[ih] Early Internet history

[Richard Bennett]

Presumably paper replaced clay tablets because it was lighter and therefore faster to carry. Among other things.

> On Jul 6, 2018, at 12:00 PM, Jack Haverty <jack at 3kitty.org> wrote:
> 
> While we were debating and evolving TCP2 into TCP4, circa 1979-80 or so,
> I remember thinking about my four years of Latin classes in high school,
> where I coincidentally learned quite a lot of Roman history and what
> life was like in the Roman Empire.
> 
> It turned out that the Roman empire had a problem of scale.  As it got
> larger, it became increasingly difficult for outlying parts of the
> Empire to reliably and securely communicate with Rome.  Caesar wanted
> quick, reliable, and secure communications with his Armies and
> Governors.  And he couldn't find a suitable ISP...
> 
> The commanders in the field used a variety of techniques to communicate.
> Messages were written (Packetized?) on some convenient media by
> Scribes.  They were handed to Couriers.  To improve reliability, several
> Couriers would be sent with the same message, by diverse means and
> routes (one on foot, one on a ship, etc.).   Local knowledge (soldier in
> charge of the local garrison) could tell the courier where best to head
> next (Routing), based on current conditions.  If no reply was received
> in a reasonable time, more Couriers could be sent.  More resources could
> be allocated, i.e., more Couriers and Scribes (Multi-Channel?) for
> really important messages.  Slaves were cheaper than T1 circuits.  For
> really secret messages, the text could be split apart (fragmented?) and
> pieces put into separate messages, so that the message could be
> understood only when the pieces were re-united (reassembled?) at the
> destination.  Caesar had reliable, secure, and state-of-the-art fast
> communications.
> 
> Several thousand years later, the Postal System adopted similar
> techniques, adapted to the technology of the day.  Circa 1980, so did
> The Internet.
> 
> Caesar probably wasn't the first...  Maybe the Assyrians?
> 
> /Jack
> 
> 
> On 07/06/2018 09:49 AM, John Levine wrote:
>> In article <11fd50bf-d495-c4a5-ce77-06d96d04f14b at meetinghouse.net>,
>> Miles Fidelman  <mfidelman at meetinghouse.net> wrote:
>>> Kind of sounds like the international postal system.� Or shipping 
>>> packages internationally.� 
>> 
>> About 20 years ago, in Internet for Dummies, I analogized the
>> operation of the Internet to paper mail.  The pre-TCP protocols were
>> sort of like registered mail, where each package has great value* and
>> is carefully logged in and out every time it is sorted or transported
>> to be sure it doesn't get lost.
>> 
>> TCP is more like certified mail, where the package itself is of no
>> value, only its message ("usually a letter from your insurance company
>> saying your policy has been cancelled.")  Certified mail is only
>> logged when mailed and delivered.  If it isn't delivered after a
>> while, you just send another copy.
>> 
>> I further tortured the analogy by saying you were mailing a copy of
>> the ten-pound manuscript of your novel, but the regulations limit each
>> package to one pound so you divide it into pieces and mark each one
>> PART 1, PART 2, and so forth.  The packages arrive in whatever order
>> the post office delivers them, and the recipient puts them back in
>> order.
>> 
>> R's,
>> John
>> 
>> * - in the 1800s the government shipped gold bars by registered mail
>> 
>> 
>> 
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—
Richard Bennett
High Tech Forum <http://hightechforum.org/> Founder
Ethernet & Wi-Fi standards co-creator

Internet Policy Consultant

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