What was ClariNet and who founded it?
ClariNet Communications Corp was an online newspaper service delivered over the internet. It was founded in 1989 in Waterloo, Ontario, by Brad Templeton.
Questions about ClariNet
Short answers, pulled from the story.
How did ClariNet deliver its news over the internet?
ClariNet delivered traditional newspaper and magazine material using Usenet newsgroup technology, existing as a proprietary newsgroup hierarchy separate from the Big 8 hierarchies. News was delivered over the internet using NNTP as well as UUCP.
Why was ClariNet allowed to operate as a for-profit business on the early internet?
Brad Templeton reports convincing Stephen Wolff, director of NSFNet, that a news service sold to universities and research labs for research and education would not violate the Acceptable Use Policy, even though it was a for-profit effort. The first subscribing customer was Stanford University.
How many subscribers did ClariNet have when it was acquired?
At the time of its acquisition by Individual, Inc. in 1997, ClariNet reported 1.5 million paying subscribers. ClariNet sold site-wide subscriptions and was the highest ranked dot-com company in the 1996 Inc. Magazine 500.
What was ClariNet's role in Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union?
ClariNet was a plaintiff and appellant in the United States Supreme Court case Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, where its CEO testified that the Communications Decency Act created a chilling effect for online publishers. The appellants prevailed 9-0 and the decency sections were struck down.
What was ClariNet's Library of Tomorrow and the 1993 Hugo Award anthology?
In 1992 ClariNet announced an "all you can read" subscription book service for science fiction readers called the "Library of Tomorrow." In 1993 it published an eBook anthology containing all nominees for the 1993 Hugo Award, presented at the 51st World Science Fiction Convention in San Francisco, including a hypertext version of A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge.