Turbocharging the snail

March 7, 2016 4:23 AM

Ray Tomlinson, email inventor and selector of @ symbol, dies aged 74 Thank you. RIP.
posted by infini (58 comments total)

There’s a little more detail about the invention here: The First Network Email; The First Email Computer.
posted by misteraitch at 4:27 AM on March 7, 2016 [3 favorites]

@
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 4:30 AM on March 7, 2016 [1 favorite]

@
posted by parki at 4:32 AM on March 7, 2016

@
posted by Mitheral at 4:39 AM on March 7, 2016

In keeping with the first email addresses:

!
posted by nofundy at 4:45 AM on March 7, 2016 [6 favorites]

@
posted by sammyo at 4:49 AM on March 7, 2016

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posted by kinnakeet at 4:52 AM on March 7, 2016

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posted by miss-lapin at 4:59 AM on March 7, 2016

@
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:04 AM on March 7, 2016

Now @ peace.
posted by Emma May Smith at 5:07 AM on March 7, 2016 [5 favorites]

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posted by Ickster at 5:10 AM on March 7, 2016

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posted by acb at 5:17 AM on March 7, 2016

As a prolific correspondent in the pen, ink and paper era, seeking to stay in touch with friends halfway around the world, I can only express my gratitude and appreciation to his idle exploration of "what might be" if I did x and y... Our generation of world changers.

.
posted by infini at 5:19 AM on March 7, 2016 [1 favorite]

@ for a pioneer

But I'm not sure what the bang character is for. The only time I can remember it being used in early email addresses was in usenet addresses but usenet is younger than email.
posted by rdr at 5:21 AM on March 7, 2016

@
posted by mfoight at 5:25 AM on March 7, 2016

@
posted by Radiophonic Oddity at 5:33 AM on March 7, 2016

Added to Morse Code in 2004.
posted by Wolfdog at 5:33 AM on March 7, 2016 [1 favorite]

@
posted by carter at 5:34 AM on March 7, 2016

@
posted by Cash4Lead at 5:39 AM on March 7, 2016

@ (obligitory)
posted by Nanukthedog at 5:40 AM on March 7, 2016

But I'm not sure what the bang character is for.

It was for routing in the early days. Your email address was very local, and there was no DNS, so you had to provide a way for reply emails to find you.

To do this, you provided your own "route" to a well-known, canonical system. ie. (to use one of my old email addresses)

pjern@chinet!uchivax!chgvmic4 where chgvmic4 was an IBM system that agreed to forward public email, and was on 'the list' of canonical systems.

There was fun to be had by playing around with your email address by finding other routes (normally you used the shortest route you knew, but you could see if you could get it to bounce around for some ridiculously long path). If a system on your normal path was down or not relaying, it was up to you to find an alternate path if you needed your email to go through NOW.

The early days on the interwebs were fun times :)
posted by pjern at 5:42 AM on March 7, 2016 [31 favorites]

Oh that's sad! I knew Ray, not well at all, but worked with him on a few projects peripherally. He struck me as the archetypal old school corporate hacker and was friendly and curious and engaged, even with a relative kid like me around.

It was on a project with him at BBN that I was told this story (scroll down to the BBN Vice President story). I don't think he told it, but it was representative of working with the guys of his generation.

He really was a pioneer.
posted by blahblahblah at 5:47 AM on March 7, 2016 [6 favorites]

Also,

@
posted by pjern at 5:47 AM on March 7, 2016

@
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 5:48 AM on March 7, 2016

R@P
posted by bonobothegreat at 6:13 AM on March 7, 2016 [1 favorite]

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posted by numaner at 6:38 AM on March 7, 2016

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posted by limeonaire at 6:41 AM on March 7, 2016

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posted by Ms. Moonlight at 6:46 AM on March 7, 2016

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posted by AugustWest at 6:51 AM on March 7, 2016

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posted by Gelatin at 6:56 AM on March 7, 2016

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posted by fitnr at 6:59 AM on March 7, 2016

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posted by Pendragon at 7:00 AM on March 7, 2016

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posted by Mister Bijou at 7:07 AM on March 7, 2016

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posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 7:12 AM on March 7, 2016

Strong Bad must be inconsolable.

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posted by Strange Interlude at 7:37 AM on March 7, 2016 [1 favorite]

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posted by Mr. Bad Example at 7:40 AM on March 7, 2016

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posted by mrgroweler at 7:44 AM on March 7, 2016

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posted by faceplantingcheetah at 7:53 AM on March 7, 2016

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posted by benito.strauss at 8:09 AM on March 7, 2016

@
posted by Alterscape at 8:21 AM on March 7, 2016

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posted by genehack at 8:35 AM on March 7, 2016

📧
posted by NordyneDefenceDynamics at 8:55 AM on March 7, 2016 [1 favorite]

@
posted by JoeXIII007 at 9:05 AM on March 7, 2016

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posted by /\/\/\/ at 9:41 AM on March 7, 2016

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posted by mazola at 10:23 AM on March 7, 2016

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posted by brennen at 10:27 AM on March 7, 2016

Also, from his obit: "He lived in Lincoln, Massachusetts where he raised miniature sheep."
posted by blahblahblah at 10:28 AM on March 7, 2016 [2 favorites]

@
posted by bouvin at 11:29 AM on March 7, 2016

@

cc: all
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:07 PM on March 7, 2016 [3 favorites]

@.
posted by Seekerofsplendor at 12:57 PM on March 7, 2016

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posted by pan at 1:34 PM on March 7, 2016

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posted by fatbaq at 3:02 PM on March 7, 2016

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posted by radwolf76 at 5:08 PM on March 7, 2016

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posted by Otherwise at 5:36 PM on March 7, 2016

I work at an email SAAS company. We poured one out today.

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posted by sleeping bear at 6:10 PM on March 7, 2016

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posted by aroweofshale at 7:37 PM on March 7, 2016

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posted by bitmage at 8:34 PM on March 7, 2016

@

(Also: Thanks.)
posted by seyirci at 4:43 AM on March 8, 2016