Email. Dragon Code. PG Plus.

All about talkers. Introduction. So what is a talker then? If you've been reading these pages and you've been wondering what this "talker" business is all about, then read the section below for an explanation. Explanation. A talker is a type of Internet "Chat" program, it allows many people to "talk" to each other at the same time by typing text messages into a window containing the talker. They are not Internet Relay Chat (IRC) programs, IRC is something different. It's a little difficult to explain really, maybe it's best just to read on and try the tutorial on the connect page. Talkers tend have a theme of some description which helps to create an enjoyable environment in which you can talk, or "Spod" as the act of using a talker is also called. If you use talkers often then don't be too alarmed if someone calls you a spod, in some respects it's a term of endearment, in others it's a gentle reminder that the real world still exists out there! Now so far we have a program on which people can talk, themes to make the talker more interesting and spods who use the talker an awful lot. OK so what if someone starts to make trouble by harassing you or hurling abuse at everyone? This is where staff come in. Staff are the caretakers, teachers and police of talkers, they have varying positions of responsibility signified by their rank. Lower ranks are there to grant residency (allow you to join the talker) and teach new residents (newbies) the basic talker commands so they can talk to others. To some extent lower ranks also serve as police keeping an eye on trouble makers should the need arise. Higher ranks are there to act as police mainly as they have more commands to keep people in line including lower ranks. They also teach and grant residency in the absence of any lower staff member. Right at the top of the talker we have the Administration, these people run and maintain the talker, review staff positions and actually program, or code, the talker itself. If the talker has a Web Page then the Administration will maintain this too.

Email.

Code Bases. All talkers are built upon a code base, this is the underlying computer program which controls all talker interactions. As well as there being different talkers, there are also different code bases on which to build a talker. By far the most popular code base in recent times is Play Ground Plus, down-loadable and ready to run PG+ has fully commented code showing the fledgling coder how to customise PG+ to turn it into their own talker. Amiga Forever is based on a different code base called Dragon Code, therefore you'll find it a little different to most other PG+ derived talkers. When you log on to a talker you should see the message of the day (MOTD) or some form of log on message, here you should find some text crediting the author of the code base the talker is using. While the code base may belong to that particular author, code base authors accept that by releasing their code for others to use they allow the credit for any changes made to go to the coder of the derived talker. Occasionally the modifications made to a code base are so numerous and extreme that the resultant talker code is officially recognised as a new code base. For more information on code bases be sure to have a look at the home pages of PG+. Summary. There you go then, a brief introduction to the world of talkers. If you have any further queries then please email the administration, or you could always ask questions on the talker itself. Return to the top of the page. Copyright the talker Amiga Forever administration, 1999. For other copyright details see here.