The guy who claims he invented E-Mail is slowly rewriting history one lawsuit at a time. The wannabe politician, whom many would call a charlatan, using the money from the Gawker case has turned his sights on Techdirt in an effort to squelch historical facts about the origins of e-mail. While this SLAPP suit may look for now on the surface like it is aimed at a single site, Techdirt, regarding a single topic, e-mail, the long term goal might be to take all journalism down a notch or two.
The five-page story on Ars Technica is a deep dive into the history — RFCs, major programs, interviews, etc. They even had an interview with Shiva Ayyadurai. Here's an extract from the intro:
Ayyadurai did write a program called "EMAIL" for use by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (now a part of Rutgers). He copyrighted the code in 1982. But Ayyadurai today makes the far more significant claim that he invented "the electronic mail system as we know it today," even though his code had little impact beyond the university. Mainstream tech history books don't even mention Ayyadurai—unless you count the several books Ayyadurai has written about himself.
On the ARPAnet, the predecessor to the Internet, electronic mail conventions were well-established by the mid-1970s. Dave Crocker, one of a group of ARPAnet pioneers despised by Ayyadurai, told Ars that he wasn't just using e-mail by 1974—he was positively addicted to it, a full three decades before the smartphone.
And another snippet, from their interview with Ayyadurai:
As we persisted in asking what was somehow un-e-mail-like about older 1970s technologies, like the Xerox Alto—Ayyadurai grew more agitated.
"Let's stop right there," he said. "Let's stop. They didn't call it 'e-mail.' You see, you guys want to separate the term. That's wrong, okay? That's wrong. This is what's been going on, Joe, for four fucking years.
"According to Wikipedia, e-mail is the exchange of digital messages," he continued. "Right? Is that a right definition? It is a fucking wrong definition! E-mail is not the exchange of digital messages. That would make Facebook e-mail, it would make every fucking thing e-mail! If you want to talk to the expert—which is me—there are three types of messaging. There's short messaging, which goes back all the way to the smoke signal. Okay? There's community messaging, and there's formal messaging."
So if someone was sending a text document electronically, we asked, from one person to another, on a networked computer—why didn't that count as e-mail?
"Did they call it 'e-mail'?" he said. "No. I defined e-mail! And you guys have got to give me that credit."
Vint Cerf, who is a co-inventor of the TCP/IP protocol that underpins the Internet itself, told us there's "no evidence that Ayyadurai's work had any impact on the development of electronic messages that stem from early ARPAnet work." We asked Ayyadurai about this quote.
"What does Vint Cerf know?" demanded Ayyadurai. "I know Vint Cerf. They created their Internet Hall of Fame seven days after I went in the Smithsonian. Are you aware of that? These guys want to re-write their history."
Seriously, as much as it goes against tradition here, the entire article is well-worth reading. Are there any graybeards and/or former mail admins or even long ago users who wish to chime in with their experiences with e-mail in the pre/post August 1982 time frame?
Related Stories
Mike Masnick at Techdirt lays out, once again, the evidence rebutting Shiva Ayyadurai's claim to have invented e-mail. Shiva Ayyadurai just settled with Techdirt over his repudiated claims. No money was exchanged in the settlement but Techdirt did agree to publish Ayyadurai's claims side by side with the actual facts for comparison. Ayyadurai rose to international attention a few years ago after he claimed the mantle for himself and went around accusing detractors of racism underwritten by large corporations. Now that the issue is officially settled, Mike Masnick has written another summary.
[...] And with that, we'll (hopefully) leave this saga aside. If Ayyadurai would like to respond to this, or to supply evidence to contradict the points and evidence raised above, he is, as always, welcome to provide it. He could have done so any time since 2012 when we first wrote about him and his claims, rather than taking us to court for two and a half years. I still believe that Ayyadurai should, in fact, be praised for what he accomplished as a teenager -- building a working email system as he apparently did, at the time he did, is no small feat. Our only issue with his claims is the decision to argue that his impressive creation was actually "the invention of email." It was not.
It may take a while for Techdirt to get back on its feet both regarding finances and workflow. The trouble from that particular charlatan cost not only a lot of time but also a fair amount of money. Mike Masnick ended up accepting support from the Koch brothers in order to keep going with writing and reporting, allowing the site to keep going but at the cost of tainting its reputation somewhat. With luck the site can become independent again.
Earlier on SN:
Case Dismissed: Judge Throws Out Shiva Ayyadurai's Defamation Lawsuit Against Techdirt(2017)
The Guy who Claims to have Invented E-Mail is at it Again (2017)
The Guy who Claims he Created EMAIL is at it; Again (2017)
[...]
Huffington Post Shows the Importance Of Fact Checking (2014)
(Score: 5, Informative) by Arik on Saturday June 17 2017, @03:31PM (6 children)
What a truly disgusting specimen.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Saturday June 17 2017, @03:45PM (4 children)
V'ger says this instance of carbon based life form must quickly be recycled. :P
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 17 2017, @04:04PM (3 children)
Considering the arstechnica article claims V.A. Shiva is now running for US Senate, perhaps he felt this level of weasel-wording and trickery was necessary to fit in. "I invented EMAIL, the exact term along with a very narrowly-defined electronic mail system of which parts and specifications for the same all predated my own work."
Good on him for working on electronic mail integration systems in the 1970s. Shame on him for succumbing to the sleaze that is the fraud-tainted cesspool of USian politics, even though that is the path to success in this mess of a society.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Saturday June 17 2017, @04:09PM (1 child)
Let's hope he never reaches the US Senate..
Maybe he will email America again.
(Score: 2) by boxfetish on Saturday June 17 2017, @11:13PM
Isn't he running against Elizabeth Warren? I'd say he's got about a .0001 % chance of winning. He likely won't even get the "R" nomination, considering some of the possible candidates.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 17 2017, @05:24PM
Sméagol Ayyadurai was sleaze long before he involved politics. A smart kid who succumbed to the lure of "Mine! All mine! Our Precious!"
It's a pity, because he could have been a real contributor.
(Score: 2) by Lagg on Saturday June 17 2017, @08:29PM
You know it takes a particular kind of person - one who has surely had the shame center of their brain removed - to claim revisionist history. Promptly try to poison the archives, then when it's all failing:
Considering that and his GMO crap. Seems like guy was just lucky enough to get exposure again from being a total freak show on twitter. Maybe he'll make money on it. Twitter is good at rewarding freak shows.
http://lagg.me [lagg.me] 🗿
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 17 2017, @03:37PM (3 children)
Shiva Ayyadurai is a con-artist who did not invent e-mail.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 17 2017, @06:22PM (2 children)
What else did you expect from an Indian? Hell, their entire country's tech sector is built on fraudulent degrees and certifications. Go on stack exchange or any tech blog and you will find an Indian asking the fucking dumbest questions imaginable. If you have a mildly interesting tech bog post about some electronic gizmo or a programming trick, I guarantee you you will find one or more Indian posts in the comments along the lines of "Please informing me how to build nuclear reactor control software." They don't even try to mask their incompetence or ignorance. They just walk in claiming they know how to do X and then google like mad on how to implement X and wing it.
Ever work with an Indian? Awful. They have this strange hubris which makes them very defensive at any notion they might be wrong. When confronted with glaring mistakes they made, they sit there confidently smiling at you while stating that you are wrong, not them. Infuriating. And don't get me started on their extreme lack of hygiene. No Mr Apu, perfume isn't a socially acceptable replacement for a proper shower and use of deodorant. Nothing more nasty then walking into their office which reeks of BO, ass and curry. Then they use oil instead of hair styling products which leaves big greasy oily stains everywhere. Though, god help you if you bring these complaints to management. Those slimy fucks cry RACISM and then you have to live with a black spot or worse, terminated. Fuck them. Fucking white man wanna be phony's.
On the plus side, the only tolerable Indians are the ones who are born here. They turn out okay with better hygiene.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 17 2017, @07:02PM (1 child)
So whenever there's an Indian showing up at your job. It's time to search for a new job? or maybe ask the boss to make sure you will have no interaction with any Indian as condition for you not accepting job elsewhere?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 17 2017, @08:34PM
9/10 times, it is a sign to brush up on your resume and start looking for other opportunities. Because in most places it means you are soon to be outsourced. If you can't make yourself 'invaluable' to the company within a year or two (or sometimes less!), don't be surprised when all your fellow employees start looking a bit browner.
(Score: 5, Informative) by kaszz on Saturday June 17 2017, @03:43PM (3 children)
SNDMSG on machines with the operating system TENEX were extended with the @ symbol by Ray Tomlinson so that it could send email to users on other machines in 1971. Unix "mail" command were released in 1971.
RFC 561 from 1973 and "transmitted over the FTP telnet connection":
Seem familiar?
RFC 733 from 1977 specifies the standard for the format of ARPA network text messages. UUCP was originally written at AT&T Bell Laboratories by Mike Lesk and in use by 1978. A free version were written from scratch in 1991. In 1979 "delivermail" were released.
Oh and, when the ARPANET switched to TCP/IP in 1982, MTAs no longer needed to rely on FTP for delivery. As for anyone wondering on the use of weird network protocols (IMP, NCP etc). DNS came around 1983.
Conclusion: DEBUNKED *plonk*
Now the important matter is to curtail any attempt to lash out SLAPP suits around him. I heard doctors in white coats with special garments can be helpful in that matter..
Speaking of lawyers and lawsuits, make sure that the karma for forcing Berkeley to cut off public access to tens of thousands of free video lectures and podcasts [insidehighered.com] because two employees at Gallaudet University filed a lawsuit for not being accessible to deaf persons.
block quick proto any from 184.154.0.0/16 to any # gallaudet.edu
(Score: 2) by KGIII on Sunday June 18 2017, @12:37AM (2 children)
We had an electronic mail protocol at MIT, in the late 70s. Alas, I am not a CS guru and I have no idea how it worked under the hood. I kinda hated computers then. They were pretty horrible.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Sunday June 18 2017, @05:27AM (1 child)
No name on the protocol or year?
At least things were simpler then in another way that they aren't now.
(Score: 2) by KGIII on Sunday June 18 2017, @06:23AM
Fall of '79, maybe '80. No idea the protocol. I am pretty sure it was a new system by '87. Err... I skipped four years to go earn money. The GI Bill only allows for a four year degree, though that may have changed by now. By that time, getting my education was paid for, but I needed to also support my family. So, I left academia for four years and I'm pretty sure there was a different messaging service the second time.
As strange as this may sound, I kinds hated computers then. In my defense, they were pretty horrible.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Saturday June 17 2017, @05:10PM (2 children)
"No. I defined e-mail!"
No! You're out of order! You're out of order! The whole trial is out of order!
So then, does he have a case for trademark? Obviously he didn't invent email, but was he was the first to coin the term?
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by number11 on Saturday June 17 2017, @05:32PM
Coining a term doesn't entitle you to a trademark. Was he the first to use the term in interstate commerce? Has the term been so widely used since then that (like "aspirin", "linoleum", or "dry ice", which were legit trademarks) it has lost all claim to trademark status?
(Score: 2) by KiloByte on Saturday June 17 2017, @09:55PM
Nope, it was a well-known word in mainstream media by 1979 -- or possibly much earlier, although most of early use applied to faxes rather than RFCey mails, thus the very conservative date of 1979.
This bozo came only in August 1982.
Ceterum censeo systemd esse delendam.
(Score: 2) by BK on Saturday June 17 2017, @05:34PM (2 children)
During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. --Al Gore [youtube.com] (0:50)
Ayyadurai was just building on Al's great work. Have they said anything about collaborating?
...but you HAVE heard of me.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Saturday June 17 2017, @07:05PM
Al Gore should sue for derivative work infringement ;-)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 18 2017, @12:29PM
Gore was saying he chaired the committee that directly funded the Darpanet. Sure, he stretched the true, but nothing like this idiot.
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Saturday June 17 2017, @06:07PM (5 children)
How did this guy get money from the Gawker case?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Arik on Saturday June 17 2017, @06:14PM (4 children)
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by canopic jug on Saturday June 17 2017, @06:39PM (3 children)
It was essentially a $750,000 handout [nymag.com] based on timing. When Gawker shutdown due to bankruptcy from the loss to Terry "Hulk Hogan" Bollea's laywer, it settled for that sum with Ayyadurai. He was apparently represented by Bollea's lawyer, Charles Harder.
The well-documented facts are against him, but not many decisions these days are fact-based, even court decisions. It sure looks an attack on reporting in general.
Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Saturday June 17 2017, @08:33PM (1 child)
Hopefully Gawker we re-appear as a onion site. Sue that.. ;)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 18 2017, @05:08PM
Why "hopefully"? Gawker was garbage. Good riddance to it.
And being an onion site doesn't make it immune from the law, after all the feds managed to shut down The Silk Road and prosecute the guy running it. If they're careful, maybe it could be done successfully, but would be damn difficult doing it as a commercial entity because hiding the money trail to run it commercially is where it gets really complicated.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 17 2017, @08:41PM
Funded by the venture capitalist/Trumpf advisor who must not be named?
(Score: 2) by Hartree on Saturday June 17 2017, @09:25PM
The Plato "notes" system that incorporated personal notes (emails) was released August 7th 1973. Not the first, but yet another example of how many previous art implementations there were.
http://just.thinkofit.com/notes-40-years-plato/ [thinkofit.com]
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 18 2017, @07:36AM
IIRC, his "EMAIL" program, written in Fortran, only ran on one computer - no sending email to a distant party. So not email as we know it today or even email as many knew it back then. More like shite. BTW, this con artist has a habit of rewriting his own history, changing the dates to suit his narrative ("I did it first!"). Pure bullshit.