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MENLO PARK, Calif., April 1, 2004
For Immediate Release

Fans and afficianados of the classic computer protocol “TCP/IP” watched in dismay as the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) announced that “Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol” was no longer the full name of the protocol.

“Quite honestly, we had do do something” said Harald Alvestrand, a former chair of the IETF. “TCP/IP is a good and solid protocol, and we have been quite happy with its adoption and usage until recently. But it’s become clear that something is holding it back.”

“Look, for example, at RSS. That’s getting more and more press coverage every day. People are adopting it like crazy. While TCP once had that sort of magical buzz and growth, it’s become painfully obvious that most people view TCP as somewhat boring these days. TCP’s percentage of the market has stabilized and we need to kickstart the growth process once more.”

“So we thought hard: what does RSS have that TCP doesn’t? And the answer was clear: Nobody really knows what RSS stands for. Is it Rich Site Summary ? Really Simple Syndication ? Who can say? I heard someone the other day call it Rich Syndication and Summary.”

“We want that sort of ambiguity to be part of the TCP brand as well.”

When asked what “TCP/IP” now stood for, Alvestrand refused to reveal the new name, saying “We’ll reveal it during the halftime of the NBA Finals. All I can really tell you is that we’re not the Internet Engineering Task Force anymore either.”