Old technology gives insight into new technology

Usenet is one of the oldest parts of the Internet, reaching back to the misty beginnings of what would eventually become the Internet. These days it’s pretty much an abandoned backwater, inhabited by people who are there because they’ve been there for years. There are exceptions, but most of the boisterous discussions have quieted or disappeared completely.

Usenet remains unique as an example of free speech. Over the years there have been a few attempts to control it, but an unmoderated Usenet newsgroup remains the only place I know of where anyone can say anything. Since Usenet consists of thousands of servers located all over the world, each with their own copy of what has been submitted, it’s impossible to reach out and destroy what has been submitted. Add to that an archive of Usenet at Google and the silly thing that you said twenty years ago can come back to haunt you at any time.

Fast forward to today’s technology and today’s society.

Many of you know PostSecret. It’s an ongoing project where people submit a postcard containing a “secret”; these are then selected by the project’s founder and posted weekly on a web site. There are books, museum exhibits, and presence on Facebook and Twitter. The founder of the project decided that it would be a good idea to develop an application for smartphones that would allow anyone to submit a secret.

In other words, he decided to re-invent Usenet.

What happened next came as no great surprise to those of us who have watched the same scenario unfold on Usenet. “Free speech” is a term that many people use but few have actually experienced. When you create an environment where anyone can say anything, a tiny percentage of the community will do exactly that. Add to that the ability to submit pictures and you’ve sealed your fate. The PostSecret app was shut down this weekend.

How is it that thirty years ago Usenet flourished but the same concept is impossible today?

Usenet flourished when its user base was restricted. In the early days of the Internet, the only people who could use it were academics or associated with the government. In the beginning they were hardcore computer geeks; as more user-friendly software was developed the user base expanded to a relatively non-technical audience that benefited from the wide-ranging discussions. Even so, the community knew how to ignore material that deserved to be ignored. There were consequences to being disruptive – you could lose your access – so there were few people motivated to disrupt and even when they did they were largely ignored.

This is much different from a PostSecret smartphone application with 30,000 submissions a day from a huge population of people who have no disincentive to disrupt and who don’t understand the concept of ignoring what deserves to be ignored. Add to this a heightened awareness in the law enforcement community and you’ve got a powder keg waiting to explode. Be careful what you ask for; you might just get it.