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Grex Internet Item 65: ntalk problems
Entered by brenda on Wed Aug 3 23:12:58 UTC 1994:

A few of us have had problems ntalking to people on some other systems.
first i get the [no connection] message, then i get [looking for invitation on
caller's machine].  at this last message, it hangs until I do a ^c to interrupt
it.  I assumed this meant that the system i was trying to talk to wasn't set up
to receive ntalk messages.  Does anyone have any more info on this?

btw- i saw something about this in agora, but thought I'd put it in here, too.

7 responses total.

#1 of 7 by robh on Thu Aug 4 01:56:17 1994:

Good, since I don't read agora.  >8)

Sounds to me like ntalk is trying to connect with a machine that
either doesn't have ntalk available, or there's something else
set up incorrectly which prevents the machines from talking to
each other.

You did check to see if the name server was working, yes?  If that's
down, you won't get an outside connection, and the system will sit
there.

#2 of 7 by kaplan on Thu Aug 4 06:09:35 1994:

I think there can be a problem with non-member access to ntalk.  If the
address is known, it's no problem, but if the nameserver needs to be
accessed, that's when the non-members get locked out.  Does that make
sense?  Would it work if people were to use the numerical address in
brackets instead?

Also, ytalk is better than talk or ntalk.  ytalk is backward compatable so
if someone ntalks you, you can ytalk him/her back.  Maybe ytalk will work
when ntalk doesn't.  It's worth a try.

#3 of 7 by sac on Fri Aug 5 01:31:44 1994:

Help. I've tried ntalk, ytalk, chat, write and nothing works.  The only way 
I can talk to someone is by going to the main menu and either typing "T" or
"A" (if someone is trying to talk to me).  Also could someone please tell me
how to see someone type each character rather than waiting until they're all
done?

#4 of 7 by robh on Fri Aug 5 21:56:09 1994:

I don't know about your first problem, but there's not much you can
do about the second.  When the user writing you uses the "-c" option
on their write command (i.e. "write -c sac"), you will see what
they type as they type it.  If they just use "write sac", you'll only
see it one line at a time.

If line-mode really bugs you, you can ask the other person to end
their write session and then start it again with "write -c sac".
You don't need to end your write session in order to do this.

(Personally, I prefer line-mode.)

#5 of 7 by rcurl on Fri Aug 5 22:25:16 1994:

That's a shame. Especially when helping someone, a silent line could
either mean its line-mode, or the user doesn't know what to write so
is just sitting there (in mental unixshock). I like to have as immediate
a finger on their pulse as possible.

#6 of 7 by curby on Sat Aug 6 01:31:42 1994:

I disagree...  I like the anominity that the line mode gives you.  you can
take that extra second to think about what you are going to say, with out
the person that is on with you knowing that you did not respond write
away.   also like the line mode because it lets you correct typing errors
without the person that is on with you knowing that you made those errors.

(Of course, that doesn;t mean that there will be know errors!)

#7 of 7 by rcurl on Sat Aug 6 05:34:30 1994:

I was referring to the *other person* being in line mode. You are
speaking about the mode *you* want. As a helper, I'd like the helpee
to use character mode. I also use it, so the helpee knows that I'm
there (they are not used to line mode at first). Just my pref.

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