The first message between two computers on ARPANET was sent #OTD in 1969. The “LO” of “LOGIN” was successfully transmitted and then one of the systems crashed.
Charles Kline’s IMP Log: “Talked to SRI host to host.”
Image: UCLA Kleinrock Center for Internet Studies
Robert McNees
in reply to Robert McNees • • •They re-sent the “LOGIN” message an hour later, establishing a connection between UCLA and Stanford.
So technically the first three characters transmitted over what would become the internet were “LOL.”