<<**>>¢ INFO-ATARI8 on the Internet,¢ by TOM SMITH, member OL' HACKERS, NY¢¢ (Ed. This is a new world to explore,¢ and is all the rage today. Consider¢ the enormous amount of info/friends¢ you can get in just 1 visit! B/T/W,¢ TOM is a longtime member of OHAUG, and¢ we thank him for this and the other¢ articles, which he sent! A.P.)¢ **¢ *** How would you like to attend a¢ "meeting" of enthusiastic 8-bit¢ Atarians worldwide at a site with all¢ the comforts of home, and not have to¢ travel in snow or rain or traffic or¢ to an airport to get there? How would¢ you like this meeting to be scheduled¢ at your convenience and mood?¢¢ *** This gathering goes on 24 hours¢ a day, 7 days a week, and you need¢ not travel any further to attend than¢ your modem equipped Atari. It is the¢ INFO-ATARI8 newsgroup on the Internet. ¢¢ *** Actually there are several such¢ groups on the Internet for those that¢ "surf the net", but this newsgroup¢ does not require a fancy web browser¢ or Internet server account. You can¢ catch this action by what I call¢ "fishing" the Net, via an Internet E-¢ mail gateway. ¢¢ *** You already have this gateway¢ for your use if you subscribe to¢ America On Line, Genie, Compuserve,¢ Prodigy, and others. I don't have an¢ account with any of these, but use my¢ access to a local BBS with an Atari¢ Sig, SDACE, and its Internet E-mail¢ gateway. Any Atari modem with text¢ based software will do. ¢¢ *** Once you have access to an¢ Internet E-mail gateway you can join¢ the newsgroup by sending a message to:¢¢¢ *** listserv@listserv.net¢¢ *** Leave the subject blank.¢ (Pressing the space bar once and then¢ Enter may get you past this hurdle¢ with some BBS systems that won't¢ accept a blank subject field). In¢ the body of the message type:¢¢ *** SUBSCRIBE INFO-ATARI8 Fname Lname¢¢ *** -where Fname and Lname represent¢ your first and last names. My message¢ read:¢ *** SUBSCRIBE INFO-ATARI8 Tom Smith¢¢ *** Usually in less than 24 hours¢ you will receive a message stating¢ that your subscription has been¢ accepted, along with information you¢ should keep for reference, such as¢ how to send a message to all the¢ other current subscribers, some¢ configuration options available to¢ you, how to get a list of available¢ archive files, how to get a list of¢ the e-mail addresses and names of all¢ subscribers, as well as how to have¢ your name not appear on this list, if¢ you wish. You will also be given¢ instructions on how to receive a more¢ comprehensive list of commands¢ available to you. ¢¢ *** The first Atari 8bit Digests¢ will probably arrive the same day and¢ then at a rate of 4-6 per week,¢ usually containing around 25 messages¢ grouped by message threads. At the¢ beginning of the digest is a list of¢ topics, with the number of responses¢ for each. ¢¢ *** Here is a sample: ¢¢ *** Atari Classics & Current Notes¢ (4 msgs)¢ Good price on a Black Box?¢ (3 msgs)¢ Professional SIO2PC/APE Update¢ (5 msgs)¢ Can PC-Xformer run cartridges?¢ (3 msgs)¢ DataSoft's Mercenary¢ (2 msgs)¢ Atari 8-bit CD¢ Atari BBS's¢ Autoduel for 800?¢ CD for Atari 8-bit?¢ TON OF ATARI STUFF FS IN NJ WTB:¢ Atari XEGS MINT System¢ USRobotics 9600 Sportster¢ Spartados for NON XL/XE?¢¢ *** Periodically an updated,¢ comprehensive list of current Atari¢ 8-bit vendors and developers is sent¢ out to subscribers. Several current¢ vendors and developers participate¢ directly in discussions in this¢ newsgroup. ¢¢ *** A FAQ (Frequently Asked¢ Questions) list is updated and sent¢ out to subscribers. This very well¢ organized document provides¢ information about how to retrieve¢ files from FTP sites by E-mail, how to¢ access the World Wide Web by E-mail,¢ where Atari 8-bit software archives¢ are located, information on such¢ varied topics as online magazines,¢ emulation, null modem file transfer,¢ pinout assignments, nearest 8-bit¢ Atari BBSs and User groups, what¢ prominent Atarians are reachable by¢ e-mail, and much more.¢¢ *** The INFO-ATARI8 newsgroup will¢ connect you with a vast resource for¢ the latest news, help, and¢ developments in the 8-bit Atari world,¢ but what I have most enjoyed as a ¢ result of participating, is the people¢ I've met there. One of my all-time¢ favorite games for the 8-bit Atari was¢ DataSoft's Mercenary. I wanted to¢ chat, compare notes and share¢ experiences with others that also had¢ enjoyed this game. I sent a message¢ to the INFO-ATARI8 newsgroup with this¢ request and the next morning was¢ surprised and delighted to find¢ replies from Mercenary fans in¢ England, Poland, Germany and New¢ Zealand. Now I have new Atarian¢ friends all over the world.¢¢ *** I hope as a result of this¢ "passing the word" that others will¢ discover this wider 8-bit Atarian¢ world. If you have a question, wish¢ to chat or just test the waters, feel¢ welcome to put a note addressed to¢ tom.smith@sdcs.org in an E-mail bottle¢ and let it float to me over the¢ Internet. ¢ <<*end*>>¢¢
