  Netizens, Michael and Ronda Hauben's foundational treatise on Usenet and the
Internet, was first published in print 25 years ago. In this piece, we trace
the history and impact of the book and of Usenet itself, contextualising them
within the contemporary and modern-day scholarship on virtual communities,
online culture, and Internet history. We discuss the Net as a tool of
empowerment, and touch on the social, technical, and economic issues related to
the maintenance of shared network infrastructures and to the preservation and
commodification of Usenet archives. Our interview with Ronda Hauben offers a
retrospective look at the development of online communities, their impact, and
how they are studied. She recounts her own introduction to the online world, as
well as the impetus and writing process for Netizens. She presents Michael
Hauben's conception of "netizens" as contributory citizens of the Net (rather
than mere users of it) and the "electronic commons" they built up, and argues
that this collaborative and collectivist model has been overwhelmed and
endangered by the privatisation and commercialisation of the Internet and its
communities.
