Telnet

Telnet allows you to log into other computers. A lot of libraries, for example, still require you to “telnet” in to find the information you want. The Library of Congress is a good example. You can get to most MOOs and MUDs by telnet as well, if you haven’t got a specialized MUD client at hand.

When you telnet to a standard telnet site, such as locis.loc.gov (the Library of Congress), you have to use a telnet program (such as Better Telnet on the Macintosh, or just ‘telnet’ on Windows) and “Open” a “Session”, “Connection”, or “Remote Host”. The remote host you type is the name of the site you want to go to: locis.loc.gov, for example.

If you also need to type a port, and you don’t see a box to type the port number into, try just adding a space to the end of the hostname and type the port there: lambda.moo.mud.org 8888, for example.

Terminal Emulation

Occasionally, you’ll be asked what kind of “terminal emulation” you’re using. You’d better be using VT100 or one of its variants. If you’re given a list of options, choose the option that sounds most like “vt100”. If you are asked to type in the emulation, type “vt100”, in all lower case. This will usually work.

An URL In Every Port?

A lot of special telnet services are on different “ports”. A “port” is a hole in the host that allows data to get in and out. Each Internet service has a standard port that it uses. Telnet uses port 23. If the place you want to get to uses a different port, you need to let the telnet software know. Usually, there will be a box to type the port number into. If you don’t know the port number, leave this box blank. If you do know the port number, go ahead and type it. If there is no box for the port, and you know that the port is a special one, try typing it after the hostname. Put a space between the hostname and the number. For example, to get to the Weather Underground, which has nothing to do with the rock group, the port is “3000”. You can type telnet madlab.sprl.umich.edu 3000.

In a URL, you’ll see the port after the host, separated by a colon. The URL for the Weather Underground is telnet://madlab.sprl.umich.edu:3000/. Normally, you don’t see the port specified in a URL, because most things use the default port for that service.