Worded in maybe a less childish way, but still in an inane way nonetheless, the title really is the question.
Where does the internet come from?
Now, I realise that there are service providers that allow you ACCESS to the Internet…but what exactly are they allowing you access too? Is there one huge central server? How is the internet physically organized?
In simple terms, the internet is a way for one computer to exchange information with another computer. Every machine connected to the internet is given an internet protocal number, you are given the number by your ISP. When you type in the name of a website (its URL) into your browser, your computer goes to a server that has lists of numbers cross-referenced with website names. That tells your computer the number of the computer that has the website. Your computer then calls up the web server, and the web server displays the information requested.
Basically, it was invented by Al Gore.
You might enjoy a book called Where Wizards Stay Up Late, about the early history of the Internet.
The point of my previous post, is that the book lays out how the Internet works, and why.
The Internet is a proper noun for a fairly large network of computers meant for world-wide communication. The majority of these computers are home and business workstations with a small segment of various content computers (web servers, ftp servers, usenet servers, e-mail servers) and network interconnect computers (routers, proxies, caches, etc.) It is united by the use of Internet Protocol (IP) that allows computers to contact each other by 32-bit number (between 0 and 2^32-1) or a 128-bit number (between 0 and 2^128-1) in newer version of the protocol called IPv6.
The important thing to remember
a) It’s a proper noun, there’s only one Internet, and it’s The Internet
b) The name came AFTER the network was already up and running (at first in military use), some people felt it had to have a namechange (DARPANET was the original name, I believe)
c) There’s no more essense to the Internet than a loosely connected network of computers that are capable of communicating with each other using IP (which includes rules for routing and relaying information)
d) There is no governing body controlling it since there is nothing to control, there’s a few major servers and network connections, but the Internet would still work without them. IF anybody will ever attempt to regulate ALL of the Internet, it would most likely split into two networks naturally.
Hope this helps,
Regards,
Groman
Hijack:
This has always seemed silly to me. The internet should no more be capitalized than the Roads or the Airwaves or the Telephone System should be.
Except what what do we do if we wind up with a competing world wide network using a different or the same set of protocols but with limited routing in between. Right now people forget that are other public access networks that are not part of the Internet, like America Online. There’s also older ones like FIDOnet or Minitel that .are still up and running.
Computer networking should no more be capitalized than the roads or the airwaves or the telephone system. The Internet should be capitalized just like The New Jersey Turnpike, American Broadcasting Company and Verizon.
Aren’t we supposed to give factual answers here in the General Questions part of this board?
There are other parts where you can spout your opinions or flame others.
It was a joke, TB.
Ditto that.
It must be said that the Internet uses TCP/IP protocol to send data around. The “i” stands for “internet” with a small “i”. The Internet is capitalized in part to disintguish the network itself from the protocol used to glue it together. There are many internets, which are any networks that use TCP/IP. But there is only one Internet.
The way it was explained to me that made the most sense was that the internet is actually the worlds largest party line!
I know that won’t make sense to a lot of younger folks that never had the pleasure of listening in on neighborhood telephone calls.
Wow. Take a breather. It may be GQ, but it’s still the SDMB. Some have a sense of humor no matter how dour they can sometimes be. Lighten up man. You’ll be happier in the long run. 
There has been much joularity and chiding around here about Bush using the phrase “the internets”. Was he correct or are you funnin’ with us? (This has nothing to do with previous post, I’m actually wondering now)
The correct term would be “an IP network” not “an internet”, so the plural would be “IP networks” not “the internets”. If you talk about “an internet” and “the internets” to refer to all IP networks, nobody will have a clue what you’re talking about (and as such, is incorrect usage, since it does not communicate the message clearly and no dictionary can help you)
The simplest I’ve ever heard it defined is as such:
A network is a series of hosts (computers) that share data with one another.
An internet, or internetwork, is a series of networks that all share date with one another.
The Internet is the largest internet in the world.
Well, bear in mind that it was originally a proper noun in all caps–INTERNET–a la ARPANET or USENET.
The purpose of Arpanet (it became Darpanet later when ARPA became DARPA) was to be a network of computers that would be survivable in the event a large number of them were taken out by war. If you wanted to go from one place to another, your message would be routed however necessary to get there - in fact it could be broken up in bits and go by several different routes depending on the load, to get reassembled upon arrival.
USENET is not really a network.
The big improvement was that before the net, you’d have to explicitly call the computer you were using.
Fun fact: In the good old days, when you wanted to send email to someone, you needed to know the names of the computers in the path between yours and his. Now it is done automatically, and that is why we have spam.
Not true.
The US government, through its Commerce Department, apparently has a a fair bit of control over the internet. The EU is calling for control to be handed over to the UN, which the US is opposing.