#partial #introduction The RELAY network on BITNET was the inspiration for IRC. Nodes were known by their address (RELAY@BITNIC) and a nickname, traditionally a location (New_York). One exception was the node nicknamed "TwiliteZne", based at Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY. Rumor has it that the chief student operator (me) picked that because no one knew where the heck Potsdam was. See http://phrack.org/issues/23/5.html for a partial node list and a few tidbits of ancient network history.