Finger: Social network that never died

Finger, created in 1971 at Stanford, was the first social network, using a simple protocol to display user profiles stored in plain text files (.plan and .project) that showed online status and what people were working on. The protocol is still functional today and remains pre-installed on most Unix, macOS, and Windows systems, with potential for a modern revival as interest in decentralized, user-controlled alternatives to corporate social networks grows.