This week I’ve had more reminders than usual that actual, real people read this blog; having met two in person and having had a couple more people I knew “in real life” mention they read sometimes. When you’re pounding the keyboard and blasting the text into cyberspace, it’s pretty easy to think of your interaction with others only in the abstract. So, it’s a nice reminder — as well as a cautionary tale — when the real world collides with the blog.
I think inhibitions are lowered on the Internet. So, if I get to feeling strongly about an issue or if a person riles me up, it’s a lot easier for me to just type out an emotional, angry response in a way I would never do if I were talking to people face to face. I had a class in college about the Internet where we discussed that the difference might be as simple as the potential for a punch in the nose in meatspace. Act out in the real world, and the potential is there to receive a “slight correction” as they used to say in the dog shock collar commercials.
With that in mind, for the most part, I strive for some degree of civility around here. And the regulars around here, by and large, seem to do the same. I wanted to thank you folks for reading and commenting and making this a fun place for me to maintain. We’re entering into the silly season of the campaign calendar now. I expect I’ll get carried away every now and again. I feel awfully strongly, particularly about this Presidential campaign. So I’m going to apologize in advance but try not to go too nuts. I suspect a lot of you are going to be going through some of the same stuff. So, to the extent you can, bite down hard, count to ten before you post, and hold on tight, I think it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
“I had a class in college about the Internet…”
Thanks, Doug, for making me feel incredibly old. By way of comparison, when I was in grad school the use of floppy disks was completely optional – and in undergrad, the only people who used computers were the CompSci majors and they had to go to a special building in the middle of the night.
So far my day had been going pretty well; now I feel like I need to put on a purple jacket and a red hat and find some old ladies for brunch somewhere….
Not to short-sheet your actual point, Doug, but I’m with Karen – that phrase just lept off the screen!
And you guys feel old—(when I was in college Gore had not invented the internet yet). To use a computer which was about 5 feet wide and 4 feet deep and used cards you had to take a “computer class”. And only grad students could use (except profs) and lowly master’s had times like 1am to 4am which would run a program that now on my computer would take seconds. Anything major had to go to the university’s central computer which was housed in large room (card input was converted to tapes). Yes, the world has changed a great deal with techology including the internet. And blogging does seem to be a release for some along with responding/reacting to replies to news stories.
I’m with Karen, Brenda and Jack. But, it could be worse. We could have known of, or mentioned, ARPANET.
Sorry ’bout that. If it makes you feel any better, it was my third year in law school, I was an early adopter, and it was about 12 years ago.
My freshman year in college I did my COBOL programming in a lab on mainframes where we printed to those big green & white striped, tractor fed sheets of paper.
In 1958 I was trifling away my time doing binary arithmetic on paper just for fun in Shelbyville High School during home room periods…
“We’re entering into the silly season of the campaign calendar now”= Sarah Palin looks good in a bikini with an assault rifle.
Doug, I can see through your thinly veiled lawyerly code words. In the future could you refrain from making sexist remarks about Governor Palin. This is quite beneath you and very disrespectful.
“And you guys feel old—(when I was in college Gore had not invented the internet yet). To use a computer which was about 5 feet wide and 4 feet deep and used cards you had to take a “computer classâ€.”
Yeah, does anybody remember Fortran programming on those cards. I’ve still got one of these machines it comes with a nice faux leather carrying case and it weighs about 2300 lbs. It says solid-state Univac portable laptop computer on the side.
Doug, thanks for having us. Also, if you’re in the Columbus, IN area for work or other, please email me.
I’d at least like to buy you a beer at the Columbus Bar after all the hosting you’ve done for us!
Yeah, Doug, I think I owe you at least a pitcher at one of our finer downtown or campus pubs here in Lafayette/ West Lafayette. You are one of the saner voices (and not just because I agree with you so much) especially compared to a certain LCR Republican at an Advanced site.
Having meet Doug in person for the first (I think – we did live in the same town for a bit) time this week, I can attest that he is very polite and retiring – I felt no urge whatsoever to punch him in the nose.
I’ve been around for over 40 years, but I don’t really recall life without the internet – I’m not sure such a thing is really possible. . . .
I think the beer made you mellow.
My first foray into the net was senior year in college; which would have been *damn* eighteen years ago. One of the computers in our psych lab was hooked up to the mainframe on campus. I was the vp/treasurer of a regional organization. To save on phone calls,etc. the president (who was at U. of Mich) taught the secretary (who was at Cleveland State) and I how to untangle a very confusing web.
I stayed away from the web until 1997 after that and didn’t do much until DSL became one of my favorite technologies-up there with TiVO;-)
Doug, I’ve known you for almost 2/3 of my life *yikes* and you are one of the best representatives of what a true hoosier is. Keep it up!
You know Doug… work this right and you won’t have to buy your own beers for a long long time! Next time you are in Indy and need a lunch break (not implying you do a 3-beer lunch or anything)… give me a heads up!