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In the first quarter of 1976, traffic reports showed that the volume of ARPANET mail was significantly lower than the volume of regular U.S. mail. However, the growth of email was not going unnoticed. Companies in the private sector saw the potential of electronic mail and began selling software packages for email services. The government also took notice and a report for the White House Office of Telecommunications Policy estimated that 30% of all first-class mail would be sent electronically within a few years. The US Postal Service awarded a contract to evaluate the feasibility of providing email services and a USPS advisory panel recommended making a commitment to electronic mail.

In 1976, Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign used email extensively. The campaign was labeled the “computer-driven candidate” because of their use of email. By 1979, President Carter was supporting a post office proposal to offer electronic message services. The proposal was cautious and similar to a telegram service rather than a fully-fledged electronic communication system.

The concept of email was growing in popularity within large organizations such as the US Geological Survey, Department of Commerce, National Security Agency, and Gulf Oil, who had all started using email over local area networks. The potential impact of email on communication was recognized by experts in the field. They predicted that computer communication systems would become the norm for remote collaboration. They also predicted the growth of automated services such as hotel reservations, credit checking, financial transactions, and information retrieval.

By the end of the 1970s, the popularity of email was evident in the ARPANET community. The MsgGroup, a community of email users, had become a virtual society with its own manners, values, and behaviors. The group engaged in extensive discussions on various topics, and sometimes debates and arguments would break out. Flaming, a form of heated and often abusive dialogue, was common in the ARPANET community. The MsgGroup was considered relatively civilized compared to other discussion groups.

The introduction of emoticons and smileys to convey tone and emotion in email messages became popular during this time. Some users felt that the text-based nature of email lacked the ability to convey nuances such as sarcasm or irony, so they proposed using additional punctuation marks to indicate these tones. However, this idea was met with mixed reactions.

In the early 1980s, there was a shift in the ARPANET community, with key members leaving and the overall tone changing. However, the impact of the community and the use of email networks was significant. The concept of connecting networks and the development of the Internet started to take shape. The work done in packet-radio networks and experiments with satellite links inspired broader networking ideas. The International Network Working Group (INWG) was formed to explore the possibility of linking different networks together. The INWG pursued the development of a Concatenated Network (CATENET) to interconnect networks of disparate technologies and speeds.

Overall, the growth and impact of email in the 1970s set the stage for the development of the Internet and the interconnected networks that we use today. The recognition of email as a powerful communication tool and the exploration of different networking technologies laid the foundation for the digital revolution that was to come.

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