bitnet

from The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
BITNET

   <networking> /bit'net/ (Because It's Time NETwork) An academic
   and research computer network connecting approximately 2500
   computers.  BITNET provides interactive, {electronic mail} and
   file transfer services, using a {store and forward}
   {protocol}, based on {IBM} {Network Job Entry} protocols.

   Bitnet-II encapsulates the Bitnet protocol within {IP}
   {packets} and depends on the {Internet} to route them.  BITNET
   traffic and Internet traffic are exchanged via several
   {gateway} hosts.

   BITNET is now operated by {CREN}.

   BITNET is everybody's least favourite piece of the network.
   The BITNET hosts are a collection of {IBM} {dinosaurs},
   {VAXen} (with lobotomised communications hardware), and {Prime
   Computer} supermini computers.  They communicate using
   80-character {EBCDIC} card images (see {eighty-column mind});
   thus, they tend to mangle the {headers} and text of
   third-party traffic from the rest of the {ASCII}/{RFC 822}
   world with annoying regularity.  BITNET is also notorious as
   the apparent home of {BIFF}.

   [{Jargon File}]

   (2002-09-02)