175182603
submission
magnamous writes:
Question: For the love of all things holy, who wants a dark mode option for Slashdot?
Answer choices:
- I do
- Hell yes, I do
- I hate my eyes
- I don't have eyes
142513
submission
magnamous writes:
Ever since Senator Ted Stevens used the phrase "series of tubes" to describe his understanding of the Internet, I've noticed several stories and comments on Slashdot referencing how silly that is, the latest one being this one. Although I agree that that description is rather silly, each time I've found myself trying to come up with a succinct layman's definition of what the Internet is, and I come up short. Wikipedia has a gargantuan page describing the Internet, and Google's definitions offer pretty good descriptions of what the Internet is in a functional sense (with some throwing in terms that the layman wouldn't understand, or take the time to understand), but not really a good description of what it "is" in the physical sense that I think Sen. Stevens was trying to get at. What are your suggestions for a succinct layman's definition of the Internet?
I know some would say that laypeople should take the time to learn the technical, more accurate meaning of what the Internet is. The problem is that they won't. We all know laypeople. I live with two of them. When you start talking about "TCP/IP" or "DNS," or if you get far enough to start describing those terms, their eyes glaze over. That's what makes them laypeople — they don't care about the subject enough to learn about it in-depth; if they did, they'd be computer enthusiasts. So please keep in mind that, in order for this discussion to be useful, "succinct" and "layman's" are essential parts to any definition of the Internet given here. Also keep in mind that "succinct" doesn't necessarily mean one sentence; a relatively short paragraph would be fine, too — the main goal is to come up with something that physically describes the Internet which laypeople actually understand.
