Read the book “Where Wizards Stay up Late” and you will actually know the answer:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Where-Wizards-Stay-Up-Late/dp/0684832674
I was about to post that too but decided to look at the existing comments to see if there was already a smart cookie here. Good show. :)
I found it to be an utterly fascinating read; the excitement at the first messages relayed from one site to another, troubleshooting with an oscilloscope, etc...