/tel’net/ 1. The Internet standard protocol for remote login.
Runs on top of TCP/IP.
Defined in STD 8, RFC 854 and extended with options by many other RFCs.
Unix BSD networking software includes a program, telnet, which uses the protocol and acts as a terminal emulator for the remote login session.
Sometimes abbreviated to TN.
TOPS-10 had a similar program called IMPCOM.
2. The US nationwide network into which one dials to access CompuServe.
It was created by John Goltz, one of the founders and system guru of CompuServe.
He later worked for Tymshare, one of CompuServe’s big competitors.
[Jargon File]