Film at 11.
The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. (MarkTwain)
Back in the good old days of
UseNet, predicting the "imminent death of the 'net" was a popular sport (wherein the "net" could, depending on context, refer to
UseNet or the Internet as a whole). The phrase "imminent death of net predicted" was originally coined by
BradTempleton in his 1989
UseNet posting "Net History In Brief" (
http://www.templetons.com/brad/nethist.html).
Lots of things have, over the years, been suggested as the cause of the
ImminentDeathOfTheNet, including:
I remember screaming "No! Don't tell 'em" at the TV set back early in Clinton's first term, where
SlickWillie gave his first "information superhighway" speech (this is not where Al Gore allegedly claimed to have
InventedTheInternet). Like all good residents of an exclusive resort, the thought of a technological trailer park moving in next door was terrifying...
Obviously, the Internet is still alive, though wildly different.
UseNet has arguably been spoiled by spammers, though it still occasionally is useful. The net media that best carries on the tradition of
UseNet are portal sites (though they do so poorly), 'Blogs, and Wiki.
So imagine my horror to find the following article on cnn.com:
-
- "Wikipedia: The know-it-all Web site" (http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/08/03/wikipedia/index.html)
(No mention of
WardCunningham or
WardsWiki, though. You've escaped becoming the next
TimBernersLee this time, Ward...)
One of the signs of the
WikiApocalypse is, of course, mass media coverage of Wiki. Therefore, in grand
UseNet tradition....
ImminentDeathOfWikiPredicted!!! (Or perhaps
WikiIsDead already.)
See
DoWikisHaveFiniteLifetime