user perspective on CSNET

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Suzanne Johnson <FUHN () POBOX COM>
Date: August 2, 2009 11:46:30 AM EDT
To: <dave () farber net>
Subject: user perspective on CSNET

John Gilmore's comments on CSNET prompted me to add comments from the
perspective of an early corporate user.

In the 80's, the only real means for a corporation (or many educational
institutions) to connect to the Internet required that they a.) have a
government grant and b.) be able to afford the then considerable cost of
connectivity (basically, purchasing a TIP or IMP).  Many educational
institutions did not qualify, and corporations were wary.  CSNET changed
the equation for these folks, especially corporate entities.  CSNET
required that the potential applicant prove they did CS related  
research,
and  connections were done by PhoneNET (far less expensive than a TIP  
or an
IMP).

I was at Intel at the time, and used CSNET/PhoneNET as "baby's first
network connection".  The handholding from the CSNET staff was  
exceptional.
Their monitoring and quick action, for example, protected many of us  
from
the effects of the Morris Worm.  CSNET participants signed a TOU that
precluded commercial or advertising use, but engineering/technical uses
were welcome.

Once connected, I watched Intel's use grow at the same exponential  
rate as
the rest of the Internet.  Our connectivity outside the company was so  
much
better than internal mail connectivity, that I recall one internal  
meeting
where the the head of head IT was asked by an engineering manager why it
was easier to send email half-way around the globe than it was to  
send, via
the Intel network,  to another Intel location in the US.  Some of the
savings effected by delivering software patches to users via ftp vs.  
FedEx
were so great, we had to cut them by a factor of 10 to make them
believable.  It was the CSNET experienced that helped to push Intel  
towards
rationalizing their internal network connectivity to an IP based  
network.

I was fortunate to serve as a CSNET Exec Committee member for a numbe of
years, and saw and heard of similar effects on other corporations.   
Without
CSNET, it would have been a many times slower journey for corporate
connectivity to the Internet.

So, Thanks Again, CSNET!!!!!

--Suzanne




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