20th Anniversary of the Dawn of Dot-Com

btempleton writes "It was 20 years ago today when I posted to USENET the public launch of ClariNet, my electronic newspaper service delivered over the Internet. By finding a way around the NSFNet acceptable use policy, ClariNet was the first business founded to use the Internet as its platform for business, and the era of the 'dot-com' had begun. For the anniversary I have written a history of the founding of ClariNet and early internet business, which outlines how it all came down. Readers may also enjoy the included anecdote about what I term 'M5' reliability, where the news system was so robust that, like the M5 computer on Star Trek, even those authorized to do so were unable to shut it off; and a story of the earliest large SF eBook effort."

Comments

Nonsense!

[The Pirou]

It's all just a series of tubes!

So we should blame you?

[caerwyn]

So in other words, we should ultimately blame you for the commercialization and spamming of the internet?

I'm not sure you should have told us that...

Re:So we should blame you?

[Anonymous Coward]

This guy, whom you speak of, is Brad Templeton. He just so happens to also be the Chairman of the Board of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

I think we owe him (and the EFF) a little gratitude for sticking up for all of us who want to use the internet in free and open ways, and NOT the manner in which corporations would prefer you to.

I'm kinda glad he helped start the commercialization of the internet. And glad that he is also working hard to protect it as a medium of information exchange that we all value so much.

Re:So we should blame you?

[hondo77]

So in other words, we should ultimately blame you for the commercialization and spamming of the internet?

Wrong guy.

Re:So we should blame you?

[roc97007]

Perhaps, but he sure was annoying back then.

Re:So we should blame you?

[shri]

BUT, in 1989 or 1990 (when I first got access through Turing on virginia.edu), ANY personality flaws would have been ignored for access to RHF and Clari. Not that I know Brad, but seriously, at any point in time we've all annoyed people. As long as they remember you for something other than the annoyances, it does not matter in my books.

Sgt. Salt

[Tablizer]

"It was 20 years ago today..."

Beatle plagiarist! I'm tellin' the RIAA!

Re:Sgt. Salt

[btempleton]

I put that in quotes in the story, but the /. editors took 'em out. They also took changed "the dot-com" to just dot-com in the title which reads wrong to me, but who knows?

so you're the one, huh?

[Red Flayer]

By finding a way around the NSFNet acceptable use policy, ClariNet was the first business founded to use the Internet as its platform for business, and the era of the 'dot-com' had begun.

Oh, so *you're* the asshole who started the commercialization, by shady interpretation of a use policy you agreed to, no less.

I bet next you'll tell us that you're also the asshole who sent the first spam.

jk... mostly.

let's see how long 'first' lasts...

[Josh Coalson]

the best way I know to find out you were not first at something is to post on slashdot that you were.

Re:let's see how long 'first' lasts...

[btempleton]

That's actually part of my goal. Sure, I wanted to tell the story of the part I played, but I am genuinely interested in documenting the history of that time. The memory blurs after 20 years so I would like to hear more stories told.

Tooting One's Own Horn

[courtarro]

This story is all well and interesting, but I imagine it's impossible to prove that you're the first business to make money exclusively over the internet. You might be "one of the first", but to go all the way to the birth of my business represents the birth of dot-com is a bit vain, no?

Re:Tooting One's Own Horn

[btempleton]

I'm happy to include others claims, and I do mention a variety of other companies. But there's a pretty good chance it was the first, because the flamewars over it were pretty much assuming that, and I know I was the one to convince Steve Wolff that it would be OK to do a business over the internet sold to universities and labs. So whoever might have been doing it earlier (which is entirely possible) kept a low profile, but I would be interested to document their story. Perhaps it's a bit vain, but what of it?

First, Brad? What about J. T. Toys?

[Anonymous Coward]

Seems to me I got a catalog from JT Toys (now JT's Stockroom at www.stockroom.com) in 1988. Sex is always first.

No, he's not.

[actionbastard]

This guy is.

Re:No, he's not.

[btempleton]

Check the first reference on that wikipedia article. I'm the guy who first interviewed him, so of course I know about him. But DEC, while it did that ad over E-mail, was not what we would consider a dot-com.

Decline of Usenet

[bughunter]

Oh, so I can add you to my list?

• 1989: ClariNet published
• 1991: First pornographic video binary [estimated]
• 1993: Eternal September
• 1994: Canter & Siegal
• 1995: DejaNews

Damn you. Damn you all. I miss usenet.

Re:I remember ClariNet

[roc97007]

I hear what you're saying, but ClariNet wasn't an ISP, it offered wire news services for a fee. It means you could flip on your terminal, fire up the Telebit, dial into your service provider, (or work, as may be) and then, for a fee, access news stories from wire services. As opposed to, for instance, turning on the radio. Utterly redundant now, but it was all the rage, sometimes literally, back then.

Ah, 1989, I remember Clarinet

[ljhiller]

1989 was also the year I got out of the IBM360 / Bitnet ghetto and got a real unix account with real IP/TCP connections. Clarinet. The was always the server I kept seeing references to, but never found out what was there because they expected me to pay to look.

Re:It just ain't fair! :-P

[thoughtspace]

Not typos, just those bloody bit errors on your acoustically coupled 300 baud modem