From LQWiki

qotd is an acronym for "quote of the day"

Some systems are set up to display the qotd on the console right after a user authenticates him/herself to the system.

qotd is also the name for a basic networking service that displays a qotd on connect, on port 17.

Internet qotd servers

• quotes4all.net (tcp, udp): Returns the quotes of the website.
• ota.iambic.com (tcp)

See also

• rfc865
• Message of the Day