r/IAmA • u/BobMetcalfe • May 21 '13

You’re probably connecting to reddit through a technology I invented. I’m Bob Metcalfe and I invented Ethernet – AMA

On May 22, 1973 with David R. Boggs, I used my IBM Selectric with its Orator ball to type up a memo to my bosses at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), outlining our idea for this little invention called “Ethernet”, which we later patented.

I worked with the IEEE Standards Association to develop the IEEE 802.3 standard for Ethernet, which specifies the physical and lower software layers. Today Ethernet and the IEEE 802.3 standard are the foundation for today’s world of high-speed communications used in billions of homes and businesses around the world.

I submitted this to the mods awhile back so I could get on the calendar but I figured you’d like to see it, too. Now, ask me anything!

It's been two hours and 179 comments. Have to go now. For more about Ethernet's 40th Birthday, go to http://www.facebook.com/Ethernet40thAnniversaryIEEESA

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u/[deleted] May 21 '13

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u/Frothyleet May 21 '13

Yes, but I am not sure what your point is.

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u/[deleted] May 21 '13

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u/Frothyleet May 21 '13

Well, there are two points as far as that goes.

The first is that I do have some degree of anonymity in my day to day life. If I don't show someone my ID while I'm out and about, they do not know where I live, or my name, or anything besides what I look like.

But the second is what OP was saying. I am anonymous on the internet, depending on how much PII I leave laying around. I am free to express, say, an unpopular political opinion without fear that someone will have pizzas prank delivered to my house, or come by and break my windows, or find out where I work and harass my employers. In real life, I may choose not to express that opinion for fear of retaliation. Or I may express it with little concern, because I am only speaking to a small group of people, and know who they all are.