<s>
Synergy	B-Protocol
Teleconferencing	I-Protocol
System	I-Protocol
(	O
STS	O
)	O
was	O
a	O
PC-based	O
online	B-Protocol
chat	I-Protocol
server	O
popular	O
in	O
the	O
1980s	O
and	O
1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
arose	O
as	O
a	O
replacement	O
for	O
the	O
outdated	O
Diversi-Dial	B-Protocol
system	O
(	O
DDial	B-Protocol
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
DDial	B-Protocol
,	O
it	O
was	O
a	O
multi-line	O
modem	O
system	O
that	O
originally	O
could	O
handle	O
eight	O
simultaneous	O
connections	O
(	O
later	O
updated	O
to	O
handle	O
twenty	O
eight	O
,	O
and	O
using	O
custom-produced	O
RS-232	O
serial	O
boards	O
had	O
a	O
theoretical	O
connection	O
limit	O
of	O
thirty-two	O
on	O
an	O
IBM	B-Operating_System
PC-AT	I-Operating_System
-	O
type	O
computer	O
(	O
80286	B-General_Concept
processor	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
DDial	B-Protocol
was	O
limited	O
to	O
300	O
baud	O
,	O
STS	O
was	O
initially	O
capable	O
of	O
2400	O
baud	O
speeds	O
(	O
later	O
editions	O
upped	O
this	O
to	O
14.4	O
,	O
19.2	O
,	O
and	O
28.8	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
interface	O
and	O
design	O
was	O
similar	O
to	O
DDial	B-Protocol
in	O
that	O
users	O
logged	O
into	O
the	O
system	O
with	O
a	O
three	O
digit	O
number	O
that	O
served	O
as	O
a	O
username	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Synergy	B-Protocol
Teleconferencing	I-Protocol
System	I-Protocol
also	O
incorporated	O
other	O
interesting	O
features	O
that	O
predated	O
similar	O
ones	O
offered	O
by	O
larger	O
ISPs	O
(	O
internet	O
service	O
providers	O
)	O
;	O
One	O
of	O
which	O
(	O
introduced	O
early	O
on	O
)	O
was	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
inform	O
a	O
user	O
that	O
had	O
call	O
waiting	O
on	O
their	O
phone	O
line	O
that	O
they	O
had	O
an	O
incoming	O
call	O
and	O
allow	O
them	O
the	O
opportunity	O
to	O
answer	O
the	O
call	O
and	O
then	O
return	O
to	O
their	O
online	O
session	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
STS	O
was	O
originally	O
written	O
in	O
Pascal	B-Application
with	O
assembly	O
language	O
"	O
hooks	O
"	O
for	O
driving	O
the	O
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
earliest	O
versions	O
were	O
functional	O
on	O
IBM	O
PC-XT-type	O
computers	O
,	O
while	O
later	O
versions	O
required	O
the	O
more	O
robust	O
IBM	B-Operating_System
PC-AT	I-Operating_System
platform	O
with	O
the	O
80286	B-General_Concept
processor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
V1.5	O
and	O
later	O
also	O
had	O
a	O
far	O
superior	O
network	O
linking	O
mode	O
to	O
that	O
of	O
Diversi-Dial	B-Protocol
that	O
supported	O
encrypted	O
data	O
communications	O
and	O
would	O
use	O
IRC	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
hub	O
"	O
to	O
link	O
multiple	O
systems	O
without	O
tying	O
up	O
more	O
than	O
one	O
phone	O
line	O
per	O
station	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
,	O
which	O
began	O
producing	O
early	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drive	I-Device
systems	O
for	O
PCs	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
