Back in the early '90s, I was working at American Airlines. Then as now, they were largely mainframe-oriented, though access was via PC emulation. A suggestion came across that we should look at this thing called SGML -- a way of digitizing our voluminous documentation so that it would be accessible from any platform. Mainframe, PC, Mac... anything.

    I wasn't terribly impressed. Sure, it was cool to be able to add "hyper links" to other parts of the document, or to other documents, but the conversion process would be murder. And tables! What was all this TR TH TD mishmash, just to make a simple table?

    My recommendation: Why doesn't everyone just use Microsoft Word format? It's available to everyone, and it's not like the internal format is going to change or anything!

    Thank goodness I was working somewhere else by the time my first thoughts on SGML -- the precursor of HTML -- were proven to be utterly, completely Wrong.

    --
    Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
    1. Re:Remembering SGML by chris+mazuc · · Score: 1
      My recommendation: Why doesn't everyone just use Microsoft Word format? It's available to everyone, and it's not like the internal format is going to change or anything!



      You're kidding, right?

      --
      E pluribus unum
    2. Re:Remembering SGML by Teun · · Score: 1
      Early nineties, Microsoft Word?

      More likely WordStar or at best WordPerfect 5.

      --
      "The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
    3. Re:Remembering SGML by philntc · · Score: 1

      Your story reminds me of a fellow engineering grad student at the time, a Pakastani fellow who could code simulations for non-linear systems like nobody's business (things like the dynamics of the tip of a helicopter rotor blade).

      He marvelled at Netscape's meteoric rise to stardom, and at how simplistic a browser app was to write. Knowing what he was capable of doing, I couldn't disagree, but it was completely impossible to guess what the ramifications of technology would be. You can hardly fault yourself.

      I guess innovation is a little bit like art. I'll know it when I see it (just a lot later!).

    4. Re:Remembering SGML by GrahamCox · · Score: 1

      Why doesn't everyone just use Microsoft Word format? It's available to everyone, and it's not like the internal format is going to change or anything

      That wasn't true then, has never been true and never will be true.

    5. Re:Remembering SGML by 5of0 · · Score: 1

      By the early nineties, Word was well on its way to dominance:
      "In the period 1992-1994, Word wiped the floor with WordPerfect in reviews, winning just about all of them."
      http://blogs.msdn.com/chris_pratley/archive/2004/0 4/27/120944.aspx
      And WordStar pretty much shot themselves in the foot with WS2000. Interesting article.

      Also,
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft#1985.E2.80. 931991:_The_rise_and_fall_of_OS.2F2
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Word#Word_1 990_to_1995
      On a sidenote, I like Microsoft's early website.

      --
      You all have Oo.o and Firefox, so get World Wind.
    6. Re:Remembering SGML by daniel23 · · Score: 1

      WordStar was 1985 for me, and some versions to follow until late 80s. I wrote my M.A. in it from 85 to 86. There was another app coming around these days, with an ridiculous menu system but some strength in page layout and much better equipped to work with huge texts and laser printers, ms word. Got it in version 4 at the end of the 80s, did an 800p travelguide to China with it in 1991, probably version 5 then. This was all dos-land, of course. We installed Windows 3.0 in ~1992, winword 1 was laughable but winword 2 wasn't that bad at all.

      (I still have the floppies with all those old versions, and a 5 1/4 floppy drive, but installing drivers to read the 160KB media and all seems like quite an adventure. However, the first versions of WordStar I used weren't dos but cpm+ and I trashed hardware and media for that. must have been version 2.4 or something, in '85. cpm+ was so much better than cpm, no need anymore to reboot your machine with ctrl/C everytime you changed a disk. )

      Thus, I have every reason to believe the grandparents time frame.

      --
      605413? Yes, it's a prime.
    7. Re:Remembering SGML by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Does anyone remember Lotus Manuscript? Now THAT was some word processor. A recent access of nostalgia made me discover it is still available (http://www2.support.lotus.com/ftp/pub/desktop/Man uscript/). I've switched to vim and LaTeX in the meantime, but I guess it still beats the crap out of modern day WYSIWYG utilities.

  15. Bah! by NinePenny · · Score: 5, Funny

    Back then, we used Gopher... And we liked it! These kids and their new fangled web thingy need to get off my lawn.

    1. Re:Bah! by Big+Ryan · · Score: 2, Funny

      ...and writing our email using Pine, uphill and in the driving snow.

      Remember the original grey background of webpages in Netscape 0.9?

    2. Re:Bah! by Kandenshi · · Score: 1

      heh, I vaguely remember learning how to do stuff with Gopher years and years ago. Archie pwned! :D

      I never was a fan of Veronica :/ I was more of a Betty sort of guy. mmm, blonde, smart, not afraid of work, passionate about stuff besides her... You'll always be my first true love Betty! :D /Being really creepy

    3. Re:Bah! by HarryCaul · · Score: 1


      What was that software you could use to have multiple "pages" opened on your shell account? I remember using it to have "tabbed" browsing, of a sort.

    4. Re:Bah! by weteko · · Score: 1

      screen ?

      --
      If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty
    5. Re:Bah! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i liked to read my mail with mush (mail user's shell) woo hoo!! thems were the good old days. then came TIA (the internet adapter), emulating a slip so i could run Mosaic (you had to tell TIA hat type of server the U ran ... as i recall.

    6. Re:Bah! by Amazing+Quantum+Man · · Score: 4, Funny

      And we had to walk 15 miles to send that email!

      --
      Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
    7. Re:Bah! by IL-CSIXTY4 · · Score: 1

      Actually, that was my first reaction to Mosaic 1.x. "Who cares about this? It's just Gopher with graphics." Oh, how naive I was...

    8. Re:Bah! by earthbound+kid · · Score: 1

      If you were using Gopher in 1990, you're a time traveller. The Web slightly predates Gopher, though obviously Gopher became popular before the Web did.

    9. Re:Bah! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It may predate Gopher but it doesn't predate WAIS (RFC 1625)

    10. Re:Bah! by Dunbal · · Score: 1

      And we had to walk 15 miles to send that email!

            You walked? Well at least you could walk. I mean, WE had to crawl, and it was at least 30 miles... we used to dream about being able to walk...

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    11. Re:Bah! by metlin · · Score: 1

      To our neighbors!.

    12. Re:Bah! by TheThiefMaster · · Score: 1

      This might be truer than you think. Think about it, weren't telegrams technically "electronic mail"?

    13. Re:Bah! by smchris · · Score: 1

      Well, it's unlikely there will be too many hardcore scientists here who were using the web the first year or so. Thanksgiving weekend will be my 20th online at home but that meant CompuServe and the good value, silly name GEnie. I got a Delphi account in '94 specifically because it offered a consumer text portal to gopher.

  16. still using lynx here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    w00t still be using it in 16 more years probably. no web 2.0 for me k thanx

    1. Re:still using lynx here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      howd u type the captcha image if you are using lynx? i call bullshit

    2. Re:still using lynx here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      *clears thought*

      When you are logged in and select the "Post Anonymously" checkbox, you don't need to.

    3. Re:still using lynx here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lynx can call helper applications, such as image viewers, PDF viewers, etc. Look at /etc/lynx.cfg for XLOADIMAGE_COMMAND, VIEWER, and the mailcap stuff.
      When you combine that with the "*" key (display all images as links) then you just hit enter on "verification text" labelled-link and it pops up the captcha image in a little window.
      Lynx is more powerful than a lot of people give it credit for. Read the man page and go over the /etc/lynx.cfg in detail sometime, you may be surprised. You can even configure it to launch an arbitrary external child process with argv having the URL for the currently selected link, or the current page. That alone gives incredible amounts of flexibility, if you're creative and know some shell/perl...

    4. Re:still using lynx here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yes, but if your not logged in or have no account, you still must enter captcha as anonymous coward :P

  17. Re:and already.. by megaditto · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    My pretty brain is scarred for life now. FUck you.

    --
    Obama likes poor people so much, he wants to make more of them.
  18. Informative! by syousef · · Score: 4, Funny

    I thought the least recently modified web page was actually my personal home page still held on my old University programmer's society account. Thanks for the clarification.

    --
    These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
    1. Re:Informative! by Aeros · · Score: 1

      Doesnt it use the kewl blinky tag? Why did people bash the blink tag? It was so nice and really didnt harm anyone. Well until some a-hole overdid it and sent some people into episodes of epileptic shocks.

  19. Wow by hahafaha · · Score: 2, Informative

    Hey, Nov. 13 is my birthday! (Happy birthday to me...) The WWW and I were born on the same day! Well, this explains a lot!

    1. Re:Wow by duguk · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Happy Birthday!

      I felt you deserved that being as its your birthday AND you've been modded offtopic!

      You're very mean, mods!

      Monkeyboi

    2. Re:Wow by hahafaha · · Score: 1, Informative

      Thanks! I don't quite understand how this is offtopic. Mod's, you suck!

    3. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's probably because you can't command apostrophe usage.

    4. Re:Wow by hahafaha · · Score: 1

      Sorry, a mere typo. Give me a break, I was drunk (just kidding)!

    5. Re:Wow by pipingguy · · Score: 1

      Mine is November 7; guess what I got as a gift.

  20. Re:Teenager ? TEENAGER ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    '... it has become a revealer of truth that uncovers the hiddens in the doings of wrongdoers ...'
    It's Batman?

  21. Then why have I been online since 1987? by gelfling · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Seriously. Why is that?

    1. Re:Then why have I been online since 1987? by DaveM753 · · Score: 1

      There's an ever so slight difference between "online" and "World Wide Web".

    2. Re:Then why have I been online since 1987? by weteko · · Score: 1

      There is a big difference between "being online" and the World Wide Web.

      --
      If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty
  22. I viewed source and it crashed Firefox! by greenreaper · · Score: 1

    I guess there are limits for compatibility . . . some of the stuff in there looked pretty experimental.

    1. Re:I viewed source and it crashed Firefox! by DittoBox · · Score: 1

      They work fine for me. Try disabling your extensions or opening the page using another Firefox profile.

      --
      Good. Cheap. Fast. Pick Two.
    2. Re:I viewed source and it crashed Firefox! by greenreaper · · Score: 1

      The reason turned out to be because I was running a trunk build, and every page crashed when viewing the source. But it was fun to think that it was this particular page for a while. :-)

  23. Indeed ! by unity100 · · Score: 1

    Its also batman, accompanied by a half naked annoying teenager

  24. Who wasn't online in 87? by HarryCaul · · Score: 2, Interesting


    I was back in '81. Heck, I spent the 80's flame warring on GEnie and CompuServe, and paying by the hour to do it!

    And then there was FidoNet.

    And everyone's own homebrewed BBS software.

    87? 87 was for the latecomers.

    1. Re:Who wasn't online in 87? by LunaticTippy · · Score: 1

      Bah, genie & compuserve. I laughed about you posers on usenet, using my university dialup account. Of course, I had to pay for internet after I graduated and moved away. Everyone thought I was insane. Paying for internet?!? What's an internet!?!

      --
      Man, you really need that seminar!
    2. Re:Who wasn't online in 87? by HarryCaul · · Score: 4, Interesting


      My usenet access came through a state university where I had a friend of a friend who was an admin.

      I might be mis-remembering, but I don't think I had usenet directly until my netcom account.

      And then when AOL got usenet! Ah the screams of pain! But it turned out usenet was too complicated for the AOL masses and it didn't matter all that much anyway.

      Now usenet is essentially the same small group of people it was 10 years ago. The same exact people, in fact.

      So that's good.

    3. Re:Who wasn't online in 87? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Me too.

    4. Re:Who wasn't online in 87? by flewp · · Score: 1

      I guess it makes me a youngin, but hearing "netcom" brings me back. I wasn't even a shell user, I was a puny ix'er.

      --
      WWJD.... for a Klondike bar?
    5. Re:Who wasn't online in 87? by Phrogman · · Score: 1

      Ah the beloved days of BBSing and running a Fidonet feed for message forums - I also maintained one for PODS for that matter - and the joy of phoning long distance over a 2400 baud modem to download several hundred messages each night. I quickly upgraded to a 14.4 though it cost me dearly to do so, but even that didn't save me from $200+ phone bills every month. I think in all the time I ran a BBS, I got a total of $160 donated to me in total.

      --
      "The first time I got drunk, I got married. The second time I bought a chimpanzee, after that I stayed sober" Arian Seid
    6. Re:Who wasn't online in 87? by WuphonsReach · · Score: 1

      Bah, genie & compuserve. I laughed about you posers on usenet, using my university dialup account. Of course, I had to pay for internet after I graduated and moved away. Everyone thought I was insane. Paying for internet?!? What's an internet!?!

      Back in the 1990 timeframe (give or take a few years), it seemed like almost every major software and hardware vendor had a message area on CompuServe. Some vendors only had a single forum, others had multiple forms (and their own "go" word).

      It was an interesting time. CIS definitely didn't adapt fast enough to the advent of ISPs, SMTP e-mail and HTTP/WWW. I think I finally bailed out of CIS sometime in the late 90s after getting a dial-up account through IBM (or some other local ISP).

      --
      Wolde you bothe eate your cake, and have your cake?
    7. Re:Who wasn't online in 87? by LunaticTippy · · Score: 1

      CompuServe was really big. I was a bit jealous because there were resources that were available on CompuServe and not accessable to us regular internet users. Wasn't CompuServe the one with integer comma integer usernames? Reminded me of Digital Equipment. I just could never pay by the hour to be online.

      --
      Man, you really need that seminar!
  25. My First Home Page by On+Lawn · · Score: 1


    I still get a kick out of searching for "my first home page" to find old snapshots of early internet splendor.

  26. don't forget the first photo ever on the web by circletimessquare · · Score: 4, Interesting

    it was, appropriately enough for the web and its future as the pr0n superhighway, of scantily clad women

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    1. Re:don't forget the first photo ever on the web by johnlenin1 · · Score: 1

      Those are hardly scantily-clad women.

  27. My Super Sweet 16 by mattwarden · · Score: 3, Funny

    Time for a little party? Who's up for mortgaging their house to fund it?

  28. First web page by DaveM753 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I would have thought the first web page would have said "Under Construction".

    1. Re:First web page by Teun · · Score: 2
      I would have thought the first web page would have said "Under Construction".

      You're damn right!
      Including an animated gif!

      --
      "The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
    2. Re:First web page by WuphonsReach · · Score: 1

      Heh, I remember the prevalence of "under construction" signs in the mid-90s on the web. It was definitely something that the advent of money interests shoved aside. There was a certain innocence and naivety at that point about putting up not-quite-complete pages and fixing them up later.

      I don't think I've seen an "under construction" sign in quite a while. But then, the majority of web browsing that I do is either forums, blogs, news, or shopping sites.

      --
      Wolde you bothe eate your cake, and have your cake?
  29. Teenagers by g00z · · Score: 2, Funny

    A lot has happened in 16 years and this little 'baby' has grown into quite the teenager.

    And like most teenagers, it's preoccupied with pornography.

    --
    "The Wright brothers were the first to fly with a heavier-than-air machine, but boy did they have a lousy plane"
    1. Re:Teenagers by Ichigo+Kurosaki · · Score: 1

      And like most other teenagers It has discovered youtube and myspace.

  30. So is Gopher! by pestilence669 · · Score: 1

    Gopher came about 1991-ish. Respect.

  31. Yeah, that's it! by HarryCaul · · Score: 1

    I don't have cause to use unix shells much these days. :-)

    But screen was incredibly handy in the old days. I remember being quite excited the first time I discovered it.

    1. Re:Yeah, that's it! by weteko · · Score: 1

      Ah yes.. back in the days... Marvelous software for sure :) I still use it daily. Primarily for detaching sessions so I can get them out of my view though.

      --
      If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty
    2. Re:Yeah, that's it! by WuphonsReach · · Score: 1

      Screen is still alive and kicking, and I'm finding that I now do more stuff in a shell then ever before (mostly configuring Xen domain servers...).

      --
      Wolde you bothe eate your cake, and have your cake?
  32. Standards! Standards! Where are the standards! by AdamKG · · Score: 2, Funny

    Try running the W3C Validator on that woozy.

    Sheesh. Some people have no respect for standards...

    --
    groupthink: It's good for self-esteem.
    1. Re:Standards! Standards! Where are the standards! by Zarel · · Score: 3, Informative

      Oh, c'mon, it's an HTML document, not an XHTML document. Let's see how it does in the latest version of HTML... Oh, look, it validates.

      --
      Want a high quality FOSS RTS game? Try Warzone 2100!
    2. Re:Standards! Standards! Where are the standards! by qzulla · · Score: 1

      Heck! Five errors? I can fix that in, oh, [billable time] an hour or so. Maybe two if the moon is full.

      qz

  33. Re:Teenager ? TEENAGER ? by webmistressrachel · · Score: 1

    Ignore what other idiotic posters said in reply to your comment, what is said is both true & insightful - all our technology is simply an extension of evolutionary processes - I wish I had those mod points I ignored now! and yes, we may end up in Utopia!! Yippee!

    --
    This tagline was transcoded to result in at least one smirk. If you experience failure to smirk, please consult your Gen
  34. Gopher is a good example of what happens by HarryCaul · · Score: 2, Insightful


    When you try to control use and charge for standards.

    WWW is a good example of what happens when you don't.

    1. Re:Gopher is a good example of what happens by bcat24 · · Score: 1

      They changed for Gopher?! I was a bit young back then, so I missed out on Gopherspace, but I've never heard that the spec cost money.

  35. Heh. Remember the huge debate over by HarryCaul · · Score: 1

    Commercializing the internet?

    How'd that ever work out anyway?

  36. How much money has been spent... by dantheman82 · · Score: 1

    over the Internet? Perhaps more than any other medium before it...?

    --
    This sig donated to Pater. Long live /.
  37. least recently modified by unluckier · · Score: 1

    You've got to love the html from the least recently modified web page:

    <title>Hypertext Links</title>
    <h1>Links and Anchors</h1>
    A link is the connection between one piece of
    <a href=WhatIs.html>hypertext</a> and another.

    1. Re:least recently modified by Shadyman · · Score: 1

      Wow. That's like what, HTML 0.1?

  38. Link? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oooo! Can I see?

  39. Re:Teenager ? TEENAGER ? by hadhad69 · · Score: 1

    Welcome to utopia being realized -- $2/mo, 150Mb disk, 5GB Bw, MySQL, PHP [mindonthenet.com] And it's so cheap too!

    --
    If you can read this, it's already too late.
  40. Oldest server still serving by frisket · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The longest-serving web server (the search engine behind the current celt.ucc.ie) was the 9th web server in the world and it's still sitting there, still serving the project it was bought for. Something of a two-edged sword: kudos to Sun for making a machine that has never crashed and never dropped a bit, and to Tim Bray for the PAT search engine which runs on it; but a victim of its own success in that it's only now being scheduled for replacement as the project moves from SGML to XML.

    1. Re:Oldest server still serving by radu.stanca · · Score: 5, Funny
      The longest-serving web server (the search engine behind the current celt.ucc.ie) was the 9th web server in the world and it's still sitting there, still serving the project it was bought for. Something of a two-edged sword: kudos to Sun for making a machine that has never crashed and never dropped a bit, and to Tim Bray for the PAT search engine which runs on it; but a victim of its own success in that it's only now being scheduled for replacement as the project moves from SGML to XML.


      Posting to Slashdot a link to to a web-server hosted on ~15 years old hardware? PRICELESS
    2. Re:Oldest server still serving by chochos · · Score: 1

      OK but not all of it is old; it says it's running Apache 2.0.52 so at least the web server has been updated, although I suppose the most important part is all the SGML stuff that is going to be replaced with XML now.

    3. Re:Oldest server still serving by Barbara+Celarent+Dar · · Score: 1

      What is even more amazing, is that it is still running in spite of the link to slashdot. It seems those old engineers did know what they were doing. Bravo.

    4. Re:Oldest server still serving by frisket · · Score: 1
      OK but not all of it is old; it says it's running Apache 2.0.52 so at least the web server has been updated,

      Valid point: I probably still have the original CERN httpd code somewhere. TBL's original console client is still on the machine (still works).

      The machine also has the Y2K patches from Sun to bring 4.1.3 up to snuff, so the original material is the hardware and most of the OS, plus (from when I used to use it from the console) an early Sun Netscape, TeX, Emacs, and assorted SGML software.

      although I suppose the most important part is all the SGML stuff that is going to be replaced with XML now.

      The problem was giving up on the PAT search engine. There really isn't anything as good, but PAT is SGML only, not XML (although converting that way isn't a problem). But on a 50MHz machine it's just too slow these days.

      --
      Database engineer confronted with XML: "I remember when all of this were fields..."

    5. Re:Oldest server still serving by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're mistaken - this is the link to the 15 year old web server. (Sorry, Irish admins!)

  41. Not offtopic, but shows misperceptions by iamlucky13 · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Then why have I been online since 1987?
    People really should try to be more clear what they are talking about. The story submission isn't, and "internet" and "world wide web" are somewhat ambiguous terms.

    Most of us know that distributed networking goes back to the 60's or so, with ARPAnet. In fact, according to wikipedia (I feel a slight tinge of irony looking these details up), our beloved TCP/IP began taking shape in the early 70's and ARPAnet began using TCP/IP in 1983. Meanwhile, services like Compuserve began offering private dial-up networks, and augmented them with email in 1979. Usenet popped up at the same time. The BBS's started popping up in short succession.

    So all this was in place by 1990 when Tim coined the term world wide web and created the first browser, but it is the experience of browsing inter(hyper)linked files that defines most people's understanding of the internet. I suppose it's fitting to consider the start of this, if any one event, as the birth of the world wide web.

    I'd really like to see a more general timeline, showing the major steps forward from the first electronic computers, first networked computers, ARPAnet, Compuserve et al, TCP/IP, DNS (did DNS already exist when CERN posted their first page?), etc...along with brief descriptions of how each came to be, and maybe some way of conveying how these technologies all converged to create the internet we have today. Most "histories" of the internet I've seen are pretty scattered and it's hard to get a grasp of how things really came together. The wikipedia article, for example, barely discusses DNS and the sections aren't really tied together into a "big picture" of the internet.
    1. Re:Not offtopic, but shows misperceptions by TeflonTB · · Score: 1

      fyi there is also a difference between the Internet and an internet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_capitalizati on_conventions

    2. Re:Not offtopic, but shows misperceptions by gelfling · · Score: 1

      No not really. We had primitive hyperlinking through Syracuse University's network back then. We were connecting to other universities in Japan, Switzerland and even the Soviet Union back then. Sure it was crude but we still had Archie, Gopher, Veronica and such. I'm not talking about Compuserve. But hey we can all make the wrong assumptions, can't we?

    3. Re:Not offtopic, but shows misperceptions by TheSync · · Score: 1

      I think the "History of the Internet" owes a heck of a lot to the companies that commercialized the Internet (e PSINet, UUNET, Netcom, Digex, etc.) They took a research network and expanded it into the pr0n-clogged metaverse we love today!

    4. Re:Not offtopic, but shows misperceptions by Cimon+Avaro · · Score: 1
      Most "histories" of the internet I've seen are pretty scattered and it's hard to get a grasp of how things really came together. The wikipedia article, for example, barely discusses DNS and the sections aren't really tied together into a "big picture" of the internet.
      Not to mention dialup timeshare systems. My first memory relating to computer networking is seeing a custom homebrew on a prototype breadboard connect via an acoustic modem with 75/110 speed to the finnish state scientific centres timeshare computer. This was in the early 1970's.

      So yes, www may be sixteen years old, but computer connectivity as a concept, hardly. Perhaps it would be more accurate to describe the nascence of WWW as the graduation of networking technology. So that makes networking a stolid adult, perhaps going through a mild mid-life crisis.
    5. Re:Not offtopic, but shows misperceptions by Vanders · · Score: 1

      If you don't have a copy yet, Where Wizards Stay Up Late is a great book and a good accompaniment to Hackers.

  42. Teenager by bendodge · · Score: 0

    It has grown, but it might get too old and fat and be killed by a threatened-feeling gov or UN. We must protect this relatively new and fragile resource.

    --
    The government can't save you.
  43. OMG!! by HotBBQ · · Score: 1

    When is the My Super Sweet 16 episode airing?! Who will be the totally awesome special guest super star?! Will daddy spring for the 600 baud modem or will be stuck with a measly 200?! OMG I can't wait to ditch my middle income friends for this party.

  44. Re:Teenager ? TEENAGER ? by unity100 · · Score: 1

    from 1996 to 2006, down from $20.000 a month to $2 a month.

    We are on a very fast trend. It will definitely not reach zero, but approach zero faster.

  45. Sweet 16!!! by Scarletdown · · Score: 1

    Happy sweet 16th birthday to the World Wide Web!

    Now, who do we designate to take the obligatory birthday spanking?

    --
    This space unintentionally left blank.
    1. Re:Sweet 16!!! by Excen · · Score: 1

      Now, who do we designate to take the obligatory birthday spanking?

      Most of /. will be spanking in some way, shape or form tonight.

      --
      "No beer until you finish your tequila!" -Leela's Dad
    2. Re:Sweet 16!!! by Scarletdown · · Score: 1

      *** Ba-Doomp! ***

      --
      This space unintentionally left blank.
  46. Al Gore invented it 16 years ago? by filesiteguy · · Score: 1

    I thought he brought it out in the '70s. Hmm!

    Learn something new every day...

    1. Re:Al Gore invented it 16 years ago? by WilliamSChips · · Score: 5, Funny

      The. Internet. Is. Not. The. World. Wide. Web.
      Now write that on a board 50 million times.

      --
      Please, for the good of Humanity, vote Obama.
    2. Re:Al Gore invented it 16 years ago? by trwww · · Score: 2

      perl -e "print join('. ', qw(The Internet Is Not The World Wide Web)) x 50_000_000"

    3. Re:Al Gore invented it 16 years ago? by filesiteguy · · Score: 1

      Yeah, yeah, I remember being on Gopher and WAIS back at school. I then remember some BBS having this Mosaic thingy, which I downloaded and seemed to work well. It reminded me of the Hypercard things I was doing a few years previous. Oh, and as for that client-side scripting....bah! :P

    4. Re:Al Gore invented it 16 years ago? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and sometimes i dream of these legendary ancient rites, called P2P, e-mail, VOIP, ssh, etc. We're certainly lucky to only have this web-thingy now aren't we?

    5. Re:Al Gore invented it 16 years ago? by l0b0 · · Score: 1

      Am I allowed to use my binary pencil?

  47. "least recently modified web page" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wouldn't that be the Slashdot "Awards" page?

  48. TheProject.html is incomplete by dorianh49 · · Score: 1

    I looked under the "Technical" link and found nothing about tubes, and under "People" Al Gore was nowhere to be found!

    --
    Gravity is a contributing factor in nearly 73 percent of all accidents involving falling objects. -Dave Barry
    1. Re:TheProject.html is incomplete by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're one of those retards who thinks "The Web" is the same thing as "The Internet", arn't you? Go away.

  49. Re:Heh. Remember the huge debate over by mccalli · · Score: 1

    Commercializing the internet?

    I do indeed. I remember working at a company which used the net for commercial purposes in about 1993. We formatted and transmitted journals to the IEEE, and used ftp to do it.

    The whole thing had to be kept pretty quiet on both sides, as it was a near certainty that if the net-powers-that-be discovered we were using the internet for sordid commerce then there would probably be hell to pay and access to lose.

    The web was something I seriously misjudged at first. I remember seeing the X11 Mosaic floating around and thinking...err....yes? And? Then I'd point to the much more advanced Hypercard. I just didn't see the real significance until about 1994 when I finally bought my own modem (Linelink 144e, imported from the States to the UK for a breakthrough price of $99) and decided to swallow the vast phone bills that came with it.

    And now? Well, it's a part of my life.

    Cheers,
    Ian

  50. No birthday on Google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If that's true, where's Google birthday cake?!

  51. 16, eh? by proxy318 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Two more years. I'd hit it.

    --
    Saying your "phone ran out of batteries" is like saying your "car ran out of gas tanks".
    1. Re:16, eh? by browng · · Score: 1

      Funniest... post... ever...

    2. Re:16, eh? by pipingguy · · Score: 1

      Two more years. I'd hit it.

      The age of consent (to vote)?

    3. Re:16, eh? by vidarh · · Score: 1

      16 is legal in most of the world, so you'd probably not be the first.

    4. Re:16, eh? by proxy318 · · Score: 1

      Damn it!

      --
      Saying your "phone ran out of batteries" is like saying your "car ran out of gas tanks".
  52. Better than Sweet 16... by Jesterboy · · Score: 1

    Call me when she's 21.

    Then we'll have a par-tay, let me tell you!

  53. Age by Umbral+Blot · · Score: 1

    Realizing that I am a good deal older than the internet, and that a fair percentage of the readers of this article probably aren't, make me feel old. Get off my lawn.com you damned kids!

    1. Re:Age by FishWithAHammer · · Score: 1

      Your user ID is not low enough for this statement to be allowed, sir.

      May I offer you your walker, though?

      --
      "You can either have software quality or you can have pointer arithmetic, but you cannot have both at the same time."
    2. Re:Age by Umbral+Blot · · Score: 1

      Just because I joined late doesn't make me young, it makes me not a true geek.

    3. Re:Age by FishWithAHammer · · Score: 1

      Too late. I'm shunning you.

      *shun!*

      (Points for any who get the Dilbert reference.)

      --
      "You can either have software quality or you can have pointer arithmetic, but you cannot have both at the same time."
  54. The web is 16??? by cgreuter · · Score: 1

    So where's the web-controlled car?

  55. Just remember... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just remember the age old maxim: 16 gets you 20.

  56. Re:Teenager ? TEENAGER ? by grouchomarxist · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think you are correct in saying that "We are the web". It is true. The web is a reflection of humanity. In represents mankind, warts and all.

    However, because of that I wouldn't want to call the web a utopia. It is a communications mechanism, but it can't fix our flaws, it reveals them.

  57. First post EVER! by Mendak+Jemuna · · Score: 1

    That article links to the first post EVER!

  58. Forget Gopher, remember Kermit? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I think Gopher is too new. Remember the original Kermit?
    now those were the days... or PACX ?

    now I really feel old. thanks!

    PS - I *own* the computer that forged the final connection to make the internet complete!
    the same system that email was first developed on.

  59. BUT SNOPES SAYS!!!!!!11!!! by JeanBaptiste · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Status: False.

    With that in mind

    I'm quite familiar with the whole story and regardless of what snopes says, I'm in the camp that Al Gore was trying to take credit where the credit was not his.

    Anyhoo, I'd worry more about his views on global warming than his views on him creating the intertubes.

    /me start two flamewars with one post?
    //unpossible!
    ///why does slashdot hate slashies?
    ////I have to encode this post as HTML or the slashies don't work

    1. Re:BUT SNOPES SAYS!!!!!!11!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      ... but.. credit WAS his. Al Gore was the first or surely among the first of the members of Congress to become a strong supporter of advanced networking while he served as Senator. As far back as 1986, he was holding hearings on this subject (supercomputing, fiber networks...) and asking about their promise and what could be done to realize them. It was clear that as a Senator and as Vice President, Gore has made it a point to be as well-informed as possible on technology and issues that surround it.

      Al Gore has played a powerful role in policy terms that has supported its continued growth and application, for which we should be thankful. As Vice President, he has been very responsive to recommendations made, for example, by the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee that endorsed additional research funding for next generation fundamental research in software and related topics.

      We're fortunate to have leaders like Al Gore who embrace new technology and have the vision to see how it can be put to work for national and global benefit.

      In my opinion to not acknowledge the great benefits and give credit for intelligent leadership shown by polititions like Al Gore, leads to poor choices and bad decisions being played out for decades to come.

      Give the man his due, thank him for pushing intelligent policy.

      Quotes taken from http://web.archive.org/web/20000125065813/http://w ww.mids.org/mn/904/vcerf.html with modifications.

    2. Re:BUT SNOPES SAYS!!!!!!11!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He said he took the initiative in creating the Internet. That's what he said. He didn't say "I took the initiative to fund the researchers who created the Internet." He didn't say "I took the initiative on Internet policy." He said he took the initiative in *CREATING IT*!!!!

      Has he done some good things for technology? Sure. But in my opinion, to not acknowledge the great benefits and give credit where credit REALLY lies, leads to poor word choices and bad publicity being played out for decades to come.

      I worked at the Space Telescope Science Institute during the first servicing mission. Afterwards, a Maryland senator, Barbara Mikulski, came to speak to us. And during her speach it became completely clear that she was more than happy to take credit for the repairs. Hmmm, and she was a Democrat too....

      In case you haven't noticed, politicians will take credit for ANYTHING that they think people perceive to be good, even if their involvment was simply supplying money that is not even their's to give to the project.

    3. Re:BUT SNOPES SAYS!!!!!!11!!! by HarryCaul · · Score: 1

      Maybe so, maybe so.

      But he's certainly not infallible on tech policy. He is, after all, Al "Clipper Chip" Gore, and for that I cannot forgive him.

      In the greatest of ironies, it was John Ashcroft who led the fight against good ol skipjack.

      Times do change...

    4. Re:BUT SNOPES SAYS!!!!!!11!!! by sreilly · · Score: 2, Informative

      What does it mean to "create the internet"? Obviously TCP/IP existed before Al Gore came on the scene, but back then it was called the NSFnet (and ARPAnet before that) and only really became the "Internet" as we know it after it was opened up to the community at large and not just limited military/university access. Who was it that pushed for research money to be put into the NSFnet? Al Gore. Who was it that pushed the initiative in congress to open it up to the community at large? Al Gore.

      Do yourself a favor and find out what actually was said and what really happened. If you believe the trash that's on TV and most newspapers then you're only getting the spin.

    5. Re:BUT SNOPES SAYS!!!!!!11!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It sounds like he did a lot of talking and a lot of committees ... but what did he actually DO, anyhow?

  60. DNF by xPhoenix · · Score: 2, Funny
    last changed Tue, 13 Nov 1990 15:17:00 GMT
    I can't seem to find the URL anywhere, but I could have sworn that the page announcing plans for Duke Nukem Forever was at least a few days older...
  61. Man.. that shit won't validate. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But it *is* the best use of a Definition List I've ever seen.

    Now to style it with a classy class-less CSS file to honour the day. I got you a dress for your Sweet-Sixteen honey.

    1. Re:Man.. that shit won't validate. by bcat24 · · Score: 1

      It is indeed an excellent definition list. I think if you added a doctype, changed to , and took it it would even validate.

      PS: Who jumped at the sight of a nextid tag? This is some seriously old markup. Then again, the fact it stills displays on my 2006 browser is a tribute to the longevity of the Web, I guess.

    2. Re:Man.. that shit won't validate. by NickFitz · · Score: 1

      If you use the W3C Validator set to HTML 2, it gets close:

      1. Unknown element HEADER - this was later renamed HEAD, so this isn't really invalid for this page;
      2. BODY not allowed here - probably down to the lack of <html> which was presumably added later, meaning that again this probably isn't really an error;
      3. </a> closing an element which isn't open - looks like somebody screwed up when adding ",etc." at the end of the last <dd>.

      As the page is written in HTML 0.1 or some such, the first and second errors don't really count.

      Interestingly, www.microsoft.com has two errors at the time of writing. So MS have finally got to the point where they're producing something only twice as broken as what we had 16 years ago :-)

      --
      Using HTML in email is like putting sound effects on your phone calls. Just say <strong>no</strong>.
    3. Re:Man.. that shit won't validate. by G-funk · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Then again, the fact it stills displays on my 2006 browser is a tribute to the longevity of the Web, I guess


      Actually, I'd say the that the fact itself is notable is a tribute to the transitory nature of the Web. Nobody's surprised when they can read a 250 year old text.
      --
      Send lawyers, guns, and money!
  62. My house, my rules by Eli+Gottlieb · · Score: 1

    The Web may have turned 16, but she better not come home knocked up by one of those damned football playing apes I've seen her hanging around with!

  63. Re:Heh. Remember the huge debate over by qzulla · · Score: 1
    The whole thing had to be kept pretty quiet on both sides, as it was a near certainty that if the net-powers-that-be discovered we were using the internet for sordid commerce then there would probably be hell to pay and access to lose.

    Ah! The old NSF transition period. I remember that.

    qz

  64. Re:Sorry, man, that's pretty sad by flewp · · Score: 1

    Almost as sad as your failure at the concept of a joke?

    --
    WWJD.... for a Klondike bar?
  65. Skynet / Internet ... by slackarse · · Score: 2

    The system goes on-line November 13th, 1990. Human decisions are removed from strategic defense. The Internet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29th 2010. In a panic, they try to pull the plug.

    --
    Come to Australia so we can strip search you and rob you of your internets, pr0n, rights and freedoms.
    1. Re:Skynet / Internet ... by kramulous · · Score: 1

      Awesome!

      --
      .
  66. Re:and already.. by XnavxeMiyyep · · Score: 1

    That's pretty insulting. I wouldn't put 4chan and myspace on the same list. Myspace is much much worse.

    --
    I put the 't' in electrical engineering.
  67. Me too! by overtly_demure · · Score: 1

    I'm 16 today too! And only for the second time.

  68. And like all teenagers, it's obsessed with porn. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    The Internet is for porn
    The Internet is for porn
    Hold your dick and double-click for porn, porn, porn...

  69. use strict by overtly_demure · · Score: 2
    #!/perl/bin -w
    use strict;
    use warnings;

    my $i = 0;
    while ($i++ < 50000000){print "The. Internet. Is. Not. The. World. Wide. Web.\n";}
  70. Hooray for scantily clad women by overtly_demure · · Score: 1
    Mas jalan dos tetas que dos carretas.

    Even on the net.

  71. Most people.... by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 1
    just see "the computer" and cannot tell the boundary between what is on their computer and what is on the www. To many/most people, the internet is just something you must plug in for some of your computer to work (ie. a bit like a power cord, but mysteriously different). I frequently get questions of the form "Do I need to connect to the internet to make my printer print in colour?"

    Finer details like drivers, operating systems, internet vs www etc just cause many eyes to glaze over.

    --
    Engineering is the art of compromise.
  72. Re:Sorry, man, that's pretty sad by Cruxus · · Score: 1

    No, sadder. Seriously, adolescent jokes revolving around getting some or not getting some aren't funny.

    --
    On vit, on code et puis on meurt.
  73. 16 years and... by Cinder6 · · Score: 1

    16 years and I'm still waiting for them to finish writing this damn page! How does anybody ever manage to set up one of these new-fangled WWW servers anyway?

    --
    If you can't convince them, convict them.
    1. Re:16 years and... by hey! · · Score: 1

      By the way, notice the abbreviation they use for the World Wide Web: "W3". Two characters instead of three.

      I'ts not much, admittedly, but imagine the cumulative bandwidth that has been used over the years by all those extra w's.

      Or for that matter, a curious property of the written abbreviation "www" is that it has three times the number of syllables as the phrase it abbreviates: "World Wide Web". It's hard to think of a phonically more inefficient abbreviation. How many man-hours spent speaking URLs would have been saved if an easier to pronounce convention in URLs, e.g. "web.ibm.com" instead of "www.ibm.com".

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
  74. Re:Well, you can still see it. (NOT!) by nilbog · · Score: 1

    This is an obvious hoax - I didn't see Al Gore ANYWHERE on the people involved list.

    --
    or else!
  75. Re:Teenager ? TEENAGER ? by ricky-road-flats · · Score: 1
    GROWN ? Boy, if we are talking about the 'web', it is on the brink of ascending into supernatural dimensions, growth and 'lore' wise.

    It has become a connection that binds us who are all over the world, it has become a revealer of truth that uncovers the hiddens in the doings of wrongdoers, it has become a place that chinese and canadian and namesoever teenagers come play in, it has become a place where we can find anything in, it is reshaping politics, nations, lives, even inner thoughts of people.

    'It' is actually 'us'. We are the web.

    Welcome to utopia being realized

    And on the flipside, we have www.brownlove.com (not linking at it's really NSFW).
  76. Re:Oh, My Gawd, Now You've Done It! by TheThiefMaster · · Score: 1

    At least they haven't Slashdotted slashdot! Can you imagine what would happen? Some kind of massive paradoxical space rift would open up and the entire universe as we know it would be swallowed and uh, AND!

  77. Re:Hmmmmm..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The *smack* Internet *smack* is *bang* not *whomp* the *splat* World *smack* Wide *bang* Web *whomp*

    Why don't you go and hang around MySpace until you understand the basic concepts under discussion. That goes for every other retard that has posted in this thread and confused the Internet with the WWW.

  78. What legal? She's already a mom! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    She begot a Web 2.0 even before she turned 16. So much for teen-pregnancy prevention!

  79. Re:Teenager ? TEENAGER ? by unity100 · · Score: 1

    and dont forget that revelation of flaws is the first step to fixing them.

    not only that, but web - 'us' is now affecting politics and the way of life too. and it is evolving fast.

    heck. people around the world are timing their dinners, snacks, chores according to gigs they are going to do on the net that night - whether it be online gaming, community dwelling and such.

  80. The "XXX" Project.html by friendswelcome · · Score: 2, Funny

    http://www.w3.org/History/19921103-hypertext/hyper text/WWW/MarkUp/Tags.html#20
    A NAME=xxx HREF=XXX
    They new what it would be used for, those sly dogs!

  81. Re:Teenager ? TEENAGER ? by pimpimpim · · Score: 1
    and dont forget that revelation of flaws is the first step to fixing them.

    I would suggest to start fixing them by putting a ban on Anime music videos. That would solve one thing that is wrong with mankind today.

    --
    molmod.com - computing tips from a molecular modeling
  82. So what is the oldest continuous content? by ghostlibrary · · Score: 1

    Given a 16 year old web, what's the oldest continous content? Dr. Fun ceased, User Friendly "only" goes back to 1997 (a mere 9 years), I know of a monthly column that's come out each month since 1996 (RPGnet Soapbox, 10 years), but I'm out of examples.

    Sites like photo.net date back to 1993 (13 years), but that's not the same as a single person chugging steadily for all 16. Anyone know of a creator who has hit their deadlines on the web for all 16 years?

    --
    A.
    1. Re:So what is the oldest continuous content? by WuphonsReach · · Score: 1

      I don't know when Kevin and Kell made the jump from CompuServe to the web, but he's been putting out strips since the early 90s.

      (Strips were originally posted on CompuServe.)

      --
      Wolde you bothe eate your cake, and have your cake?
  83. I thought she just turned 15 recently? by ESqVIP · · Score: 1

    Didn't the W.T.F. in August?

    And a slightly more useful comment: shouldn't we have a couple related stories linked? (heh, they don't even agree on the Web's age, what to say about the day and month)

  84. Netcom by LunaticTippy · · Score: 1

    Ah, netcom. I loved my shell account. It broke my heart when they got bought by earthlink. I'm still angry, but I still have my earthlink account. Someday soon I'm going to get everything transferred to gmail or something. Someday soon.

    --
    Man, you really need that seminar!
  85. Re:Teenager ? TEENAGER ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    More like tardtopia.

  86. To that sir, my answer would be : by unity100 · · Score: 1

    "karekuro no anime gg no re !"

  87. Tsk tsk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Only yesterday, a teacher at my university asked the class, "How many of you used the internet in 1992? Yeah none, because the world wide web wasn't invented until 1994."

    Then again he also spelled PNG "PING" and referred to the early 90's as "10 years ago".

  88. History? Who cares? by RomulusNR · · Score: 1

    The first web page [was] http://nxoc01.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.htm l. Unfortunately CERN no longer supports the historical site

    This is why I hate people. What self-respecting scientific establishment would fail to maintain such a significant piece of modern technological history? Without even so much as a C record and redirect to a maintained hosted copy? Such a notion should not be difficult for the inventors of the first web server, suck though it may have.

    --
    Terrorists can attack freedom, but only Congress can destroy it.
  89. Re:Oh, My Gawd, Now You've Done It! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See here for an example of this happening!!