more specifically, there were two kinds of centralized network engineers in those days: military trained, and those that named their servers after Tolkien char

more specifically, there were two kinds of centralized network engineers in those days: military trained, and those that named their servers after Tolkien characters. The de-centralized BBS operators over common-carrier telephone lines were supposedly "hobbyists" but the patterns they established grew stronger over time. "hippie" is a slur btw, no one that was one would say that.. The word comes from a Look Magazine article on San Francisco IIR