The capital I I had the cite somewhere, but Vinton Cerf, the inventor (as I recall it) of the IP protocol, especially the 'peer 2 peer' component, defined those connecting to the Internet (as a network) as any who exhibit IP protocol on the client side, or was identified to the network with a proper IP address. There of course is some flexibility in this as dial-up clients, by proxy servers and through socket emulation, etc., are assigned temporary IP addresses. I would say it's standard practice. This is demonstrably *not* the same activity as other clients connecting to other networks, (apparently PLATO) BITnet, dial-up modem protocols like x-modem, etc. that dominated other, asynchronous networks, such as the Well. IMHO, the Internet is a discrete entity governed by a specific set of protocols (although vastly distributed) that do absolutely govern the transmission and reception of messages that travel on it ("you're either on the bus or off the bus"). I.e., before we get too far from the 'mere technical details' -- if I am not, as a client, sending a TCP/IP based or translated packet (BITnet and other protocols have been boosted to TCP/IP networks, likewise the newer protocols of WAP etc.) it will not arrive on the Internet for all my pals to see. Internet transmission & reception is determined by a fixed protocol and bent packets are not sent packets. End of story. However, the internet or perhaps the 'Net as I believe is under discussion here is a much broader network that will conceivably be accessed by a number of differently configured protocols. If we are talking about the larger networks, from mail to telegraph, teletype, telephone, cell phones, camels, SMS and so on then it is not really the point to call that larger communicative context 'the Internet.' In fact it would be pretty weird to do so. So if I get the drift here, we have good, cultural reasons to liberate the internet from a specific context of interaction, *even though* that specific interaction determines what objects appear on the 'net, at least at present. Indeed, it is the simplicity, flexibility and robustness of the TCP/IP protocol that brings us the endless peripherals like the web cam, and the internet fridge. It's that lowest common demoninator that addresses and gets the packets there. I stand by for further corrective treatment (and thanks for not beating me up too much the last time). Denise ===== "it's easier to use your mouse than your brain" Denise Rall, Sustainable Forestry Mentoring Coordinator & PhD student, School of Education, Southern Cross University, PO Box 157, Lismore, NSW, 2480 Australia Phone +61-2-6624-8627 Fax +61-2-6624-8637 Office (Tuesdays) (02) 6620 3577 Mob 0438 233 344 http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/edu/research/deniserall/index.html __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com