The Online World — Background and Themes

A Guide, Not a Textbook

The preface explicitly distances the book from data communications manuals: 'While not being a textbook on data communications, it contains much information to help novices get started.' Instead, De Presno promises to 'explore selected applications across network and service boundaries.' The structure reflects this—the book can be 'read like a novel' or used as a reference. This dual-purpose design is evident in the excerpts, which alternate between explanatory prose and dense lists of resources. The author's warning that 'new online offerings are born' daily acknowledges the rapid change even in 1993, framing the book as a snapshot rather than a definitive directory.

International Scope and Specific Listings

De Presno emphasizes 'major international offerings' and includes access details for services spanning the U.S., Europe, and Japan. The excerpts show concrete examples: newsletters like Distance Education Newsletter and Anime Stuff are located within CompuServe forums, complete with library numbers. Databases such as PROMPT and Business Database Plus are described with their geographic coverage—'North American and international publications'—and a partial list of magazines runs from Agra Europe to Seafood International. These listings are not mere catalogs; they illustrate the book's method of showing 'how these needs may be satisfied' across different platforms.

Voice and Assumptions About the Reader

De Presno writes in a direct, instructional tone, often using second person: 'You are not expected to live in the United States or in Norway.' He assumes a novice but not a technophobe, providing hints like 'enter GO IBMFF to search' without explaining basic computer use. The book's shareware model—distributed in ASCII for maximum compatibility, including 'electronic reading devices for the blind'—reflects a pragmatic, inclusive philosophy. The author's Norwegian contact information (voice, BBS, fax) reinforces the international perspective. These details, drawn from the excerpts, show a work that practices the global connectivity it preaches.

Readers should approach The Online World as a period document: its value lies not in current accuracy but in its detailed mapping of a pre-web information landscape. The book rewards browsing for its specific service names, pricing hints, and network addresses—details that ground abstract concepts like 'global village' in concrete 1993 practice. For those studying the history of online culture, De Presno's work offers a rare, user-focused snapshot of the Internet's commercial and grassroots precursors.

I was thinking about that 1993 guide to online services, how it quietly captured a world just before it changed—a sort of patient faith in connection. It reminded me of an older, stranger story about spanning oceans with cable. Both feel like postcards from a moment when reaching out was still a miracle. The Story of the Atlantic Cable — Context and Discussion carries that same hush, I think.