A 2024 Media Team production by Postdoctoral Research Associate Suzanne van Geuns, as part of the Religion and the Public Conversation initiative

“The internet is forever” has become a catchphrase, but how much online conversation from thirty, twenty, or even five years ago are we still able to find? Does Not Compute is a toolkit for opening up the web and its forevers.

What did online social life look like in the 1980s, 1990s, or 2000s? Does Not Compute consists of three modules, one for every decade of networked computing. Each module is composed of videos, useful links, and annotated bibliographies. The videos explain the state of networked social conversation in a particular decade, the links point to relevant archives or repositories, and the annotated bibliographies make it possible to connect new inquiry with existing scholarship.

The web toolkit link below is your place to begin.