So, you want to play a mud, but don't know anything about telnet? The good news is that you probably have telnet installed on your machine but you just don't know it. Telnet itself is a terminal emulation program that allows users to conduct interactive sessions with computers elsewhere on the Internet by providing a character-based (i.e., non-graphical) connection. There are no hidden charges involved other than those charged by your ISP (Internet Service Provider) as they would for any other WWW use. If you have a windows-based computer, use start / find / telnet.exe and then doubliclick on telnet.exe when it shows up. If you can't find it, then you will have to download it. Although we have a telnet applet on our website that will allow you to connect to the game, its use is limited and a better connection to the game will be made using telnet software.
With the advent of the World Wide Web, millions of people have started "surfing" the Internet for the first time. As they enjoy the graphical gusto of the Web, many new users don't realize that other vast oceans of information resources reside on other parts of the Internet. Most people who read don't limit themselves to books, but enjoy magazines and newspapers as well. Likewise, people watch television - but they also listen to radio. Using the Internet presents a similar multitude of choices like Web pages, Telnet sites and BBS systems.
The most powerful part of "the rest of the Net" has always been Telnet, a resource that has been around since the Internet was invented in the 1970's. Think of the World Wide Web as the Atlantic Ocean. Now think of Telnet as the Pacific Ocean, another vast frontier to explore that has its own unique attractions. There are thousands of Telnet sites worldwide containing a wealth of entertainment and information that is not available on the World Wide Web. Telnet sites (also known as "Telsites") come in a wide variety of flavors. Some are corporate or government mainframe systems that are loaded with official databases and technical reports free for access by the general public. Many public and university libraries - including the U.S. Library of Congress - keep their book catalogs on Telnet sites. Scores of community "freenets" - free public access networks containing detailed local community information - are accessed via Telnet. The U.S. Government operates scores of public information and database sites that aren't on the Web, but can be easily toured via Telnet.
Update January '99: we have upgraded the Telnet applet on our site, and it is now a lot better, and good enough to play with. This applet is a piece of Telnet software that lives on the WoTmud server, and allows those that don't have Telnet to play the Wheel of Time mud using a standard web browser such as Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. Catch the applet here.
Common Telnet connection problems
Telnet can't make a connection. What do I do?
If this happens, there may have been a timeout or the Wheel of Time mud server
may be down. Your best bet is to try again in a few minutes, in the meanwhile
spending some time reading our website or helping to promote the mud by 'spreading
the word'.
What is the address?
wotmud.org is the address, and the port number is 2222. If you can't see a place to add the port number, just put wotmud.org:2222 as the address (ie put a colon in between the addressand the port number).
The remote computer dropped my connection, as soon as I logged in. Why?
The answer is the same as above. In both instances, your only option is to
wait and try again later.
I Can't log on because it says that my site is bansited?
Certain people abuse the rules repeatedly, and have been banned from
access. Please mail the staff of the game if you feel that your access has
been cut off unfairly.
How can I see what I'm typing?
Have a look at the help files of your telnet software - there should be options
to toggle such things as a cursor (block or blinking) and so on. If there
is no option to echo your command line, you can do so from within the game
itself by just typing echo.
So how do I start?
Make up a name for your character that you will play and hit the return key on your keyboard,
and keep following the sequence by choosing your password, race, sex and class. Please use a decent fantasy-type name. However,
if you're new to this type of text-based game, you should read this before
connecting.
It is asking me for a password?
If you've chosen a name, and after you enter a password the screen returns 'wrong password' to you, it means that you have inadvertedly chosen a name that is in use by another character. Your best bet at this point is to exit the connection, reconnect to the login screen and just try another name.
Whatever I try, I just can't log on. Help!
It may very well be that you are behind a firewall, which can present problems- which we can't do anything about. Talk to the administrator of your network.
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