Happy Net Box

[cute logo]

Happy Net Box is a super experimental internet social experiment based on the arcane and near-forgotten retro internet protocol known as FINGER.

Finger is a command line tool that comes pre-installed on Macs and Windows and most Unix systems. It allows you to retrieve information about a "user" on "the internet" -- but it doesn't use the web!

If you open your computer's terminal right now and type finger benbrown@happynetbox.com and get my profile! If not, [instructions go here].

How it works:

  1. Claim a handle
  2. Post some text on that handle's profile
  3. Tell people to finger your handle@happynetbox.com
  4. Come back and change the text. Will anyone see it? Only if they truly love you.
Why Finger?

I love text files and arcane internet commands. The finger client is already installed on most computers.

Are my posts available on the web?

Not directly. They are only available via the finger command line tool.

Are my posts available on the mobile?

Probably not?

Is there a feed? An archive? Follows? Likes?

No

24 apr 2021 was the earliest version the Wayback Machine had of https://happynetbox.com
Copied by 640kb.neocities.org on 19 jul 2026.