Telnet Talkers Rebooted

A "telnet talker" is a colloquial term for a virtual space where users can chat - what some might call a "chat room" - using the telnet internet protocol. Telnet is one of the older protocols, originally introduced in 1969 under RFC15 extended in RFC854 in 1983, becoming STD 8 by Internet Engineering Task Force. The name is derived from "teletype network." For our purposes, we rely on a talker server somewhere on the network and users communicate with it using telnet client software.

The server is a customized environment consisting of server software running on an actual server with a static IP connection - normally required so users know where to find it anytime they wish to log in. We could run it on the desktop at home, but it would become a moving target in the sea of internet addresses. ALG was run this way for a short time before really going "live" but a serious talker needs a static home address on a server that is running and available all of the time.

The client is any of many available software packages running on your desktop, laptop, tablet, phone, or perhaps your "Smart" TV. This can be very simple, such as using 'telnet' from a command prompt (terminal window) in many devices running Linux, Mac OS-X, OS/2, Un*x, CP/M, DOS, or even - gasp! - Windows. Generally, one opens a "command window" and types something like:

telnet dune.net 4405

This instructs the internet-connected device to connect to dune.net on port 4405 using the telnet protocol. This is about as simple and pure as it usually gets. While we can look for fancier software to do the job, it really isn't necessary. Talker servers are designed to work very well in this environment.

If the telnet command fails in your command window, it simply means that the telnet protocol client must be installed. Some later versions of Windows omit the telnet client by default, but it is easily obtained from microsoft and trivial to install. Windows XP and earlier has it, Windows 7 and newer may or may not. Linux, Mac OS-X, OS/2, and Un*x include it in default installations. If you are using DOS or CP/M, your mileage may vary, but it's out there somewhere.

Once connected to the server, we are presented with a login screen such as:

kesey@skwrl:~$ telnet dune.net 4405 Trying 52.2.244.77... Connected to dune.net. Escape character is '^]'. +----------------------------------------------------+ To the Looking-Glass world it was Alice that said, "I've a sceptre in hand, I've a crown on my head; Let the Looking-Glass creatures, whatever they be, Come and dine with the Red Queen, the White Queen, and me... +----------------------------------------------------+ Welcome to Alice's Looking Glass +----------------------------------------------------+ type 'who' at the prompt to see who is on type 'quit' at the prompt to quit your login Give me a name:

At this point, we have three options:

1. Type "who" to see who is logged in
2. Type "quit" to abandon the login attempt
3. Enter a name

Here is the "who" option:

kesey@skwrl:~$ telnet dune.net 4405 Trying 52.2.244.77... Connected to dune.net. Escape character is '^]'. +----------------------------------------------------+ To the Looking-Glass world it was Alice that said, "I've a sceptre in hand, I've a crown on my head; Let the Looking-Glass creatures, whatever they be, Come and dine with the Red Queen, the White Queen, and me... +----------------------------------------------------+ Welcome to Alice's Looking Glass +----------------------------------------------------+ type 'who' at the prompt to see who is on type 'quit' at the prompt to quit your login Give me a name: who +----------------------------------------------------+ Current users on Sunday 26th March 2017 at 09:53am +----------------------------------------------------+ Kesey 1 user logged on, 0 are invis +----------------------------------------------------+ Give me a name:

We see that "Kesey" is logged on currently, but we have not yet logged in. We don't really want to talk to him, so we invoke the "quit" option:

kesey@skwrl:~$ telnet dune.net 4405 Trying 52.2.244.77... Connected to dune.net. Escape character is '^]'. +----------------------------------------------------+ To the Looking-Glass world it was Alice that said, "I've a sceptre in hand, I've a crown on my head; Let the Looking-Glass creatures, whatever they be, Come and dine with the Red Queen, the White Queen, and me... +----------------------------------------------------+ Welcome to Alice's Looking Glass +----------------------------------------------------+ type 'who' at the prompt to see who is on type 'quit' at the prompt to quit your login Give me a name: quit *** Abandoning login attempt *** Connection closed by foreign host.

On the other hand, perhaps we wish to actually create an account and log in. The user chooses a name and at the next prompt, a password. There are few restrictions, as evidenced by the creativity of many of the over 1300 users who were frequenting ALG "back in the day." That list is available to view once logged on, if interested. Here is the first-time login for imaginary user "noob":

kesey@skwrl:~$ telnet dune.net 4405 Trying 52.2.244.77... Connected to dune.net. Escape character is '^]'. +----------------------------------------------------+ To the Looking-Glass world it was Alice that said, "I've a sceptre in hand, I've a crown on my head; Let the Looking-Glass creatures, whatever they be, Come and dine with the Red Queen, the White Queen, and me... +----------------------------------------------------+ Welcome to Alice's Looking Glass +----------------------------------------------------+ type 'who' at the prompt to see who is on type 'quit' at the prompt to quit your login Give me a name: noob New user... Give me a password: +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Rule 1 : No harrassment of any kind is acceptable. Rule 2 : Please try not to swear in a public area. Although you may not find it offensive some people might. So please try to keep that to private rooms. Rule 3 : Do not ask for a promotion in levels. If you are deemed worthy of promotion, then you will be promoted. Rule 4 : No illegal dealings are to take place in a public area on the talker, ie, the selling of drugs, illegaly copied materials, pornography, etc. I know it seems a little over the top to be telling you this, but it's for our own interest ;) Rule 5 : No multiple accounts. If you want to change your alias or would like an alias deleted, then use suicide or smail a wiz about it. +---------------------------------------------------------------+ By typing your password in again you are accepting the above rules. If you do not agree with the rules, then disconnect now. Please confirm password:

At this point, repeat your password. If you've changed your mind, simply fail to confirm the password and you're done - and disconnected. Note that the passwords do not echo back to you by default.

Once you are logged in, you simply type messages and hit enter. Everything you type in this mode can be seen by everyone in the virtual "room" where you typed it. I will get into more details about commands in the next chapter, just remember these few items for now:

1. All commands begin with a "."
2. To see who is on the talker, type .who
3. To set a short description that appears next to your name, use .desc [text]
4. To see a list of commands, type .help
5. For details about those commands, type .help [command name]
6. To log out, type .quit

Don't take any advice to "take the quiz of the day! type .qu!", ok?

Thanks and I hope to see you there even if just to take a peek.

-Kesey