From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
Message-ID: <990cd64b5f8887babd88e9b042b760dd@collyer.net>
To: 9fans@cse.psu.edu
Subject: Re: [9fans] pop3 before smtp
From: Geoff Collyer <geoff@collyer.net>
In-Reply-To: <016201c3473a$b2fce7e0$b9844051@insultant.net>
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Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 16:38:59 -0700
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I doubt that the 7-bit channel was due to the IMPs; FTP can use all 8
bits.  (IMP stood for Interface Message Processor: Honeywell 516 [my
memory says 316, but BBN's history disagrees] minicomputers used as
front-ends to hosts to handle the complexity of dealing with the
network.  Only the IMPs attached directly to the ARPAnet originally.)

But the 7-bit stupidity infected protocols inspired by SMTP, such as
NNTP (which protocol wasn't even necessary, but that's another story).