• ThirdConsul@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      11 hours ago

      It is so complicated that you’re both correct and incorrect. US government added to it, yes. I’d argue the fundamental work was independent researchers from multiple countries (UK, USA, France). I’d argue the critical infrastructure was multiple non-profits.

      Also the question is “what exactly is the beginning of the internet”. Is it usenet? Telnet? Arpanet?

      • btaf45@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        5 hours ago

        Nope. The US government Department of Defense literally funded and created the internet. It was initially called Arpanet and was mainly US government sites. This is why few people use the .us domain. Because the initial domains .gov, .mil, .org etc were all USA sites. Usenet is independent and does not require the internet and telnet is simply one program using the internet. Most of the core TCP/IP technology was created and funded by DOD also although it is possible some of it was pre-existing.

        • Honytawk@lemmy.zip
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          5 hours ago

          No. The internet has so many beginnings that it is impossible to say only one group created it.

          The internet, like its design, is a co-operation between many different groups.

          It goes back even further than 1777, where the French mechanical telegraph was the first way to send long distance messages. And therefore is considered as one of the beginnings of the of the internet.

          Or in 1830 where Brits invented a way to send electronic messages over copper cables.

          Or in 1860 where they started laying sea cables to connect landmasses.

          It is typical that the US claims to have invented something when it is clearly a collaborative effort.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJU-KYMREbQ

          • btaf45@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            edit-2
            35 minutes ago

            Or in 1860 where they started laying sea cables to connect landmasses.

            I never claimed that other countries do not do valuable things, but these things are not the internet.

            I’m talking about something very specific: the Internet. It was created by the US DOD in the 1960’s. Without that happening what would have likely developed are a bunch of private networks like Compuserve, AOL, MSN etc that charge us by the hour.

            It is typical that the US claims to have invented something when it is clearly a collaborative effort.

            Why is it important to you to revise history on this particular topic? Creating the internet was not even a collaborative effort within the USA. It was done entirely by one single government agency, the Department of Defense. Nobody is saying Europeans never invented anything. Just not the internet.

            The internet has so many beginnings

            It has exactly one beginning. In 1969. It wasn’t even connected over the Atlantic until 1973.

            https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/arpanet-internet