Pornography

Description:

Pornography has been a singular driving force behind the adoption of many technologies. In fact, mass-distributed pornography is as old as the printing press. So, it should not come as a surprise to hear that photography was used to produce pornographic photographs almost as soon as it was invented.

The term now refers to sexually related material of all kinds, both written and graphical. However, the definition of pornography is highly subjective, as many famous works of art, such as Michelangelo's David, are considered pornographic by some people.

With the arrival of the Internet, the availability of pornography inceased exponentially. Because of the Internet's international flavor, it enables international consumers of pornography from one country (where it may be illegal) to effortlessly acquire such material from sources in another country where it is legal, or where offenders are not prosecuted.

Enablers:

- Development of Technology: Technological developments have made access to the full gamut of pornography free in many instances, or at least at an affordable cost.

- Consumer demand for salacious & illicit material

- Governments that do not prosecute offenders of Internet anti-pornography laws

Inhibitors:

- Strict regulation across the internet

- Heavy penalties for violating enacted laws

Paradigms:

A paradigm is a set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline.

Experts:

Sources for additional information about this driving force.

Hugh Hefner

Larry Flynt

Timing:

Dates for key milestones in the development of the driving force.

The history of pornography on the Internet essentially began at the moment that the Internet came into being. The core networks forming the Internet started out in 1969 as the ARPANET, created by the United States Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). On January 1, 1983, the ARPANET changed its core networking protocols from NCP to TCP/IP, marking the start of the Internet as we know it today.

Web Resources:

http://www.slais.ubc.ca/courses/libr500/fall1999/www_presentations/c_hogg/default.htm

http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/p/l/pls146/projects/432Portal.html

by Mari Smith