In his own words
From the plain-text memos of 1969 to essays on how the Internet's open process began. Primary sources, articles and profiles.
Articles & essays
Today's Internet Still Relies on an ARPANET-Era Protocol: The Request for Comments
IEEE Spectrum · History of Technology. Crocker's first-hand account of how the RFC series began, and why it endures.
How the Internet Got Its Rules
The New York Times · Op-Ed. Written for the 40th anniversary of RFC 1, on the open, collaborative culture behind the Internet.
The original RFCs
The memos that began it all are still published, unchanged, by the RFC Editor.
Host Software
The first Request for Comments, on how host computers would interact with the ARPANET's Interface Message Processors.
Read on rfc-editor.org RFC 3 · April 1969Documentation Conventions
Crocker's note setting out how the Network Working Group's memos would be written and shared, and the open spirit behind them.
Read on rfc-editor.orgFurther reading
Inductee profile
Steve Crocker's profile as an inaugural Internet Hall of Fame Pioneer.
Visit profile National Medals FoundationExpert profile
A profile of his career across academia, government and industry, with his honors.
Visit profile IEEE SpectrumAuthor page
Steve Crocker's contributor page at IEEE Spectrum.
Visit page WikipediaEncyclopedia entry
An overview of his life and work, with references.
Visit articleImage credits
- Portrait (home page): courtesy of the National Medals Foundation.
- Black-and-white portrait: Joi Ito, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
- ARPANET logical map, March 1977: public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Colors inverted for display.
- Interface Message Processor front panel: FastLizard4, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
About this site
The biographical information on this site comes from public sources, including Wikipedia, the National Medals Foundation, IEEE Spectrum and the Internet Hall of Fame. Quotations from Steve Crocker are taken from RFC 1, RFC 3 and his 2020 IEEE Spectrum article, as noted alongside each.