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When Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the world wide web in 1989, his vision was clear: it would used by everyone, filled with everything and, crucially, it would be free.

Today, the British computer scientist’s creation is regularly used by 5.5 billion people – and bears little resemblance to the democratic force for humanity he intended.

In Australia to promote his book, This is for Everyone, Berners-Lee is reflecting on what his invention has become – and how he and a community of collaborators can put the power of the web back into the hands of its users.

Berners-Lee describes his excitement in the earliest years of the web as “uncontainable”. Approaching 40 years on, a rebellion is brewing among himself and a community of like-minded activists and developers.

“We can fix the internet … It’s not too late,” he writes, describing his mission as a “battle for the soul of the web”.

Berners-Lee traces the first corruption of the web to the commercialisation of the domain name system, which he believes would have served web users better had it been managed by a nonprofit in the public interest. Instead, he says, in the 1990s the .com space was pounced on by “charlatans”.

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[-] Eldritch@piefed.world 0 points 2 weeks ago

You're thinking of the ARPANET. When people think of the Internet. They think of the network that Gore pushed hard to open to the public. And the interface Lee designed. Gopher is having a small resurgence, and Gemini exists. But effectively what the average person sees as the Internet is their child philosophically.

I mean as a techy you aren't wrong. There's a lot of underlying things and technologies that sort of glosses over. But to the layperson at large we're just pedantically nitpicking.

[-] Kazumara@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 2 weeks ago

Gopher is having a small resurgence, and Gemini exists.

You forgot email. That seems like a pretty important use of the Internet that isn't the web.

[-] Eldritch@piefed.world -5 points 2 weeks ago

You mean spam trap? Outside of 2FA or a few other small things, which even those are using it less. Who actively engages with it on a regular basis. I can DM friends and family easier, with less spam and restrictions on multiple other platforms. And those that do actively engage with it are often using HTML hypertext interfaces. (Proton Gmail etc) I didn't mention Usenet either. Or ssh that I use daily.

Most people don't have a pop or SMTP app installed anymore. Not outlook, not Thunderbird, etc etc etc. It's easy to imagine a world without email. So many other apps and services easily slot in to replace it. And already have in many places. Now, try to imagine a world without HTML or HTTP servers. What would that even look like?

[-] lka1988@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 weeks ago

Email is still extremely popular and used quite frequently for more than chatting with friends. Businesses use email to communicate with customers. Schools use email to communicate with parents. Doctors use email to communicate with patients. Utility bills are sent via email. Etc, etc, etc.

Just because you don't have a use for it doesn't mean it's useless.

[-] Eldritch@piefed.world -4 points 2 weeks ago

Where did I say it was useless. You're trying hard to be offended.

[-] ripcord@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

You're trying hard to just be negative.

[-] aMockTie@piefed.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

Email is absolutely still used massively, especially in the business world. Even if someone is accessing their emails in a browser, they are still being sent with SMTP behind the scenes.

There's also SSH, NTP, VOIP, FTP, BitTorrent, and probably more that I'm forgetting, that all have varying degrees of usage today.

Don't get me wrong, HTTP is certainly by far the most used protocol, but it is in no way the only important one that would be difficult to replace.

[-] Eldritch@piefed.world -3 points 2 weeks ago

Okay, and? Go back and read my posts. That has nothing to do with anything I was talking about. I specifically mentioned that I was referring to lay people and that I thought myself being a techy that it was glossing over a lot of nuance.

But then I also pointed out that it was nitpicky and pedantic nerdsplaning. Something I should have paid attention to myself. Hell, it's something I've done myself. So it's not like I'm trying to insult you. I understand 100% how this happens.

[-] fizzle@quokk.au 0 points 2 weeks ago

I dont think so.

Saying Lee invented the web, to the lay person, implies that he invented the web we have in 2026. As though he was the grand architect of the platform we use today.

Yes, in the 80s he was a pioneer in digital communication specifications. However, I dont think many of the relevant skills are transferable to addressing the capitalist motives and ethical deficiencies which have infected the web in the interceding 40 years.

It feels a bit like asking an actor their opinion on politics.

[-] curbstickle@anarchist.nexus 0 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Everything you've said has been ruined by that last sentence.

It feels a bit like asking an actor their opinion on politics.

This is a remarkably idiotic statement.

Edit: if you think an actors opinion on politics doesnt matter, then neither does that of a musician, firefighter, dance teacher, engineer, developer, or anyone else other than a politician.

That line of thought is really fucking stupid.

[-] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 0 points 2 weeks ago

"Technically correct" is the best kind of correct.

[-] ripcord@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

It's really not though. Except in that one case.

this post was submitted on 28 Jan 2026
51 points (100.0% liked)

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