The following announcement will appear in the Braille Monitor of
November, 1996.

David Andrews

More Good News about NFBNET:
     David Andrews, the System operator for NFBNET writes with
the following information for Internet surfers:
     If you have Internet access, you can now reach NFB NET, the
National Federation of the Blind's official bulletin board
service (BBS) from anywhere in the world at no cost. In response
to many requests, we have finally put NFB NET on the Internet.
You reach NFB NET using a function called Telnet. This service
allows you to log in to a remote computer, namely NFB NET. We can
support up to five simultaneous sessions at once, using a new
digital phone service called ISDN. In addition, you can also send
and receive Internet e-mail using NFB NET.
     If you have a shell account, type "telnet nfbnet.org" (do
not include the quotes) from your Internet service provider's
system prompt. After a few seconds you will be connected directly
to NFB NET. While most providers now automatically give you an
eight-bit Telnet path, some do not. This means that you may have
difficulty uploading and downloading files. If you have problems,
send e-mail to david.andrews@nfbnet.org We will try to work your
problems through. If you have a SLIP or PPP account, you will
have to get a Telnet client for your computer.
     Because of Internet limitations the smoothness of your
connection can vary. Also, upload and download speeds may
fluctuate and are likely to be slower than with a modem. Also,
some people have reported problems downloading and particularly
uploading. As we all gather more experience with these services,
we will make additional information available.
     As if this news weren't exciting enough, it is also now
possible to subscribe to NFB Talk and Blind Talk, the two
Fidonet-originated discussion conferences hosted on NFB NET. Yes,
as a part of the Internet upgrade we were able to install an
Internet mail gateway and Listserv software. To subscribe to NFB
Talk, send a message to listserv@nfbnet.org Leave the subject
line blank and write "subscribe nfb-talk" (without the quotes) in
the body of the message. To subscribe to Blind Talk, put
"subscribe blindtlk" (without the quotes) into the body of the
same or a different message. Note that one message can contain
both subscribe commands.
     If you wish to contact NFB NET in the old-fashioned way, we
still have a modem number. It is (612) 696-1975. We look forward
to serving you using this new and exciting medium. We have
already had callers from Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Germany,
Egypt, and South Africa, as well as from all over the United
States. Happy Internetting.