I think I sent my first email in 1981 from a Digital Equipment VAX/VMS system on DECNET. Internal to DEC you'd use :: between hops. e.g. MYVAX::YOURVAX.
And you'd reverse the host order to send mail in the other direction!
I remember sending almost everything through decvax!decwrl!mit-eddie when communicating with the outside world from DEC.
Frankly getting the routing right was a big pain in the ass. You'd sometimes have to try sending the message a bunch of times as you try to get the route spec just right.
Even so, email was pretty great. It was also very much "old hat" when the world finally got exited about it in the 90's.
Outside, UUCP paths were used. Example: Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!rms@mit-prep (example from an RMS newsgroup post: http://tech-insider.org/free-software/research/1985/0610.htm)
And you'd reverse the host order to send mail in the other direction!
I remember sending almost everything through decvax!decwrl!mit-eddie when communicating with the outside world from DEC.
Frankly getting the routing right was a big pain in the ass. You'd sometimes have to try sending the message a bunch of times as you try to get the route spec just right.
Even so, email was pretty great. It was also very much "old hat" when the world finally got exited about it in the 90's.