The best known example of a computer network is the Internet, a noncommercial information highway of computers and computer networks connecting universities, laboratories, government bodies, and individuals with millions of users in 102 countries. The parties in ACLU v. Reno stipulated that the Internet has as many as 40 million users and projected that the number would grow to 200 million Internet users by the year 1999. No one owns the Internet, and no single government, company, or individual controls it. It exists and functions as a result of the fact that hundreds of thousands of separate operators of computers and computer networks independently decided to use common data transfer protocols to exchange communications and information with other computers. There is no centralized storage location, control point, or communications channel for the Internet, and it would not be technically feasible for a single entity to control all of the information conveyed on the Internet.
Online communications are interactive.
This means, in part, that users of online systems must seek out the specific information they wish to retrieve and the types of communications in which they wish to engage. Online communication provides forums for both 'public' and 'private' communication. Similarly, only subscribers to an online mailing list should receive messages posted to that mailing list. By contrast, Web sites, gopher sites, online discussion groups, and chat rooms are public because anyone with online access can reach them or participate in them at any time. These forums are similar to the community town-hall, public library, or public mall.