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---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hit ``b'' to continue
Hahahha... fooled u!
=========
As you keep reading Usenet, you are going to run across things or people
that really drive you nuts - or that you just get tired of seeing.
Killfiles are just the thing for you. When you start your newsreader, it
checks to see if you have any lists of words, phrases or names you don't want
to see. If you do, then it blanks out any messages containing those words.
Such as cascades.
As you saw earlier, when you post a reply to a message and include parts
of that message, the original lines show up with a > in front of them. Well,
what if you reply to a reply? Then you get a >> in front of the line. And
if you reply to that reply? You get >>>. Keep this up, and soon you get a
triangle of >'s building up in your message.
There are people who like building up these triangles, or cascades.
They'll "respond" to your message by deleting everything you've said, leaving
only the "In message 123435, you said:" part and the last line of your
message, to which they add a nonsensical retort. On and on they go until the
triangle has reached the right end of the page. Then they try to expand the
triangle by deleting one with each new line. Whoever gets to finish this
mega-triangle wins.
There is even a newsgroup just for such folks: alt.cascade.
Unfortunately, cascaders would generally rather cascade in other newsgroups.
Because it takes a lot of messages to build up a completed cascade, the
targeted newsgroup soon fills up with these messages. Of course, if you
complain, you'll be bombarded with messages about the First Amendment and
artistic expression - or worse, with another cascade. The only thing you can
do is ignore them, by setting up a killfile.
There are also certain newsgroups where killfiles will come in handy
because of the way they are organized. For example, readers of
`rec.arts.tv.soaps' always use an acronym in their subject: line for the show
they're writing about (AMC, for example, for "All My Children"). This way,
people who only want to read about "One Life to Live" can blank out all the
messages about "The Young and the Restless" and all the others (to keep
people from accidentally screening out messages that might contain the
letters "gh" in them, "General Hospital" viewers always use "gh:" in their
subject lines).
Both nn and rn let you create killfiles, but in different ways.
To create a killfile in nn, go into the newsgroup with the offending
messages and type a capital `K'. You'll see this at the bottom of your
screen:
AUTO (k)ill or (s)elect (CR => Kill subject 30 days)
If you hit return, nn will ask you which article's subject you're tired
of. Chose one and the article and any follow-ups will disappear, and you
won't see them again for 30 days. If you type a lower-case `k' instead,
you'll get this:
AUTO KILL on (s)ubject or (n)ame (s)
If you hit your `S' key or just enter, you'll see this:
KILL Subject: (=/)
Type in the name of the offending word or phrase and hit enter. You'll
then be prompted:
KILL in (g)roup 'eff.test' or in (a)ll groups (g)
except that the name of the group you see will be the one you're actually
in at the moment. Because cascaders and other annoying people often
cross-post their messages to a wide range of newsgroups, you might consider
hitting `a' instead of `g'. Next comes:
Lifetime of entry in days (p)ermanent (30)
The P key will screen out the offending articles forever, while hitting
enter will do it for 30 days. You can also type in a number of days for the
blocking.
Creating killfiles in rn works differently - its default killfile
generator only works for messages in specific groups, rather than globally
for your entire newsgroup list. To create a global killfile, you'll have to
write one yourself.
To create a killfile in rn, go into the newsgroup where the offending
messages are and type in its number so you get it on your screen. Type a
capital `K'. From now on, any message with that subject line will disappear
before you read the group. You should probably choose a reply, rather than
the original message, so that you will get all of the followups (the original
message won't have a "Re: " in its subject line). The next time you call up
that newsgroup, rn will tell you it's killing messages. When it's done, hit
the space bar to go back into reading mode.
To create a "global" kill file that will automatically wipe out articles
in all groups you read, start rn and type control-K. This will start your
whatever text editor you have as your default on your host system and create
a file (called `KILL', in your `News' subdirectory).
On the first line, you'll type in the word, phrase or name you don't want
to see, followed by commands that tell rn whether to search an entire message
for the word or name and then what to do when it finds it.
Each line must be in this form
/pattern/modifier:j
"Pattern" is the word or phrase you want rn to look for. It's
case-insensitive: both "test" and "Test" will be knocked out. The modifier
tells rn whether to limit its search to message headers (which can be useful
when the object is to never see messages from a particular person):
`a:'
Looks through an entire message
`h:'
Looks just at the header
You can leave out the modifier command, in which case rn will only look at
the subject line of messages. The `j' at the end tells rn to screen out all
articles with the offending word.
So if you never want to see the word "foo" in any header, ever again, type
this:
/foo/h:j
This is particularly useful for getting rid of articles from people who
post in more than one newsgroup, such as cascaders, since an article's
newsgroup name is always in the header.
If you just want to block messages with a subject line about cascades, you
could try:
/foo/:j
To kill anything that is a followup to any article, use this pattern:
/Subject: *Re:/:j
When done writing lines for each phrase to screen, exit the text editor as
you normally would, and you'll be put back in rn.
One word of caution: go easy on the global killfile. An extensive global
killfile, or one that makes frequent use of the `a:' modifier can
dramatically slow down rn, since the system will now have to look at every
single word in every single message in all the newsgroups you want to read.
If there's a particular person whose posts you never want to see again,
first find his or address (which will be in the "from:" line of his postings)
and then write a line in your killfile like this:
/From: *name@address\.all/h:j
==============
In the late 1970s, Unix developers came up with a new feature: a system to
allow Unix computers to exchange data over phone lines.
In 1979, two graduate students at Duke University in North Carolina, TOM
TRUSCOTT and JIM ELLIS, came up with the idea of using this system, known as
UUCP (for Unix-to-Unix CoPy), to distribute information of interest to people
in the Unix community. Along with STEVE BELLOVIN, a graduate student at the
University of North Carolina and STEVE DANIEL, they wrote conferencing
software and linked together computers at Duke and UNC.
Word quickly spread and by 1981, a graduate student at Berkeley, MARK
HORTON and a nearby high school student, MATT GLICKMAN, had released a new
version that added more features and was able to handle larger volumes of
postings - the original North Carolina program was meant for only a few
articles in a newsgroup each day.
Today, Usenet connects tens of thousands of sites around the world, from
mainframes to Amigas. With more than 3,000 newsgroups and untold thousands
of readers, it is perhaps the world's largest computer network.
When things go wrong:
=====================
* When you start up rn, you get a "warning" that "bogus newsgroups" are
present. Within a couple of minutes, you'll be asked whether to keep
these or delete them. Delete them. Bogus newsgroups are newsgroups
that your system administrator or somebody else has determined are no
longer needed.
* While in a newsgroup in rn, you get a message: "skipping unavailable
article." This is usually an article that somebody posted and then
decided to cancel.
====
Leanne Phillips periodically posts a list of frequently asked questions
(and answers) about use of the rn killfile function in the
`news.newusers.questions' and `news.answers' newsgroups on Usenet. Bill
Wohler posts a guide to using the nn newsreader in the `news.answers' and
`news.software' newsgroups. Look in the `news.announce.newusers' and
`news.groups' newsgroups on Usenet for "A Guide to Social Newsgroups and
Mailing Lists", which gives brief summaries of the various `soc.*' newsgroups.
"Managing UUCP and Usenet" by Tim O'Reilly and Grace Todino (O'Reilly &
Associates, 1992) is a good guide for setting up your own Usenet system.
*"Welcome, to the watering hole,
to the death of objectivity, and
the killing fields of the wide boys,
where are we now..."*
-- Marillion, "The Thieving Magpie (La Gazza Ladra)"
Used in concerts as spoken intro by Fish to the 2nd part of "Misplaced Childhood"
************************
Usenet is not the only forum on the Net. Scores of "mailing lists"
represent another way to interact with other Net users. Unlike Usenet
messages, which are stored in one central location on your host system's
computer, mailing-list messages are delivered right to your e-mail box,
unlike Usenet messages.
You have to ask for permission to join a mailing list. Unlike Usenet,
where your message is distributed to the world, on a mailing list, you send
your messages to a central moderator, who either re-mails it to the other
people on the list or uses it to compile a periodic "digest" mailed to
subscribers.
Given the number of newsgroups, why would anybody bother with a mailing
list?
Even on Usenet, there are some topics that just might not generate enough
interest for a newsgroup; for example, the Queen list, which is all about the
late FREDDIE MERCURY's band; or the Marillion & Fish list called "Freaks."
And because a moderator decides who can participate, a mailing list can
offer a degree of freedom to speak one's mind (or not worry about
net.weenies) that is not necessarily possible on Usenet. Several groups
offer anonymous postings - only the moderator knows the real names of people
who contribute. Examples include 12Step, where people enrolled in such
programs as Alcoholics Anonymous can discuss their experiences, and sappho, a
list limited to gay and bisexual women.
You can find mailing addresses and descriptions of these lists in the
`news.announce.newusers' newsgroup with the subject of "Publicly Accessible
Mailing Lists." Mailing lists now number in the hundreds, so this posting is
divided into three parts.
If you find a list to which you want to subscribe, send an e-mail message
to
list-request@address
where "list" is the name of the mailing list and "address" is the
moderator's e-mail address, asking to be added to the list. Include your
full e-mail address just in case something happens to your message's header
along the way, and ask, if you're accepted, for the address to mail messages
to the list.
======
As if Usenet and mailing lists were not enough, there are Bitnet
"discussion groups" or "lists."
Bitnet is an international network linking colleges and universities, but
it uses a different set of technical protocols for distributing information
than the Internet or Usenet.
It offers hundreds of discussion groups, comparable in scope to Usenet
newsgroups.
One of the major differences is the way messages are distributed. Bitnet
messages are sent to your mailbox, just as with a mailing list. However,
where mailing lists are often maintained by a person, all Bitnet discussion
groups are automated - you subscribe to them through messages to a
"listserver" computer. This is a kind of robot moderator that controls
distribution of messages on the list. In many cases, it also maintains
indexes and archives of past postings in a given discussion group, which can
be handy if you want to get up to speed with a discussion or just search for
some information related to it.
Many Bitnet discussion groups are now "translated" into Usenet form and
carried through Usenet in the `bit.listserv.*' hierarchy. In general, it's
probably better to read messages through Usenet if you can. It saves some
storage space on your host system's hard drives.
If 50 people subscribe to the same Bitnet list, that means 50 copies of
each message get stored on the system; whereas if 50 people read a Usenet
message, that's still only one message that needs storage on the system. It
can also save your sanity if the discussion group generates large numbers of
messages. Think of opening your e-mailbox one day to find 200 messages in it
- 199 of them from a discussion group and one of them a "real" e-mail message
that's important to you.
Subscribing and canceling subscriptions is done through an e-mail message
to the listserver computer. For addressing, all listservers are known as
"listserv" (yep) at some Bitnet address. This means you will have to add
`.bitnet' to the end of the address, if it's in a form like this:
`listserv@miamiu'. For example, if you have an interest in environmental
issues, you might want to subscribe to the Econet discussion group. To
subscribe, send an e-mail message to
listserv@miamiu.bitnet
Some Bitnet listservers are also connected to the Internet, so if you see
a listserver address ending in `.edu', you can e-mail the listserver without
adding `.bitnet' to the end.
Always leave the "subject:" line blank in a message to a listserver.
Inside the message, you tell the listserver what you want, with a series of
simple commands:
`subscribe group *Your Name*'
To subscribe to a list, where group is the list name and *Your Name* is
your full name, for example: `subscribe econet Henry Fielding'
`unsubscribe group *Your Name*'
To discontinue a group, for example: `unsubscribe econet Henry Fielding'
`list global'
This sends you a list of all available Bitnet discussion groups. But be
careful - the list is VERY long!
`get refcard'
Sends you a list of other commands you can use with a listserver, such as
commands for retrieving past postings from a discussion group.
Each of these commands goes on a separate line in your message (and you
can use one or all of them). If you want to get a list of all Bitnet
discussion groups, send e-mail to
listserv@bitnic.educom.edu
Leave the "subject:" line blank and use the list global command.
When you subscribe to a Bitnet group, there are two important differences
from Usenet.
First, when you want to post a message for others to read in the
discussion group, you send a message to the group name at its Bitnet address.
Using Econet as an example, you would mail the message to:
econet@miamiu.bitnet
Note that this is different from the listserv address you used to
subscribe to the group to begin with. Use the listserv address ONLY to
subscribe to or unsubscribe from a discussion group. If you use the
discussion-group address, your message will go out to every other subscriber,
many of whom will think unkind thoughts, which they may share with you in an
e-mail message).
The second difference relates to sending an e-mail message to the author
of a particular posting. Usenet newsreaders such as rn and nn let you do
this with one key. But if you hit your `R' key to respond to a
discussion-group message, your message will go to the listserver, and from
there to everybody else on the list! This can prove embarrassing to you and
annoying to others. To make sure your message goes just to the person who
wrote the posting, take down his e-mail address from the posting and then
compose a brand-new message to him. Remember, also, that if you see an
e-mail address like, it's a Bitnet address.
Two Bitnet lists will prove helpful for delving further into the network.
NEW-LIST tells you the names of new discussion groups. To subscribe, send a
message to:
sub NEW-LIST Your Name
INFONETS is the place to go when you have questions about Bitnet. It is
also first rate for help on questions about all major computer networks and
how to reach them. To subscribe, send e-mail to
:
sub INFONETS Your Name
Both of these lists are also available on Usenet, the former as
`bit.listserv.new-list'; the latter as `bit.listserv.infonets' (sometimes
`bit.listserv.info-nets').
*"It wasn't long before the invention of the mailing-list, an
ARPANET broadcasting technique in which an identical message could
be sent automatically to large number of network subscribers.
Interestingly, one of the first really big mailing-list was "SF-LOVERS",
for Science Fiction fans. Disscussing science fiction on the network
was not work-related and was frowned upon by many ARPANET computer
administrators, but this didn't stop it from happening."*
-- Bruce Sterling, F&SF Science Column #5 "Internet"
*******************************
Like any large community, cyberspace has its libraries, places you can go
to look up information or take out a good book. Telnet is one of your keys
to these libraries.
*Telnet* is a program that lets you use the power of the Internet to
connect you to databases, library catalogs, and other information resources
around the world. Want to see what the weather's like in Vermont? Check on
crop conditions in Azerbaijan? Get more information about somebody whose name
you've seen online? Telnet lets you do this, and more.
Alas, there's a big "but!" Unlike the phone system, Internet is not yet
universal; not everybody can use all of its services. Almost all colleges
and universities on the Internet provide telnet access. So do the WELL,
Netcom and the World. But the Free-Net systems do not give you access to
every telnet system. And if you are using a public-access UUCP or Usenet
site, you will not have access to telnet.
The main reason for this is cost. Connecting to the Internet can easily
cost $1,000 or more for a leased, high-speed phone line.
Some databases and file libraries can be queried by e-mail, however; we'll
show you how to do that later on. In the meantime, the rest of this chapter
assumes you are connected to a site with at least partial Internet access.
Most telnet sites are fairly easy to use and have online help systems.
Most also work best (and in some cases, only) with VT100 emulation. Let's
dive right in and try one.
At your host system's command line, type
telnet access.usask.ca
and hit enter. That's all you have to do to connect to a telnet site! In
this case, you'll be connecting to a service known as Hytelnet, which is a
database of computerized library catalogs and other databases available
through telnet. You should see something like this:
Trying 128.233.3.1 ...
Connected to access.usask.ca.
Escape character is '^]'.
Ultrix UNIX (access.usask.ca)
login:
Every telnet site has two addresses - one composed of words that are
easier for people to remember; the other a numerical address better suited
for computers. The "escape character" is good to remember. When all else
fails, hitting your control key and the `]' key at the same time will
disconnect you and return you to your host system. At the login prompt, type
hytelnet
and hit enter. You'll see something like this:
Welcome to HYTELNET
version 6.2
...................
What is HYTELNET? . Up/Down arrows MOVE
Library catalogs . Left/Right arrows SELECT
Other resources . ? for HELP anytime
Help files for catalogs .
Catalog interfaces . m returns here
Internet Glossary . q quits
Telnet tips .
Telnet/TN3270 escape keys .
Key-stroke commands .
........................
HYTELNET 6.2 was written by Peter Scott,
U of Saskatchewan Libraries, Saskatoon, Sask, Canada. 1992
Unix and VMS software by Earl Fogel, Computing Services, U of S 1992
The first choice, "" will be highlighted. Use your down and up
arrows to move the cursor among the choices. Hit enter when you decide on
one. You'll get another menu, which in turn will bring up text files telling
you how to connect to sites and giving any special commands or instructions
you might need. Hytelnet does have one quirk. To move back to where you
started (for example, from a sub-menu to a main menu), hit the left-arrow key
on your computer.
Play with the system. You might want to turn on your computer's
screen-capture, or at the very least, get out a pen and paper. You're bound
to run across some interesting telnet services that you'll want to try - and
you'll need their telnet "addresses."
As you move around Hytelnet, it may seem as if you haven't left your host
system - telnet can work that quickly. Occasionally, when network loads are
heavy, however, you will notice a delay between the time you type a command
or enter a request and the time the remote service responds.
To disconnect from Hytelnet and return to your system, hit your q key and
enter.
Some telnet computers are set up so that you can only access them through
a specific "port." In those cases, you'll always see a number after their
name, for example: `india.colorado.edu 13'. It's important to include that
number, because otherwise, you may not get in.
In fact, try the above address. Type
telnet india.colorado.edu 13
and hit enter. You should see something like this:
Trying 128.138.140.44 ...
Followed very quickly by this:
telnet india.colorado.edu 13
Escape character is '^]'.
Sun Apr 5 14:11:41 1992
Connection closed by foreign host.
What we want is the middle line, which tells you the exact Mountain
Standard Time, as determined by a government-run atomic clock in Boulder,
Colo.
================
More than 200 libraries, from the Snohomish Public Library in Washington
State to the Library of Congress and the libraries of Harvard University, are
now available to you through telnet. You can use Hytelnet to find their
names, telnet addresses and use instructions.
Why would you want to browse a library you can't physically get to? Many
libraries share books, so if yours doesn't have what you're looking for, you
can tell the librarian where he or she can get it. Or if you live in an area
where the libraries are not yet online, you can use telnet to do some basic
bibliographic research before you head down to the local branch.
There are several different database programs in use by online libraries.
Harvard's is one of the easier ones to use, so let's try it.
Telnet to `hollis.harvard.edu'. When you connect, you'll see:
***************** H A R V A R D U N I V E R S I T Y
***************** OFFICE FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
*** *** ***
*** VE *** RI ***
*** *** *** HOLLIS (Harvard OnLine LIbrary System)
***** *****
**** TAS **** HUBS (Harvard University Basic Services)
*** ***
***** IU (Information Utility)
***
CMS (VM/CMS Timesharing Service)
** HOLLIS IS AVAILABLE WITHOUT ACCESS RESTRICTIONS **
Access to other applications is limited to individuals who have been
granted specific permission by an authorized person.
To select one of the applications above, type its name on the command
line followed by your user ID, and press RETURN.
** HOLLIS DOES NOT REQUIRE A USERID **
EXAMPLES: HOLLIS (press RETURN) or HUBS userid (press RETURN)
===>
Type
hollis
and hit enter. You'll see several screens flash by quickly until finally
the system stops and you'll get this:
WELCOME TO HOLLIS
(Harvard OnLine Library Information System)
To begin, type one of the 2-character database codes listed below:
HU Union Catalog of the Harvard libraries
OW Catalog of Older Widener materials
LG Guide to Harvard Libraries and Computing Resources
AI Expanded Academic Index (selective 1987-1988, full 1989- )
LR Legal Resource Index (1980- )
PA PAIS International (1985- )
To change databases from any place in HOLLIS, type CHOOSE followed by a
2-character database code, as in: CHOOSE HU
For general help in using HOLLIS, type HELP. For HOLLIS news, type
HELP NEWS. For HOLLIS hours of operation, type HELP HOURS.
ALWAYS PRESS THE ENTER OR RETURN KEY AFTER TYPING YOUR COMMAND
The first thing to notice is the name of the system: Hollis. Librarians
around the world seem to be inordinately found of cutesy, anthropomorphized
acronyms for their machines (not far from Harvard, the librarians at Brandeis
University came up with Library On-Line User Information Service, or Louis;
MIT has Barton).
If you want to do some general browsing, probably the best bet on the
Harvard system is to chose HU, which gets you access to their main holdings,
including those of its medical libraries. Chose that, and you'll see this:
THE HARVARD UNIVERSITY LIBRARY UNION CATALOG
To begin a search, select a search option from the list below and type its
code on the command line. Use either upper or lower case.
AU Author search
TI Title search
SU Subject search
ME Medical subject search
KEYWORD Keyword search options
CALL Call number search options
OTHER Other search options
For information on the contents of the Union Catalog, type HELP.
To exit the Union Catalog, type QUIT.
A search can be entered on the COMMAND line of any screen.
ALWAYS PRESS THE ENTER OR RETURN KEY AFTER TYPING YOUR COMMAND.
Say you want to see if Harvard has shed the starchy legacy of the
Puritans, who founded the school. Why not see if they have "The Joy of Sex"
somewhere in their stacks? Type
TI Joy of Sex
and hit enter. This comes up:
HU: YOUR SEARCH RETRIEVED NO ITEMS. Enter new command or HELP. You typed:
TI JOY OF SEX
***************************************************************************
ALWAYS PRESS THE ENTER OR RETURN KEY AFTER TYPING YOUR COMMAND.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
OPTIONS: FIND START - search options HELP
QUIT - exit database
COMMAND?
Oh, well! Do they have anything that mentions "sex" in the title? Try
another TI search, but this time just: `TI sex'. You get:
HU GUIDE: SUMMARY OF SEARCH RESULTS 2086 items retrieved by your search:
FIND TI SEX
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 SEX
2 SEX A
823 SEXA
827 SEXBO
831 SEXCE
833 SEXDR
834 SEXE
879 SEXIE
928 SEXJA
929 SEXLE
930 SEXO
965 SEXPI
968 SEXT
1280 SEXUA
2084 SEXWA
2085 SEXY
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
OPTIONS: INDEX (or I 5 etc) to see list of items HELP
START - search options
REDO - edit search QUIT - exit database
COMMAND?
If you want to get more information on the first line, type 1 and hit
enter:
HU INDEX: LIST OF ITEMS RETRIEVED 2086 items retrieved by your search:
FIND TI SEX
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SEX
1 geddes patrick sir 1854 1932/ 1914 bks
SEX A Z
2 goldenson robert m/ 1987 bks
SEX ABUSE HYSTERIA SALEM WITCH TRIALS REVISITED
3 gardner richard a/ 1991 bks
SEX AETATES MUNDI ENGLISH AND IRISH
4 irish sex aetates mundi/ 1983 bks
SEX AFTER SIXTY A GUIDE FOR MEN AND WOMEN FOR THEIR LATER YEARS
5 butler robert n 1927/ 1976 bks
------------------------------------------------------ (CONTINUES) --------
OPTIONS: DISPLAY 1 (or D 5 etc) to see a record HELP
GUIDE MORE - next page START - search options
REDO - edit search QUIT - exit database
COMMAND?
Most library systems give you a way to log off and return to your host
system. On Hollis, hit escape followed by
xx
One particularly interesting system is the one run by the Colorado
Alliance of Research Libraries, which maintains databases for libraries
throughout Colorado, the West and even in Boston.
Telnet `pac.carl.org'
Follow the simple log-in instructions. When you get a menu, type `72'
(even though that is not listed), which takes you to the Pikes Peak Library
District, which serves the city of Colorado Springs.
Several years ago, its librarians realized they could use their database
program not just for books but for cataloging city records and community
information, as well. Today, if you want to look up municipal ordinances or
city records, you only have to type in the word you're looking for and you'll
get back cites of the relevant laws or decisions.
Carl will also connect you to the University of Hawaii library, which,
like the one in Colorado Springs, has more than just bibliographic material
online. One of its features is an online Hawaiian almanac that can tell you
everything you ever wanted to know about Hawaiians, including the number
injured in boogie-board accidents each year (seven).
============
Agriculture
-----------
PENPages, run by Pennsylvania State University's College of Agricultural
Sciences, provides weekly world weather and crop reports from the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. These reports detail everything from the effect of
the weather on palm trees in Malaysia to the state of the Ukrainian wheat
crop. Reports from Pennsylvania country extension officers offer tips for
improving farm life. One database lists Pennsylvania hay distributors by
county - and rates the quality of their hay!
The service lets you search for information two different ways. A menu
system gives you quick access to reports that change frequently, such as the
weekly crop/weather reports. An index system lets you search through several
thousand online documents by keyword. At the main menu, you can either browse
through an online manual or chose "PENPages," which puts you into the
agriculture system.
Telnet: `psupen.psu.edu'
User name: PNOTPA
California State University's Advanced Technology Information Network
provides similar information as PENPages, only focusing on California crops.
It also maintains lists of upcoming California trade shows and carries
updates on biotechnology.
Telnet: `caticsuf.cati.csufresno.edu'
Log in: public
You will then be asked to register and will be given a user name and
password. Hit `a' at the main menu for agricultural information. Hit `d' to
call up a menu that includes a biweekly biotechnology report.
AIDS
----
The University of Miami maintains a database of AIDS health providers in
southern Florida.
Telnet: `callcat.med.miami.edu'
Log in: library
At the main menu, select `P' (for "AIDS providers" and you'll be able to
search for doctors, hospitals and other providers that care for patients with
AIDS. You can also search by speciality.
See also under Health *Note Health:: and Conversation *Note Conversation::.
Amateur Radio
-------------
The National Ham Radio Call-Sign Callbook lets you search for American
amateur operators by callsign, city, last name or Zip code. A successful
search will give you the ham's name, address, callsign, age, type of license
and when they got it. Telnet: `callsign.buffalo.edu 2000' or `ham.njit.edu
2000'. When you connect, you tell the system how you want to search and what
you're looking for. For example, if you want to search for hams by city, you
would type
city city-name
and hit enter (for example: `city Kankakee').
Other search choices are "call" (after which you would type a ham's name),
"name," and "zip" (which you would follow with a Zip code). Be careful when
searching for hams in a large city; there doesn't seem to be anyway to shut
off the list once it starts except by using control-]. Otherwise, when done,
type
quit
and hit enter to disconnect.
Animals
-------
See under Health *Note Health::.
Art
---
The National Gallery of Art in Washington maintains a database of its
holdings, which you can search by artist (Van Gogh, for example) or medium
(watercolor, say). You can see when specific paintings were completed, what
medium they are in, how large they are and who donated it to the gallery.
Telnet: `ursus.maine.edu'
Login: ursus
At the main menu, hit your `b' key and then `4' to connect to the gallery
database.
Calculators
-----------
Hewlett-Packard maintains a free service on which you can seek advice
about their line of calculators.
Telnet: `hpcvbbs.cv.hp.com'
No log-in is needed.
Congress
--------
The Library of Congress Information Service lets you search current and
past legislation (dating to 1982).
Telnet: `locis.loc.gov'
Password: none needed.
When you connect, you'll get a main menu that lets you select from several
databases, including the Library of Congress card catalog (with book entries
dating to 1978) and a database of information on copyright laws.
For the congressional database, select the number next to its entry and
hit enter. You'll then be asked to choose which legislative year to search.
After that, a menu similar to this will come up:
***C103- THE LEGISLATIVE INFORMATION FILE FOR THE 103RD CONGRESS,
which was updated on 05/10/93 and contains 4,044 records,
is now available for your search.
CURRENCY: All information is NOT current through the above date, which is
machine generated when ANY information is added to the file.
Bill numbers, official titles, sponsors, and status (STEP) added
within 48 hours. Indexing terms and digests added later, in
some cases several weeks after the bill is added to the file.
TO START RETRIEVE to find: EXAMPLES:
SEARCH: member name --------------> retrieve rep gingrich
retrieve sen kennedy
bill number --------------> retrieve h.r. 1
subject keywords ---------> retrieve day care
FOR HELP: Type the word HELP and press the ENTER key.
READY FOR NEW COMMAND:
Conversation
------------
Communications Canada, a Canadian government agency is developing
Conversational Hypertext Access Technology (CHAT) is a system being developed
by Communications Canada to provide easy database access to people with
little or no computer experience, using what are known as hypertext links.
Instead of cryptic computer commands, users type questions in English.
Telnet: `debra.doc.ca'
Log in: chat
You chose one of the three databases now online, one on AIDS, and then ask
questions in English.
Ask the AIDS database, "When was AIDS first discovered?" and it answers:
"The first case of AIDS in North America was diagnosed in 1979. Before
that, it existed in Africa, probably beginning in the 1950's. AIDS was
discovered in North America when a number of young men with a history of
homosexuality developed a rare type of cancer called Kaposi's sarcoma."
Sometimes, you do have to rephrase your question. For example, when asked
"What is the link between AIDS and drug use?" the computer responds:
"I know two things about drugs: the drugs that are used to treat people
with AIDS, and the risks that drug users have in getting AIDS. Please ask
about treatments or drug users."
Copyright Law
-------------
See under Congress *Note Congress::.
Current Events
--------------
Every year, the CIA publishes a Fact Book that is essentially an almanac
of all the world's countries and international organizations, including such
information as major products, type of government and names of its leaders.
It's available for searching through the University of Maryland Info Database.
Telnet: `info.umd.edu'
User name: info
Chose a terminal type and hit enter (or just hit enter if you are using
VT100). At the main menu, choose the number next to "Government" and hit
enter. One of your options will then be for "Factbook." Chose that one, and
you can then search by country or agency.
Dictionary
----------
Rutgers University's Campus-Wide Information Service has an online
dictionary, thesaurus and database of familiar quotations, as well as online
copies of the Bible, the Koran and the Book of Mormon and the U.S.
Constitution.
Telnet: `info.rutgers.edu'
No log-in name is needed.
At the main menu, type
reference
and hit enter. You'll see a menu like this:
Online reference material
Menu Commands...
Command Purpose
------- -------
Dictionary Concise Oxford Dictionary, 8th Ed.
Thesaurus Oxford Thesaurus
Familiar Oxford Dictionary of Familiar Quotations (and Modern Q.)
World CIA World Factbook
US US government: Constitution, etc.
Religion Bible, Book of Mormon, Koran
For more information you may look under Libraries in the main menu
Previous Return to previous menu
Find Search for information
Source Age and provider of information. Where to go for more.
Quit Go back to main menu
Online reference material
Menu>
To access any of them, type its name (dictionary, for example) and hit
enter. You'll then be asked for the word to look for. If, instead, you type
religion
and hit enter, you'll be able to search for a word or passage from the
Bible, the Koran or the Book of Mormon.
Environment
-----------
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency maintains online databases of
materials related to hazardous waste, the Clean Lakes program and cleanup
efforts in New England. The agency plans to eventually include cleanup work
in other regions, as well. The database is actually a computerized card
catalog of EPA documents - you can look the documents up, but you'll still
have to visit your regional EPA office to see them.
Telnet: `epaibm.rtpnc.epa.gov'
No password or user name is needed.
At the main menu, type
public
and hit enter (there are other listed choices, but they are only for use
by EPA employees). You'll then see a one-line menu. Type
ols
and hit enter, and you'll see something like this:
NET-106 Logon to TSO04 in progress.
DATABASES:
N NATIONAL CATALOG CH CHEMICAL COLL. SYSTEM
H HAZARDOUS WASTE 1 REGION I
L CLEAN LAKES
OTHER OPTIONS:
? HELP
Q QUIT
ENTER SELECTION -->
Choose one and you'll get a menu that lets you search by document title,
keyword, year of publication or corporation. After you enter the search word
and hit enter, you'll be told how many matches were found. Hit 1 and then
enter to see a list of the entries. To view the bibliographic record for a
specific entry, hit V and enter and then type the number of the record.
The University of Michigan maintains a database of newspaper and magazine
articles related to the environment, with the emphasis on Michigan, dating
back to 1980.
Telnet: `hermes.merit.edu'
Host: mirlyn
Log in: meem
Geography
---------
The University of Michigan Geographic Name Server can provide basic
information, such as population, latitude and longitude of U.S. cities and
many mountains, rivers and other geographic features. Telnet:
`martini.eecs.umich.edu 3000'
No password or user name is needed. Type in the name of a city, a Zip code
or a geographic feature (Mt. McKinley, for example) and hit enter.
By typing in a town's name or zip code, you can find out a community's
county, Zip code and longitude and latitude. Not all geographic features are
yet included in the database.
Government
----------
See under Dictionary *Note Dictionary:: and Current Events *Note Current
Events::.
Health
------
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration runs a database of
health-information.
Telnet: `fdabbs.fda.gov'
Log in: bbs
You'll then be asked for your name and a password you want to use in the
future. After that, type
topics
and hit enter. You'll see this:
TOPICS DESCRIPTION
* NEWS News releases
* ENFORCE Enforcement Report
* APPROVALS Drug and Device Product Approvals list
* CDRH Centers for Devices and Radiological Health Bulletins
* BULLETIN Text from Drug Bulletin
* AIDS Current Information on AIDS
* CONSUMER FDA Consumer magazine index and selected articles
* SUBJ-REG FDA Federal Register Summaries by Subject
* ANSWERS Summaries of FDA information
* INDEX Index of News Releases and Answers
* DATE-REG FDA Federal Register Summaries by Publication Date
* CONGRESS Text of Testimony at FDA Congressional Hearings
* SPEECH Speeches Given by FDA Commissioner and Deputy
* VETNEWS Veterinary Medicine News
* MEETINGS Upcoming FDA Meetings
* IMPORT Import Alerts
* MANUAL On-Line User's Manual
You'll be able to search these topics by key word or chronologically. It's
probably a good idea, however, to capture a copy of the manual, first,
because the way searching works on the system is a little odd. To capture a
copy, type
manual
and hit enter. Then type
scan
and hit enter. You'll see this:
FOR LIST OF AVAILABLE TOPICS TYPE TOPICS
OR ENTER THE TOPIC YOU DESIRE ==>
MANUAL
BBSUSER
08-OCT-91
1 BBS User Manual
At this point, turn on your own computer's screen-capture or logging
function and hit your 1 key and then enter. The manual will begin to scroll
on your screen, pausing every 24 lines.
|#| "Shut up, Wesley!" Online Service # 804-411-1100 |#|
|#| -- Me at 300-2400, and now 9600 baud! |#|
|#| PUNet: tbabb!digwig!nostromo |#|
|#| Home address: InterNet: dvader@imperial.emp.com |#|
|#| Thomas Babbit, III Prodigy: Still awaiting author- |#|
|#| 104 Luzyer Way ization |#|
|#| Sulaco, VA 22545 "Manufacturing educational widget |#|
|#| Phone # 804-555-1524 design for over 3 years..." |#|
|#|=====================================================================|#|
|#| |#|
|#| Introducing: |#|
|#| ______ |#|
|#| The |\ /| / |#|
|#| | \/ | / |#|
|#| | | / |#|
|#| | | / |#|
|#| | | ETELHED /_____ ONE |#|
|#|'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'|#|
|#| 50Megs Online! The k00l BBS for rad teens! Lots of games and many |#|
|#| bases for kul topix! Call now and be validated to the Metelhed Zone|#|
|#| -- 804-555-8500 -- |#|
|#|\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\V/////////////////////////////////////|#|
|#| "This is the end, my friend..." -- The Doors |#|
|#########################################################################|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hit ``b'' to continue
Hahahha... fooled u!
=========
As you keep reading Usenet, you are going to run across things or people
that really drive you nuts - or that you just get tired of seeing.
Killfiles are just the thing for you. When you start your newsreader, it
checks to see if you have any lists of words, phrases or names you don't want
to see. If you do, then it blanks out any messages containing those words.
Such as cascades.
As you saw earlier, when you post a reply to a message and include parts
of that message, the original lines show up with a > in front of them. Well,
what if you reply to a reply? Then you get a >> in front of the line. And
if you reply to that reply? You get >>>. Keep this up, and soon you get a
triangle of >'s building up in your message.
There are people who like building up these triangles, or cascades.
They'll "respond" to your message by deleting everything you've said, leaving
only the "In message 123435, you said:" part and the last line of your
message, to which they add a nonsensical retort. On and on they go until the
triangle has reached the right end of the page. Then they try to expand the
triangle by deleting one with each new line. Whoever gets to finish this
mega-triangle wins.
There is even a newsgroup just for such folks: alt.cascade.
Unfortunately, cascaders would generally rather cascade in other newsgroups.
Because it takes a lot of messages to build up a completed cascade, the
targeted newsgroup soon fills up with these messages. Of course, if you
complain, you'll be bombarded with messages about the First Amendment and
artistic expression - or worse, with another cascade. The only thing you can
do is ignore them, by setting up a killfile.
There are also certain newsgroups where killfiles will come in handy
because of the way they are organized. For example, readers of
`rec.arts.tv.soaps' always use an acronym in their subject: line for the show
they're writing about (AMC, for example, for "All My Children"). This way,
people who only want to read about "One Life to Live" can blank out all the
messages about "The Young and the Restless" and all the others (to keep
people from accidentally screening out messages that might contain the
letters "gh" in them, "General Hospital" viewers always use "gh:" in their
subject lines).
Both nn and rn let you create killfiles, but in different ways.
To create a killfile in nn, go into the newsgroup with the offending
messages and type a capital `K'. You'll see this at the bottom of your
screen:
AUTO (k)ill or (s)elect (CR => Kill subject 30 days)
If you hit return, nn will ask you which article's subject you're tired
of. Chose one and the article and any follow-ups will disappear, and you
won't see them again for 30 days. If you type a lower-case `k' instead,
you'll get this:
AUTO KILL on (s)ubject or (n)ame (s)
If you hit your `S' key or just enter, you'll see this:
KILL Subject: (=/)
Type in the name of the offending word or phrase and hit enter. You'll
then be prompted:
KILL in (g)roup 'eff.test' or in (a)ll groups (g)
except that the name of the group you see will be the one you're actually
in at the moment. Because cascaders and other annoying people often
cross-post their messages to a wide range of newsgroups, you might consider
hitting `a' instead of `g'. Next comes:
Lifetime of entry in days (p)ermanent (30)
The P key will screen out the offending articles forever, while hitting
enter will do it for 30 days. You can also type in a number of days for the
blocking.
Creating killfiles in rn works differently - its default killfile
generator only works for messages in specific groups, rather than globally
for your entire newsgroup list. To create a global killfile, you'll have to
write one yourself.
To create a killfile in rn, go into the newsgroup where the offending
messages are and type in its number so you get it on your screen. Type a
capital `K'. From now on, any message with that subject line will disappear
before you read the group. You should probably choose a reply, rather than
the original message, so that you will get all of the followups (the original
message won't have a "Re: " in its subject line). The next time you call up
that newsgroup, rn will tell you it's killing messages. When it's done, hit
the space bar to go back into reading mode.
To create a "global" kill file that will automatically wipe out articles
in all groups you read, start rn and type control-K. This will start your
whatever text editor you have as your default on your host system and create
a file (called `KILL', in your `News' subdirectory).
On the first line, you'll type in the word, phrase or name you don't want
to see, followed by commands that tell rn whether to search an entire message
for the word or name and then what to do when it finds it.
Each line must be in this form
/pattern/modifier:j
"Pattern" is the word or phrase you want rn to look for. It's
case-insensitive: both "test" and "Test" will be knocked out. The modifier
tells rn whether to limit its search to message headers (which can be useful
when the object is to never see messages from a particular person):
`a:'
Looks through an entire message
`h:'
Looks just at the header
You can leave out the modifier command, in which case rn will only look at
the subject line of messages. The `j' at the end tells rn to screen out all
articles with the offending word.
So if you never want to see the word "foo" in any header, ever again, type
this:
/foo/h:j
This is particularly useful for getting rid of articles from people who
post in more than one newsgroup, such as cascaders, since an article's
newsgroup name is always in the header.
If you just want to block messages with a subject line about cascades, you
could try:
/foo/:j
To kill anything that is a followup to any article, use this pattern:
/Subject: *Re:/:j
When done writing lines for each phrase to screen, exit the text editor as
you normally would, and you'll be put back in rn.
One word of caution: go easy on the global killfile. An extensive global
killfile, or one that makes frequent use of the `a:' modifier can
dramatically slow down rn, since the system will now have to look at every
single word in every single message in all the newsgroups you want to read.
If there's a particular person whose posts you never want to see again,
first find his or address (which will be in the "from:" line of his postings)
and then write a line in your killfile like this:
/From: *name@address\.all/h:j
==============
In the late 1970s, Unix developers came up with a new feature: a system to
allow Unix computers to exchange data over phone lines.
In 1979, two graduate students at Duke University in North Carolina, TOM
TRUSCOTT and JIM ELLIS, came up with the idea of using this system, known as
UUCP (for Unix-to-Unix CoPy), to distribute information of interest to people
in the Unix community. Along with STEVE BELLOVIN, a graduate student at the
University of North Carolina and STEVE DANIEL, they wrote conferencing
software and linked together computers at Duke and UNC.
Word quickly spread and by 1981, a graduate student at Berkeley, MARK
HORTON and a nearby high school student, MATT GLICKMAN, had released a new
version that added more features and was able to handle larger volumes of
postings - the original North Carolina program was meant for only a few
articles in a newsgroup each day.
Today, Usenet connects tens of thousands of sites around the world, from
mainframes to Amigas. With more than 3,000 newsgroups and untold thousands
of readers, it is perhaps the world's largest computer network.
When things go wrong:
=====================
* When you start up rn, you get a "warning" that "bogus newsgroups" are
present. Within a couple of minutes, you'll be asked whether to keep
these or delete them. Delete them. Bogus newsgroups are newsgroups
that your system administrator or somebody else has determined are no
longer needed.
* While in a newsgroup in rn, you get a message: "skipping unavailable
article." This is usually an article that somebody posted and then
decided to cancel.
====
Leanne Phillips periodically posts a list of frequently asked questions
(and answers) about use of the rn killfile function in the
`news.newusers.questions' and `news.answers' newsgroups on Usenet. Bill
Wohler posts a guide to using the nn newsreader in the `news.answers' and
`news.software' newsgroups. Look in the `news.announce.newusers' and
`news.groups' newsgroups on Usenet for "A Guide to Social Newsgroups and
Mailing Lists", which gives brief summaries of the various `soc.*' newsgroups.
"Managing UUCP and Usenet" by Tim O'Reilly and Grace Todino (O'Reilly &
Associates, 1992) is a good guide for setting up your own Usenet system.
*"Welcome, to the watering hole,
to the death of objectivity, and
the killing fields of the wide boys,
where are we now..."*
-- Marillion, "The Thieving Magpie (La Gazza Ladra)"
Used in concerts as spoken intro by Fish to the 2nd part of "Misplaced Childhood"
************************
Usenet is not the only forum on the Net. Scores of "mailing lists"
represent another way to interact with other Net users. Unlike Usenet
messages, which are stored in one central location on your host system's
computer, mailing-list messages are delivered right to your e-mail box,
unlike Usenet messages.
You have to ask for permission to join a mailing list. Unlike Usenet,
where your message is distributed to the world, on a mailing list, you send
your messages to a central moderator, who either re-mails it to the other
people on the list or uses it to compile a periodic "digest" mailed to
subscribers.
Given the number of newsgroups, why would anybody bother with a mailing
list?
Even on Usenet, there are some topics that just might not generate enough
interest for a newsgroup; for example, the Queen list, which is all about the
late FREDDIE MERCURY's band; or the Marillion & Fish list called "Freaks."
And because a moderator decides who can participate, a mailing list can
offer a degree of freedom to speak one's mind (or not worry about
net.weenies) that is not necessarily possible on Usenet. Several groups
offer anonymous postings - only the moderator knows the real names of people
who contribute. Examples include 12Step, where people enrolled in such
programs as Alcoholics Anonymous can discuss their experiences, and sappho, a
list limited to gay and bisexual women.
You can find mailing addresses and descriptions of these lists in the
`news.announce.newusers' newsgroup with the subject of "Publicly Accessible
Mailing Lists." Mailing lists now number in the hundreds, so this posting is
divided into three parts.
If you find a list to which you want to subscribe, send an e-mail message
to
list-request@address
where "list" is the name of the mailing list and "address" is the
moderator's e-mail address, asking to be added to the list. Include your
full e-mail address just in case something happens to your message's header
along the way, and ask, if you're accepted, for the address to mail messages
to the list.
======
As if Usenet and mailing lists were not enough, there are Bitnet
"discussion groups" or "lists."
Bitnet is an international network linking colleges and universities, but
it uses a different set of technical protocols for distributing information
than the Internet or Usenet.
It offers hundreds of discussion groups, comparable in scope to Usenet
newsgroups.
One of the major differences is the way messages are distributed. Bitnet
messages are sent to your mailbox, just as with a mailing list. However,
where mailing lists are often maintained by a person, all Bitnet discussion
groups are automated - you subscribe to them through messages to a
"listserver" computer. This is a kind of robot moderator that controls
distribution of messages on the list. In many cases, it also maintains
indexes and archives of past postings in a given discussion group, which can
be handy if you want to get up to speed with a discussion or just search for
some information related to it.
Many Bitnet discussion groups are now "translated" into Usenet form and
carried through Usenet in the `bit.listserv.*' hierarchy. In general, it's
probably better to read messages through Usenet if you can. It saves some
storage space on your host system's hard drives.
If 50 people subscribe to the same Bitnet list, that means 50 copies of
each message get stored on the system; whereas if 50 people read a Usenet
message, that's still only one message that needs storage on the system. It
can also save your sanity if the discussion group generates large numbers of
messages. Think of opening your e-mailbox one day to find 200 messages in it
- 199 of them from a discussion group and one of them a "real" e-mail message
that's important to you.
Subscribing and canceling subscriptions is done through an e-mail message
to the listserver computer. For addressing, all listservers are known as
"listserv" (yep) at some Bitnet address. This means you will have to add
`.bitnet' to the end of the address, if it's in a form like this:
`listserv@miamiu'. For example, if you have an interest in environmental
issues, you might want to subscribe to the Econet discussion group. To
subscribe, send an e-mail message to
listserv@miamiu.bitnet
Some Bitnet listservers are also connected to the Internet, so if you see
a listserver address ending in `.edu', you can e-mail the listserver without
adding `.bitnet' to the end.
Always leave the "subject:" line blank in a message to a listserver.
Inside the message, you tell the listserver what you want, with a series of
simple commands:
`subscribe group *Your Name*'
To subscribe to a list, where group is the list name and *Your Name* is
your full name, for example: `subscribe econet Henry Fielding'
`unsubscribe group *Your Name*'
To discontinue a group, for example: `unsubscribe econet Henry Fielding'
`list global'
This sends you a list of all available Bitnet discussion groups. But be
careful - the list is VERY long!
`get refcard'
Sends you a list of other commands you can use with a listserver, such as
commands for retrieving past postings from a discussion group.
Each of these commands goes on a separate line in your message (and you
can use one or all of them). If you want to get a list of all Bitnet
discussion groups, send e-mail to
listserv@bitnic.educom.edu
Leave the "subject:" line blank and use the list global command.
When you subscribe to a Bitnet group, there are two important differences
from Usenet.
First, when you want to post a message for others to read in the
discussion group, you send a message to the group name at its Bitnet address.
Using Econet as an example, you would mail the message to:
econet@miamiu.bitnet
Note that this is different from the listserv address you used to
subscribe to the group to begin with. Use the listserv address ONLY to
subscribe to or unsubscribe from a discussion group. If you use the
discussion-group address, your message will go out to every other subscriber,
many of whom will think unkind thoughts, which they may share with you in an
e-mail message).
The second difference relates to sending an e-mail message to the author
of a particular posting. Usenet newsreaders such as rn and nn let you do
this with one key. But if you hit your `R' key to respond to a
discussion-group message, your message will go to the listserver, and from
there to everybody else on the list! This can prove embarrassing to you and
annoying to others. To make sure your message goes just to the person who
wrote the posting, take down his e-mail address from the posting and then
compose a brand-new message to him. Remember, also, that if you see an
e-mail address like
Two Bitnet lists will prove helpful for delving further into the network.
NEW-LIST tells you the names of new discussion groups. To subscribe, send a
message to
sub NEW-LIST Your Name
INFONETS is the place to go when you have questions about Bitnet. It is
also first rate for help on questions about all major computer networks and
how to reach them. To subscribe, send e-mail to
sub INFONETS Your Name
Both of these lists are also available on Usenet, the former as
`bit.listserv.new-list'; the latter as `bit.listserv.infonets' (sometimes
`bit.listserv.info-nets').
*"It wasn't long before the invention of the mailing-list, an
ARPANET broadcasting technique in which an identical message could
be sent automatically to large number of network subscribers.
Interestingly, one of the first really big mailing-list was "SF-LOVERS",
for Science Fiction fans. Disscussing science fiction on the network
was not work-related and was frowned upon by many ARPANET computer
administrators, but this didn't stop it from happening."*
-- Bruce Sterling, F&SF Science Column #5 "Internet"
*******************************
Like any large community, cyberspace has its libraries, places you can go
to look up information or take out a good book. Telnet is one of your keys
to these libraries.
*Telnet* is a program that lets you use the power of the Internet to
connect you to databases, library catalogs, and other information resources
around the world. Want to see what the weather's like in Vermont? Check on
crop conditions in Azerbaijan? Get more information about somebody whose name
you've seen online? Telnet lets you do this, and more.
Alas, there's a big "but!" Unlike the phone system, Internet is not yet
universal; not everybody can use all of its services. Almost all colleges
and universities on the Internet provide telnet access. So do the WELL,
Netcom and the World. But the Free-Net systems do not give you access to
every telnet system. And if you are using a public-access UUCP or Usenet
site, you will not have access to telnet.
The main reason for this is cost. Connecting to the Internet can easily
cost $1,000 or more for a leased, high-speed phone line.
Some databases and file libraries can be queried by e-mail, however; we'll
show you how to do that later on. In the meantime, the rest of this chapter
assumes you are connected to a site with at least partial Internet access.
Most telnet sites are fairly easy to use and have online help systems.
Most also work best (and in some cases, only) with VT100 emulation. Let's
dive right in and try one.
At your host system's command line, type
telnet access.usask.ca
and hit enter. That's all you have to do to connect to a telnet site! In
this case, you'll be connecting to a service known as Hytelnet, which is a
database of computerized library catalogs and other databases available
through telnet. You should see something like this:
Trying 128.233.3.1 ...
Connected to access.usask.ca.
Escape character is '^]'.
Ultrix UNIX (access.usask.ca)
login:
Every telnet site has two addresses - one composed of words that are
easier for people to remember; the other a numerical address better suited
for computers. The "escape character" is good to remember. When all else
fails, hitting your control key and the `]' key at the same time will
disconnect you and return you to your host system. At the login prompt, type
hytelnet
and hit enter. You'll see something like this:
Welcome to HYTELNET
version 6.2
...................
What is HYTELNET?
Library catalogs
Other resources
Help files for catalogs
Catalog interfaces
Internet Glossary
Telnet tips
Telnet/TN3270 escape keys
Key-stroke commands
........................
HYTELNET 6.2 was written by Peter Scott,
U of Saskatchewan Libraries, Saskatoon, Sask, Canada. 1992
Unix and VMS software by Earl Fogel, Computing Services, U of S 1992
The first choice, "
arrows to move the cursor among the choices. Hit enter when you decide on
one. You'll get another menu, which in turn will bring up text files telling
you how to connect to sites and giving any special commands or instructions
you might need. Hytelnet does have one quirk. To move back to where you
started (for example, from a sub-menu to a main menu), hit the left-arrow key
on your computer.
Play with the system. You might want to turn on your computer's
screen-capture, or at the very least, get out a pen and paper. You're bound
to run across some interesting telnet services that you'll want to try - and
you'll need their telnet "addresses."
As you move around Hytelnet, it may seem as if you haven't left your host
system - telnet can work that quickly. Occasionally, when network loads are
heavy, however, you will notice a delay between the time you type a command
or enter a request and the time the remote service responds.
To disconnect from Hytelnet and return to your system, hit your q key and
enter.
Some telnet computers are set up so that you can only access them through
a specific "port." In those cases, you'll always see a number after their
name, for example: `india.colorado.edu 13'. It's important to include that
number, because otherwise, you may not get in.
In fact, try the above address. Type
telnet india.colorado.edu 13
and hit enter. You should see something like this:
Trying 128.138.140.44 ...
Followed very quickly by this:
telnet india.colorado.edu 13
Escape character is '^]'.
Sun Apr 5 14:11:41 1992
Connection closed by foreign host.
What we want is the middle line, which tells you the exact Mountain
Standard Time, as determined by a government-run atomic clock in Boulder,
Colo.
================
More than 200 libraries, from the Snohomish Public Library in Washington
State to the Library of Congress and the libraries of Harvard University, are
now available to you through telnet. You can use Hytelnet to find their
names, telnet addresses and use instructions.
Why would you want to browse a library you can't physically get to? Many
libraries share books, so if yours doesn't have what you're looking for, you
can tell the librarian where he or she can get it. Or if you live in an area
where the libraries are not yet online, you can use telnet to do some basic
bibliographic research before you head down to the local branch.
There are several different database programs in use by online libraries.
Harvard's is one of the easier ones to use, so let's try it.
Telnet to `hollis.harvard.edu'. When you connect, you'll see:
***************** H A R V A R D U N I V E R S I T Y
***************** OFFICE FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
*** *** ***
*** VE *** RI ***
*** *** *** HOLLIS (Harvard OnLine LIbrary System)
***** *****
**** TAS **** HUBS (Harvard University Basic Services)
*** ***
***** IU (Information Utility)
***
CMS (VM/CMS Timesharing Service)
** HOLLIS IS AVAILABLE WITHOUT ACCESS RESTRICTIONS **
Access to other applications is limited to individuals who have been
granted specific permission by an authorized person.
To select one of the applications above, type its name on the command
line followed by your user ID, and press RETURN.
** HOLLIS DOES NOT REQUIRE A USERID **
EXAMPLES: HOLLIS (press RETURN) or HUBS userid (press RETURN)
===>
Type
hollis
and hit enter. You'll see several screens flash by quickly until finally
the system stops and you'll get this:
WELCOME TO HOLLIS
(Harvard OnLine Library Information System)
To begin, type one of the 2-character database codes listed below:
HU Union Catalog of the Harvard libraries
OW Catalog of Older Widener materials
LG Guide to Harvard Libraries and Computing Resources
AI Expanded Academic Index (selective 1987-1988, full 1989- )
LR Legal Resource Index (1980- )
PA PAIS International (1985- )
To change databases from any place in HOLLIS, type CHOOSE followed by a
2-character database code, as in: CHOOSE HU
For general help in using HOLLIS, type HELP. For HOLLIS news, type
HELP NEWS. For HOLLIS hours of operation, type HELP HOURS.
ALWAYS PRESS THE ENTER OR RETURN KEY AFTER TYPING YOUR COMMAND
The first thing to notice is the name of the system: Hollis. Librarians
around the world seem to be inordinately found of cutesy, anthropomorphized
acronyms for their machines (not far from Harvard, the librarians at Brandeis
University came up with Library On-Line User Information Service, or Louis;
MIT has Barton).
If you want to do some general browsing, probably the best bet on the
Harvard system is to chose HU, which gets you access to their main holdings,
including those of its medical libraries. Chose that, and you'll see this:
THE HARVARD UNIVERSITY LIBRARY UNION CATALOG
To begin a search, select a search option from the list below and type its
code on the command line. Use either upper or lower case.
AU Author search
TI Title search
SU Subject search
ME Medical subject search
KEYWORD Keyword search options
CALL Call number search options
OTHER Other search options
For information on the contents of the Union Catalog, type HELP.
To exit the Union Catalog, type QUIT.
A search can be entered on the COMMAND line of any screen.
ALWAYS PRESS THE ENTER OR RETURN KEY AFTER TYPING YOUR COMMAND.
Say you want to see if Harvard has shed the starchy legacy of the
Puritans, who founded the school. Why not see if they have "The Joy of Sex"
somewhere in their stacks? Type
TI Joy of Sex
and hit enter. This comes up:
HU: YOUR SEARCH RETRIEVED NO ITEMS. Enter new command or HELP. You typed:
TI JOY OF SEX
***************************************************************************
ALWAYS PRESS THE ENTER OR RETURN KEY AFTER TYPING YOUR COMMAND.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
OPTIONS: FIND START - search options HELP
QUIT - exit database
COMMAND?
Oh, well! Do they have anything that mentions "sex" in the title? Try
another TI search, but this time just: `TI sex'. You get:
HU GUIDE: SUMMARY OF SEARCH RESULTS 2086 items retrieved by your search:
FIND TI SEX
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 SEX
2 SEX A
823 SEXA
827 SEXBO
831 SEXCE
833 SEXDR
834 SEXE
879 SEXIE
928 SEXJA
929 SEXLE
930 SEXO
965 SEXPI
968 SEXT
1280 SEXUA
2084 SEXWA
2085 SEXY
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
OPTIONS: INDEX (or I 5 etc) to see list of items HELP
START - search options
REDO - edit search QUIT - exit database
COMMAND?
If you want to get more information on the first line, type 1 and hit
enter:
HU INDEX: LIST OF ITEMS RETRIEVED 2086 items retrieved by your search:
FIND TI SEX
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SEX
1 geddes patrick sir 1854 1932/ 1914 bks
SEX A Z
2 goldenson robert m/ 1987 bks
SEX ABUSE HYSTERIA SALEM WITCH TRIALS REVISITED
3 gardner richard a/ 1991 bks
SEX AETATES MUNDI ENGLISH AND IRISH
4 irish sex aetates mundi/ 1983 bks
SEX AFTER SIXTY A GUIDE FOR MEN AND WOMEN FOR THEIR LATER YEARS
5 butler robert n 1927/ 1976 bks
------------------------------------------------------ (CONTINUES) --------
OPTIONS: DISPLAY 1 (or D 5 etc) to see a record HELP
GUIDE MORE - next page START - search options
REDO - edit search QUIT - exit database
COMMAND?
Most library systems give you a way to log off and return to your host
system. On Hollis, hit escape followed by
xx
One particularly interesting system is the one run by the Colorado
Alliance of Research Libraries, which maintains databases for libraries
throughout Colorado, the West and even in Boston.
Telnet `pac.carl.org'
Follow the simple log-in instructions. When you get a menu, type `72'
(even though that is not listed), which takes you to the Pikes Peak Library
District, which serves the city of Colorado Springs.
Several years ago, its librarians realized they could use their database
program not just for books but for cataloging city records and community
information, as well. Today, if you want to look up municipal ordinances or
city records, you only have to type in the word you're looking for and you'll
get back cites of the relevant laws or decisions.
Carl will also connect you to the University of Hawaii library, which,
like the one in Colorado Springs, has more than just bibliographic material
online. One of its features is an online Hawaiian almanac that can tell you
everything you ever wanted to know about Hawaiians, including the number
injured in boogie-board accidents each year (seven).
============
Agriculture
-----------
PENPages, run by Pennsylvania State University's College of Agricultural
Sciences, provides weekly world weather and crop reports from the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. These reports detail everything from the effect of
the weather on palm trees in Malaysia to the state of the Ukrainian wheat
crop. Reports from Pennsylvania country extension officers offer tips for
improving farm life. One database lists Pennsylvania hay distributors by
county - and rates the quality of their hay!
The service lets you search for information two different ways. A menu
system gives you quick access to reports that change frequently, such as the
weekly crop/weather reports. An index system lets you search through several
thousand online documents by keyword. At the main menu, you can either browse
through an online manual or chose "PENPages," which puts you into the
agriculture system.
Telnet: `psupen.psu.edu'
User name: PNOTPA
California State University's Advanced Technology Information Network
provides similar information as PENPages, only focusing on California crops.
It also maintains lists of upcoming California trade shows and carries
updates on biotechnology.
Telnet: `caticsuf.cati.csufresno.edu'
Log in: public
You will then be asked to register and will be given a user name and
password. Hit `a' at the main menu for agricultural information. Hit `d' to
call up a menu that includes a biweekly biotechnology report.
AIDS
----
The University of Miami maintains a database of AIDS health providers in
southern Florida.
Telnet: `callcat.med.miami.edu'
Log in: library
At the main menu, select `P' (for "AIDS providers" and you'll be able to
search for doctors, hospitals and other providers that care for patients with
AIDS. You can also search by speciality.
See also under Health *Note Health:: and Conversation *Note Conversation::.
Amateur Radio
-------------
The National Ham Radio Call-Sign Callbook lets you search for American
amateur operators by callsign, city, last name or Zip code. A successful
search will give you the ham's name, address, callsign, age, type of license
and when they got it. Telnet: `callsign.buffalo.edu 2000' or `ham.njit.edu
2000'. When you connect, you tell the system how you want to search and what
you're looking for. For example, if you want to search for hams by city, you
would type
city city-name
and hit enter (for example: `city Kankakee').
Other search choices are "call" (after which you would type a ham's name),
"name," and "zip" (which you would follow with a Zip code). Be careful when
searching for hams in a large city; there doesn't seem to be anyway to shut
off the list once it starts except by using control-]. Otherwise, when done,
type
quit
and hit enter to disconnect.
Animals
-------
See under Health *Note Health::.
Art
---
The National Gallery of Art in Washington maintains a database of its
holdings, which you can search by artist (Van Gogh, for example) or medium
(watercolor, say). You can see when specific paintings were completed, what
medium they are in, how large they are and who donated it to the gallery.
Telnet: `ursus.maine.edu'
Login: ursus
At the main menu, hit your `b' key and then `4' to connect to the gallery
database.
Calculators
-----------
Hewlett-Packard maintains a free service on which you can seek advice
about their line of calculators.
Telnet: `hpcvbbs.cv.hp.com'
No log-in is needed.
Congress
--------
The Library of Congress Information Service lets you search current and
past legislation (dating to 1982).
Telnet: `locis.loc.gov'
Password: none needed.
When you connect, you'll get a main menu that lets you select from several
databases, including the Library of Congress card catalog (with book entries
dating to 1978) and a database of information on copyright laws.
For the congressional database, select the number next to its entry and
hit enter. You'll then be asked to choose which legislative year to search.
After that, a menu similar to this will come up:
***C103- THE LEGISLATIVE INFORMATION FILE FOR THE 103RD CONGRESS,
which was updated on 05/10/93 and contains 4,044 records,
is now available for your search.
CURRENCY: All information is NOT current through the above date, which is
machine generated when ANY information is added to the file.
Bill numbers, official titles, sponsors, and status (STEP) added
within 48 hours. Indexing terms and digests added later, in
some cases several weeks after the bill is added to the file.
TO START RETRIEVE to find: EXAMPLES:
SEARCH: member name --------------> retrieve rep gingrich
retrieve sen kennedy
bill number --------------> retrieve h.r. 1
subject keywords ---------> retrieve day care
FOR HELP: Type the word HELP and press the ENTER key.
READY FOR NEW COMMAND:
Conversation
------------
Communications Canada, a Canadian government agency is developing
Conversational Hypertext Access Technology (CHAT) is a system being developed
by Communications Canada to provide easy database access to people with
little or no computer experience, using what are known as hypertext links.
Instead of cryptic computer commands, users type questions in English.
Telnet: `debra.doc.ca'
Log in: chat
You chose one of the three databases now online, one on AIDS, and then ask
questions in English.
Ask the AIDS database, "When was AIDS first discovered?" and it answers:
"The first case of AIDS in North America was diagnosed in 1979. Before
that, it existed in Africa, probably beginning in the 1950's. AIDS was
discovered in North America when a number of young men with a history of
homosexuality developed a rare type of cancer called Kaposi's sarcoma."
Sometimes, you do have to rephrase your question. For example, when asked
"What is the link between AIDS and drug use?" the computer responds:
"I know two things about drugs: the drugs that are used to treat people
with AIDS, and the risks that drug users have in getting AIDS. Please ask
about treatments or drug users."
Copyright Law
-------------
See under Congress *Note Congress::.
Current Events
--------------
Every year, the CIA publishes a Fact Book that is essentially an almanac
of all the world's countries and international organizations, including such
information as major products, type of government and names of its leaders.
It's available for searching through the University of Maryland Info Database.
Telnet: `info.umd.edu'
User name: info
Chose a terminal type and hit enter (or just hit enter if you are using
VT100). At the main menu, choose the number next to "Government" and hit
enter. One of your options will then be for "Factbook." Chose that one, and
you can then search by country or agency.
Dictionary
----------
Rutgers University's Campus-Wide Information Service has an online
dictionary, thesaurus and database of familiar quotations, as well as online
copies of the Bible, the Koran and the Book of Mormon and the U.S.
Constitution.
Telnet: `info.rutgers.edu'
No log-in name is needed.
At the main menu, type
reference
and hit enter. You'll see a menu like this:
Online reference material
Menu Commands...
Command Purpose
------- -------
Dictionary Concise Oxford Dictionary, 8th Ed.
Thesaurus Oxford Thesaurus
Familiar Oxford Dictionary of Familiar Quotations (and Modern Q.)
World CIA World Factbook
US US government: Constitution, etc.
Religion Bible, Book of Mormon, Koran
For more information you may look under Libraries in the main menu
Previous Return to previous menu
Find Search for information
Source Age and provider of information. Where to go for more.
Quit Go back to main menu
Online reference material
Menu>
To access any of them, type its name (dictionary, for example) and hit
enter. You'll then be asked for the word to look for. If, instead, you type
religion
and hit enter, you'll be able to search for a word or passage from the
Bible, the Koran or the Book of Mormon.
Environment
-----------
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency maintains online databases of
materials related to hazardous waste, the Clean Lakes program and cleanup
efforts in New England. The agency plans to eventually include cleanup work
in other regions, as well. The database is actually a computerized card
catalog of EPA documents - you can look the documents up, but you'll still
have to visit your regional EPA office to see them.
Telnet: `epaibm.rtpnc.epa.gov'
No password or user name is needed.
At the main menu, type
public
and hit enter (there are other listed choices, but they are only for use
by EPA employees). You'll then see a one-line menu. Type
ols
and hit enter, and you'll see something like this:
NET-106 Logon to TSO04 in progress.
DATABASES:
N NATIONAL CATALOG CH CHEMICAL COLL. SYSTEM
H HAZARDOUS WASTE 1 REGION I
L CLEAN LAKES
OTHER OPTIONS:
? HELP
Q QUIT
ENTER SELECTION -->
Choose one and you'll get a menu that lets you search by document title,
keyword, year of publication or corporation. After you enter the search word
and hit enter, you'll be told how many matches were found. Hit 1 and then
enter to see a list of the entries. To view the bibliographic record for a
specific entry, hit V and enter and then type the number of the record.
The University of Michigan maintains a database of newspaper and magazine
articles related to the environment, with the emphasis on Michigan, dating
back to 1980.
Telnet: `hermes.merit.edu'
Host: mirlyn
Log in: meem
Geography
---------
The University of Michigan Geographic Name Server can provide basic
information, such as population, latitude and longitude of U.S. cities and
many mountains, rivers and other geographic features. Telnet:
`martini.eecs.umich.edu 3000'
No password or user name is needed. Type in the name of a city, a Zip code
or a geographic feature (Mt. McKinley, for example) and hit enter.
By typing in a town's name or zip code, you can find out a community's
county, Zip code and longitude and latitude. Not all geographic features are
yet included in the database.
Government
----------
See under Dictionary *Note Dictionary:: and Current Events *Note Current
Events::.
Health
------
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration runs a database of
health-information.
Telnet: `fdabbs.fda.gov'
Log in: bbs
You'll then be asked for your name and a password you want to use in the
future. After that, type
topics
and hit enter. You'll see this:
TOPICS DESCRIPTION
* NEWS News releases
* ENFORCE Enforcement Report
* APPROVALS Drug and Device Product Approvals list
* CDRH Centers for Devices and Radiological Health Bulletins
* BULLETIN Text from Drug Bulletin
* AIDS Current Information on AIDS
* CONSUMER FDA Consumer magazine index and selected articles
* SUBJ-REG FDA Federal Register Summaries by Subject
* ANSWERS Summaries of FDA information
* INDEX Index of News Releases and Answers
* DATE-REG FDA Federal Register Summaries by Publication Date
* CONGRESS Text of Testimony at FDA Congressional Hearings
* SPEECH Speeches Given by FDA Commissioner and Deputy
* VETNEWS Veterinary Medicine News
* MEETINGS Upcoming FDA Meetings
* IMPORT Import Alerts
* MANUAL On-Line User's Manual
You'll be able to search these topics by key word or chronologically. It's
probably a good idea, however, to capture a copy of the manual, first,
because the way searching works on the system is a little odd. To capture a
copy, type
manual
and hit enter. Then type
scan
and hit enter. You'll see this:
FOR LIST OF AVAILABLE TOPICS TYPE TOPICS
OR ENTER THE TOPIC YOU DESIRE ==>
MANUAL
BBSUSER
08-OCT-91
1 BBS User Manual
At this point, turn on your own computer's screen-capture or logging
function and hit your 1 key and then enter. The manual will begin to scroll
on your screen, pausing every 24 lines.