[ih] What does TELNET stand for?

Sat Aug 23 08:28:50 PDT 2025

Yes, thanks.  AFIPS = American Federation of Information Processing
Societies, if I recall correctly.

Steve

On Sat, Aug 23, 2025 at 11:27 AM gsteemso <48bitsorbust at gmail.com> wrote:

> See this document on Bitsavers:
> http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/afips/AFIPS_Conference_Dates.txt
>
> Gordon.
>
> On Aug 23, 2025, at 8:19 AM, Steve Crocker <steve at shinkuro.com> wrote:
>
> 
> Others can fill in fuller details, so the following is brief.
>
> Yes, ACM held annual conferences.
>
> The Spring Joint Computer Conference (SJCC) and Fall Joint Computer
> Conference (FJCC) were sponsored jointly by the ACM, IEEE and perhaps
> another organization.  This was the basis for "Joint" in the conference
> titles.  During the period of interest, the SJCCs were in the east and the
> FJCCs were in the west.  The conferences grew large enough -- around 50,000
> attendees, if I recall correctly -- that the only cities with adequate
> facilities in those days were Atlantic City and Las Vegas.
>
> There was a set of five Arpanet papers at the 1970 SJCC, and another set
> of five papers at the 1972 SJCC.  In each of those, there was one paper on
> the Arpanet host-level protocols.  The 1970 paper introduced the host-host
> protocol.  The 1972 paper focused on the layers and the initial set of
> application protocols.
>
> Steve
>
>
> On Sat, Aug 23, 2025 at 11:12 AM John Day <jeanjour at comcast.net> wrote:
>
>> Okay, that may have been. I just know that ACM went from NCC, National
>> Computer Conference to Fall and Spring.
>>
>> So there was an East and West Coast conference starting in the 50s?
>> Interesting. By ACM.  What were they called. I can’t say I have ever seen
>> them referenced.
>>
>> Have to do some digging.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> John
>>
>> > On Aug 23, 2025, at 11:05, gsteemso <48bitsorbust at gmail.com> wrote:
>> >
>> > Hi all,
>> >
>> > A nitpick of a nit:  AFAIK there were two conferences ever since they
>> started in the 1950s [except for a single year where one was skipped], it's
>> just they were originally "East" and "West" rather than "Spring" and "Fall".
>> >
>> > Gordon S.
>> >
>> >> On Aug 23, 2025, at 7:23 AM, John Day via Internet-history <
>> internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> Just a nit of a typo only because it might confuse younger members of
>> this list.
>> >>
>> >> Steve meant, the paper for “Spring Joint Computer Conference” not
>> Sprint. ;-)
>> >>
>> >> When computing graduated from one conference a year to two.  (I know
>> hard to believe there were only two a year.)  ;-)
>> >>
>> >> Take care,
>> >> John
>> >>
>> >>> On Aug 23, 2025, at 09:48, Steve Crocker via Internet-history <
>> internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:
>> >>>
>> >>> John, et al,
>> >>>
>> >>> This question caught me by surprise.  I was directly involved in the
>> design
>> >>> and development of the initial suite of protocols for the Arpanet.
>> The
>> >>> initial suite consisted of the Host-Host protocol, the Telnet
>> protocol, and
>> >>> File Transfer Protocol (FTP).
>> >>>
>> >>> An aside: The Host-Host Protocol later became known as the Network
>> Control
>> >>> Protocol (NCP).  The acronym NCP originally meant Network Control
>> Program,
>> >>> and it referred to the software that had to be added to the operating
>> >>> system to interact with the IMP and make access to the network
>> available to
>> >>> user level processes in the time-shared systems.  Eventually, there
>> was no
>> >>> need for a special term for that software and the term "Host-Host
>> Protocol"
>> >>> was too bland.  People started referring to the protocol as the
>> Network
>> >>> Control Protocol, and thus the meaning of "NCP" changed.
>> >>>
>> >>> Even though I had been actively involved in the developments of those
>> >>> protocols, and even though I was first author on the 1972 Sprint Joint
>> >>> Computer Conference paper, the words "Teletype Network" or
>> >>> "Telecommunications Network" do not ring a bell for me.  A possible
>> caveat:
>> >>> The Network Working Group grew from a handful of representatives from
>> the
>> >>> first four sites in early 1969 to about fifty or so people attending
>> the
>> >>> Network Working Group meetings in the next two years.  I remember
>> realizing
>> >>> we needed to split our meetings into two parallel groups, one focused
>> on
>> >>> the Hot-Host protocol and one focused on the application protocols.  I
>> >>> concentrated primarily on the Host-Host protocol and stepped back
>> from the
>> >>> detailed development of the application protocols.
>> >>>
>> >>> The first mention of "Telnet" in the RFC series is in RFC 97, A First
>> Cut
>> >>> at a Proposed Telnet Protocol, by John Melvin and Richard Watson.
>> They
>> >>> were at SRI in Doug Engelbart's group, i.e.. the second node on the
>> >>> Arpanet, and hence an intimate part of the Network Working Group.
>> >>>
>> >>> So far as I can recall, "Telnet" or "TELNET"sprang forth as an easy
>> and
>> >>> natural designation for the remote terminal access protocol that we
>> >>> envisioned as one of the two initial application protocols.  I never
>> >>> thought of it as an acronym for a lengthier phrase.  I'm pretty sure
>> we
>> >>> used the term "Telnet" in our informal NWG meetings.  By the time
>> Melvin
>> >>> and Watson wrote RFC 97 in February 1971, the term was in common use
>> within
>> >>> the group.
>> >>>
>> >>> It's possible they created the word as an acronym of Terminal Network,
>> >>> Telephone Network, Telecommunications Network, or something similar.
>> It's
>> >>> equally possible they created the word as a nominal but unspecified
>> acronym
>> >>> of one of those phrases.  To do better than I can, one would have to
>> ask
>> >>> them.  (I think Watson is no longer with us.  I don't know about
>> Melvin.)
>> >>>
>> >>> In the 1972 paper, I agree with John Levine.  The phrase
>> >>> "Telecommunications Network" feels to me as a back formation of an
>> >>> appositive.  It's even possible I wrote that sentence, though I do not
>> >>> recall doing so.  Haefner, Metcalfe and Postel were the other
>> co-authors.
>> >>> Postel is no longer available.  Metcalfe is, and I don't know about
>> Haefner.
>> >>>
>> >>> Bottom line: I can't say for sure whether "TELNET" was created as an
>> >>> acronym or as a free-standing word.  I'm inclined to believe it was
>> the
>> >>> latter.  In any case, as best I can tell, the 1972 paper is the only
>> time
>> >>> it was associated with "Telecommunications Network."
>> >>>
>> >>> Steve
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>> On Fri, Aug 22, 2025 at 6:45 PM John Levine via Internet-history <
>> >>>> internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:
>> >>>>
>> >>>> This question came up on another list.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> I have seen claims that it's Teletype Network or Telecommunications
>> >>>> Network, which smells like acronym reverse engineering to me.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Does it stand for anything?  Where did the name come from?
>> >>>>
>> >>>> R's,
>> >>>> John
>> >>>> --
>> >>>> Internet-history mailing list
>> >>>> Internet-history at elists.isoc.org
>> >>>> https://elists.isoc.org/mailman/listinfo/internet-history
>> >>>
>> >>> --
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>> >>
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>>
>>
>
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