BBS: Early Hacker (Social) Networks
Tue, Feb 06
We are going to continue to pursue the study of early digital networks today, but take a deeper dive into one of the most important social networks of the 1980s and 1990s: the Bulletin Board System (BBS).
Known as "the Boards," the loose network of BBS systems was a key piece of the organization of hacker collectives into something that has been identified in the literature as the "hacker underground." Computer enthusiasts and hackers from all walks of life were the life blood of this early digital network, making it into a vibrant place to meet and exchange (as you can see in the BBS documentary linked on this page, directed by our friend Jason Scott from textfiles.com). The BBS gave us the possibility to exchange text documents, programs, messages, and animate a real social network before the Internet was made commercially available in the mid-1990s.
The slides for today's lecture are available here.
Read This:
We will read Prof. Kevin Driscoll's "A Pre-History of Social Media" (which is distills some of the key elements of the argument of his recent book).
Also, if you find yourself wanting to read more (we are sure you will...), please check out the commentary by other specialists on Dr. Driscoll's article here.
Do This:
Group Project Proposal
Instructions for the group project proposal have been posted here.
Proposals are due by 5pm today (2/6).
Technical Homework 01
See the instructions posted on the assignment's page.
This technical homework is due on 2/13 at 5pm.
Once you have completed the readings, fill out the following quiz. It is based on both the reading and video for today's class. If you can't see it, try this direct link.