ITCWeb: talk.doc
``TALK'' PROGRAMS
There are several ways to participate in on-line conversations via UVa's
Unix computer and network systems. You will need to come to the Help Desk
in Wilson Hall to get a computer account to use them. This document will
show how to access the programs and how to get additional information.
Since ITC provides computers and networks in support of teaching,
research and administrative activities, this document is the only assis-
tance provided for these programs.
The following statements are from ITC's draft Policy on Use of University
Equipment:
University equipment may not be used by University faculty,
staff, or students for personal purposes unrelated to the
University's mission or for commercial purposes... Inappropriate
activity therefore may include (but is not limited to) non-
mission-related use of games, electronic mail, "chat," USENET
news groups and such programs as Gopher and Mosaic...
The University expects all users to cooperate in using public
computing resources for their intended purposes and in
discontinuing their access when reasonably requested to do so.
Failure to observe this policy may result in disciplinary action.
talk, ntalk and ytalk
One of the programs used for an interactive conversation is generically
called ``talk.'' The program exists on ITC's Sun workstations and
RS/6000 computers. Due to a difference in protocols, you should use the
ntalk command to talk between one of UVa's RS/6000s and UVa's Suns. If
you are trying to talk to someone elsewhere who is logged on to a Sun
workstation, this will only work if they also have the ntalk program. If
you are logged on to a Sun, you can use the talk program to talk to other
Suns in the world.
ytalk, a multi-user talk program, uses a different protocol. It is also
installed on ITC's Sun workstations and RS/6000 computers. You can use
ytalk and your correspondent can use talk. If you have a DISPLAY vari-
able set, it will invoke the X Windows version. Invoke it using ytalk -x
to disable the X interface.
The command to invoke the text version of these programs is as follows:
talk (or ntalk or ytalk -x) user-ID@complete-address
where complete-address is, e.g., holmes.acc.virginia.edu
(Note: Using just virginia.edu as an address is not enough information for the talk programs.)
Once you have entered the talk command, a message will appear on the
screen of the person with whom you want to communicate. They should
enter a similar command on their system. Once the connection is com-
plete, whatever you type will appear in one of the split windows on your
screen and whatever the other person types will appear in the other part
of the window. End your session with Ctrl-c.
For those wanting to talk to another on the Unix Cluster:
1. Determine which node a user is on. From the main menu of Umenu, select
"Cluster Commands," then "Gather," then "Friends." Enter the ID of the
person. If the person is logged in to the Unix Cluster, you will get
information back with the specific node.
2. Return to the main menu and select "Go to Unix."
3. Invoke talk as described above, using the complete node
address, as in:
talk user-ID@node2.unix.virginia.edu
The rest of the instructions are the same as described above.
The one error message that should be reported to consult@virginia.edu is
``no talk daemon'' on an ITC machine. We cannot help with errors on
machines not belonging to UVa.
irc (Internet Relay Chat)
Another interactive communication program is irc. The server was in-
stalled for and is supported by Greg Lindahl (gl8f) and not by ITC.
uva.chat
Within the USENET news network, UVa has established the newsgroup
``uva.chat.'' Although this does not provide the same interactive capa-
bility as the programs mentioned above, it was set up to provide a news-
group with no defined subject in which everyone associated with UVa can
participate. It is also possible to set up a newsgroup for you and your
UVa friends, titled something like uva.chat.fo-abc3x where ``fo'' is
short for ``friends of.'' To establish a newsgroup, send electronic mail
to usenet@virginia.edu.
