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========================================================================= Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 03:39:43 -0400
Reply-To: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> Sender: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> From: Craig A Summerhill <craig@CNI.ORG>
Subject: Re: history of acceptable use policies
Content-Type: text
______________________________________________________________________
Community Memory: Discussion List on the History of Cyberspace ______________________________________________________________________
On Tue, 16 Sep 1997, David Smith <smithx@sfu.ca> wrote:
>
>I'm trying to get a picture of the evolution of Internet acceptable use policies, particularly with respect to commercial use. As I understand up until about 1993 formally commercial use of the NSFNET was prohibited. I guess that by that time this was pretty much a dead letter since it would have been impossible to stop commercial traffic over the backbone coming from other networks. I read one source that said congress formally changed the NSF mandate in this regard in 1993.
>
>I guess that now these kind of network wide AUP's are unenforceable. Were they ever formally abandoned, or did they just fall by the wayside?
David,
AUPs pretty much came from the National Science Foundation, through the original mid-level regional networks of the NSFNET to college/university campuses. The only formal network AUP I know of that pre-dates the NSFNET one was a BITNET AUP, although there are a number of universities I have worked for during that period had acceptable use policies governing the use of computing equipment on campuses.
Your take on this is essentially correct. I don't think the policies were ever formally abandoned as much as they became increasingly less significant in the growing commercial network infrastructure (where many of the AUP elements are handled with contract law). In fact, many commercial ISPs require their user's to sign and acknowledge certain acceptable uses and practices, and will terminate an individual's access to the network for engaging in a number of activities (sending SPAM, using the facilities to violate a known law of the state/region, etc.)
In the early nineties, there was a lot of pressure on the federal government to allow commercial interests to operate the network, and the NSF's role in operating the emerging infrastructure was increasingly coming under fire as interference with commerce on the part of the federal government (government subsidizaing something people could sell, etc.). The deadline for the cutover from the NSFNet as a de facto Internet backbone to a commercially operated backbone was April, 1994, and the actual cutover was pretty much done on schedule. Since that date, the nature of the NSF mid-level regional networks has changed -- they either became commercial entities (albeit non-profit, in most cases) or went out of business by selling their interest to commercial providers.
There is a book that covers the history of the Internet (and NSFNet) from a policy perspective that you should probably take a look at. It will fill in some of the background for you:
McClure, Charles
The National Research and Education Network: Research and Policy Perspectives (Ablex, 1991)
McClure, a professor at Syracuse University, was a visiting program officer with the Coalition (my company) shortly after this work was published and has done extensive consultation (and writing) for the various branches of federal government. You might want to look into other things he has written.
This is all the information I have on this work, off the top of my head. My recollection is that there is a lengthy section on the history of policy in the NSFNET and discussion of the (proposed) NREN in this work. If you have trouble locating it, feel free to contact me and I'll see if I can't dig up my copy.
--
Craig A. Summerhill, Systems Coordinator and Program Officer Coalition for Networked Information
21 Dupont Circle, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 Internet: craig@cni.org AT&Tnet (202) 296-5098
______________________________________________________________________
Reply-To: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> Sender: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> From: Craig A Summerhill <craig@CNI.ORG>
Subject: Re: history of acceptable use policies
Content-Type: text
______________________________________________________________________
Community Memory: Discussion List on the History of Cyberspace ______________________________________________________________________
On Tue, 16 Sep 1997, David Smith <smithx@sfu.ca> wrote:
>
>I'm trying to get a picture of the evolution of Internet acceptable use policies, particularly with respect to commercial use. As I understand up until about 1993 formally commercial use of the NSFNET was prohibited. I guess that by that time this was pretty much a dead letter since it would have been impossible to stop commercial traffic over the backbone coming from other networks. I read one source that said congress formally changed the NSF mandate in this regard in 1993.
>
>I guess that now these kind of network wide AUP's are unenforceable. Were they ever formally abandoned, or did they just fall by the wayside?
David,
AUPs pretty much came from the National Science Foundation, through the original mid-level regional networks of the NSFNET to college/university campuses. The only formal network AUP I know of that pre-dates the NSFNET one was a BITNET AUP, although there are a number of universities I have worked for during that period had acceptable use policies governing the use of computing equipment on campuses.
Your take on this is essentially correct. I don't think the policies were ever formally abandoned as much as they became increasingly less significant in the growing commercial network infrastructure (where many of the AUP elements are handled with contract law). In fact, many commercial ISPs require their user's to sign and acknowledge certain acceptable uses and practices, and will terminate an individual's access to the network for engaging in a number of activities (sending SPAM, using the facilities to violate a known law of the state/region, etc.)
In the early nineties, there was a lot of pressure on the federal government to allow commercial interests to operate the network, and the NSF's role in operating the emerging infrastructure was increasingly coming under fire as interference with commerce on the part of the federal government (government subsidizaing something people could sell, etc.). The deadline for the cutover from the NSFNet as a de facto Internet backbone to a commercially operated backbone was April, 1994, and the actual cutover was pretty much done on schedule. Since that date, the nature of the NSF mid-level regional networks has changed -- they either became commercial entities (albeit non-profit, in most cases) or went out of business by selling their interest to commercial providers.
There is a book that covers the history of the Internet (and NSFNet) from a policy perspective that you should probably take a look at. It will fill in some of the background for you:
McClure, Charles
The National Research and Education Network: Research and Policy Perspectives (Ablex, 1991)
McClure, a professor at Syracuse University, was a visiting program officer with the Coalition (my company) shortly after this work was published and has done extensive consultation (and writing) for the various branches of federal government. You might want to look into other things he has written.
This is all the information I have on this work, off the top of my head. My recollection is that there is a lengthy section on the history of policy in the NSFNET and discussion of the (proposed) NREN in this work. If you have trouble locating it, feel free to contact me and I'll see if I can't dig up my copy.
--
Craig A. Summerhill, Systems Coordinator and Program Officer Coalition for Networked Information
21 Dupont Circle, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 Internet: craig@cni.org AT&Tnet (202) 296-5098
______________________________________________________________________
