A survey of real-time text systems
Real-time text (RTT) systems date back to the early 1970s at the latest, possibly having been implemented in some capacity in the 1960s. Most real-time text systems have been discontinued or abandoned by their owners, leaving very few such systems alive today. Both ICQ and AIM, two extremely popular late messaging platforms, offered real-time text capabilities during the 1990s and late 2000s respectively but it never caught on.
WM: Archived via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine
Messaging software
Early anecdotes
- The 1960s possibly saw some implementations:
- 1972: Real-time text on Tenex by Jim Calvin
TERM-talk
- Created in 1973 by Dave Andersen for PLATO.
- platopeople.com/termtalk.html [WM]
Talkomatic
- Created in 1973 by Doug Brown for PLATO.
- Wikipedia - Talkomatic
- A recreation exists as of 2026:
talk, ntalk, ytalk and utalk on Unix
- Created sometime between 1981 and 1983 for BSD.
- Early versions would interleave streamed text from participants on the same line; this was addressed later with each participant getting a separate section of the screen instead.
- Wikipedia - Talk (software)
- elists.isoc.org/pipermail/internet-history/2002-December/thread.html#171 [WM]
- ytalk.ourproject.org [WM]
- utalk.ourproject.org [WM]
- Where is the Talk protocol documented? [WM]
Phone on OpenVMS
- Late 1970s, early 1980s?
- Wikipedia - OpenVMS
- marc.vos.net/books/vms/help/phone [WM]
Windows Chat
- Included in Windows versions from 1992 onward, up to but not including Vista.
- Wikipedia - Windows Chat
- How to find, launch and use WinChat messenger [WM]
- Using Windows Chat in Windows XP [WM]
- Images: winchat-1
ICQ (“I Seek You”)
- 1996–2024
- Wikipedia - ICQ
- ICQ had a “Chat” mode distinct from regular messaging: a split-screen window where each participant’s text appeared as real-time text.
- Also showed whether the other participant had switched focus to another window.
- Uncertain exactly when real-time text feature was introduced and removed.
- Images: icq-1, icq-2, icq-3
AIM (AOL Instant Messenger)
- 1997–2017
- Wikipedia - AIM (software)
- Real-time text introduced in 2008.
- TRACE RERC - AOL Incorporates Real-Time Text [WM]
- AOL Help - What is Real-Time IM? [WM]
- AOL Instant Messaging with Real-Time IM Tutorial [WM]
- Images: aol-1, aol-2, aol-3
RealJabber (XEP-0301)
- 2013–
- realjabber.org [WM]
- Demo implementation of XEP-0301.
- Demo (GIF)
Manyland
- Created 2013; shut down February 29 2024.
- manyland.com
Beam Messenger
- 2014–2018?
- x.com/beam_messenger
- Soft112 - Beam Messenger
-
Articles
- 2014-11-12 - BuzzFeed - The Terrifyingly Transparent Texting Of The Future Is Here
- 2014-11-14 - ABC News - Beam Is An Even Faster Chat App
- 2014-11-18 - The Eyeopener - App of the week: Beam
- 2014-11-19 - YouTube - Beam: The App That Sends Even What You Delete
- 2014-11-25 - Medium - Beam Messenger: Setting The Record Straight
- 2015-05-29 - MIT Technology Review - Real-Time Texting App Lets You Interrupt Without Saying a Word
iOS and Android RTT calling
- Apple added RTT to the Phone app in iOS 11 (2017); Google added it to Android 9 (2018).
- Uses RFC 4103 over IMS. Intended as an accessibility feature to replace legacy TTY/TDD.
- T-Mobile was among the first US carriers to support RTT calls.
- The FCC mandated wireless carriers in the US to support RTT, phasing out TTY requirements.
- Apple - Make RTT and TTY calls from iPhone
- Google - Use real-time text (RTT) on phone calls
MlesTalk
- 2019–
- mles.io/app.html
- lemmy.world/c/mles
- github.com/jq-rs/mlestalk-ui
- github.com/jq-rs/zpinc-webworker
- github.com/jq-rs/mles-webproxy
- github.com/jq-rs/mles-webproxy/blob/jq-rs/crates.io/README.md
Honk
Bop Me
- Launched in 2021, now defunct.
- https://www.producthunt.com/products/bop-me
Jiffcy
- 2021–
- jiffcy.com
Jot
- 2025–
- jot.chat
- Note: affiliated with OpenRTT.
Other software
Google Wave
- 2009–2012
- Wikipedia - Google Wave
- Example (starts at 0:50): A Pissed Off Tutorial For Google Wave
Google Docs
- Collaborative editing of text, spreadsheets, slide decks, etc.