CDR: Re: I created the "Al Gore created the Internet" story

Harmon Seaver wrote:

No, that's just alternative dns. Fidonet had most of what the internet has, other than speed and the web -- file repositories, email, newsgroups -- but it was all done privately.

and self-organized. instead of the gov coming in and telling us to install filters, we choose to have our newsgroups moderated or not, and if so by one of our own. note: fido moderation was far different from usenet or mailinglist moderation. there was no "approval" step, everything got posted without going by the mod. the mod just had authority to reprimand people to stay on topic and could, in extreme situations, have someone removed from the group. his powers were very limited. I remember successfully fighting moderators.