[ih] from whence cometh ">" ?

Dave Crocker dcrocker at bbiw.net
Tue Oct 14 14:38:18 PDT 2025


On 10/14/2025 2:32 PM, John Levine via Internet-history wrote:
> I think it's older than that, done by /bin/mail long before anyone
> connected Unix systems to the Arpanet.

Since Unix was on the Arpanet by no later than 1975. (I don't remember 
what year we got it at UCLA, but I know Rand had it by then.

So, 'long before' would almost require being before Unix was developed.

Still, yeah, it would have been reasonable for the original bin/mail 
work to make sure naturally occurring lines begining with from did not 
mess up the parse.



> I can ask on the Unix history society
> list.

Given this thread, it would be nice to put the question to bed.

d/

-- 
Dave Crocker

Brandenburg InternetWorking
bbiw.net
bluesky: @dcrocker.bsky.social
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