Joy of Access: 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.