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Geek Stuff : Internet RFCs
Just for the hell of it of I've compiled a list of some Internet RFCs that are memorable and somewhat interesting, at least to me.. They're organized in chronological order.
Note: This is a work in progress, so all of my favorite RFCs aren't listed yet, there are many more to come.. But if you have a favorite feel free to use my contact form to suggest it. :)
Interesting Internet RFCsRFC 799 : Internet Name Domains, September 1981
This RFC proposed implementing a "domain name" system much like we currently use today. It's interesting that, at the time of it's writing, they noted that there were around 400 sites around the Internet. They mention their plan would make it easier to accomodate "thousands" of domains. I wonder if at the time they ever dreamed that the commercial Internet would take off in the mid-1990's resulting in millions of domain names being added over the following decade?
Another interesting this is that the main purpose seemed to be for email. There was no "World Wide Web (WWW)" at the time.. That came later in the early 1990's when Tim Berners-Lee invented it at CERN. And so their idea for the structure of these domains, in email addresses, was:
[user].[host]@[domain]
RFC 812 : NICNAME/WHOIS, March 1982
This RFC gives info and details on the WHOIS service. At the time it was indexing anyone with a directory on a host that could pass traffic across the ARPANET (Internet, before the name).
Registration wasn't done through Network Solutions (like we did in the 1990's when they had their monopoly) for a $35.00 fee or GoDaddy (post-monopoly) for $7.99 per year. Instead it was done merely by emailing your full name, address and network email address to NIC@SRI-NIC.
RFC 2324 : Hyper Text Coffee Pot Control Protocol (HTCPCP/1.0), April 1998
An amusing RFC proposing a new protocol (HTCPCP/1.0) for controlling coffee pots and the bewing of coffee over the network.
