Editing Telnet (section)

== History ==
Telnet was originally developed for [[ARPANET]] in 1969.<ref name="kozierok">{{cite book
 |last1=Kozierok
 |first1=Charles M.
 |title=The TCP/IP Guide : a comprehensive, illustrated internet protocols reference
 |date=2005
 |publisher=No Starch Press
 |location=San Francisco
 |isbn=1-59327-047-X
 |page=1439
 |url=http://www.tcpipguide.com/
 |access-date=5 April 2025
}}</ref> Initially, it was an ad hoc protocol with no formal specification,<ref>{{cite IETF|rfc=318 |title=Telnet Protocol |date=April 3, 1972}}</ref> but after extensive work in the 1970s, including numerous RFCs, it was officially formalized in {{IETF RFC|854}} and {{IETF RFC|855}}, which together form internet standard 8.<ref name="kozierok" /><ref name="std8">{{cite IETF
 |title=Internet Standard 8
 |last1=Postel
 |first1=J.
 |last2=Reynolds
 |first2=J.
 |date=May 1983
 |publisher=[[Internet Engineering Task Force|IETF]]
 |access-date=2025-04-06
 |std=8
}}</ref>

Since then, many additional RFCs have updated or extended the Telnet specification, both to address issues in the original standard and to add new capabilities.<ref name="kozierok" /> Some of these extensions have also been adopted as [[Internet standard]]s, particularly standards 27 through 32 (see [[#Related RFCs|below]]).