Bitnet Relay

Bitnet Relay Chat was the official system of the BITNET / EARN. It was a technology that has later inspired the Internet Relay Chat. There was a relay server in each country, which was connected to BITNET, and they were star-shaped together so that participants all over the world could meet in the common channel. A simple form of multicasting as it has IRC then modeled.

Participants could be the Bitnet Relay without client software because the system function MSG of the BITNET, a kind of instant message interface, firm in the service of this network technology, enough to chat with users on all hosts connected to BITNET can. Better yet, if you were still a comfortable chat software at hand, such as the popular CHAT MODULE was.

The disadvantage of Bitnet Relay was that it was enforced by the university authorities as an official chat system. The operation of other chat server, such as in order to be sure of his privacy was prohibited. Alternative systems such as the Galaxy Network or the VM / Shell, an early peer-to- peer chat system for IBM mainframes, ancestor of the present PSYC were inhibited and under pressure from the university authorities.

• IRC