andrewducker | The ends justify the whole damn system

Here's a fantastic article on how the internet works on a tchno-social level and why it's such a fantastic place.

The World of Ends

But the Internet is different. It isn't wiring. It isn't a system. And it isn't a source of programming.

The Internet is a way for all the things that call themselves networks to coexist and work together. It's an inter-network. Literally.

What makes the Net inter is the fact that it's just a protocol — the Internet Protocol, to be exact. A protocol is an agreement about how things work together.

This protocol doesn’t specify what people can do with the network, what they can build on its edges, what they can say, who gets to talk. The protocol simply says: If you want to swap bits with others, here’s how. If you want to put a computer – or a cell phone or a refrigerator – on the network, you have to agree to the agreement that is the Internet.

The ends justify the whole damn system

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