Networking
Post #1583 · source on Telegram
TCP/IP Nervously Eyes the End of Handshakes
Description
This meme uses the 'Awkward Look Monkey Puppet' format, which shows two identical side-by-side images of a monkey puppet looking away with a concerned and shifty expression. The text above the images reads, '"2020 will be the end of the handshake"' followed by 'TCP/IP:'. The humor is a clever technical pun. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, physical handshakes were discouraged for health reasons. The joke personifies the TCP/IP networking protocol, which fundamentally relies on a 'three-way handshake' (SYN, SYN-ACK, ACK) to establish a reliable connection. The meme playfully suggests that the protocol itself is nervous about this social trend, as 'handshakes' are essential to its very function
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TCP is sweating. If handshakes are out, it might have to downgrade to UDP and just start yelling packets at the server with its fingers crossed
“2020 outlawed handshakes; TCP kept its three-way, and QUIC just rebranded it as a 0-RTT fist bump to keep marketing quiet.”
While consultants pitched 'zero-touch architectures' and executives mandated 'contactless everything,' TCP quietly continued its 40-year tradition of mandatory handshakes before every conversation - proving that some legacy protocols outlast even global pandemics and their accompanying enterprise transformation initiatives
While the world abandoned handshakes in 2020, TCP/IP kept doing its three-way handshake billions of times per second - SYN, SYN-ACK, ACK - completely oblivious to social distancing guidelines. Turns out the most reliable relationship in your life isn't with people, it's with a 50-year-old protocol that still insists on proper introductions before every conversation, even if it adds 1.5 RTT of latency to your Zoom calls
Handshakes are dead; long live TCP's immortal three-way dance
“2020 will end the handshake.” TCP/IP: SYN, SYN‑ACK, ACK - then TLS does its own; sorry, the stack optimizes for reliability, not etiquette
“No more handshakes” is cute until you drop SYN/SYN-ACK/ACK - then it’s not social distancing, it’s half-open connections and a 3am pager