With all the flash and glitter that surrounds the World Wide Web, it sometimes seems that it is the only way to get good information on the Internet. Well, before there was the WWW and before there was even Gopher (which will be discussed in a future article), there was Telnet.

Telnet is the Internet standard protocol for remote login. To put it more simply, you can attach to other computers throughout the world and remotely control them. Telnet allows your computer to act as a terminal at their site. While the World Wide Web does that already, there are still many things best left to Telnet.

While much information was formerly available exclusively through Telnet, the two main public areas that haven't yet migrated to the WWW are library catalogs (often referred to as Hytelnet sites) and multi-player interactive text games (MUDs, MOOs, MUSHes, etc).

Libraries, whether your local, public one, or the Library of Congress, are easily accessible through Telnet. You can check any one of thousands of library catalog systems around the world without ever leaving home. This is a great benefit to someone who needs to do serious research.

While there were many sites that claimed to have complete lists of Hytelnet-linked libraries, very few were current. The most well maintained and internationally comprehensive site I found is actually a Gopher site at Washington and Lee University. This site includes links to libraries all over the world, whether they be Law, Medical, Public or Academic libraries. Don't bother looking elsewhere, this site is well categorized and has a lighting-fast Hytelnet search engine so you can find any library you think might be online.

The other major use for Telnet is with multi-player online text-based games, often called MUDs. As described on Basic Information About MUDs and MUDding, "A MUD (Multiple User Dimension, Multiple User Dungeon, or Multiple User Dialogue) is a computer program which users can log into and explore. Each user takes control of a computerized persona/ avatar/ incarnation/ character. You can walk around, chat with other characters, explore dangerous monster-infested areas, solve puzzles, and even create your very own rooms, descriptions and items."

The best sites I found for MUDs were Matt's page - Telnet List, The MUDlist and Cardiff's MUD Page, "the database of OVER 700 MUDs, MOOs, MUCKs, MUSHes."

One cautionary note to Internet users that are on educational systems: most academic institutions specifically forbid playing on MUDs because it is usually considered, "non-academic related." The main concern is that students will become addicted (as many have before) and spend the academic computer resources playing these games instead of allowing someone else access to the Internet connections for "proper academic uses."

While there were certainly sites other than library or gaming that can be accessed through Telnet, I didn't find any that weren't already on the World Wide Web, which means they are even easier to use and graphical.

To use Telnet, you need more than just your standard WWW browser. I recommend one of two programs. EWAN, by Peter Zander, is a simple, free program that you will have to get off the ZDNet Software Library. It has not been updated since January 1995, but is still the best program for novices (and remember, it is free). The other is the more powerful, but also more difficult, NetTerm by InterSoft International, Inc., a $20 shareware program. It has lots of bells and whistles including File Transfer Protocol abilities and Finger, but it's many options are a bit confusing.

If you want the best Macintosh Telnet, there is no competition for NCSA Telnet and your best source to download this is Macworld Online Software Library. Type in "NCSA Telnet" at the space "Search the Software Collection" and click on "search."

All of these programs will need to be setup. Just follow the directions that come with them and you should have no problem.