What is internet?
What is internet? Hmm, maybe you will tell me it’s the world-wide-web or the network which can make all of us living in a small earth-village. But I feel it’s more and more like a large closed network.
I met the internet very early, at about ten yeas ago en I’m only 16 as a freshman of middle-school. At that time computer was generally regarded as a computing device and only scientists need it. Nearly none of families had PC. I use a ancient modem to call 163 (the number of ISP, which I can’t remember clearly) at the poor speed of 9600bps (it means you can down at the speed for 1k/s most). The cost is more than 30rmb/h (it’s very very expensive at that time, about 1/10 of my father’s salary).
Even with that low speed I can still felt, the internet is free, and world-wide. If I want, I could find everything in the net. Of course google is not exist then and searching is difficult. But I could still visit any website and get any information.
From when? Our dear government noticed that the free internet may threaten the society stability. So another battle started in the cyberspace. A new occupation called cyberspace-policemen pay attention to the internet and cut off any websites they think illegal. Hehe, it likes a scene of the famous movie — the Matrix. But it’s real.
How bad? Nearly all the universities’ BBS (Bulletin Board Service) are intranet. That means only the students in the area of universities can visit their own one but can’t go to others. Maybe someone will think that’s nothing. But when smth, which is the most famous BBS in China as its academic status, was closed to the outside someday, thousands of people found no where to communicate their sights. Thanks gods, we now have the newsmth instead.
And more? Nowadays, in some cases, we can’t use Chinese to write, chat, even blog about some keywords like freedom, democracy, independence, etc. That sounds like a joke. I insist the appropriate control is needed but the too strict one is terrible. Now the control we are under is just terrible.
Not serious? About five years ago, a crazy professor suggested the government to start a plan called “China C Network” which is absolute break off from the internet and can be controlled very easily. Because you must use the true name when you post in that network. I can’t imagine what the world would be if that plan was put into practice.
What is internet? It is just a large intranet we can play with.
