<s>
A	O
talker	B-Protocol
is	O
a	O
chat	B-Protocol
system	O
that	O
people	O
use	O
to	O
talk	B-Device
to	O
each	O
other	O
over	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dating	O
back	O
to	O
the	O
1980s	O
,	O
they	O
were	O
a	O
predecessor	O
of	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
talker	B-Protocol
is	O
a	O
communication	O
system	O
precursor	O
to	O
MMORPGs	B-Protocol
and	O
other	O
virtual	B-Application
worlds	I-Application
such	O
as	O
Second	B-Application
Life	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Talkers	B-Protocol
are	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
online	O
virtual	B-Application
worlds	I-Application
in	O
which	O
multiple	O
users	O
are	O
connected	O
at	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
to	O
chat	B-Protocol
in	O
real-time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
People	O
log	B-General_Concept
in	I-General_Concept
to	O
the	O
talkers	B-Protocol
remotely	O
(	O
usually	O
via	O
Telnet	B-Protocol
)	O
,	O
and	O
have	O
a	O
basic	O
text	O
interface	B-Application
with	O
which	O
to	O
communicate	O
with	O
each	O
other	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
early	O
talkers	B-Protocol
were	O
similar	O
to	O
MUDs	B-Application
with	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
complex	O
game	O
machinery	O
stripped	O
away	O
,	O
leaving	O
just	O
the	O
communication	O
level	O
commands	O
–	O
hence	O
the	O
name	O
"	O
talker	B-Protocol
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ew-too	O
was	O
,	O
in	O
fact	O
,	O
a	O
MUD	B-Application
server	I-Application
with	O
the	O
game	O
elements	O
removed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
talkers	B-Protocol
are	O
free	O
and	O
based	O
on	O
open	B-Application
source	I-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
of	O
the	O
online	O
metaphors	O
used	O
on	O
talkers	B-Protocol
,	O
such	O
as	O
"	O
rooms	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
residency	O
"	O
,	O
were	O
established	O
by	O
these	O
early	O
pioneering	O
services	O
and	O
remain	O
in	O
use	O
by	O
modern	O
3D	O
interfaces	B-Application
such	O
as	O
Second	B-Application
Life	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
used	O
the	O
PDP-11	B-Device
at	O
the	O
Milwaukee	O
Public	O
Schools	O
(	O
MPS	O
)	O
central	O
office	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
searching	O
around	O
the	O
PDP-11	B-Device
files	O
and	O
directories	O
,	O
Mark	O
found	O
the	O
PDP-11	B-Device
program	O
talk	B-Device
,	O
and	O
decided	O
that	O
they	O
could	O
do	O
better	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
system	O
had	O
approximately	O
40	O
300	O
–	O
2400	O
bit	O
per	O
second	O
modems	B-Application
attached	O
to	O
it	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
single	O
phone	O
number	O
and	O
a	O
hunt	O
group	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
talk	B-Device
program	O
was	O
named	O
TALK	B-Device
and	O
was	O
written	O
to	O
handle	O
many	O
options	O
that	O
are	O
seen	O
in	O
IRC	B-Protocol
today	O
:	O
tables	O
,	O
private	O
messages	O
,	O
actions	O
,	O
moderators	O
and	O
inviting	O
to	O
tables	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
talk	B-Device
server	O
called	O
NUTS	O
,	O
which	O
stood	O
for	O
Neil	O
's	O
Unix	B-Device
Talk	I-Device
Server	O
,	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
1993	O
and	O
became	O
fairly	O
popular	O
on	O
Unix	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
command	O
system	O
was	O
broadly	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Unaxcess	O
BBS	O
and	O
being	O
room	O
based	O
it	O
took	O
a	O
lot	O
of	O
inspiration	O
from	O
MUDs	B-Application
too	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cat	O
Chat	B-Protocol
was	O
the	O
first	O
Internet	O
/	O
JANET	O
talker	B-Protocol
,	O
created	O
in	O
1990	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1996	O
,	O
talker.com	O
was	O
formed	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
server	O
to	O
sell	O
space	O
for	O
talkers	B-Protocol
,	O
later	O
giving	O
it	O
the	O
name	O
Dragonroost	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
server	O
had	O
over	O
90	O
talkers	B-Protocol
on	O
it	O
at	O
one	O
time	O
,	O
during	O
the	O
mid-1990s	O
boom	O
of	O
talkers	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
other	O
hosts	O
started	O
up	O
as	O
alternative	O
hosting	O
companies	O
to	O
talker.com	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Talker.com	O
ceased	O
hosting	O
any	O
other	O
talkers	B-Protocol
besides	O
its	O
owners	O
 '	O
on	O
September	O
28	O
,	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
