What's 5 years older than CJS? It's got a TLA* as well…
The World Wide Web is 30 years old today.
In 1989 Sir Tim Berners-Lee
published 'Information Management: A Proposal' his vision of using hypertext (all web addresses begin HTTP standing for HyperText
Transfer Protocol) to allow the millions of computers already connected via the
newly emerging internet - but the problem was they all spoke different
languages and used different programmes so it was often easier to actually get
up and go and ask someone (imagine that!) than try to figure out how their
system worked. Initially his ideas
weren't accepted but he ploughed on and created the WorldWideWeb.app, the first
web browser; the first webpage was publicly readable by the end of 1990
and the world's first website, http://info.cern.ch, was launched on 6 August
1991. It explained the World Wide Web concept and gave users an introduction to
getting started with their own websites. And the rest as they say is history - and most
of it readable on the Web.
It was Sir Tim's decision that the technology, the software
and code behind it would be freely available, and, along with others, he
advocated that it should be royalty-free forever which sparked the first wave
of creation, this was reiterated in 2003 when developing new
standards committed to a Royalty Free Policy.
Continuing with his open access beliefs in 2009, Sir Tim established the
World Wide Web Foundation which is advancing the Open Web and fighting to
ensure the web remains, free and open. The web has transformed our world. To mark
its 30th anniversary, we’re celebrating all the ways that it has changed our
lives for the better and calling for everyone to join the fight to make sure
the web is a safe, empowering tool for everyone.
The first CJS website went live in 2000 and is now the main
focus of Countryside Jobs Service although we do still have a very small
handful of paper editions every week. So
thank you Sir Tim and Happy Birthday World Wide Web.
*Three Letter Acronym which is of course www!