ow the author to infer certain truths from the grounds; and three, claims, which are any logical conclusions that have been drawn from the grounds. Qualifiers are statements that limit the force of a claim, and rebuttals are conditions wherein claims could be countered. Although all three of these examples of discourse are textual media, each of them offers an interesting perspective on a variety of issues concerning Internet users. For this reason, it seems justifiable to accept all of these textual examples.The first Time Magazine article that will be discussed appeared in the December 12, 1994 issue. Entitled “Terror on the Internet”; it was written by Philip Elmer-DeWitt. It is important to note here that this article was the first to be published under the specifically designated heading: “Technology”. This heading joined other weekly features such as “Movies”, “Books”, and “Music”. Elmer-DeWitt offers the basic claim that the Internet is fragile and “vulnerable to attack”. This is a broad statement to make about a network that was generating such a high level of excitement; this claim is all the more powerful when we realize the context in which it appears. This composition is Time Magazine’s first regular article within its new “Technology” feature; millions of otherwise Internet-ignorant readers are getting their first glimpse of a new era in computers. In this case, their first glimpse was full of misgivings and uncertainties.Elmer-DeWitt offers a solid set of grounds to support his claim; the article opens with a short anecdote about a couple whose computer and phone have been hacked into and manipulated. He explains that the hackers had used computers at the “root” level at IBM, Sprint, and Pipeline. For a new computer user, this story is already a compelling and potentially frightening one. Consumers who believ...
