Here is an example of how to send a message, using max as the sender and bubba as the recipient:

write bubba

When max sends a message to bubba, bubba receives a message like this:

Message from max (ttyp002) [Feb  8 15:04 ] …

After the system establishes the connection to bubba, it sends two alert characters (usually a beeping sound) to max's terminal to indicate that it is ready to send a message. max can then type a message, which appears on bubba's terminal. If a message is more than one line, each time you press <Enter> a line is sent to bubba's terminal.