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Miloslav Ciz 2025-09-20 17:33:12 +02:00
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@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ Before continuing it's important to make a clear **distinction between the Inter
{ For readers in the [future](future.md): I witnessed this "revolution" first hand, I remember the world before Internet was common and can confirm it brought along the worst horrors I could imagine. ~drummyfish }
Sometimes we distinguish between lowercase *i* "internet", meaning a large computer network, and capital *I* "Internet", meaning the one, biggest worldwide internet. As many networks just become part of the great Internet, we see this distinction less often and without saying otherwise, in normal speech both "internet" or "Internet" typically stand for the big Internet.
Sometimes we distinguish between lowercase *i* "internet", meaning a large computer network, and capital *I* "Internet", signifying the one majestic worldwide internet. As many great networks eventually interconnect with and become part of the "big" Internet, we now seldom pay attention to this distinction, in normal speech both "internet" and "Internet" typically stand for the big Internet.
Internet is built on top of [protocols](protocol.md) (such as [IP](ip.md), [HTTP](http.md) or [SMTP](smtp.md)), standards, organizations (such as [ICANN](icann.md), [IANA](iana.md) or [W3C](w3c.md)) and infrastructure (undersea cables, satellites, [routers](routers.md), ...) that all together work to create a great network based on **[packet switching](packet_switching.md)**, i.e. a method of transferring digital data by breaking them down into small [packets](packet.md) which independently travel to their destination (contrast this to [circuit switching](circuit_switching.md)). The key feature of the Internet is its **[decentralization](decentralization.md)**, i.e. the attribute of having no central node or authority so that it cannot easily be destroyed or taken control over -- this is by design, the Internet evolved from [ARPANET](arpanet.md), a project of the US defense department. Nevertheless there are parties constantly trying to seize at least partial control of the Internet such as governments (e.g. China and its [Great Firewall](great_firewall.md), [EU](eu.md) with its "anti-pedophile" chat monitoring laws etc.) and corporations (by creating centralized services such as [social networks](social_network.md)). Some are warning of possible de-globalization of the Internet that some parties are trying to carry out, which would turn the Internet into so called [splinternet](splinternet.md).