RFC 527 UNKNOWN HUMOR · TERMINOLOGY

ARPAWOCKY

A poem that recasts ARPANET terms in a nonsense-verse style.

On rfc-editor.org ↗
PUBLISHED
May 1973
AUTHORS
R. Merryman
STREAM
Legacy
DOI
10.17487/RFC0527

RFC text

Original text · RFC Editor View on rfc-editor.org ↗
Network Working Group                                    R. Merryman  (UCSD-CC)
Request for Comments:  527                                              6/22/73


                              ARPAWOCKY


                    Twas brillig, and the Protocols
                         Did USER-SERVER in the wabe.
                    All mimsey was the FTP,
                         And the RJE outgrabe,

                    Beware the ARPANET, my son;
                         The bits that byte, the heads that scratch;
                    Beware the NCP, and shun
                         the frumious system patch,

                    He took his coding pad in hand;
                         Long time the Echo-plex he sought.
                    When his HOST-to-IMP began to limp
                         he stood a while in thought,

                    And while he stood, in uffish thought,
                         The ARPANET, with IMPish bent,
                    Sent packets through conditioned lines,
                         And checked them as they went,

                    One-two, one-two, and through and through
                         The IMP-to-IMP went ACK and NACK,
                    When the RFNM came, he said "I'm game",
                         And sent the answer back,

                    Then hast thou joined the ARPANET?
                         Oh come to me, my bankrupt boy!
                    Quick, call the NIC! Send RFCs!
                         He chortled in his joy.

                    Twas brillig, and the Protocols
                         Did USER-SERVER in the wabe.
                    All mimsey was the FTP,
                         And the RJE outgrabe.

                                                            D.L. COVILL
                                                            May 1973

ISO Plain Language

On this page
PROBLEMThe RFC presents no technical problem; it is a poem using network terminology.
MECHANISMThe verse places terms such as FTP, RJE, NCP, IMP, and RFNM in a playful rhyme and refrain.
A POEMIt offers a humorous use of early ARPANET vocabulary rather than a protocol specification.

§1ARPAWOCKY

RFC 527, titled ARPAWOCKY, is a poem in verse. It repeats the line about protocols doing USER-SERVER and FTP and RJE, and uses technical vocabulary in rhyming stanzas.

This RFC is a poem, not a technical manual. Its verse uses terms from network work.

§2Network Terms in the Poem

The poem mentions FTP, RJE, NCP, HOST-to-IMP, IMP-to-IMP, packets, ACK, NACK, and RFNM. These terms appear as part of the poem's imagery and rhyme rather than as formal definitions.

The verse includes names of protocols, computers, messages, and acknowledgements. It does not explain how those things work.

§3A Non-Technical RFC

The document is a literary piece, not a specification. Its content consists of the poem and its signature, with no protocol requirements or implementation instructions.

There are no technical instructions in this RFC. It uses network vocabulary for humor and rhyme.