Finger protocol
HoldPlatforms
A legacy network protocol for querying user presence and profile information on Unix-like systems.
Why it's here
Placed in Hold: 1 article(s) of evidence from 1 source(s), led by research-stage coverage, with 0 in the last 30 days. Confidence 24%. Low accumulated evidence, so it defaults conservatively pending more signal.
Evidence (1)
- 4Hacker News·8/18/2026researchFinger: the old network presence protocol that still works
The article revisits Finger, a 1971 protocol created at Stanford to show who was logged in and what they were doing on shared systems. It also highlights the .plan and .project files that turned Finger into an early form of public status publishing, with examples such as John Carmack’s archived updates.