Ok, let me clarify what I meant ...
Telnet and FTP are based on the same network protocol, so it is certainly possible to connect to an FTP server using telnet and issue FTP commands. These are (mostly) 4 character upper-case commands with optional arguments and are terminated by CR+LF.
Telnet usually sends each character as it is pressed, while FTP sends the whole request line in a single packet. This has no effect on an FTP server which is simply waiting for an entire line of data. ie, it will continue to wait until the CR+LF is received and then decipher the whole line.
What isn't possible is the retrieval or transmission of data because FTP uses a separate data connection for data transmission. So although you could issue a GET or PUT command, you would not be able to transmit any data.
Any more questions?
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