Graphics facilities information
A request to document the drawing and visualization equipment available at each network site.
Postel, J., "Graphics facilities information", RFC 268, DOI 10.17487/RFC0268, November 1971, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc268>.
@misc{rfc268,
series = {Request for Comments},
number = 268,
howpublished = {RFC 268},
publisher = {RFC Editor},
doi = {10.17487/RFC0268},
url = {https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc268},
author = {J. Postel},
title = {{Graphics facilities information}},
pagetotal = 1,
year = 1971,
month = nov,
} RFC text
Network Working Group J. Postel
Request for Comments: #268 UCLA-NMC
NIC #7816 Computer Science
Categories: Documentation 24 November 71
Related: Resource Notebook
Obsoletes: None
Graphics Facilities Information
It was suggested at the recent network graphics meeting (@ SAIL
21-23 November) that it would be a good idea to include in the Resources
Notebook information about the graphics facilities at each site. To
further this proposal, I request that the Technical Liaison (or other
knowledgeable person) at each site send me a description of their
graphics facilities for inclusion in the Resources Notebook.
[It is not intended that this replace any other mechanism for up-
dating Resource Notebook entries and the information collected will
be submitted to the normal editorial procedures.]
[ This RFC was put into machine readable form for entry ]
[ into the online RFC archives by BBN Corp. under the ]
[ direction of Alex McKenzie. 12/96 ]
AI ELI5
On this page
§1The Request
Following a network graphics meeting at Stanford in November 1971, Jon Postel of UCLA-NMC sent this request to all network sites. He asked that each site's technical liaison provide a description of their graphics facilities for inclusion in the Resources Notebook, a centralized information repository that was being developed for the ARPA network.
The request was straightforward and administrative in nature. It aimed to create a catalog of graphics resources available across the nascent network, helping researchers discover and access visualization and drawing capabilities at remote sites.
Jon Postel asked everyone to list what computers they had for drawing pictures.
§2The Resources Notebook
The Resources Notebook was an early attempt to document the capabilities and services available at different ARPA network sites. It served as a reference for researchers who wanted to know what facilities and systems existed elsewhere on the network, helping them collaborate and share resources.
The Notebook was maintained through normal editorial procedures. Postel emphasized that this graphics facilities documentation would work alongside existing update mechanisms, not replace them, ensuring consistency with the broader resource inventory effort.
The Resources Notebook was a big list of what equipment and tools each site had to offer everyone else on the network.
§3Early Network Coordination
This RFC exemplifies the organizational work that underpinned the early ARPA network. Before automated discovery systems or standardized catalogs, humans maintained these records by collecting information from each site and compiling it centrally.
The effort shows how the network was not just technical infrastructure, but required community coordination. Graphics facilities ranged widely across the early network's universities and research institutions, making such documentation important for those seeking visualization and display capabilities.
Each research center had different drawing tools, so keeping a list helped scientists find what they needed.