ABSTRACT
This chapter tells the story of the homesteading of the unique virtual settlement of Netville. Netville flourished from the 1960s through the 1980s. In that period, Netville's sheltered environment encouraged the development of distinct technical and cultural institutions that were well adapted to the scientific, engineering, and defense communities of the time. Perhaps the first technical milestone of Netville was set around 1884 when the US Congress paid Samuel Morse $30,000 to build a telegraph link between Washington, DC, and Baltimore. Electronic mail began life as a vision of a technical system to be used by Netville members to build and maintain their community. Netville grew within an institutional zone of protection that allowed unity to evolve in an otherwise technically and geographically diverse community. The coalition also provided technical and economic incentives to explore the possibilities of the technology, and protected Netville from the interference of other institutions that would have introduced schism and disorder.
