Setting history straight: So, who really did invent the Internet?

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

I know I will regret this posting, BUT lets have at it. djf

Begin forwarded message:

From: Ian Peter <ian.peter () ianpeter com>
Date: May 2, 2005 5:29:35 AM EDT
To: dave () farber net, 'Ip' <ip () v2 listbox com>
Subject: Setting history straight: So, who really did invent the  
Internet?


Dave,

Quite a bit of the content for the article explained below came
from people posting to this list and subsequent correspondence,
so a few of your readers might be interested to read further.

Ian Peter

The beginnings of the Internet are shrouded in myth and
misunderstandings that have led to some claims of proprietary
ownership of the Internet.

Where and when did the Internet begin? The only thing Internet
historians seem to agree on is that it was not 1969, or the
Pentagon, (or for that matter Al Gore). From there on, there is a
wide divergence of views as to when, where, and by whom the
Internet may have been invented.

In the article at
http://www.nethistory.info/History%20of%20the%20Internet/origins.
html we examine various theories, including:

1. Packet switching represents the origins of the Internet
2. The TCP/IP protocol represents the origins of the Internet
3. A range of telco-led activities from the 1960s represents the
true origins
4. The birth of the Internet is best explained through a history
of applications rather than the protocols
5. The range of inventions and activities emanating from Xerox
Palo Alto laboratories, including Ethernet, represent the true
beginnings.

Examining these various events, we come to some important
findings, including;

* There are a number of valid claims to origins of the Internet.
* Although an original date and place might be obtainable for the
first networked transmission that could be called an Internet,
the result would need by definition to include more than one
party or network, and is unlikely to be a satisfactory or useful
conclusion.
* Not only US projects were involved in the beginnings of the
Internet.
* Not only government funded US research programs were involved
in the beginnings of the Internet.
* Not only telcos and the commercial sector were involved in the
beginnings of the Internet.
* Neither Arpanet nor TCP/IP is present in all valid theories.

We conclude that any claim by a nation, project, person, or team
of individuals, or participants in any single event to "the
beginnings of the Internet" is wrong. Further, any claim that the
validity or legitimacy of any structure or arrangement can be
justified as Internet governance purely because it arose from one
of these events is false.

And finally "Nor should this article undermine the significant
contributions of a number of individuals to claims as "fathers of
the Internet". Most of these individuals, particularly those who
are most prominent, are at pains to point out the crucial
involvement of others - however, the institutions they represent
are often less careful in ensuring that widespread involvement of
individuals from commercial and government funded sources in a
number of countries are ultimately to be thanked for the origins
of the Internet. If this paper does no more than clarify that the
Internet really has no owner and no single place of origin, it
will have served well."


Read on at
http://www.nethistory.info/History%20of%20the%20Internet/origins.
html





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