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Quote of the Day
The Quote of the Day (QOTD) protocol is a simple Internet service that provides a short message when a client connects to it. Traditionally, it was often used for demonstrating connectivity, server responsiveness, or simply to display inspirational or humorous quotes. While historically popular for testing and fun, the protocol has largely fallen out of everyday practical use and is now mostly of historical interest or used in controlled environments..
The Quote of the Day (QOTD) protocol is defined in RFC 865 and operates over TCP and UDP port 17. When a client connects to a QOTD server, the server sends a short ASCII message containing a quote or phrase, then closes the connection. Because of its simplicity, no commands or additional client input are required: the act of connecting triggers the quote delivery.
Due to its minimal functionality, implementation of a QOTD server is straightforward. Many servers cycle through a database of quotes or generate random phrases dynamically. The protocol is stateless and requires no authentication, session management, or complex parsing—making it a lightweight method to test connectivity or display server status messages.
QOTD mainly existed as a demonstration or test service, helping system administrators verify network and server operation in early Internet days. Nowadays, it is uncommon to find active QOTD services on production systems, and the protocol is largely considered obsolete except in certain educational or legacy testing setups.