Exploring the Blurred Lines of Fiction and Non-Fiction on the Internet

[janetupnorth]

Today's Deep Thought:

One of the problems in today's society is that there is no "fiction" and "non-fiction" section of the internet...

 

[erinb]

Isn't that the truth!! LOL

 

[tlag1986]

I agree totally!!!!!!!

 

[chefsteph07]

That's hilarious

 

[KateD]

Word. .

 

[dannyzmom]

true that...

 

[PChefPEI]

So, so true, Janet!

Makes me wonder what CS would fall into!! Some of both, I believe!

 

[chefann]

I read it on the internet, so it MUST be true!

 

[susanr613]

soooo true!

 

[raebates]

Veeeerrrrrrrrrry good point!

 

[Kitchen Diva]

Maybe we should call Al Gore and ask him to make an upgrade to the internet and then things can be categorized as fiction or non-fiction... I'm sure he'd be more than happy to oblige...

 

[chefann]

Maybe we should call Al Gore and ask him to make an upgrade to the internet and then things can be categorized as fiction or non-fiction... I'm sure he'd be more than happy to oblige...

<giggle>
I've got a computer game in which one has to research technologies and build things. Each thing has a little icon, like a bag of money for a bank. The icon for the internet is Al Gore.

 

[raebates]

Of course, one of the biggest problems with the fiction/non-fiction distinction is that too many people think their opinions are facts and their fantasies are non-fiction.

 

[Kitchen Diva]

<giggle>
I've got a computer game in which one has to research technologies and build things. Each thing has a little icon, like a bag of money for a bank. The icon for the internet is Al Gore.

That is too funny!!! hee-hee

 

[Kitchen Diva]

Of course, one of the biggest problems with the fiction/non-fiction distinction is that too many people think their opinions are facts and their fantasies are non-fiction.

So I'm NOT Queen of the world? :cry:

 

[janetupnorth]

Of course, one of the biggest problems with the fiction/non-fiction distinction is that too many people think their opinions are facts and their fantasies are non-fiction.

Yup, it's be a tough job trying to classify everything. I wonder if Melvil will come help us out?

 

[raebates]

Actually, I believe that may be a verifiable fact, Kacey.

 

[Kitchen Diva]

Actually, I believe that may be a verifiable fact.

Whew, I was worried for a while! (if I am, that makes you Queen Momma of the World!)

 

[raebates]

I humbly accept that honored title. I look forward to receiving my bad had and ugly purse.

 

[Kitchen Diva]

I humbly accept that honored title. I look forward to receiving my bad had and ugly purse.

What's a bad had? I'm sure we can find you a pretty purse! Maybe a bejeweled purse!

 

[janetupnorth]

I think she means a bad hat!

 

[Kitchen Diva]

Ohhhh, bad hat- well, yes it is hard to find a good hat these days, so she'd have to wear a bad hat! Better than a bad bat...

 

[janetupnorth]

Ohhhh, bad hat- well, yes it is hard to find a good hat these days, so she'd have to wear a bad hat! Better than a bad bat...

Or a bad cat...yeouch!

 

[pcchefjane]

<giggle>
I've got a computer game in which one has to research technologies and build things. Each thing has a little icon, like a bag of money for a bank. The icon for the internet is Al Gore.

Okay...Al Gore DID NOT invent the internet although he would like to think he did! That was disproven years ago! This is from one of my favorite sites, TruthOrFiction.com-Is that forwarded email Truth or Fiction? Research into stories, scams, hoaxes, myths, and urban legends on the Internet.

Al Gore Claimed That He Was Responsible for The Creation of the Internet-Truth!

Summary of eRumor:
Al Gore has made statements that he is the creator of the Internet.


The Truth:
This comes from a television interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer that was aired on March 9,1999. TruthOrFiction.com has a transcript of the entire broadcast. Vice President Gore was not yet a formal candidate for the presidency, but was clearly setting the stage for it, and Blitzer's questions focused on his potential campaign. At one point, Blitzer asked Gore why the Democrats should support him over rival Bill Bradley. Gore answered, "Well, I will -- I'll be offering my vision when my campaign begins, and it'll be comprehensive and sweeping, and I hope that it'll be compelling enough to draw people toward it. I feel that it will be. But it will emerge from my dialogue with the American people. I've traveled to every part of this country during the last six years. During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet."

Some of the emails criticizing Gore for this statement point out that Gore has often shown ignorance about computers, so how could he have created the Internet? He did not claim, however, to be a computer geek who toiled in his basement and came up with the idea. He did claim that somehow as a member of congress he not only played in role in creating the Internet, but "took the initiative" to do it.

To his credit, Al Gore has participated in advancing information technology. When he was a senator, he supported funding for NSFNet through the High Performance Computing Act that became law in 1991. He wrote guest columns for Byte magazine that reflected an appreciation of technology. But even his supporters have to say that any notion of having created the Internet is tough to stomach.

According to the encyclopedia Britannica, the Internet dates back to at least 1973 and in an article that broke the Gore story, Declan McCullagh of Wired News says the Net goes back as far as 1967 when Al gore was 19 years old. The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency started experimenting with ways to allow networked computers to link and communicate. It was called The Internetting project and the ultimate system became known as The Internet. In a related article on March 11, 1999 in Wired News, McCullagh says Gore has introduced bills about software for teachers and a "federal research center for educational computing to support an "information systems highway."

We've never found any explanation by Gore as to why he made the claim, but he did have a sense of humor about it. At a meeting of Democratic leaders, he said, " I was pretty tired when I made that comment because I had been up very late the night before inventing the camcorder."
​

We in TN are very sensitive to the fact he made this stupid statement and makes him a joke and it reflects on the rest of TN....at least it did when he ran for President!

 

[janetupnorth]

Okay...Al Gore DID NOT invent the internet although he would like to think he did! That was disproven years ago! This is from one of my favorite sites, TruthOrFiction.com-Is that forwarded email Truth or Fiction? Research into stories, scams, hoaxes, myths, and urban legends on the Internet.

Al Gore Claimed That He Was Responsible for The Creation of the Internet-Truth!

Summary of eRumor:
Al Gore has made statements that he is the creator of the Internet.


The Truth:
This comes from a television interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer that was aired on March 9,1999. TruthOrFiction.com has a transcript of the entire broadcast. Vice President Gore was not yet a formal candidate for the presidency, but was clearly setting the stage for it, and Blitzer's questions focused on his potential campaign. At one point, Blitzer asked Gore why the Democrats should support him over rival Bill Bradley. Gore answered, "Well, I will -- I'll be offering my vision when my campaign begins, and it'll be comprehensive and sweeping, and I hope that it'll be compelling enough to draw people toward it. I feel that it will be. But it will emerge from my dialogue with the American people. I've traveled to every part of this country during the last six years. During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet."

Some of the emails criticizing Gore for this statement point out that Gore has often shown ignorance about computers, so how could he have created the Internet? He did not claim, however, to be a computer geek who toiled in his basement and came up with the idea. He did claim that somehow as a member of congress he not only played in role in creating the Internet, but "took the initiative" to do it.

To his credit, Al Gore has participated in advancing information technology. When he was a senator, he supported funding for NSFNet through the High Performance Computing Act that became law in 1991. He wrote guest columns for Byte magazine that reflected an appreciation of technology. But even his supporters have to say that any notion of having created the Internet is tough to stomach.

According to the encyclopedia Britannica, the Internet dates back to at least 1973 and in an article that broke the Gore story, Declan McCullagh of Wired News says the Net goes back as far as 1967 when Al gore was 19 years old. The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency started experimenting with ways to allow networked computers to link and communicate. It was called The Internetting project and the ultimate system became known as The Internet. In a related article on March 11, 1999 in Wired News, McCullagh says Gore has introduced bills about software for teachers and a "federal research center for educational computing to support an "information systems highway."

We've never found any explanation by Gore as to why he made the claim, but he did have a sense of humor about it. At a meeting of Democratic leaders, he said, " I was pretty tired when I made that comment because I had been up very late the night before inventing the camcorder."
​

We in TN are very sensitive to the fact he made this stupid statement and makes him a joke and it reflects on the rest of TN....at least it did when he ran for President!

We've all known that for years, that is why it is such a big joke around here!

 

[KateD]

There was a really hilarious (to me) Snickers (of all things) commercial about 8 years ago. It had a voter going into a voting booth and an elephant pop up on one shoulder and a donkey on the other, bickering about why the guy should vote for each one, to set up for Snickers' then tag line leadin "Going to be here for a while?"My favorite part (and how it ties in to this conversation) is at the very end when the elephant says "People say I look like my dad. My dad and I wear the same pants!" and the donkey smugly comes back with "I invented pants!"Ah, maybe it was just really funny to me, but "I invented pants!" ranks right up there with "Lockbox!" (SNL) for humor-at-Al-Gore's-expense moments of the election.

 

[pcchefjane]

Sorry...didn't realize you knew the truth... Some people still believe it...and please don't blast me but the main ones are die-hard Democrats who feel no Democrat ever does anything wrong...

 

[raebates]

That would be a hat worn by a very tired Queen Momma with fat fingers. LOL!

I thought all Queen Mothers were required to wear bad hats and carry ugly purses. Maybe that's just a personal choice of those I've seen over the years.