"Dear Uncle Ezra" is dead?

Dear Uncle Ezra, the oldest online helpdesk, has been removed from the Internet, incl. 25+ yrs of archives. [t.co] #SaveEzra

— Corey Ryan Earle (@crearle) July 1, 2013

"Dear Uncle Ezra" was the first on-line helpline in the world. One of the first queries, in the fall of 1986, was from a dining worker who was diagnosed with AIDS. As a very responsive communication service in a world increasingly filled with layers of bureaucracy before one can find a live, warm human being, Ezra has been able to help students, staff, alumni, prospective students, parents -- readers all around the world -- calm their fears, consider courses of action, determine resources, feel heard and feel empowered.

Then Assistant Dean of Students and former Director of the Cornell Counseling Center Jerry Feist and Cornell Computer Service's Steve Worona masterminded the vision of this invaluable resource. The technical infrastructure they built has handled many thousands of inquiries, guaranteeing confidentiality, archiving all letters for easy reference, and moving into the new millennium without missing a beat. Originally, two dozen public computer sites around campus and comparatively few personal computers allowed students to access CUinfo and ask and read Uncle Ezra inquiries. As CUinfo operated 24-7, Uncle Ezra's door was always open to listen to concerns and to provide help. "We wanted to reflect the helpful spirit of Cornell. I think we succeeded," Jerry Feist comments.

"Dear Uncle Ezra" inspired similar on-line advice services such as the University of Colorado's "Ask Ralphie" to Columbia University's "Go Ask Alice." Who could have predicted the Internet explosion of the next decade which would streamline information access to nearly everyone, and put personal computers in nearly every home and classroom and fill room in public libraries and "Internet cafes"? Yet, the personality of Uncle Ezra makes it something different from the more factual resources search engines can amass at lightning speed.

In addition to asking for counsel or advice, students use the Uncle Ezra forum to share from their own experiences as they read of others' plights. Students offer their praise and appreciation to the Cornell community when they triumph over their own personal struggles. Steve Worona reminds us that "our common humanity is much greater than our differences, and nowhere is this more obvious than in Uncle Ezra's column."

Uncle Ezra has been profiled in The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, The Ithaca Journal, and ON Magazine as well as on NPR's All Things Considered.