Specialized Systems for Specialized Users
LexisNexis screenshot
“Lexis” means “laws” in Latin. By 1980 the LEXIS database included all U.S. federal and state cases, entered by hand. Unique content like this, and the news articles searchable NEXIS, have kept the service viable for over 40 years.
Specialized Systems for Specialized Users
As networked computers arrived in offices through the 1970s and 1980s, specialized information systems blossomed.
LEXIS provided access to legal cases. NEXIS added a database of news articles. There were industrial purchasing systems based on “Electronic Data Interchange” standards for computerized transactions.
Academics and geeks continued expanding “techie” online communities like Usenet (a message board started in 1980 by Duke University students) and Bitnet (a network for file and email exchange).
Lexis/Nexis button
The LEXIS legal database grew out of a 1967 experiment by the Ohio State Bar. In 1980 it was joined by the NEXIS news database. These terminals offered subscribers convenient access from their offices. LexisNexis later became a paid Web service.
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Ubiq II terminal
The LEXIS legal database grew out of a 1967 experiment by the Ohio State Bar. In 1980 it was joined by the NEXIS news database. These colorful terminals offered subscribers convenient access from their offices. LexisNexis later became a paid Web service.
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Usenet
One of the most durable online communities, Usenet provided topic-oriented “newsgroups” for collaborative discussion. Started in 1979 on UNIX-based academic networks, it later switched to the Internet and was supported by Web browsers.
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