"sf" in ...
> On Fri, 07 Jan 2005 06:38:53 -0500, The Cook
> > wrote:
>
>> You seem to forget that the military was heavily involved
>> in ARPA and ARPANET.
>> --
>> Susan N.

For some reason the article quoted above is not on my usual newsreader, but
I'll mention that the statement is true, and is also the basis of an awful
lot of historical misconception and mythology that sprange up in very recent
years among people who had no contact with the Internet and its origins.
(Some people even confuse it with the old military hardened communications
nets, AUTOVON/AUTODIN.)

> Hmmm. That's a possibility... but I'm unclear how usenet
> (rec.food.cooking in particular) could have been an integral
> part of the internet (ARPA or ARPANET) before 1981. In
> those days, [RFC meant "Request For Comments" ...
> Rec.Food.Cooking might have been on a bulletin board or
> maybe two.
>
> sf

Yes, RFC, as in RFC1855 -- as important as ever, if not more so. Check it
out if you haven't done so already, it's one of the most widely read
documents on the Internet. (Originally circulated periodically on Usenet,
starting late 1982, and eventually promoted to a standard Internet document,
minus its most earthy piece of advice.)

But please check out historical material I posted here a few days ago, just
now mentioned on another posting to this thread. It should be on
google.groups.com at least. "RFC" in the sense of this newsgroup name came
into use in late 1986 as part of the Great Renaming and was the newsgroup
formerly known as net.cooks. I was following it before and after the
renaming and I have some private archives also. (I wonder if the early
history is, or could be, added to the FAQ?)

-- Max