Yes, I can compare the Traveller Library System to the Internet, Multivac, the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Fido Net or Usenet, etc. I specifically chose services on the Internet because that is likely what most people are familiar with. For example, via the Internet, anyone can peruse neighbouring data entries; click on links that take me to other articles, possibly situated on other computers; read entire essays on a data definition; compare a data entry from one site with equivalent entry found on a different site; etc. That is a game changer for me in science fiction roleplaying, because the change in the way we perceive and deal with data comms today is vastly different to the 1970s. The way we query online computer tech today is like telling the players half the adventure background before they have even begun.
Nope. I cannot see anyone who made this claim on this thread. Perhaps if you want, you could point us to it.
You're entirely right After re-reading your initial post, I apologize. I misread it to be suggesting that the internet is much more accurate than what library data would be.
As others have stated, information only travels via ship and at the speed of jump. If our internet today was that slow, it would not be the technological marvel it is seen as. It's great for planetary, and possibly system-wide information on a whim, but the internet is not stored in a local database somewhere, and to be able to access the library data in jump, or have updated data between systems, would require galactic amounts of data it to be stored locally on a ship. The interface could very well function similar to an html page, but I think that's more down to personal preference and is still going to be limited to the data readily available. If they declared it operated like Windows, they'd have a whole host of people upset that it isn't structured like Mac, or even a command line interface. Personally, I prefer to think of it similar to how interfacing with the computer terminals in ST:TNG always worked. Allowing it to be open to interpretation on how it works isn't a bad thing, so long as it follows the rules of the universe.
For what it seems like your describing, it sounds similar to something I dealt with one time. We used a report database system that required each user to return to the office and connect to update with the server daily. If anyone failed to do so, it screwed up the whole system. (but in all fairness, it was never meant to be used by mobile users that weren't constantly connected, it was a hack to get our agency to buy in. Newer systems work because there is a usually a constant connection thanks to cellular towers.) It was an awful experience. I couldn't imagine the entire internet trying to run that way, with a week lag in best-case scenarios. I would envision the library data checks file dates first, then only propagates with newer entries, instead of an entire database update. A full update would likely take a significant amount of time and need to be done as part of maintenance or user request. And even then, we're only talking important data, not an entire galaxy-wide internet worth of blogs, videos, forums, bulletin boards, etc.
