Chat-tails: Throwback terminal chat, built on Tailscale
SMRTR summary
When Brian Scott wanted a safe digital space for his child to chat with friends while gaming, he ditched modern messaging apps and built something that looks like it's from 1985. Chat-tails strips away everything we've come to expect from digital communication: no voice calls, no images, no persistent message history, just pure text flowing across a terminal screen like the early days of computing.
Scott's creation runs on Tailscale's network, creating private chat rooms that feel more like the old days when friends would physically gather with their computers for LAN parties. "It's supposed to be more like the days where you were all on the same LAN, you would bring your computers together and have a gaming session," Scott explains.
The app offers just four commands: list users, get help, perform an action, and quit. That's it. No bells, whistles, or distractions—just a deliberately minimal space where kids can learn networking basics while chatting safely with friends, protected by the same technology that powers modern VPNs but wrapped in delightfully retro packaging.
SMRTR provides this summary for quick context. The original article belongs to Hacker News.
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