Explaining the Internet to a 19th Century Street Urchin

October 27, 2010 5:20 PM

Flowcharts! Flowcharts! Flowcharts! Fast Company magazine's latest installment of "Everything Explained through Flowcharts", charts the explaination of the Internet to a 19th Century British Street Urchin.
posted by jivadravya (21 comments total)

That's funny.
posted by carping demon at 5:33 PM on October 27, 2010

Plague was mostly eliminated from London after the 1660s, so where's your flowchart now, smartass?

Of course Cholera and Typhoid were still common at the time. *takes sip of water* Oh, fuck me.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 5:48 PM on October 27, 2010 [4 favorites]

Do they explain how to SEO Spam using infographics?
posted by delmoi at 5:48 PM on October 27, 2010

I really liked this flowchart of female character archetypes. Quite entertaining. And true.
posted by koeselitz at 5:57 PM on October 27, 2010 [2 favorites]

I enjoyed the 19th century urchin one but it was kind of difficult to see the ful-sized version and be able to scroll. When you click the image the larger image opens up in a pop-up but without scroll-bars. So you have to know to copy the address and paste it into a browser window. I can't think of anyone I know who would be able to do that, even after giving them instructions.
posted by amethysts at 6:10 PM on October 27, 2010

I ejoyed
posted by The Whelk at 6:26 PM on October 27, 2010

I don't need browser scroll bars; I have arrow keys. Evens street urchin knows that.
posted by dame at 7:07 PM on October 27, 2010

So you have to know to copy the address and paste it into a browser window. I can't think of anyone I know who would be able to do that, even after giving them instructions.

Whussa 'browser' guvnah? You 'ave glue?
posted by fuq at 7:09 PM on October 27, 2010 [1 favorite]

OK, that is a funny flowchart.

I'm constantly amazed, however, by the number of flowcharts published on the internet that aren't -- I want to say "turing complete" here but that's definitely not the term -- "really" flowcharts. I mean, they don't really give any guidance and are more like linear mind maps. Drives me nuts.

Sidebar: If anybody wants to make flowcharts in OpenOffice that aren't really ugly, I released a free template some time ago...

I love flowcharts.
posted by circular at 7:16 PM on October 27, 2010 [1 favorite]

Koeselitz: Not a flowchart, but have you seen Characters for an Epic Tale by Tom Gauld? It always cracks me up.
posted by circular at 7:22 PM on October 27, 2010 [2 favorites]

Dang, I can't help but fixate on the fact that he claims telegraphs weren't invented in 1835. That's just wrong!

Thanks for the link, though; it's an interesting idea.
posted by cx at 7:35 PM on October 27, 2010

it allows to talk to people and purchase goods without leaving your home!

You notice a typo in an otherwise nicely rendered internet flowchart.

----> congratulate yourself for having a keen eye and continue reading --> get suddenly bitten by a venomous spider that crawled unnoticed up your trouser leg --> die in agony three hours later

----> post a smart-ass comment on some smart-ass website more in the style of a choose-your-own adventure than a strict flowchart --> feel a bit smug --> stub your toe on the dresser on the way out to crack open a celebratory beer

----> hurl your computer across the room in a fit of violent rage at the injustice of someone publishing typo-written crap and getting paid for it while you slave away unnoticed on your word-perfect comics and illustrations that no-one really understands --> die alone in woodland
posted by The Discredited Ape at 7:40 PM on October 27, 2010 [3 favorites]

I really liked this flowchart of female character archetypes. Quite entertaining. And true.

Oh, you mean the one that claims that Ripley from the Alien movies isn't a strong female character? Because if a character can be assigned to any identifiable trope, they're not strong? And put a picture of Uhura under "Useless Girl"? That one?
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:48 PM on October 27, 2010 [1 favorite]

Hey! While I was reading that flowchart someone stole my shoes!
posted by mannequito at 7:57 PM on October 27, 2010

Thank you, circular! I've been having a hell of a time doing a school assignment that requires flowchart-type drawing. I love flowcharts, too. I need to make some more clinical ones.

More on-topic, I've long enjoyed the mental exercise of 'explain things to people who are long dead, if they suddenly came here via time machine or what have you.' Some of my archaeologist friends say they've done it when working extensively with human remains, as well.
posted by cobaltnine at 8:11 PM on October 27, 2010

It's kind of awkward when someone innocently and apparently unknowingly brings up something that was recently the topic of a mefi shitstorm. Makes me go, "wuhoh".
posted by Solon and Thanks at 8:26 PM on October 27, 2010

Sheesh...I'm glad you said that, Solon. For a second I was thinking I must've read that shitstorm on some other site, and I was going to attempt a summary.

More on topic: I really enjoy the idea of a flowchart that has one path leading into a straight-up maze. I may try to steal that idea the next time I have to document some over-elaborated process at work.
posted by Ipsifendus at 9:34 PM on October 27, 2010

Holy god that was amazing.

There was a shitstorm? What was the shitstorm about? I've been a pretty flakey Mefite lately.
posted by EatTheWeek at 11:01 PM on October 27, 2010

The shitstorm was over the female character flowchart.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 5:59 AM on October 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

The maze is a clever addition... the whole thing was pretty funny.
posted by ph00dz at 6:31 AM on October 28, 2010

Wow. I had no idea about the shitstorm. Heh.
posted by koeselitz at 8:16 AM on October 28, 2010