2026-03-12 11:57 UTC
So focus turned towards reducing CPU usage. Eric Thomas (who went on to create LISTSERV for automating mailing list signups) got involved and helped make Relay more efficient, converting some core routines from Rexx scripts to assembly.
Of course, the user base just kept growing: by the summer of 1986 we were seeing 150 users, straining systems again. Signup restrictions were added, etc., but the users just kept coming, with a crop of new students joining the chat in the fall.
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@kcase@mastodon.social 2026-03-12 12:16
At the 1987 Spring NETCON, Jeff Kell gave a presentation on Relay where he concluded "Relay is on the verge of collapse. […] It is no longer due to network load. It is only marginally due to CPU load. It is due to the users." The Bitnet Relay software was rebuilt in compiled Pascal, with a binary network protocol that was much more efficient.