Why I Love the Internet

Or at least part of the reason why I love the internet...

There is so much information available. On any given day, I can find out the weight of an unloaded semi or the specifications for a tunnel digging machine large enough to dig the Chunnel or... Well information on any number of topics. Not only that, but I can find it in more than one place to verify the validity of that information. (Like if Wikipedia says one thing, but four other sites say something different, I'll still be able to ferret out the truth.)

Additionally, I can read the thoughts of other people - whether I agree with said thoughts or not - and thereby increase my own knowledge of human nature and the world itself.

Pre-internet research was so much harder. Connecting with people outside your general geographic area was a pain in the ass at least, and impossible at worst. I remember the old days when the computers began to be networked together across wider areas than just company headquarters or college campuses. Back then it was called the bitnet, and my experience with it was limited to a few news groups. But even then, it was a way to connect and share information.

I never would've dreamed it would grow to this.

Now, my primary contact with other human beings is via this internet thing. I have more people I would consider friends out of people I've never seen than out of the people I see every day. People a thousand miles away who get me. Whereas the majority of people here in BFC aren't even close. *shrug*

Of course, some of these very reasons for loving the net are also reasons for hating it. Connecting humans together in a place where anonymity abounds, and consequences are next to non-existent means the loons and nimrods can run rampant without fear of reprisal. But that's the price we pay sometimes for freedom. I'd rather put up with morons spouting crap than live in a world without freedom. (But that's a story for another time.)

So, to all my blog-buddies and internet friends, thanks for being tech-savvy and being out there to connect with. Thanks also to all the people who share their knowledge with the world via the net.

Have a great day everyone.

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