Smileys

One problem with written communication is that remarks meant to be 
humorous are often lost. Without the visual body-language clues, some 
messages may be misinterpreted. So a visual shorthand known as "smileys" 
has been developed.  There are a hundred or more variations on this theme-
:-) That's a little smiley face. Look at it sideways.  (more Smiley info may 
be found via anonymous ftp at  many places, including the following: 
nic.funet.fi /pub/misc/funnies/smiley.txt). FTP is introduced later in the 
text.

What a range of emotions you can show using only keyboard characters. 
Besides the smiley face above, you can have :-( if you're sad, or :-<  if 
you're REALLY upset!  ;-) is one way of showing a wink.  Folks wearing 
glasses might look like this online: %^).

But for the most part, the electronic community is willing to help others.  
Telecommunications helps us overcome what has been called the tyranny 
of distance. We DO have a global village.

Electronic Newsletters and Serials

Subscribing to lists with reckless abandon can clog your mailbox and 
provide a convenient black hole to vacuum up all your spare time. You 
may be more interested in free subscriptions to compiled documents known 
as electronic journals. These journals are automatically delivered to your 
electronic door.

There are a growing number of these. Some of the best for librarians are 
listed below. To subscribe to these journals you must know how to send an 
interactive message to another computer. This information is well-
documented in the resources listed at the end of this article. Telnet and ftp 
are introduced further along in this article.

ALCTS NETWORK NEWS 
(Association for Library Collections and Technical Services) 
Various ALA news, net news, other items of interest to librarians. Send the 
following message to LISTSERV@UICVM.BITNET 
SUBSCRIBE ALCTS First Name Last Name.

Current Cites 
Bibliography of current journal articles relating to computers, networks, 
information issues, and technology. Distributed on PACS-L, or connect 
remotely via TELNET to MELVYL.UCOP.EDU (192.35.222.222); Enter 
command at the prompt: SHOW CURRENT CITES. 
Further information: David F. W. Robison, drobison@library.berkeley.edu.

EFFector Online 
The online newsletter of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. All the hot net 
issues are covered here: privacy, freedom, first amendment rights.  Join 
EFF to be added to the mailing list or ftp the files yourself from ftp.eff.org 
(192.88.144.4). They are in the /pub/eff and subsequent directories.

Hot Off the Tree (HOTT) 
(Excerpts and Abstracts of Articles about Information Technology) 
TELNET MELVYL.UCOP.EDU (192.35.222.222); Enter command: 
SHOW HOTT. Further information: Susan Jurist, SJURIST@UCSD.EDU.

Network News 
An irreverent compendium of tidbits, resources, and net factoids that is a 
must for true Internet surfers. To subscribe, send the following message to 
LISTSERV@NDSUVM1.BITNET 
SUBSCRIBE NNEWS First Name Last Name.  
For more information: Dana Noonan at noonan@msus1.msus.edu.

Public-Access Computer Systems News and The Public-Access Computer 
Systems Review 
Sent automatically to PACS-L subscribers.  See above. For a list of back 
issue files, send the following message to 
LISTSERV@UHUPVM1.BITNET: 
INDEX PACS-L.

To obtain a comprehensive list of electronic serials on all topics, send the 
following commands to LISTSERV@UOTTAWA.BITNET 
GET EJOURNL1 DIRECTRY 
GET EJOURNL2 DIRECTRY 
For further information, contact Michael Strangelove: 
441495@ACADVM1.UOTTAWA.CA.

Remote Login to Internet Resources: TELNET

One step beyond electronic mail is the ability to control a remote computer 
using TELNET. This feature lets you virtually teleport anywhere on the 
network and use resources located physically at that host. Further, some 
hosts have gateways to other hosts, which have further gateways to still 
more hosts. How can you be in two places at once? It sounds more 
confusing than it is. What resources are available? Here is a sampling of 
some of the fare awaiting you at several sites:

Cleveland Free-net Freenets 
are the progeny of Tom Grundner, Director, 
Community Telecomputing Laboratory
Case Western Reserve University
303 Wickenden Building
Cleveland, OH 44106 
216/368-2733  FAX: 216/368-5436 
Internet: aa001@cleveland.freenet.edu 
BITNET: aa001%cleveland.freenet.edu@cunyvm 
and the folks at National Public Telecomputing Network (NPTN)
Box 1987
Cleveland, OH 44106 
216/368-2733  FAX: 216/368-5436 
Internet: aa622@cleveland.freenet.edu.

Free-nets are built around a city metaphor, complete with schools, 
hospitals, libraries, courthouses, and other public services.

Academy One recently held an online global simulation of a series of major 
space achievements. 16 schools (from five states and four nations) 
participated. Here are several of the descriptions of their projects:

"VALKEALA HIGH SCHOOL VALKEALA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 
Valkeala, Finland (sa124@cleveland.freenet.edu) 
Acting as Space Shuttle Discovery taking the Hubble Telescope into space.  
These Finnish students will be in communication with students in Estonia, 
relaying their reports."

"DR. HOWARD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Champaign, IL 
(cwilliam@mars.ncsa.uiuc.edu, cdouglas@ncsa.uiuc.edu) 
Dr. Howard School (25 students in 3rd/4th grade) will be simulating the 
Challenger 2 launch.  They are being assisted by the National Center for 
Supercomputing Applications."

"ST. JULIE BILLIART SCHOOL Hamilton, OH 
(ba542@cleveland.freenet.edu)
Simulating a NASA Tracking Station in Florida.  They will be posting 
hourly weather reports about the conditions in Florida around Cape 
Kennedy.  This information is vital to the recovery of the Friendship 7 
capsule and crew. Students have taken an interest in Space Junk and will be 
posting additional reports on the various probes which were used to test the 
surface of the moon and how all of that junk is now becoming a hazard to 
current and future space exploration."

Another Free-net resource is Project Hermes.  This service provides copies 
of Supreme Court opinions in electronic form to as wide an audience as 
possible, almost as soon as they are announced.

The Court's opinions can be sent directly to you or you may download the 
files directly from any NPTN community computer system.

The Free-nets also provide weather, news, and gateways to other resources. 
To access the Cleveland Free-Net (where all this is being held) simply 
telnet to: freenet-in-a.cwru.edu 129.22.8.82 
or 129.22.8.75 
or 129.22.8.76 
or 129.22.8.44 and select "visitor" at the login menu.

MELVYL 
The University of California 
MELVYL 
Catalog Division of Library Automation 
University of California 
Office of the President  
300 Lakeside Drive, 8th floor, 
Oakland, California 94612-3550 
415/987-0555 (MELVYL Catalog Helpline) 
E-mail: lynch@postgres.berkeley.edu

The MELVYL catalog is the union catalog of monographs and serials 
(periodicals) held by the nine University of California campuses and 
affiliated libraries. It represents nearly 11 million holdings at UC, the 
California State Library, and the Center for Research Libraries.

The MELVYL catalog also provides access to MEDLINE and Current 
Contents as well as a gateway to many other systems. Access to some 
databases is restricted under a license agreement to the University of 
California faculty, staff, and students. Telnet MELVYL.UCOP.EDU 
(192.35.222.222)

CARL 
Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries 
777 Grant
Suite 306 
Denver CO 80203-3580 
303/861-5319 
E-mail: help@carl.org

CARL offers access to the following groups of databases: Academic and 
public library online catalogs, current article indexes such as UnCover and 
Magazine Index, databases such as the Academic American Encyclopedia 
and Internet Resource Guide, and a gateway to other library systems. 
Access to some items is limited. Telnet pac.carl.org or telnet 192.54.81.128

MICROMUSE 
This is how Barry Kort (aka 'Moulton'), Visiting Scientist at Educational 
Technology Research, BBN Labs, Cambridge, MA describes MicroMuse at 
M.I.T.

"MUDs (Multi-User Dimensions) or MUSEs (Multi-User Simulation 
Environments) are virtual realities which offer a rich environment for 
synergy, community, collaboration, and exploratory discovery."

"Players connect to the host computer, adopt a character and personality of 
their choosing, and enter into the synthetic world, consisting of a web of 
connected rooms and movable props."

"Everything (rooms, movable objects, connecting passageways, and 
players) has a description (typically a few lines of text) which are displayed 
when a player looks at it."

"Actions such as picking up or dropping an object, and exiting to an 
adjacent room also generate a short message appropriate to the action."

"At MIT's AI Lab, MicroMuse features explorations, adventures, and 
puzzles with redeeming social, cultural, and educational content. The 
MicroMuse Science Center offers an Exploratorium and Mathematica 
Exhibit complete with interactive exhibits drawn from experience with 
Science Museums around the country.  The Mission to Mars includes an 
elaborate tour of the red planet with accurate descriptions rivaling those 
found in National Geographic."

"Elsewhere on MicroMuse, one can find an outstanding adventure based on 
the children's classic Narnia; a recreation of the Wizard of Oz adventure 
built by a gifted 8-year old; a challenging Logic Quest; and a living model 
of the science fiction genre 'The DragonRiders of Pern' by author Anne 
McCaffrey."

If you would like to explore MicroMuse, you may connect as follows from 
your local host computer: 
telnet michael.ai.mit.edu [18.43.0.177] 
login: guest [no password required] 
tt [TinyTalk client program] 
connect guest [Connect to MicroMuse]