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March 2011, Week 3

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Subject:
From:
Jason Mittell <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 17 Mar 2011 07:38:44 -0400
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Jeremy,

On behalf of the hundreds of faculty & students who have entered the field
since SCREEN-L's existence, many thanks for your stewardship in carving out
this space that helps level out hierarchies of access for us all. From my
first year in grad school, this list has modeled an environment of civil
discourse, where a full professor might casually answer the query of a grad
student and vice versa. Such spaces are truly transformative, especially in
contrast to other eras or fields who lack an opportunity for open
communication, and it's nice to take time to reflect on how much we take it
for granted. (Alas, I doubt your efforts to help launch Google Wave for SCMS
will prove as long-lasting!)

Thanks for your invisible but definitely hard work keeping it running!
-Jason

---
Jason Mittell, Associate Professor of American Studies and Film & Media
Culture
Chair of Film & Media Culture Department
Middlebury College
208 Axinn Center at Starr Library
Middlebury, Vermont 05753
(802) 443-3435 / fax: (802) 443-2805
Blog: http://go.middlebury.edu/justtv




On Thu, Mar 17, 2011 at 1:00 AM, SCREEN-L automatic digest system <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Date:    Wed, 16 Mar 2011 22:15:36 -0500
> From:    Jeremy Butler <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Happy 20th (!) Birthday to Screen-L!
>
> Happy birthday to us!
>
> Twenty years ago, BEFORE THE WORLD WIDE WEB EXISTED, Screen-L was born. Its
> first test message was launched out onto BITNET (the "Because It's Time"
> Network) on Friday, March 15, 1991, at 7:42 (and 11 seconds) pm, CST. It
> initially lived on UA1VM, the University of Alabama's #1 virtual machine--a
> mainframe computer... big iron!
>
> 1991 was the paleolithic era for networked computing. The Internet was not
> yet the standard platform for email delivery. (Anyone remember the horror
> that was cc:Mail?) The Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) was principally used for
> services such as Gopher and file transferring via FTP). The World Wide Web
> had its public debut on August 6, 1991, but Web browsers that could handle
> images were still two years away.
>
> So, in 1991, Screen-L was kinda cutting edge. I can remember leading
> workshops at the Society for Cinema Studies (before it added "Media" to its
> name) on how academics might use this new-fangled electronic mail thing for
> scholarly purposes.
>
> One fun thing about Screen-L is that every message in its 20-year history
> is
> archived here:
>
> http://bama.ua.edu/archives/screen-l.html
>
>
>
> The archive provides an interesting history of the field of media studies.
> And this archive makes me wonder: 20 years from now, will be able to look
> back at Facebook's and Twitter's data with the same ease? The short answer
> is, obviously not. Both of those services make it quite onerous to archive
> their material. And wouldn't it be interesting to have a crystal ball and
> see if such services will even exist 20 years hence?
>
> A few thanks are in order:
>
> I must thank the University of Alabama for hosting Screen-L since day one
> and thus making our longevity possible.
>
> And thanks must also go to the hundreds of Screen-L subscribers over the
> years. As Screen-L's moderator, I've been grateful for the civility that
> (most) folks have shown.
>
> On we go for another 20 years (and more?)!
>
> Regards,
>
> Jeremy Butler
> Screen-L founder
>
>
> -- First Screen-L Message --
>
> This is a test of SCREEN-L.
>
> If you receive this, please notify the list owner:  [log in to unmask]
>
> Thanks.
>
> ----------
>      When the President does it, that means that it is not illegal.
>                              --Richard Nixon
>                                Interview with David Frost (1977)
> ----------
>
> |                                      | Bitnet   :        JBUTLER@UA1VM |
> | Jeremy G. Butler - - - - - - - - - - | Internet : [log in to unmask] |
> |                                      | GEnie    :           J.BUTLER27 |
> |                                                                        |
> | Telecommunication & Film Dept * The University of Alabama * Tuscaloosa |
>
>
>

----
Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite
http://www.ScreenSite.org

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