Re: Tour Permit Forms (long)
Scott Begin (sbegin@MCS.NET)
Tue, 29 Dec 1998 20:59:54 -0600
At 10:01 PM 12/25/98 -0500, W. Scott Smith wrote:
>>> Internet was around then? Gosh I never used email until like '93
>>> or '94, and
>>> I thought I was at the forefront of technology. Oh well, the wonders
>never
>>> cease.
>>>
>>You are kiding - right?
>
>
>Nope, I'm not kidding. But, I'm only 23, so I haven't been out in the 'real
>world" for long, either.
Like a lot of things, the "real world" was the last to get the wonder of
the InterNet.
>From the information I've seen, the beginnings of the 'net were in the late
1960's and early 1970's (funded by the Department of Defense Advanced
Research Project Agency, ARPA), although some mark the birthday of the
internet in 1983, when ARPANET stopped being used (and TCP/IP was the only
protocol used after this point).
If you can see them, both of the PBS Revenge of the Nerds specials (first
aired in 1996/97 or so, 2nd was this fall) give lots of information on the
founding of the net. You can check out http://www.pbs.org to see if they
still have information / links on either program and internet history. I
don't know if there was a companion book released, but the specials were
hosted by Robert X. Cringely, who writes a column for InfoWold.
For other information on the Early 'net, check out Hackers (published 1984)
by Stephen Levey, CyberPunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier
(published 1991) by Katie Hafner and John Markoff, and the Cukoo's Egg,
(published late 1980's) by Cliff Stoll. I don't know if any of these books
are still in print, but the early 'net stuff is fascinating.
Scouts-L was founded March 30, 1990. I was there from the beginning (with
only about 6 months that I haven't been subscribed). Jon Edison is the 2nd
List Administrator, with the first being Doug "Lefty" Coffman, who ran the
list for a little over a year. Doug is a good friend of mine (was best man
at my wedding). I've checked the logs, I put the 5th post to the list (the
logs are on a site on the internet, I thought it was US Scouting Service
Project site, but I could be wrong. I found them through a search engine
looking for my name).
That was a LONG time ago (even before you convert it to InterNet Time).
Then, the list ran on a BITNET host (some IBM Mainframe at North Dakota
State University. Bitnet was an early network developed for easy
communication, mostly using IBM Mainframes for email, compared to mostly
UNIX resource sharing done on the internet. Many places connected to
BITNET because it was cheaper than internet access. Access to internet
sites came through a gateway).
My access was an IBM 3090 Mainframe at Central Michigan University. I
dialed in using Kermit on an IBM PC (later a XT Clone with a 2400bps modem)
to emulate a dumb terminal. Most of the subscribers were using accounts
provided by similar mainframe / minicomputers at the College/University
where they worked or went to school. I thought it was great in 1991 when we
got direct internet access (rather than routing BITnet messages to an
InterNet Gateway), because it allowed Telnet and FTP.
When I graduated in 1991, I looked for cheap access: it was just starting,
and not exactly cheap. Initially I used CompuServe, paying $8/hour for
computer time (my bill for just reading SCOUTS-L was $30-40 per month). At
the time, "full blown" internet access cost $30 per month from PSI (no
email, just telnet access) for a 2400bps dialup (cost went to $180 per
month if you wanted to use the "high speed" 9600bps lines). There wasn't
an ISP on every corner until 1995 or so. The world Wide Web wasn't around
yet (developed in 1992/1993).
I eventually found MCI Mail, where I could do lots of mail reading for $10
per month. That lasted until 1997 when I moved to my current account with
200 hours of web, FTP, and email access for $30 per month.
I don't recall the early discussion on Tour Permits that Mike mentioned (I
was in school at the time, not actively involved with day to day troop
operations, and I wasn't as familiar with Tour Permits).
However, I will say that I've learned a LOT from this list on many things
about Scouting that I wouldn't have known otherwise. Some of the people
out here have been around a long time. Besides me (I know I don't post a
lot. I don't have as much time as I used to), and Mike Walton, real
longtime subscribers include Don Izard, Chris Haggerty, Mary Foley, and
Cathy Cerveney (all of whom have MUCH more scouting experience than I.
This was a list I remembered off the top of my head. No offense intended
to anyone not mentioned).
Thanks to allowing me to reminisce/ramble.
Yours in Scouting,
Scott A. Begin Troop 348, Oak Forest, IL, Calumet Council
sbegin@mcs.net
