With E-Mail, the most basic service on the Internet, one user can send a message to another. News groups are a form of E-Mail through which people who share common interests post messages in a public forum. A key element of these systems is that messages are directed by the writer either to a particular person or to a particular group of people. The Telnet service allows a user to physically access remote computers as if they were local. The server processes these requests and sends the requested document.
Servers do nothing unless asked.
The WWW is unlike radio and television, where the data is present regardless of a viewer. On the WWW, there is no omnipresent signal. If no one logs on to the Net, the Net is silent. Similar to a regular print publisher, if a business derives a significant number of customers from a particular state as a result of their Website, it might anticipate that it would be required to defend any litigation that may result in that state. It is possible that a mere posting of information on a Website could alone be the basis to find jurisdiction in a foreign state if the information involves defamatory statements that are expressly directed at a resident of that state.