Internet Info 1997 December/Internet_Info_CD-ROM_Walnut_Creek_December_1997.iso/infoguide/about-internic/contacting-internic

Text File | 1997-12-01 | 15KB | 403 lines

==============================================================================
InterNIC Information Services
General Atomics (GA)                               Email: [e-mail]
P.O. Box #85608                                            Phone: [phone]
San Diego, CA 92186-9784                                     FAX: [phone]
==============================================================================
Updated: 7/23/93

        INTERNIC INFORMATION SERVICES BACKGROUNDER


InterNIC Information Services
-----------------------------

The Internet is an essential aspect of the national information
infrastructure that is changing the methodology of education and
research in the United States and around the world. The Internet is a
collection of hardware and software technologies and of organizations
from government, academia, and industry. However, even more
significantly, it is a collection of people. In this multifaceted
environment, it is important to understand the goals of these people,
the synergies among them, and the existing and new technology they will
use to take advantage of Internet resources.

InterNIC Information Services (IS), provided by General Atomics,  offers
a full range of information services to the networking community. These
services include helping users understand the Internet, referring them
to local Internet access providers, highlighting the resources and tools
that are available on the Internet, and teaching new and intermediate
users how to use the tools to access Internet resources.

The mission of InterNIC Information Services is to act as a focal point
of information for network information centers (NICs) and end users; to
be responsive to the needs of the networking community; and to reach out
to new communities who will benefit from access to  networking. InterNIC
IS collects and re-distributes an extensive collection of information
about the Internet, including documentation, training materials, and
references to valuable networking tools and resources. InterNIC IS
cooperates with regional, campus, government agency, and international
NICs to stay abreast of the  current requirements of these organizations
and their end users. InterNIC Information Services also promotes use of
the network within the research and education community, and the general
public, with outreach activities such as seminars, newsletters, and
conferences.

To successfully provide information services to the midlevel and  campus
NICs during the next five years of explosive growth IS will strive to
achieve several important goals. These include staying in touch with the
community and recognizing important service needs and future trends;
remaining flexible and adapting quickly to changes in the network
offerings and in the user base; and establishing a strong leadership
role in the community. The InterNIC project, by encompassing these
goals, as well as promoting the use of the network, will become an
integral part of the growth of the Internet.

In keeping with the innovative spirit of the Internet, the InterNIC is
implementing several new approaches to distributing services in addition
to the standard methods in use today. To put timely information and
tools at a user's fingertips, the InterNIC Information Services include
these three components:

Reference Desk--to provide extensive networking information, referrals
to other resources, and associate users with their local NICs.

Education--to train midlevel and campus NICs and end-users and  promote
Internet use.

Coordination--to share information and coordinate activities with U.S.
and international network organizations.


REFERENCE DESK
--------------

A vital component of the InterNIC Information Services is the Reference
Desk. For most network users, it will be the first point of contact to
the InterNIC. Users can call the Reference Desk with  questions and
problems and receive prompt and accurate answers. Whenever possible, but
especially as the local network organizations mature, users are referred
to their local NIC. Reference Desk  personnel draw on the work produced
in other areas of Information Services   training, outreach, and
documentation. Conversely, Reference Desk personnel feed information
back to the other staff   data on what the users are requesting and how
often they are requesting it.

There are many methods of responding to queries, depending on the
nature of the query. A Reference Desk Supervisor and Info
Representatives respond to queries via telephone, electronic and  postal
mail, and facsimile. These queries include everything from "what is the
Internet" and "how do I use it" to more sophisticated questions about
security issues or network protocols. Some queries  are handled by Info
Representatives supplying an immediate answer. Other queries require
sending the user selected documentation from the InfoGuide. Still other
queries require referring the user to the appropriate service provider.

As the "NIC of first resort," we refer users to midlevel and campus NIC
providers. We provide midlevel and campus NICs with training and
documentation, empowering them to serve their own users. We also
maintain communication with the midlevel and campus NIC organizations to
stay abreast of their requirements. A wide range of  other referrals can
be made including those to network providers for  new connections, to
Network Operation Centers (NOCs) for technical problems, or to
international groups as appropriate.

As the "NIC of last resort," we listen to the user's concerns and
investigate possible solutions. Because of the distributed way the
Internet is administered, there has never been one organization  charged
with the responsibility of solving complex end-user problems that
stretch over multiple organizations. With the establishment of the
Reference Desk, there is a place for users to call when local  NICs
cannot help them.


EDUCATIONAL SERVICES
--------------------

The Internet began as a research project built by engineers and computer
scientists to study networking and interoperability. It continues to be
effectively used by researchers and scientists.  However, we are now at
a crossroads in the history of the Internet, where the largest growth in
the number of users is from groups not traditionally trained in
networking and computer technology. These groups do not use the Internet
effectively or to its full capabilities because they find it difficult
to use. The InterNIC is an essential source of training and
documentation for new users. By teaching new users what the Internet is,
what resources are available, and how to use them, the InterNIC hopes to
lessen the impact of this explosive growth on the network.

InterNIC Information Services offers a variety of seminars covering
both technical and nontechnical topics. Seminars and workshops are held
throughout the year in all regions of the country. In some cases these
classes are hosted by campus NICs or by network service providers.

The InterNIC provides courses both through contracting with subject
matter experts for course development and instruction, as well as
through in-house development of specialized classes. Instructional
methods include instructor-led classes providing hands-on training; and
will grow to include hypertextand hypermedia-based instruction and
classes held online.

In addition, the InterNIC reaches out to new groups who can potentially
benefit from network access and shows them how to become productive
network users. In this way the InterNIC is an important stimulus in the
expansion of the Internet user base.

COORDINATION SERVICES
---------------------

It is important for the InterNIC to understand the goals of the people
who use the Internet. Successful InterNIC management means
understanding end-user needs as perceived by the users and by the
network providers who serve them. It also means responding to these
needs with the development of services and systems that provide the
networks with ways to meet the requirements of the network users.

Coordinating and encouraging information sharing among midlevel and
campus networks and other Internet organizations is a vital role of
InterNIC Information Services. To facilitate this sharing, the InterNIC
Liaison Council will be formed. The interaction between the InterNIC and
the Liaison Council ensures that end users' needs are being recognized
and met.

The council members are charged with sharing the information they learn
during meetings with their sponsoring organizations, as well as
providing input regarding those organizations' needs. The council is in
an excellent position to assist in the evaluation of the InterNIC, as
well as the performance of the midlevel and campus networks after they
have received training and curriculum materials from the InterNIC.
Council meetings are held once or twice a year, with  interim
communication achieved through an electronic mail mailing list. The
council evaluates future plans of the InterNIC, ensuring that the plans
are in sync with user requirements. The council  annually evaluates
InterNIC performance with an emphasis on improving services to midlevel
and campus NICs.

Another duty of the Liaison Council members is to attend the annual  NIC
Fest that InterNIC hosts. This conference focuses on NIC activities and
features presentations by InterNIC staff, Internet  Liaison Council
members, and other networking professionals. The InterNIC also hosts, in
coordination with midlevel and campus NICs, quarterly conferences that
are similar to the NIC Fest but on a  smaller scale. Recognizing the
current financial environment, these conferences are to be held in the
west, midwest, south, and  northeast to give smaller organizations a
chance to be involved.


                       ******************

For more information call 1-619-455-4600 or send electronic mail to
[e-mail].

                       ******************

This material is based on work sponsored by the National Science
Foundation under Cooperative Agreement No. NCR-9218749. The  Government
has certain rights in this material. Any opinions, findings and
conclusions or recommendations expressed in this  publication are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the
National Science Foundation.


==============================================================================
InterNIC Information Services
General Atomics (GA)                               Email: [e-mail]
P.O. Box #85608                                            Phone: [phone]
San Diego, CA 92186-9784                                     FAX: [phone]
==============================================================================
Updated: 7/23/93

        HOW TO CONTACT THE INTERNIC


How to Contact the InterNIC
---------------------------
The InterNIC is a collaborative project of three
organizations and is partially supported by the
National Science Foundation. The three organi-
zations and the services we provide are: General
Atomics, Information Services; AT&T, Direc-
tory and Database Services; and Network Solu-
tions Inc., Registration Services. Information
about all three InterNIC services is available
through our Gopher service, which branches to all
three organizations. You may also contact each of the
organizations as described below.

Contact Information
-----------------------------------------

Direct Telephone lines

     is       [phone]
       fax    [phone]

     rs       [phone]
       fax    [phone]

     ds       [phone]
       fax    [phone]

Electronic Mailing Addresses
----------------------------

You can also send your questions via email to
the following addresses:

     is    [e-mail]

     rs    [e-mail]

     ds    [e-mail]

Electronic Mailing Lists
------------------------

To subscribe to any of the following email lists,
send email to [e-mail] and in the
body of the message, type:

     subscribe listname

In your message, substitute the actual mailing
list name for listname.

     scout-report           Internet resources (1/week)
     scout-report-html      HTML version of Scout Report
     net-happenings         Internet news (10-15/day)
     net-happenings-digest  Digest version of net-happenings

To subscribe to the InterNIC newsletter,
NSF Network News, send email to:

     [e-mail]

Online Services
---------------

Each provider runs several servers to provide
access to online documents, directories, and da-
tabases. You can search, view, or retrieve infor-
mation using these tools:

Gopher   The online documents of all three
organizations are available through
Gopher. Use the command:

         gopher gopher.internic.net

   or    telnet gopher.internic.net
         login: gopher

FTP   Connecting to these addresses gives
access to the individual document data-
bases. Login as anonymous, and follow
the instructions on your screen.

   is    is.internic.net

   rs    rs.internic.net

   ds    ds.internic.net

Email   Documents can be retrieved via
email by sending commands to our mail
servers. To learn how to use the mail serv-
ers, send a message as follows:

   is    [e-mail]
         put "send help" in message body

   rs    [e-mail]
         put "send help" in subject field

   ds    [e-mail]
         put "help" in message body

WAIS

   is    source name: internic-infoguide
         server name: is.internic.net

   rs    telnet rs.internic.net
         login: wais

   ds    telnet ds.internic.net
         login: wais

Telnet   By telnetting to the following
addresses, you can access a variety of ser-
vices depending on how you log in.

   is    is.internic.net
         login as gopher

   rs    rs.internic.net
         login as gopher, wais, whois, x500,
         whois, or status

   ds    ds.internic.net
         login as archie, gopher, netfind,
         wais, or x500 for application spe-
         cific access. Login as newuser or
         guest for a help tutorial.

Archie  Use any Archie client to make
searches, or use the InterNIC client:

     telnet ds.internic.net
     login: archie

or send an email request to:

     [e-mail]

WHOIS Protocol

   rs    rs.internic.net
         Provides access to network and
         domain Point of Contact (POC)
         records.

   ds    ds.internic.net
         Provides access to POC, non-POC,
         and military contact records stored
         on ds.internic.net, rs.internic.net,
         and nic.ddn.mil.

Send your suggestions or complaints about
InterNIC services to:

     [e-mail]

     [e-mail]


US Postal Addresses
-------------------

is   InterNIC Information Services
     General Atomics
     PO Box 85608
     San Diego, CA 92186-9784

rs   Network Solutions
     Attn.: InterNIC Registration Services
     505 Huntmar Park Drive
     Herndon, VA 22070

ds   InterNIC Directory and Database
     Administrator
     AT&T
     5000 Hadley Road Room 1B13
     South Plainfield, NJ 07080


The InterNIC project is sponsored by the
National Science Foundation under Cooperative
Agreement No. NCR-9218749