I'm sure I speak on behalf of everyone on air-l in sending condolences to Ronda. I suspect Netizenship extends beyond the present, and though we would be much the better for it still having him corporeally among us, Michael's work and memory will live on. A sad week, this, with Jim Ellis's passing, too. Sj
-------- Original Message -------- Subject: [CC] <nettime> A sad loss (fwd) Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 20:06:06 -0400 (EDT) From: Alan Sondheim <sondheim@panix.com> Reply-To: cyberculture@zacha.org To: Cyb <cybermind@listserv.aol.com>, Wryting <wryting@julian.uwo.ca>,Cyberculture <cyberculture@zacha.org>
---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 17:11:27 -0400 (EDT) From: Ronda Hauben <ronda@ais.org> To: nettime-l@bbs.thing.net Subject: <nettime> A sad loss
I am writing about the sudden death on June 27, 2001 of Michael Hauben. Michael Hauben was co-author of the book "Netizens: On the History and Impact of Usenet and the Internet" published in an English and Japanese edition and also available online.
Through his interactive online research Michael coined the term "Netizen" and introduced it into popular use.
In his 1992 article "The Net and Netizens: The Impact the Net Has on People's Lives" Michael wrote "Welcome to the 21st Century. You are a Netizen (a Net Citizen), and you exist as a citizen of the world thanks to the global connectivity that the Net makes possible. You consider everyone as your compatriot. You physically live in one country but you are in contact with much of the world via the global computer network. Virtually, you live next door to every other single Netizen in the world. Geographical separation is replaced by existence in the same virtual space."
Through Michael's writing online the term spread around the world.
In the Preface to Netizens, Michael wrote
" My initial research concerned the origins and development of the global discussion forum Usenet....I wanted to explore the larger Net and what it was and its significance. This is when my research uncovered the remaining details that helped me to recognize the emergence of Netizens. There are people online who actively contribute towards the development of the Net. These people understand the value of collective work and the communal aspects of public communications. These are the people who discuss and debate topics in a constructive manner, who e-mail answers to people and provide help to new-comers, who maintain FAQ files and other public information repositories, who maintain mailing lists, and so on. These are people who discuss the nature and role of this new communications medium. These are the people who act as citizens of the Net."
He has been an active member of the online community since the early 1980s.
When she learned of Michael's death, Laura Gould, one of the founding member of the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility wrote "I so regret the death of the original Netizen."
"Netizens: On the History and Impact of Usenet and the Internet" was published by the IEEE Computer Society in 1997 and also appears in an online edition at http://www.columbia.edu/~rh120
Sadly
Ronda
ronda@ais.org
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