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What the web isn't

Online, no one knows you're a dog. The web has its own logic and its own rules. It works because it is:

dog illustration

  • Free - no single government can dictate what information can and can't be published on the web (though local legal standards do apply)
  • Open - no one company controls the technical standards to the web, though some would like to
  • International - the whole of the web is accessible from anywhere in the world - except China
  • Connected - the web is about making links: between sites, inside sites, to databases, though XML. No website is an island
  • Technical - the architecture of the web, while being as simple as is possible, was not designed with your grandmother in mind
  • Social - The web is built by people, and does things people see as important. Beyond the RFC technical standards there are many understandings both written and unwritten about what is and isn't acceptable online.
  • WHY IT MATTERS
    The web is not a multimedia content delivery chanel, nor is it a cut-price direct mailing tool or a replacement for communicating with customers. Most mistakes have been made before. Most mistakes are being repeated. On the web, no one can hear you scream.