OS/2 Shareware BBS: 35 Internet/35-Internet.zip/atibem4.zip/ATIBEM4.INF

OS/2 Help File | 1995-08-11 | 57KB | 1,322 lines

ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. Misc. File Information ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Archive-name: internet-services/access-via-email
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 1995/07/15
Version: 4.71


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. Title ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ


Accessing The Internet By E-Mail
Doctor Bob's Guide to Offline Internet Access
4th Edition - July 1995


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. Copyright ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Copyright (c) 1994-95, "Doctor Bob" Rankin

All rights reserved.  Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim
copies of this document provided the copyright notice and this permission
notice are preserved on all copies.  Feel free to upload to your favorite BBS
or Internet server!


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. How to Access Internet Services by E-mail ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

If you don't have direct access to the Internet through your BBS or online
service, you're not alone.  About half of the 150 countries with Internet
connections have only e-mail access to this world-wide network of networks.

But if you think that sounds limiting, read on.  You can access almost any
Internet resource using e-mail.  Maybe you've heard of FTP, Gopher, Archie,
Veronica, Finger, Usenet, Whois, Netfind, WAIS, and the World-Wide Web but
thought they were out of your reach because you don't have a direct connection.

Not so!  You can use simple e-mail commands to do all of this and much more on
the Internet.  And even if you do have full Internet access, using e-mail
services can save you time and money.  If you can send a note to an Internet
address, you're in the game.

I encourage you to read this entire document first and then go back and try out
the techniques that are covered.  This way, you will gain a broader perspective
of the information resources that are available, an introduction to the tools
you can work with, and the best methods for finding the information you want.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5. Recent Changes To This Document ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

4.7 Updated contact info (new e-mail and web addresses)
4.7 New WWWmail server "[e-mail]"
4.6 Added note about types of users listed in WHOIS database.
4.6 Usenet retrieval via "[e-mail]" is defunct.
4.6 Several new translations available.
4.6 The FTP Site List now has 20 parts (and growing).
4.6 The gophermail server "[e-mail]" is defunct.
4.6 Added some new gophermail server addresses.
4.5 Added FTPmail server "[e-mail]".
4.5 WEBSTER dictionary lookup at [e-mail] is defunct.
4.4 Usenet retrieval via "[e-mail]" is defunct.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6. Finding the Latest Version ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This document is now available from several automated mail servers. To get the
latest edition, send e-mail to one of the addresses below.

To: [e-mail] (for US/Canada/etc.) Enter only this line in
the BODY of the note:
  GET INTERNET BY-EMAIL NETTRAIN F=MAIL

To: [e-mail] (for Eastern US) Enter only this line in the BODY
of the note:
  send usenet/news.answers/internet-services/access-via-email

To: [e-mail] (for UK/Europe/etc.) Enter only this line in the
BODY of the note:
  send lis-iis e-access-inet.txt

You can also get the file by anonymous FTP at one of these sites:

Site: ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu
  get NETTRAIN/INTERNET.BY-EMAIL
Site: rtfm.mit.edu
  get pub/usenet/news.answers/internet-services/access-via-email
Site: mailbase.ac.uk
  get pub/lists/lis-iis/files/e-access-inet.txt


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7. Other Translations of This Document ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Several readers have graciously volunteered to translate this text into
languages other than English.  The list below shows the status of the
translation work that has been done or is in progress.  You can obtain any of
the completed texts by sending e-mail with:

Subject: send accmail.xx       (where "xx" is as shown below)
To: [e-mail]

 - Chinese (In progress)         Filename: accmail.tw
 - Croatian (In progress)        Filename: accmail.hr
 - Czech (Complete - 4th Edition)    Filename: accmail.cz
 - Danish (Complete - 4th Edition)    Filename: accmail.dk
 - Dutch (Complete - 3rd Edition)    Filename: accmail.nl
 - French (Complete 4th Edition)     Filename: accmail.fr
 - German (Complete - 3rd Edition)    Filename: accmail.de
 - Hebrew (Complete - 4th Edition)    Filename: accmail.he
 - Hungarian (In progress)        Filename: accmail.hu
 - Indonesian (Complete 4th Edition)   Filename: accmail.id
 - Italian (Complete 4th Edition)    Filename: accmail.it
 - Japanese (In progress)        Filename: accmail.jp
 - Norwegian (Complete - 4th edition)  Filename: accmail.no
 - Persian  (In progress)        Filename: accmail.ir
 - Portuguese (Complete - 2nd Edition)  Filename: accmail.pt
 - Romanian (Complete - 4th Edition)   Filename: accmail.ro
 - Russian (Complete - 4th Edition)   Filename: accmail.su
 - Serbian  (In progress)        Filename: accmail.sb
 - Spanish  (In progress)        Filename: accmail.sp
 - Swedish (In progress)         Filename: accmail.se
 - Ukranian (In progress)        Filename: accmail.ur

Please contact the author if you would like to assist in the translation of
this document into another language.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8. Acknowledgements ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This document is continually expanding and improving as a result of the daily
flood of comments and questions received by the author.  The following
individuals are hereby recognized for their contributions.  (If I forgot
anyone, let me know and I'll gladly add you to the list.)

  Roddy MacLeod - Engineering Faculty Librarian, Heriot Watt University
  George McMurdo - Queen Margaret College
  Jim Milles - NETTRAIN Moderator, Saint Louis University
  Glee Willis - Engineering Librarian, University of Nevada
  Sylvain Chamberland - Enthusiastic contributor

  Ron Barak - Hebrew translation
  Claude Bay - French translation
  Pierre Couillard - French translation
  Vadim Fedorov - Russian translation
  Stefan Greundel - German translation
  Thorsten Bo Hansen - Danish translation
  Mihai Jalobeanu - Romanian translation
  Roland Ljungkvist - Swedish translation
  Isamar Maia - Portuguese translation
  Oe Wely Eko Raharjo - Indonesian translation
  Vidar Sarvik - Norwegian translation
  Martin Slunecko - Czech translation
  Jeene van der Hoef - Dutch translation
  Dario Vercelli - Italian translation

The DELRINA CORPORATION, makers of WinComm Pro, Internet Messenger and other
fine software products is also proud to be a corporate sponsor of this effort.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9. A Short Aside... "What is the Internet?" ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Many introductory texts on the Internet go into excruciating detail on the
history, composition and protocol of the Internet.  If you were looking for
that you won't find it here, because this is a "how to" lesson, not a history book.

When you buy a new car, they don't make you read "The Life and Times of Henry
Ford" before you can turn the top down and squeal off the lot. And when you get
a new computer, nobody forces you to read a text on logic design before you
fire up Leisure Suit Larry or WordPerfect.

So if you're the type that wants to short-circuit the preliminaries and just
dig in, you've come to the right place.  I'm not going to bore you with the
gory details.  Instead, I'll just offer up my Reader's Digest condensed
definition of the Internet, and encourage you to read more about the Internet
in one of the many fine Internet books and guides listed in the "Suggested
Reading" section.  Some of them are even free and accessible directly from the Internet!

Internet (noun) - A sprawling collection of computer networks that spans the
globe, connecting government,  military, educational and commercial
institutions, as well as private citizens to a wide range of computer
services, resources, and information.  A set of network conventions and common
tools are employed to give the appearance of a single large network, even
though the computers that are linked together use many different hardware and
software platforms.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10. The Rules of The Game ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This document is meant to be both tutorial and practical, so there are lots of
actual commands and internet addresses listed herein.  You'll notice that when
these are included in the text they are indented by several spaces for clarity.
Don't include the leading spaces when you try these commands on your own!

You'll also see things like "<file>" or "<name>" appearing in this document.
Think of these as place holders or variables which must be replaced with an
appropriate value.  Do NOT include the quotes or brackets in your value unless
specifically directed to do so.

Most e-mail servers understand only a small set of commands and are not very
forgiving if you deviate from what they expect.  So include ONLY the specified
commands in the Subject or body of your note, leaving off any extraneous lines
such as your signature, etc.

You should also ensure that you have one blank line between the note headers
and the body of your note.  And do pay attention to upper/lower case in
directory and file names when using e-mail servers.  It's almost always important!


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 11. FTP BY E-MAIL ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

FTP stands for "file transfer protocol", and is a means of accessing files that
are stored on remote computer systems.  In Internet lingo, these remote
computers are called "sites".  Files at FTP sites are typically stored in a
tree-like set of directories (or nested folders for Mac fans), each of which
pertains to a different subject.

When visiting an FTP site using a "live" internet connection, one would specify
the name of the site, login with a userid & password, navigate to the desired
directory and select one or more files to be transferredback to their local system.

Using FTP by e-mail is very similar, except that the desired site is reached
through a special "ftpmail server" which logs in to the remote site and returns
the requested files to you in response to a set of commands in an e-mail message.

Using FTP by e-mail can be nice even for those with full Internet access,
because some popular FTP sites are heavily loaded and interactive response can
be very sluggish.  So it makes sense not to waste time and connect charges in
these cases.

To use FTP by e-mail, you first need a list of FTP "sites" which are the
addresses of the remote computer systems that allow you to retrieve files
anonymously (without having a userid and password on that system).

There are some popular sites listed later in this guide, but you can get a
comprehensive list of hundreds of anonymous FTP sites by sending an e-mail
message to the internet address:

 [e-mail]

and include these lines in the BODY of the note.

  send usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/sitelist/part1
  send usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/sitelist/part2
  ... (lines omitted for brevity) ...
  send usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/sitelist/part20

You will then receive (by e-mail) 20 files which comprise the "FTP Site List".
Note that these files are each about 60K, so the whole lot will total over a
megabyte!  This could place a strain on your system, so first check around to
see if the list is already available locally, or consider requesting just the
first few as a sampler before getting the rest.

Another file you might want to get is "FTP Frequently Asked Questions" which
contains lots more info on using FTP services, so add this line to your note as well:

  send usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/faq

After you receive the site list you'll see dozens of entries like this, which
tell you the site name, location and the kind of files that are stored there.

  Site  : oak.oakland.edu
  Country: USA
  Organ  : Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan
  System : Unix
  Comment: Primary Simtel Software Repository mirror
  Files  : BBS lists; ham radio; TCP/IP; Mac; modem protocol info;
      MS-DOS; MS-Windows; PC Blue; PostScript; Simtel-20; Unix

If you find an interesting FTP site in the list, send e-mail to one of these
ftpmail servers:

  [e-mail]            (USA)
  [e-mail]            (USA) *
  [e-mail]           (USA)
  [e-mail]              (USA)
  [e-mail]               (Germany)
  [e-mail]         (Germany)
  [e-mail]              (Sweden)
  [e-mail]           (UK)
  [e-mail]             (Australia)

It doesn't really matter which one you choose, but a server that is close may
respond quicker.  In the body of the note, include these lines:

  open <site>          * use "connect <site>" for dec.com sites
  dir
  quit

This will return to you a list of the files stored in the root directory at
that site.  See the figure below for an example of the output when using
"oak.oakland.edu" for the site name.

 -r--r--r--  1 w8sdz   OAK     1255 Nov  9 16:32 README
 drwxr-xr-x  3 w8sdz   OAK     8192 Feb 25 05:17 SimTel
 d--x--x--x  3 root   system    8192 Jan 19 20:26 bin
 d--x--x--x  5 root   system    8192 Dec 30 05:15 etc
 drwxrwx---  2 incoming OAK     8192 Feb 25 11:05 incoming
 drwxr-xr-x  3 w8sdz   OAK     8192 Jan 30 17:37 pub
 drwxr-xr-x  2 jeff   OAK     8192 Apr 17  1994 siteinfo

In your next e-mail message you can navigate to other directories by inserting
(for example)

  chdir pub

before the "dir" command.  (The "chdir" means "change directory" and "pub" is a
common directory name, usually a good place to start.) Once you determine the
name of a file you want to retrieve, use:

  get <name of file>

in the following note instead of the "dir" command.  If the file you want to
retrieve is plain text, this will suffice.  If it's a binary file (an
executable program, compressed file, etc.) you'll need to insert the command:

  binary

in your note before the "get" command.

Tip:  Many directories at FTP sites contain a file called 00-index.txt, README,
or something similarly named which gives a description of the files found
there.  If you're just exploring and your "dir" reveals one of these filenames,
do a "get" on the file and save yourself some time.

OK, let's grab the text of The Magna Carta.  Here's the message you send to
[e-mail] (or another ftpmail server):

  open ftp.spies.com        (The name of the FTP site)
  chdir Gov/World          (The directory where the file lives)
  get magna.txt           (Sign here please, John)
  quit               (Bring it on home)

Here are the commands you would send to to get a file from the Simtel Software
Repository that was mentioned earlier.

  open oak.oakland.edu       (The name of the FTP site)
  chdir SimTel/msdos/disasm     (The directory where the file lives)
  binary              (Because we're getting a ZIP file)
  get bubble.zip          (Sounds interesting, anyway...)
  quit               (We're outta here!)

Some other interesting FTP sites you may want to "visit" are listed below. (Use
these site names on the "open" command and the suggested directory name on your
"chdir" command, as in the previous examples.)

  ocf.berkeley.edu   Try: pub/Library for documents, Bible, lyrics, etc.
  rtfm.mit.edu     Try: pub/usenet/news.answers for USENET info
  oak.oakland.edu   Try: SimTel/msdos for a huge DOS software library
  ftp.sura.net     Try: pub/nic for Internet how-to documents
  quartz.rutgers.edu  Try: pub/humor for lots of humor files
  gatekeeper.dec.com  Try: pub/recipes for a cooking & recipe archive

Remember that you can't just send e-mail to ftpmail@<anysite>, rather you send
the "open <site>" command to one of the known ftpmail servers.

You should note that ftpmail servers tend to be quite busy so your reply may
not arrive for several minutes, hours, or days, depending on when and where you
send your request.  Also, some large files may be split into smaller pieces and
returned to you as multiple messages.

If the file that is returned to you ends up looking something like what you see
below, (the word "begin" with a number and the filename on one line, followed
by a bunch of 61-character lines) it most likely is a binary file that has been
"uuencoded" by the sender.  (This is required in order to reliably transmit
binary files by e-mail.)

  begin 666 answer2.zip
  M4$L#!`H`!@`.`/6H?18.$-Z$F@P```@?```,````5$5,25@S,34N5%A480I[
  M!P8;!KL,2P,)!PL).PD'%@.(!@4.!P8%-@.6%PL*!@@*.P4.%00.%P4*.`4.

You'll need to scrounge up a version of the "uudecode" program for your
operating system (DOS, OS/2, Unix, Mac, etc.) in order to reconstruct the file.
Most likely you'll find a copy already at your site or in your service
provider's download library, but if not you can use the instructions in the
next section to find out how to search FTP sites for a copy.

One final point to consider...  If your online service charges you to store
e-mail files that are sent to you and you plan to receive some large files via
FTP, it would be wise to handle your "inbasket" expeditiously to avoid storage costs.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 12. ARCHIE BY E-MAIL ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Let's say you know the name of a file, but you have no idea at which FTP site
it might be lurking.  Or maybe you're curious to know if files matching a
certain naming criteria are available via FTP.  Archie is the tool you can use
to find out.

Archie servers can be thought of as a database of all the anonymous FTP sites
in the world, allowing you to find the site and/or name of a file to be
retrieved.  And using Archie by e-mail can be convenient because some Archie
searches take a LONG time to complete, leaving you to tap your toes in the meantime.

To use Archie by e-mail, simply send an e-mail message to one of the following addresses:

  [e-mail]           (USA)
  [e-mail]            (USA)
  [e-mail]             (USA)
  [e-mail]          (UK)
  [e-mail]               (Australia)
  [e-mail]             (Sweden)
  [e-mail]       (Japan)

To obtain detailed help for using Archie by mail, put the word

  help

in the subject of the note and just send it off.  You'll receive e-mail
explaining how to use archie services.

If you're the "just do it" type, then enter the command:

  find <file>

where "<file>" is the name of the file to search for, in the BODY (not the
subject) of the note.

This will search for files that match your criteria exactly.  If you want to
find files that contain your search criteria anywhere in their name, insert the
line

  set search sub

before the "find" command.  Some other useful archie commands you might want to
use are:

  set maxhits 20       (limit output, default is 100 files)
  set match_domain usa    (restrict output to FTP sites in USA)
  set output_format terse   (return output in condensed form)

When you get the results from your Archie query, it will contain the names of
various sites at which the desired file is located.  Use one of these site
names and the directory/filename listed for your next FTP file retrieval request.

Now you've learned enough to locate that uudecode utility mentioned in the last
section.  Let's send e-mail to [e-mail], and include the
following lines in the message:

  set match_domain usa    (restrict output to FTP sites in USA)
  set search sub       (looking for a substring match...)
  find uudecode        (must contain this string...)

Note: You'll be looking for the uudecode source code, not the executable
version, which would of course be a binary file and would arrive uuencoded - a
Catch 22!  The output of your archie query will contain lots of information
like this:

  Host ftp.clarkson.edu   (128.153.4.2)
  Last updated 06:31  9 Oct 1994

  Location: /pub/simtel20-cdrom/msdos/starter
  FILE   -r-xr-xr-x   5572 bytes  21:00 11 Mar 1991  uudecode.bas

  Location: /pub/simtel20-cdrom/msdos/starter
  FILE   -r-xr-xr-x   5349 bytes  20:00 17 Apr 1991  uudecode.c


Now you can use an ftpmail server to request "uudecode.bas" (if you have BASIC
available) or "uudecode.c" (if you have a C compiler) from the ftp.clarkson.edu site.

It should be noted that the latest version of uudecode can be found at the
SimTel repository.  Send e-mail to [e-mail], including any or
all of these commands in the BODY of the note, and the requested files will be
returned to you by e-mail.

  get uudecode.bas
  get uudecode.c
  get uudecode.doc


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 13. GOPHER BY E-MAIL ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Gopher is an excellent tool for exploring the Internet and is the best way to
find a resource if you know what you want, but not where to find it.  Gopher
systems are menu-based, and provide a user-friendly front end to Internet
resources, searches and information retrieval.

Gopher knows where things are, thanks to the many volunteers who spend time
creating pointers to useful collections of 'Net resources.  And Gopher takes
the rough edges off of the Internet by automating remote logins, hiding the
sometimes-cryptic command sequences, and offers powerful search capabilities as well.

When visiting a Gopher site using a "live" Internet connection, one would
specify the name of the site, navigate through a series of hierarchical menus
to a desired resource, and then either read or transfer the information back to
their home system.

Using Gopher by e-mail is very similar, except that the desired site is reached
through a special "gophermail server" which gophers to the remote site on your
behalf and and returns the requested menu, submenu or file to you in response
to a set of commands in an e-mail message.

Although not every item on every menu will be accessible by "gophermail",
you'll still find plenty of interesting things using this technique. Down to
brass tacks...  let's send e-mail to one of these addresses:

  [e-mail]      USA
  [e-mail]    USA
  [e-mail]         Sweden
  [e-mail]         Japan
  [e-mail]     Brazil
  [e-mail]       Czech Republic
  [e-mail]         *OUT OF SERVICE*
  [e-mail]    Israel
  [e-mail]        Japan
  [e-mail]         Japan
  [e-mail]         Japan
  [e-mail]        Japan

You can optionally specify the address of a known gopher site on the Subject
line to get the main menu for that site instead.  Here are some interesting
gopher sites you may like to explore at your leisure.

  cwis.usc.edu
  gopher.micro.umn.edu
  english-server.hss.cmu.edu

Let's be bold and skip the HELP stuff for now.  Fire off a note to one of the
gophermail servers and specify

  Subject: cwis.usc.edu

You'll get a message back from the server that looks something like the text in
the figure below.

  Mail this file back to gopher with an X before the items you want.

     1.  About USCgopher/
     2.  How To Find Things on Gopher/
     3.  University Information/
     4.  Campus Life/
     5.  Computing Information/
     6.  Library and Research Information/
     7.  Health Sciences/
     8.  Research and Technology Centers/
     9.  Other Gophers & Info Resources/

  You may edit the following numbers to set the maximum sizes after
  which GopherMail should send output as multiple email messages:

  Split=27K bytes/message <- For text, bin, HQX messages
  Menu=100 items/message <- For menus and query responses
  #
  Name=About USCgopher
  Numb=1
  Type=1
  Port=70
  Path=1/About_USCgopher
  Host=cwis.usc.edu
  # ... (some lines deleted) ...
  Name=Other Gophers and Information Resources
  Numb=9
  Type=1
  Port=70
  Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources
  Host=cwis.usc.edu

To proceed to a selection on the returned menu just e-mail the whole text of
the note (from the menu downwards) back to the gopher server, placing an "x"
next to the items(s) you want to explore.  You'll then receive the next level
of the gopher menu by e-mail.  Some menu choices lead to other menus, some lead
to text files, and some lead to searches.  In the example above, let's select

  x 9. Other Gophers & Info Resources

and mail the whole shebang right back at the gophermail server. You should then
get a menu with a number of interesting selections including "Gopher Jewels".
You'll find a LOT of good stuff along that path.  The Gopher Jewels project is
probably the best organized collection of Internet resources around.

If a menu item is labelled "Search" you can select that item with an "x" and
supply your search words in the Subject: of your reply.  Note that your search
criteria can be a single word or a boolean expression such as:

  document and (historic or government)

Each of the results (the "hits") of your search will be displayed as an entry
on yet another gopher menu!

Note: You needn't actually return the entire gopher menu and all the routing
info that follows it each time you reply to the gophermail server. If you want
to minimize the size of your query, you can strip out the "menu" portion at the
top and include only the portion below that pertains to the menu selection you want.

Just remember that if you use this approach, you must specify "get all" on the
Subject line.  (Exception: for searching, specify only the search terms on the
Subject line.)  The example below is equivalent to selecting "option 9" as we
did earlier.

  Split=0K bytes/message
  Menu=0 items/message
  #
  Name=Other Gophers
  Numb=9
  Type=1
  Port=70
  Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources
  Host=cwis.usc.edu

If this looks like nonsense to you, here's a human translation: Connect to PORT
70 of the HOST (computer) at "cwis.usc.edu", retrieve the sub-menu "Other
Gophers", and send it to me in ONE PIECE, regardless of its size.


Note: Sometimes gophermail requests return a blank menu or message.  This is
most likely because the server failed to connect to the host from which you
were trying to get your information.  Send your request again later and it'll
probably work.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 14. VERONICA BY E-MAIL ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Speaking of searches, this is a good time to mention Veronica.  Just as Archie
provides a searchable index of FTP sites, Veronica provides this function for
"gopherspace".  Veronica will ask you what you want to look for (your search
words) and then display another menu listing all the gopher menu items that
match your search.  In typical gopher fashion, you can then select one of these
items and "go-pher it"!

To try Veronica by e-mail, retrieve the main menu from a gophermail server
using the method just described.  Then try the choice labelled "Other Gopher
and Information Servers".  This menu will have an entry for Veronica.

You'll have to select one (or more) Veronica servers to handle your query,
specifying the search words in the Subject of your reply.  Here's another
example of where using e-mail servers can save time and money. Often the
Veronica servers are very busy and tell you to "try again later".  So select 2
or 3 servers, and chances are one of them will be able to handle your request
the first time around.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 15. A Gophermail Shortcut: ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The path to some resources, files or databases can be a bit tedious, requiring
several e-mail messages to the gophermail server.  But here's the good news...
If you've done it once, you can re-use any of the e-mail messages previously
sent in, changing it to suit your current needs.  As an example, here's a
clipping from the Veronica menu you would get by following the previous
instructions.  You can send these lines to any gophermail server to run a
Veronica search.

  Split=64K bytes/message <- For text, bin, HQX messages (0 = No split)
  Menu=100 items/message <- For menus and query responses (0 = No split)
  #
  Name=Search GopherSpace by Title word(s) (via NYSERNet)
  Type=7
  Port=2347
  Path=
  Host=empire.nysernet.org

Specify the search words in the Subject line and see what turns up!  You can
use boolean expressions in Veronica searches.  For a guide to composing
Veronica searches, send these lines to a gophermail server:

  Name=How to Compose Veronica Queries
  Path=0/veronica/how-to-query-veronica
  Host=veronica.scs.unr.edu


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 16. USENET BY E-MAIL ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Usenet is a collection of over 5000 discussion groups on every topic
imaginable.  In order to get a proper start and avoid embarrasing yourself
needlessly, you must read the Usenet new users intro document, which can be
obtained by sending e-mail to:

  [e-mail]

and include this line in the BODY of the note:

  send usenet/news.answers/news-newusers-intro

To get a listing of Usenet newsgroups, add these commands to your note:

  send usenet/news.answers/active-newsgroups/part1
  send usenet/news.answers/active-newsgroups/part2
  send usenet/news.answers/alt-hierarchies/part1
  send usenet/news.answers/alt-hierarchies/part2

To get the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) file(s) for a given newsgroup, try
a command like this:

  index usenet/<newsgroupname>

(Substitute dots for dashes if they appear in the newsgroup name.) If any FAQ
files are available, they will be listed in the returned info, and you can
request them with a command like:

  send usenet/<newsgroupname>/<faqfilename>

Once you've handled the preliminaries, you'll need to know how to read and
contribute to Usenet newsgroups by e-mail.  To read a newsgroup, you can use
the gophermail service discussed earlier in this guide.

To obtain a list of recent postings to a particular newsgroup, send the
following lines to one of the gophermail servers mentioned previously. Specify
"Subject: get all" and include only these lines in the message body.

(You must replace "<newsgroup>" below with the name of the Usenet newsgroup you
wish to access.  eg: alt.answers, biz.comp.services, news.newusers.questions, etc.)

  ------- begin gophermail message (do not include this line)
  Name=<newsgroup>
  Type=1
  Port=4324
  Path=nntp ls <newsgroup>
  Host=pinchy.micro.umn.EDU
  ------- end gophermail message (do not include this line)

If this doesn't work, you can try another Host by specifying Port=4320 (instead
of Port=4324) and substituting one of the lines below.

  Host=phantom.bsu.edu
  Host=teetot.acusd.edu
  Host=infopub.uqam.ca
  Host=gopher.ic.ac.uk
  Host=info.mcc.ac.uk

Note that many of these sites carry only a limited range of newsgroups, so you
may have to try several before finding one which carries the newsgroup you're
looking for.  When the newsgroup does not exist, gophermail sends something
like "'nntp ls <newsgroup>': path does not exist". When a site does not accept
outside requests, gophermail sends something like "Sorry, we don't accept
requests outside campus".

If successful, the gophermail server will send you a typical gopher menu on
which you may select the individual postings you wish to read.

Note: The gophermail query in this example is the greatly edited result of many
previous queries.  I've pared it down to the bare essentials so it can be
tailored and reused.

If you decide to make a post of your own, mail the text of your post to:

  [e-mail]
  [e-mail]
  [e-mail]
  [e-mail]
  [e-mail]
  (For an updated list send e-mail to [e-mail])

For example, to post to news.newusers.questions, you might send your message to
either of:

  [e-mail]
  [e-mail]

Be sure to include an appropriate Subject: line, and include your real name and
e-mail address at the close of your note.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 17. USENET SEARCHES ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

A service at Stanford University makes it possible to search USENET newsgroups
for postings that contain keywords of interest to you.  You can even
"subscribe" and receive a daily list of newsgroup postings that match your
search criteria.  Send mail to [e-mail] with HELP in the body of
note for full details.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 18. WAIS SEARCHES BY E-MAIL ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

WAIS stands for Wide Area Information Service, and is a means of searching a
set of over 500 indexed databases.  The range of topics is too broad to
mention, and besides, you'll soon learn how to get the topic list for yourself.

I recommend that you send e-mail to "[e-mail]" with HELP in the
body of the note to get the full WAISmail user guide.  But if you can't wait,
use the info below as a quickstart.

A list of WAIS databases (or "resources" as they like to be called) can be
obtained by sending e-mail to the waismail server with the line:

  search xxx xxx

in the body of the note.  Look through the returned list for topics that are of
interest to you and use one of them in the next example.

OK, let's do an actual search.  Send e-mail to:

  [e-mail]

with the following commands in the note body:

  maxres 10
  search bush-speeches lips

This will tell WAISmail to search through the text of the "bush-speeches"
database and return a list of at most 10 documents containing "lips".

A successful search will return one or more "DOCid:" lines, which identify the
location of the matching documents.  To retrieve the full text of a matching
document, send one of the returned "DOCid:" lines (exactly as is) in the body
of your next message to WAISmail.

 (Note: The WAISmail server at "quake.think.com" is defunct.  The server listed
above still had a few bugs as of this writing, so if it doesn't work, try the
WAIS via gophermail method described next.)

A list of WAIS databases can also be obtained by sending e-mail to
[e-mail] with "Subject: get all" and these lines in the message body:

  Type=1
  Name=WAIS Databases
  Path=1/WAISes/Everything
  Host=gopher-gw.micro.umn.edu
  Port=70

Look through the returned list for topics that are of interest to you and
select one to search.  Specify your search term(s) on the Subject line, and
clip out just the section of the returned gopher menu that corresponds to your
target database.  For example:

  Type=7+
  Name=bush-speeches.src
  Path=waissrc:/WAISes/Everything/bush-speeches
  Host=gopher-gw.micro.umn.edu
  Port=70

You will (hopefully) receive a gophermail menu in response listing the matching
"documents". To retrieve the full text of a matching document, just make a
selection from the returned gopher menu, and the referenced file will be sent
to you.

In my testing, WAIS by gophermail was not reliable.  Often a blank menu was
returned but repeated attempts did eventually meet with success.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 19. WORLD-WIDE WEB BY E-MAIL ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The World-Wide Web is touted as the future of Internet navigational tools.
It's a hypertext and multimedia system that lets you hop around the Net, read
documents, and access images & sounds linked to a source.

Have you ever heard someone say, "Wow, check out the cool stuff at
http://www.somewhere.com/blah.html" and wondered what the heck they were
talking about?  Now you can retrieve WWW documents by e-mail using an Agora
WWW-mail server.

All you need to know is the Uniform Resource Locator (or URL, that long ugly
string starting with "http:", "gopher:", or "ftp:") which defines the address
of the document, and you can retrieve it by sending e-mail to either of:

  [e-mail]      (temporarily out of service)
  [e-mail]

In the body of your note include one of these lines, replacing "<URL>" with the
actual URL specification.

  send <URL>

This will send you back the document you requested, with a list of all the
documents referenced within, so that you may make further requests.

  deep <URL>

Same as above, but it will also send you the documents referenced in the URL
you specified.  (May result in a LOT of data coming your way!)

To try WWW by e-mail send the following commands to an Agora server :

  www
  send http://www.w3.org

You'll receive in due course the Agora help file and the "WWW Welcome Page"
from Cern which will include references to other Web documents you'll want to explore.

Note: The URL you specify may contain only the following characters: a-z, A-Z,
0-9, and these special characters /:._-+@%*()?~

As mentioned earlier, you can also get Usenet postings from the WWW mail
server.  Here are some examples:

  send news:comp.unix.aix      (returns a list of recent postings)
  deep news:comp.unix.aix      (returns the list AND the postings,
                   this can be a LOT of data!)

There is another WWW-mail server whose address is:

  [e-mail]

This server requires commands in the form:

  go <URL>

Note: The WWW-mail servers are sometimes unavailable for days (or weeks) at a
time without explanation.  If you get an error or no reply, please retry in a
day or so.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 20. WWW SEARCH BY E-MAIL ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

There's a lot of great stuff out on the Web, but how do you find it? Well, just
like Archie and Veronica help you search FTP and gopher sites, there are
several search engines that have been developed to search for information on
the Web.  But until now, you had to have direct Internet access to use them.

After a bit of research, I have found that it is possible to use several WWW
search mechanisms by e-mail.  Here are some sample queries that you can use to
search via Lycos, WebCrawler and the CUI W3 Catalog.  Any of these lines can be
sent to an Agora server (see above) to perform a search.  If you're not
interested in spam or frogs, then by all means feel free to use your own search keywords.

For Lycos, append a dot to your keywords to force an exact match, or you will
get a substring search by default.  Separate words with a "+" sign.

  http://query1.lycos.cs.cmu.edu/cgi-bin/pursuit?spam
  http://query1.lycos.cs.cmu.edu/cgi-bin/pursuit?spam.
  http://query1.lycos.cs.cmu.edu/cgi-bin/pursuit?frog.+dissection.

For WebCrawler searches you must separate words with a "+" sign. All searches
are exact, no trailing dot required.

  http://webcrawler.cs.washington.edu/cgi-bin/WebQuery?spam
  http://webcrawler.cs.washington.edu/cgi-bin/WebQuery?frog+dissection

For CUI W3 Catalog searches you must separate words with "%20" as below. All
searches are exact, no trailing dot required.

  http://cuiwww.unige.ch/w3catalog?spam
  http://cuiwww.unige.ch/w3catalog?frog%20dissection


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 21. MAILING LISTS ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

There are literally thousands of discussion groups that stay in touch using
e-mail based systems known as "mailing lists".  People interested in a topic
"subscribe" to a "list" and then send and receive postings by e-mail.  For a
good introduction to this topic, send e-mail to:

  [e-mail]

In the body of your note include only this command:

  GET NEW-LIST WOUTERS

Finding a Mailing List
----------------------

To find out about mailing lists that are relevant to your interests, send the
following command to the same address given above.

  LIST GLOBAL /keyword

(Of course you must replace "keyword" with an appropriate search word such as
Marketing, Education, etc.)

Another helpful document which details the commands used to subscribe,
unsubscribe and search mailing list archives can be had by sending to:

  [e-mail]

In the body of your note include only this command:

  get mailser cmd nettrain f=mail

New in These Parts?
-------------------

If you're new to the Internet, I suggest you subscribe to the HELP-NET list
where you're likely to find answers to your questions.  Send the command:

  SUBSCRIBE HELP-NET <Firstname Lastname>

in the BODY of a note to [e-mail], then e-mail your questions to
the list address:

  [e-mail]


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 22. FINGER BY E-MAIL ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

"Finger" is a utility that returns information about another user. Usually it's
just boring stuff like last logon, etc., but sometimes people put fun or useful
information in their finger replies.  To try out finger, send e-mail with

  Subject: FINGER [e-mail].
  To: [e-mail]

You'll receive some current sports standings!  (The general form is FINGER user@site.)

Just for kicks, try finger using a combination of gopher and WWW.  Send the command:

  send gopher://<site>:79/0<user>

to the WWWmail server mentioned earlier.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 23. "DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE" BY E-MAIL ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

"WHOIS" is a service that queries a database of Internet names and addresses.
If you're looking for someone or you want to know where a particular Internet
site is located, send e-mail with:

  Subject: whois <name>
  To: [e-mail]

Try substituting "mit.edu" or the last name of someone you know in place of
"<name>" and see what comes back!  It should be noted that WHOIS is not a
comprehensive listing of all Internet users.  It contains mostly network
administrators and some "notable" Internet figures.

Another alternative name looker-upper is a database at MIT which keeps tabs on
everyone who has posted a message on Usenet.  Send e-mail to
"[e-mail]" and include this command ONLY in the BODY:

  send usenet-addresses/<name>

Specify as much information as you can about the person (lastname, firstname,
userid, site, etc.) to limit the amount of information that is returned to you.
Here's a sample query to find the address of someone you think may be at
Harvard University:

  send usenet-addresses/Jane Doe Harvard

NETFIND is another more powerful search engine that uses a person's name and
keywords describing a physical location to return a bunch of info about the
person (or persons) who fit the bill.

Let's say we want to find someone named Hardy at the University of Colorado in
Boulder.  Our Netfind query will be addressed to an Agora server (see list in
WWW section) and will contain the only line:

  gopher://ds.internic.net:4320/7netfind%20dblookup?hardy+boulder+colorado

Netfind works in two phases.  First it displays a list of internet domains that
match your keywords, then it looks for the person in the domain you select.
Netfind by e-mail is very similar, in that you'll receive a listing of matching
domains from which you must make one or more selections.

Each selection is numbered and there are corresponding "gopher://" commands at
the bottom of the listing.  Let's pick the selection for:

  cs.colorado.edu computer science dept, university of colorado, boulder

which means that our next command to the Agora server will be:

  gopher://ds.internic.net:4320/0netfind%20netfind%20hardy%20cs.colorado.edu

If all goes well, you'll receive a list something like this:

  full_name: HARDY, JOE  (not a real person)
  email: [e-mail]
  phone: [phone]
  address: Campus Box 777
  department: COMPUTER SCIENCE

Note that if you know the person's domain name already, you can jump right in
with a query like the latter one above.

You can also try the "Four11 Online User Directory", a free directory of users
and their e-mail addresses.  Send e-mail to [e-mail] for details on how
to search the Four11 directory.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 24. ADDRESS/NAME SERVER INFO BY E-MAIL ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This is a little on the technical side, but anyway the Mail Name Server
([e-mail]) offers some useful services by e-mail.  Some of the
commands you can send in the BODY of your note are:

  help                (full details)
  ip host.foo.bar          (get host's addresses)
  name ip#              (get host name from address)
  ns host.foo.bar          (get host's name servers)


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 25. TELNET BY E-MAIL ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Sorry, it can't be done.  Actually it CAN be done, but apparently nobody has
done it.  I'd love to be proven wrong on this!


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 26. A FEW NET-GOODIES ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Here are some other interesting things you can do by e-mail.  (Some of them are
accessible only by e-mail!)

* ALMANAC, WEATHER & THE SWEDISH CHEF
Infomania offers a bunch of services by e-mail!  Almanac (daily updates),
Weather, CD Music Catalog, etc. Send e-mail to [e-mail] with
subject HELP for full details.

* THE USENET ORACLE
A cooperative, anonymous and humorous exchange of questions and answers. Send
e-mail to [e-mail] for more information.

* SENDING A FAX BY E-MAIL
Free faxing via the Internet?  You bet.  For details, send the line below to
[e-mail] (in BODY of note)
  send usenet/news.answers/internet-services/fax-faq

* THE ELECTRONIC NEWSSTAND
The Electronic Newsstand collects articles, editorials, and tables of contents
from over 165 magazines and provides them to the Internet. To get instructions
on e-mail access, send a message to [e-mail]

* U.S. CONGRESS AND THE WHITE HOUSE
Find out if your congressperson has an electronic address!  Just send mail to
the address [e-mail] and you'll get a listing of congressional
e-mail addresses.

You can also contact the President ([e-mail]) or Vice President
([e-mail]), but don't expect a reply by e-mail.  Messages
sent to these addresses get printed out and handled just like regular paper correspondence!

* OTHER SOURCES OF US GOV'T INFO:
Send the lines below to [e-mail] (in BODY of note)
  send usenet/news.answers/us-govt-net-pointers/part1
  send usenet/news.answers/us-govt-net-pointers/part2

* INTERNET PATENT NEWS SERVICE
Send e-mail to [e-mail] for more information on this service.

* THE INTERNET MALL
To get a copy of this long list of net-connected businesses, send e-mail to
[e-mail] with Subject: send mall

* FINDING E-MAIL ADDRESSES
For a guide to finding someone's e-mail addresses, send the line below to
[e-mail] (in the BODY of the note)
  send usenet/news.answers/finding-addresses

* SENDING MAIL TO VARIOUS NETWORKS
For a guide to communicating with people on the various networks that make up
the Internet, send the line below to [e-mail] (in the BODY of
the note)
  send usenet/news.answers/mail/inter-network-guide

* SENDING MAIL TO FAMILY MEMBERS
Family Internet MailCall is a fee-based service that helps you keep in touch
via a private mailing list.  Details: [e-mail]

* MOVIE INFO
To learn how to get tons of info on movies, actors, & directors, send mailto
[e-mail] with HELP in the body of note for details.

* STOCK MARKET REPORT
Send e-mail with subject STOCK MARKET QUOTES to [e-mail] and
you'll receive a rather lengthy stock market report (every day until you ask
Martin to stop sending them)!  Please note that this is not an
automated server, so be sure to include a word of appreciation for this useful service.

* STOCK MARKET QUOTES
If you want to get a current quote for just 1 or 2 stocks, you can use the
QuoteCom service.  They offer this free service along with other fee based
services.  For details, send e-mail to "[e-mail]" with a subject of HELP.

* THE CONTRARIAN ADVISOR
A stock newsletter focusing on out-of-favor stocks.  To subscribe, send e-mail
to [e-mail] with Subject: Subscribe Contrarian

* ANONYMOUS E-MAIL
The "anon server" provides a front for sending mail messages and posting to
Usenet newsgroups anonymously, should the need ever arise.  To get complete
instructions, send e-mail to [e-mail]

* NET JOURNALS LISTING
I highly recommend "The Internet Press - A guide to electronic journals about
the Internet".  To get it, send e-mail with Subject: subscribe to [e-mail]

* MUSI-CAL
Send e-mail to [e-mail] to retrieve a help message that tells how
to use the Musi-Cal online concert calendar service.

* ASK DR. MATH
Have a math question?  No problem's too big or too small for The Swat Team.
Write to [e-mail]

* SCOUT REPORT
Scout Report is a weekly featuring announcements of new and interesting
resources on the Internet.  To subscribe, send e-mail to
[e-mail] with "Subscribe scout-report" in the body.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 27. SUGGESTED READING ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

There are lots of good books and guides to help you get started on the
Internet, and here are some that I recommend.  The first few are free (FTPmail
commands listed below), and the others can be found in most bookstores that
carry computer-related books.

"Zen and the Art of the Internet", by Brendan Kehoe
  open ftp.std.com
  chdir obi/Internet/zen-1.0
  get zen10.txt

"There's Gold in them thar Networks", by Jerry Martin
  open nic.ddn.mil
  chdir rfc
  get rfc1402.txt

"Unofficial Internet Book List", by Kevin Savetz
  open rtfm.mit.edu
  chdir pub/usenet/news.answers/internet-services
  get book-list

"The Whole Internet User's Guide and Catalog", by Ed Krol
  Publisher: O'Reilly and Associates
  ISBN: 1-56592-063-5
  Price: $24.95

"Everybody's Guide to the Internet", by Adam Gaffin
  Publisher: MIT Press
  ISBN: 0-262-57105-6
  Price: $14.95

"The Internet Guide For New Users", by Daniel P. Dern
  Publisher: McGraw-Hill
  ISBN: 0-07-016511-4
  Price: $27.95


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 28. CONTACTING THE AUTHOR ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

"Doctor Bob", also known as Bob Rankin, welcomes your feedback on this guide
and can be reached at the following addresses.  Send corrections, ideas,
suggestions and comments by e-mail.  I'll try to include any new e-mail
services in future editions of this guide.

E-Mail  :  [e-mail]
Web   :  http://csbh.mhv.net/~bobrankin
US Mail :  Doctor Bob / P.O. Box 39 / Tillson, NY / 12486


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 29. MORE PUBLICATIONS FROM DOCTOR BOB! ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Announcing ...

"100 COOL THINGS TO DO ON THE INTERNET!"
Doctor Bob's Internet Tour Guide
Over 100 places you *must* visit in cyberspace

This is the guide I wanted when the Internet was new to me.  Just a quick
overview of the "tools of the trade" and a list of "cool things to do".  Not
300 pages...  And not $39!  This information could save you money, hours of
valuable time, or lead you to a new career.

There's a goldmine of information, software and services out there just waiting
to be discovered!  It can be yours, but it's not easy...  That's why you must
have this informative report which gives you the lowdown on:

* Online databases      * Electronic Library Catalogs
* Shopping in Cyberspace   * Job Postings Online
* Vast software libraries  * ALL FREE!

You'll learn the basics of TELNETing, FTPing and GOPHERing to the information
you want, with specific instructions and the "secret keys" you need to unlock
all the doors on the way!


  Doctor Bob's Internet Business Guide
  An Introduction to Good
  Old-Fashioned Capitalism In Cyberspace

There are those who say that the Internet should be free of capitalism,
commerce, advertising and anything that smells like "business".

But there ARE ways to conduct business on the 'Net without raising the ire of
the inhabitants of the electronic domain.  You can lower costs, make money and
even get thanked for providing your service if you know how to do it right!

I can't promise that you'll make lots of money selling your product or service,
but I'm certain that after you've read this guide, you will have a better
understanding of:

* Internet Tools & Techniques
* Business Resources on the Net
* Setting Up Shop on the Net
* Avoiding Net Marketing Pitfalls
* What business are on the Net
* Getting paid for your product


To get your copy of:

  "100 COOL THINGS TO DO ON THE INTERNET!"
          - or -
  "DOCTOR BOB'S INTERNET BUSINESS GUIDE"

Send just $5 each (cash, check or credit card) plus a self-addressed, stamped
envelope to:

 -->  DOCTOR BOB
 -->  PO BOX 39, DEPT U4
 -->  TILLSON, NY 12486  USA

Note: For e-mail delivery (preferred) you can skip the envelope but make sure
to send your e-mail address along with your order.

To pay with your Credit Card send the following information by US Mail to the
address above, or by e-mail to [e-mail] :

 - Visa/MasterCard/Discover/Amex card number, with expiration date
 - Your name (as it appears on your card)
 - Mailing address and phone number
 - Number of copies you wish to order
 - A statement reading "I authorize Doctor Bob Publications to
  charge the price of this order to my credit card."

Outside the USA:  Skip the stamp, but please add $1 for postage. If it's too
difficult to get US funds, send 12 International Postal Coupons in lieu of
cash.  And if all else fails, send your own (paper) currency, estimating the
conversion factor.  I cannot accept checks or money orders drawn on non-US institutions.

I also accept electronic payment via NetCash and First Virtual!  For details
send e-mail to [e-mail] with DOCTOR BOB on the first line of your note.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 30. Copyright (c) 1994-95, "Doctor Bob" Rankin ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

All rights reserved.  Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim
copies of this document provided the copyright notice and this permission
notice are preserved on all copies.  Feel free to upload to your favorite BBS
or Internet server!

Persons wishing to summarize this document in other publications may do so, but
please include the instructions herein for obtaining the full document. I also
request that you kindly supply me with a copy of the article when published.

# # #