A Beginner's Guide to the Internet

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An Introduction to Using the Internet at Saint Louis University School of Law James Milles Head of Computer Services Saint Louis University Law Library (Rev. 8/24/93) Copyright 1992, 1993 James Milles Available in WordPerfect 5.1/5.2 format by anonymous ftp from fatty.law.cornell.edu, directory /pub/Internet, type binary, file interlaw.wp, or in ASCII format as interlaw.txt. Also available in ASCII from the SLU Law Library gopher (sluava.slu.edu, /Library Services/SLU Law Library Services/Internet Training and Access Info). This document may be distribu ted in whole, in part, or in modified form, by any means, and a fee may be charged for its distribution, but it may not be sold for a profit. Any copies, whether in whole, in part, or in modified form, must include attribution to this document. Comments and suggestions are welcome. If you use this document in the preparation of your own training materials, please send a copy to the author <millesjg@sluvca.slu.edu>. An Introduction to Using the Internet I. What Is the Inte rnet?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 II. Getting Started with Electronic Mail: the VAX MAIL System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 VAX E-mail and VMS Editing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Creating a Signature File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Summary of EDT Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Using E-mail to Send Files Created with WordPerfect . . . . . . . . 7 Reading Your Mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 III. Internet E-mail. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Making Sure You Get Mail: LISTSERV Discussion Lists . . . . . . . . 10 Listserv Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Other Lists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 IV. Maintaining Your Mail Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Summary of MAIL Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 V. TELNET (Remote Login). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Some Selected Internet-Accessible Library Catalogs. . . . . . . . . 19 Cambridge University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Harvard University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Northwestern University. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 University of Cali fornia and California State Library at Sacramento . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 University of Texas at Austin, Tarlton Law Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Some Useful Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 The Washington & Lee Law Library Guest Site. . . . . . . . . . 21 Washburn University Law Library (WASHLAW). . . . . . . . . . . 24 Cleveland Free-Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 VI. Other Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Gopher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 WAIS (Wide Area Information System) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 World-Wide Web. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 VII. FTP (File Transfer Protocol) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 The Cornell "drop-off" site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Appendix A: E-Mail Etiquette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Appendix B: Technical Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Part 1: Electronic Mail I. What Is the Internet? A typical "local area network," or LAN, may consist of a dozen or more desktop computers in an office or a building, connected with various kinds of cable, and running one or another variety of network software such as Novell, so that several users of different computers can share resources (modems, laser printers, CD-ROM drives) and exchange data (by sending electronic mail or transferring files). The Internet is a worldwide "network of networks," a collection of hundreds of thousands of computers running interactively over high-speed data communication lines, with the capability of sending and receiving information almost instantaneously. This makes the Internet radically different from other computer-mediated communication systems like CompuServe, MCImail, or P rodigy, or from large database systems like WESTLAW or LEXIS/NEXIS (although some of these systems may be connected to the Internet). With each of these systems, all users connect to a central computer, where all files, programs, and other data are stored. The Internet, however, exemplifies the concept of "distributed computing." There is no central computer to connect to; rather, any user with the correct authorization can potentially connect to any other computer, anywhere in the world, as long as it is connected to the Internet. Although there are a number of organizations that work together to develop the technical standards that make the Internet work, as well as a number of organizations that operate the underlying networks that connect one user to another, there is no central governing authority. The people who really "run" the Internet--the people who make it an essential tool by making available resources ranging from library catalogs, to shareware and public domain soft ware, to millions of pages of documents, and by sharing their expertise through e-mail and other means-- are the millions of users around the world. The vast majority of the Internet's resources are provided completely by volunteers, so much so that to many users "available on the Internet" is a synonym for "free." In fact, undoubtedly the greatest resource on the Internet is the people who use it. Because of the huge number of computer systems connected by means of the Internet, finding on e's way around can be a bit of a chore. Although there are a variety of guides and other resources available, usually compiled through the voluntary efforts of one or two dedicated individuals, there is as yet no one, big directory of all the people or all the systems accessible through the Internet. In addition, because of the remote login capabilities of Internet, each computer system or library catalog the user logs into may require the user learn a new set of commands. Before you even get to that point, however, there are a number of minor obstacles that must be overcome in using the VAX. When you use the Internet, you will be accessing it through the University's VAX mainframe. This means that, in addition to being familiar with DOS, WordPerfect and your PC-based communication software (such as MS-Kermit for DOS or WinQVT for Windows), you will also be dealing with VAX commands, its EDT text editor, and the VMS operating system. The rewards are well worth the trouble, but you must be prepared to invest some time in learning these systems in order to be able to reap these rewards. Prerequisites If you do not already have an account on the SLU Academic Vax computer (SLUAVA), you will need to get a form from me to obtain an account. There is no charge for using the VAX; an "account" simply means a user ID and password which gives you access to the VAX. In addition, you will need communication software. Although any PC-based communication software will do, the best for Internet communication are MS-Kermit (for DOS computers) and WinQVT (for Windows). These "terminal emulation" programs (programs designed to make your computer act like a specialized VAX terminal) work well with the VAX computer and provide full- screen editing ("cut and paste") functions that make writing e- mail messages much easier. Finally, you will want to be familiar with a word processing program such as WordPerfect. Although you can compose messages online while c onnected to the VAX, the VAX EDT text editor is less sophisticated and somewhat more difficult to use, so for sending lengthy messages, it may be easier to write the message offline using WordPerfect, upload the file from your PC to the VAX, and then send the message via Internet. II. Getting Started with Electronic Mail: the VAX MAIL System Dial and connect to the VAX using the Kermit or WinQVT communication software. At the "WHICH COMPUTER?" prompt, type AVA and press <Enter>. At the "Username:" prompt, type in your user name and press <Enter>. At the "Password:" prompt, type in your password and press <Enter>. Every month, the VAX will require you to change your password. For security purposes, you should not choose an easy- to-guess password such as your birthday or your child's name; a combination of letters and numbers is best. You may want to write the password down in a safe place so you don't forg et it (but don't put it on your terminal with a Post-It note, please). After a few moments and a few messages from the VAX, you should see a "$" prompt. Think of this like the C:> prompt on your PC; you can type commands at this prompt which will let you perform the various Internet functions such as mail, file transfer, and remote login. To sign off the VAX system, at the "$" prompt type lo and press <Enter>. VAX E-mail and VMS Editing To enter the electronic mail system , type mail at the "$" prompt and press <Enter>. The prompt should change from "$" to "MAIL>". To send a message, type send/edit and press <Enter>. (You could type send by itself, but the /edit option allows you to include a "signature file" (see page 5) before you send your message.) The VAX will respond with "To:" For your first try, send a message to me. This is the simplest form of e- mail: a message to another individual at Saint Louis Univ ersity. All you need to identify the recipient is the recipient's user ID; mine is MILLESJG. So, at the "To:" prompt, type millesjg <Enter>. The VAX will then respond with a "Subj:" prompt. Type a brief heading here (keep it under one line, like "My first e-mail message"). Next you will see a blank screen with "[EOB]" at the top. This is the editing screen; here is where you type the text of your message. ([EOB] means "end of buffer," a nd indicates the last line of the file you are working on. There is nothing else in the file other than the [EOB] because you haven't typed anything in yet. As you type, the [EOB] marker will move down toward the bottom of the screen.) Use the <End>, <Delete>, <Insert>, <Home>, <Page Up>, and <Page Down> keys to cut and paste text. Because you are using "terminal emulation" software to make your computer act like a VAX terminal, which has a very different key layout from a personal comput er, your communication software reassigns these keys to different functions to correspond to VAX terminal keys. Use the Kermit or WinQVT editing key template provided with your software for the proper functions of these keys. For instance, to delete text: place the cursor where you want to begin cutting; press the SELECT key; move the cursor to the end of the text you want to cut; press the DELETE key. To move text, first cut it according to the in structions above, then move the cursor to the location where you want the text to appear, then press the INSERT key. When you are finished editing your text, press <Ctrl>-Z. This will take you out of the editing screen and give you a "*" command prompt. Type exit <Enter> to send the message, or type quit to cancel it. After a few moments you should see the "MAIL>" prompt again, indicating that your message has been sent. (One of the disconcerting things about using VAX e-mail is t hat it generally does not tell you when you have done something right; it only gives you an error message when you have done something wrong. If you do not see an error message, assume you have done the right thing.) Creating a Signature File Since some e-mail systems that your recipients might use do not clearly indicate the name and e-mail address of the sender, it is always a good idea to include a "signature" or "sig" file at the end of any e-mail message. This should consist of a t least your name, your Internet address, and the name of your institution. Optionally, some people include phone or fax numbers or a humorous message. (For more information, see Appendix A, "E-mail Etiquette.") To create a signature file: At the "$" prompt, type ed my.sig <Enter>. (Actually, you could use whatever name you like; I use my.sig because it's easy to remember). Type a brief signature file, consisting of your name on one l ine, the name "Saint Louis University Law School" on the next line, and your Internet address on the third line. (Once you are comfortably proficient with EDT, feel free to spiff it up a bit.) When you are satisfied with your signature file, press <Ctrl>-Z, then type ex and press <Enter>. To include your signature file in a message: Enter the MAIL system, and type send/edit <Enter> at the MAIL> prompt. Typ e your message. When you are finished editing your message, move the cursor to the last line of the text (the [EOB] line) and type <ctrl>-Z. At the "*" prompt, type inc my.sig <Enter> to include the my.sig file at the point where the cursor stood when you exited the editing screen. Type c and press <Enter> to go back into "change" (or editing) mode, so you can review the text and make sure you placed you r signature file correctly. Press <Ctrl>-Z, then type exit and press <Enter> to send the message. There are a number of additional commands that can be used at the "*" prompt. Most of them you will never need; however, if you do, here is a guide to the most useful ones. Summary of EDT Commands (All these commands are entered at the "*" prompt.) C (Change) Invoke the full-screen editor D (Delete) Deletes a line or group of lines. "D11" would delete line 11; "D11:15" would delete lines 11 through 15. An easier way to do this is to use the SELECT key to block the text, then press the DELETE key to delete it. EX (Exit) Terminates an EDT editing session. If you are using the MAIL system, EX also sends the message you have just edited. H (Help) Displays on-line help. INC (Include) Allows you to copy text from another file into the file you are editing--for instance, your signature file. To add the signature file "my.sig" to the end of an e-mail message, type inc my.sig <Enter>. Make sure that the pointer is at the last line of the message (indicated by [EOB]). INS (Insert) Inserts text directly before the current position in the file. Switches from "command mode" (the "*" prompt, at which you t ype commands) to "insert mode" (no prompt, at which you type text). Press <ctrl>-Z to return to the "*" prompt when you are finished inserting text. QUIT Allows you to exit EDT without saving the changes you have made. When using MAIL, allows you to cancel a message without sending it. S (Substitute) Allows you to substitute new text for old or incorrect text; the format is "subs titute/oldtext/newtext." You must first specify the line to be corrected. For instance, if you mis-typed "teh" for "the" in line five, you could correct it by (1) typing 5 <Enter> at the "*" prompt, and then (2) typing s/teh/the <Enter> to make the substitution. (In most cases, it will be easier simply to go back into edit-screen mode by typing c <Enter> at the "*" prompt.) Using E-mail to Send Files Created with WordPerfect It is also possible to use Internet to send messages composed off-line with WordPerfect. However, there are a few extra steps to go through. First, since e-mail works only with generic ASCII text (simple letters and numbers without special formatting codes), a file in WordPerfect format must be changed to generic ASCII text. Second, the ASCII file must be uploaded from your PC to the VAX. This is done using the Kermit program's SEND command. Fo rtunately, WordPerfect provides a function that performs the necessary file conversion. To change a file to ASCII: While in WordPerfect, press <ctrl>-F5, "Text In/Out." Choose 1, "DOS Text." Choose 1, "Save." Type in a path and file name for the ASCII version of the file. If you are converting an existing WordPerfect file to ASCII (for example, a draft of an article), and you want to keep the original WordPerfect version of the file, this must be a different name, or at least a different path, than the WordPerfect version of the file. For convenience, I have created a directory on your hard disk called C:\HELP for temporary storage of uploaded and downloaded files. Press F7, "Save," and type N; do not save the document when you exit (saving it again at this point would convert it back to WordPerfect format). To upload a file for e-mail: Log on to the VAX as instructed on page 3. At the "$" prompt, type kermit <Enter> to call up the Kermit program on the VAX. At the "C-Kermit>" prompt, type server <Enter>. This sets the VAX Kermit program to take its commands from your PC. Use the "send" function in the MS-Kermit or WinQVT program on your PC to send the file to the VAX. Use the "Kermit Finish" command for MS-Kermit or W inQVT to close the file transfer. Press <Ctl>-Z to exit the C-Kermit program on the VAX. At the "$" prompt, type mail. At the "MAIL>" prompt, type send/edit [filename] <Enter>. To include your signature file, move the cursor to the end of the message and then press <Ctrl>-Z. At the "*" prompt, type inc my.sig <Enter>. To review or edit the file before sending it, type c <Enter> to retur n to editing mode. When you are satisfied that the message is correct and ready to be sent, type ex <Enter>. Since you no longer need the copy of the uploaded file in your VAX filespace, delete it by typing del [filename];* <Enter>. Reading Your Mail Each time you sign on, if you have e-mail waiting, you will receive a message saying "You have [number] messages waiting". To view your mail: At the "$" prompt, type ma il <Enter>. At the "MAIL>" prompt, type dir <Enter>. Scan the subject headings of your messages. (Note the "folder name" NEWMAIL at the upper right corner of the screen. If you want to keep a message after reading it, you can "file" the message in a different "folder" [see page 16].) To begin reading the first message, press <Enter>. To read a particular message, type the number of the message. To reply to a message you are currently reading, type reply/edit <Enter>. Compose your message as instructed on page 4. To print a copy of a message: Type the number of the message you want to display. If you want to print a copy of the message you are currently viewing, type current <Enter>. Use the VAX MAIL extract command to "extract" the message into a text file. Type extract [filename] <Enter>. Then use exit from MAIL and download the file to your computer. III. Internet E-mail Sending e-mail to someone at another institution hundreds or thousands of miles away works just the same way; only the address is different. To send a message to someone on Internet, all you need is your correspondent's Internet address. The Internet uses an addressing system called "domain" addressing. An Internet address consists of two parts separated by an "@" symbol; the part be fore the @ is the "username," and the part after is the "host" or "domain name." The "domain name" part will always be made up of two or more parts separated by periods. For instance, my Internet address is millesjg@sluvca.slu.edu. Domain names are read from right to left; here, the "edu" on the far right (the "highest level domain") indicates that the addressee is at an educational institution; "slu" indicates the name of the institution; and "sluvca" indicates the VAX machine at SLU that runs t he mail system. Other highest-level domains have different names; for instance, if you want to send a message to someone who uses MCImail for electronic mail, the address would be [userid]@mcimail.com; ".com" means it is a commercial organization. Other domains include "gov," for governmental bodies; "mil," for military; "org," for non-profit organizations; and "net," for network providers. In addition, e-mail addresses outside the United States have a two-letter country code at the end: "uk" fo r the United Kingdom, "ie" for Ireland, "nl" for the Netherlands, "cz" for Czechoslovakia, "pl" for Poland, and so on. To send a message to me over the Internet, at the "To:" prompt you would type millesjg@sluvca.slu.edu <Enter>. (Be sure not to insert any spaces.) Try sending a short message to me, using my Internet address. Sometimes you will find an e-mail address that looks like an Internet address, but the part to the right of the @ symbol consists of only one word with no peri ods. Addresses in this format are BITNET addresses. BITNET is a another worldwide e- mail network, but it is limited solely to colleges and universities. A BITNET address must be converted to Internet format by adding ".bitnet" to the end of the address; for instance, if your correspondent's address is CS30057@WUVMD, you would address your e-mail to CS30057@WUVMD.bitnet. As noted above, there is no universal directory of Bitnet or Internet addresses. If you want to exchange e-mail with an individual, the best thing to do is simply ask the individual for his or her address. Your Internet address is: ____________________@sluvca.slu.edu Making Sure You Get Mail: LISTSERV Discussion Lists Besides individual person-to-person e-mail, the Internet also offers thousands of "discussion lists," or e-mail conferences on topics ranging from artificial intelligence or international law to cats an d popular music. They are called "lists," I suppose, because they are essentially mailing lists for e-mail. You subscribe to most lists by sending the SUBSCRIBE command (abbreviated SUB) to a program called LISTSERV on the computer that maintains the list; thereafter, each message that is sent to the list is automatically sent on to each subscriber. Discussion lists are valuable in two ways: first, by subscribing and contributing to the lists, you may exchange information and ideas with colleagues across the world; second, you can always send private messages to any individual on the list (for instance, to engage in a more in-depth discussion on a topic of particular concern). Discussion lists are not databases; you would not "search" COMLAW-L to retrieve documents relating to computers in legal education (although it is possible to search the archives of previous e-mail messages from a given list to find messages on a particular topic). Discussion lists are more like caucuses of experts, or year-round professional meetings (except you can skip the boring sessions and nobody will know); for instance, I have used both the LAW-LIB and TEKNOIDS lists to get rapid responses to technical questions. I have also found discussion lists to be invaluable sources of ideas and sounding boards for my own thoughts. Knowledgeable people are remarkably willing to share their expertise with others through these lists. Here are some selected law- and library-related lists that you may wish to explore. Listserv Lists Law: ADA-LAW@NDSUVM1 ADA Law AIL-L@austin.onu.edu Artificial Intelligence & Law cali-l@chicagokent.kentlaw.edu Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction List cni-copyright@cni.org Copyright Discussion List COMLAW-L@UALTAVM Computers and Legal Education cyberlaw-l@listserv.cc.wm.edu Law and Policy of Computer Networks ED LAW@UKCC.uky.edu Education law EURO-LEX@ds0rus1i Legal Info Exchange Europewide HISLAW-L@ULKYVM History of Law (Feudal, Common, Canon) H-LAW@UICVM History of Law (general) JURIST-L@nic.surfnet.nl Dutch Lawyers' networking information LAWAID@RUTVM1 Law School Financial Aid Discussion lawprof @chicagokent.kentlaw.edu Law school professors only: forum on law, legal education, technology in legal education LAWSCH-L@AUVM Law School Discussion List lawsrc-l@fatty.law.cornell.edu Internet Resources on Law teknoids@fatty.law.cornell.edu Law school computer service providers Law-related and miscellaneous: AHL@GWUVM American Health Line News Se rvice AIDS@WUVMD Sci.Med.AIDS Newsgroup AIDSBKRV@UICVM AIDS Book Review List AIDSNEWS@EB0UB011 AIDS/HIV News AJBS-L@NCSUVM Association of Japanese Business Studies BALT-L@UBVM Baltic Republics Discussion List BIOMED-L@NDSUVM1 BIOMED-L Biomedical Ethics BUSETH-L@UBVM Business Ethics Computer Network CCIJLEX@UCHCECVM Foro de Informatica Juridica CERRO-L@AEARN.BITNET Central Europe Regional Development CJMOVIES@ALBA NY Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture CJUST-L@IUBVM Criminal Justice Discussion List CPAE@catfish.valdosta.peachnet.edu The Center for Professional and Applied Ethics CPSR@GWUVM Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility DEVEL-L@AUVM Technology Transfer in International Development DISARM-L@ALBNYVM1 Disarmament discussi on DISARM-D@ALBNYVM1 Monthly digest of DISARM-L plus added material DOROTHYL@KENTVM Mystery Literature E-conference E-EUROPE@NCSUVM Eastern Europe Business Network EC@INDYCMS European Community ECONET@MIAMIU Discussion of Ecological and Environmental Issues ENVST-L@BROWNVM Environmental Studies Discussion List ETHICS-L@UGA (Peered) Discussion of Ethics in Computing FEDTAX-L@SHSU Federal Taxation/Accounting Discussion FEMISA@mach1.wlu.edu Feminist Theory and Gender Studies Section, International Studies Association FINAN-HC@WUVMD Health Care Financial Matters FINANCE@TEMPLEVM The Electronic Journal of Finance HEALTHRE@UKCC Health Care Reform Discussion List HIM-L@fiona.umsmed.edu Health Information Management Discussion List HR- L@VMS.CIS.PITT.EDU Human Rights List HRS-L@BINGVMB Human Rights Research JEM@MITVMA Jewish Electronic Mail Conference JUDAICA@TAUNIVM (Peered) Judaic Studies Newsletter JUDAICA@UMINN1 (Peered) JUDAICA Jewish & Near Eastern Studies LABOR-L@YORKVM1 Forum on Labor in the Western Hemisphere MINHLTH@hamp.hampshire.edu Minority Health Issues in the U.S. MOCAVES@UMSLVMA Missouri Caving Discussion MOPOLY-L@UMCVMB Discussion of Missouri political issues PEACE@INDYCMS Peace studies PJML@UTXVM The Progressive Jewish Mailing List POLAND-L@UBVM Discussion of Polish Culture POLI-SCI@RUTVM1 Political Science Digest PUBPOL-L@UMINN1 Public Policy Network RUSSIA@arizvm1.ccit.arizona.edu Russia and Her Neighbors SLOVAK-L@UBVM Discussion of Slovak issues UN@INDYCMS United Nations UN-NEWS@UNMVMA Weekly United Nations News UNCJIN-L@ALBNYVM1 United Nations Criminal Justice Information Network URBAN-L@TREARN Urban Planning Discussion List WIN3-L@UICVM Microsoft Windows Version 3 Forum WMST-L@UMDD Women's Studies List WPWIN-L@UBVM WordPerfect For Windows Discussion List WP51-L@UOTTAWA WordPerfect 5.1 Discussion Group List Y-RIGHTS@SJUVM Y-Rights: Kid/Teen Rights Discussion Group Library: ACRLN Y-L@NYUACF Listings of Library Jobs and Events ADVANC-L@IDBSU Geac Advance Library System AFAS-L@KENTVM African American Studies and Librarianship ALF-L@YORKVM1 Academic Librarian's Forum ARCHIVES@INDYCMS Archives and Archivists List ARIE-L@IDBSU RLG Ariel document transmission system ARLIS-L@UKCC Art Libraries Association of North America ATLAS-L@TCUBVM Data Research ATLAS Users AUTOCAT@UVMVM Library Cataloging and Authorities Discussion Group BI-L@BINGVMB Bibliographic Instruction BIBSOFT@INDYCMS Personal Bibliographic Database Management BIG-LAN@SUVM Campus-Size LAN Discussion Group BLACKLIB@GUVM Conference of Black Librarians CALL-L@UNBVM1 Canadian Academic Law Libraries List CARL-L@UHCCVM CARL Users CDROMLAN@IDBSU CD-ROM LAN's CIRCPLUS@IDBSU Circulation and Access Services CNI-ARCH@UCCVMA Coalition for Networked Information Architecture and Standards Work Group CNIDIR-L@UNMVM Coalition for Networked Information Working Group on Directories COLLDV-L@USCVM Library Collection Development CWIS-L@WUVMD Campus-Wide Information Systems ELEASAI@ARIZVM1 Open Library/Information Science Research Forum EXLIBRIS@RUTV M1 Rare Books and Special Collections Forum FEMINIST@MITVMA ALA Social Responsibility Round Table Feminist Task Force FISC-L@NDSUVM1 Fee-Based Information Service Centers in Academic Libraries GOVDOC-L@PSUVM Government Documents GUTNBERG@UIUCVMD Project Gutenberg Email List HELP-NET@TEMPLEVM Bitnet/Internet Help Resource ILL-L@UVMVM Interlibrary Loan INFO+REF@INDYCMS Informati on + Referral List INNOPAC@MAINE Innovative Interfaces Users INT-LAW@UMINN1 Foreign & International Law Librarians LABMGR@UKCC Academic Microcomputer Lab Management LIBEVENT@USCVM Library Events in Southern California LIBEX-L@MAINE Exhibits and Academic Libraries Discussion List LIBADMIN@UMAB Library Administration and Management LIBMASTR@UOTTAWA Library Master Bibliographic Database LIBPER-L@KSUVM Library Personnel Issues LIBPLN-L@QUCDN Library Planning LIBRARY@INDYCMS Libraries and Librarians LIBREF-L@KENTVM Discussion of Library Reference Issues LIBRES@KENTVM Library and Information Science Research LIBSUP-L@UWAVM Discussion List for Library Support Personnel MAALL@WUVMD Mid-America Association of Law Libraries Discussion List MEDLIB-L@UBVM Medical and Health S ciences Libraries MULTILIS@ALBNYVM1 multiLIS Users NETTRAIN@UBVM Internet/BITNET Network Trainers Discussion List NEWBOOKS@ALBNYVM1 New books from SUNY-ALBANY Graduate Library NOTIS-L@TCSVM NOTIS Users NOTISACQ@CUVMB NOTIS Acquisitions Discussion Group NOTRBCAT@INDYCMS Rare Book and Special Collections Catalogers OFFCAMP@WAYNEST1 Off-Campus Library Services List PACS-L@UHUPVM1 Public-Access Computer Systems Forum PACS-P@UHUPVM1 PACS-L Publications Only PRO-CITE@IUBVM The Personal Bibliographic Software Discussion List SERIALST@UVMVM Serials Users Discussion Group SLAJOB@IUBVM Special Libraries Association Job List SPILIB-L@SUVM SPIRES Users UNICRN-L@PSUORVM SIRSI/UNICORN Library Catalog System USMARC-L@MAINE USMARC Advisory Group Forum VIRTUAL@INDYCMS Library of the Future VTLSLIST@VTVM1 VTLS Users Discussion Group Z3950IW@NERVM Z39.50 Implementors Workshop To subscribe to a discussion list, send the e-mail message: SUBSCRIBE List First Name Last Name to LISTSERV@NODE.BITNET, where node is the part of the address after the "@" character. For example, Jane Doe would send the following e-mail message to LISTSERV@UHUPVM1.BITNET to subscribe to PACS-L: SUBSCRIBE PACS-L Jane Doe Other List s animal-rights@cs.odu.edu (Animal Rights List) Send a subscription request to animal-rights- request@cs.odu.edu. CNI-DIRECTORIES (Network Forum of the Coalition for Networked Information's Working Group on Directories and Resource Information Services) Send the following message to listserv@cni.org: SUBSCRIBE CNI-DIRECTORIES Firstname Lastname Conservation DistList (Conservation of Archive, Library, and Museum Materials) Send a subscription request to Walter Henry: WHENRY@LINDY.STANFORD.EDU. CTI-LAW (Information technology in law teaching--UK) Send the following command to mailbase@mailbase.ac.uk: JOIN CTI-LAW Firstname Lastname DONOSY (Short daily news from Poland) Send a subscription request to DONOSY@PLEARN.BitNet. DYNIX_L@OYSTER.SMCM.EDU (DYNIX Users) Send a subscription request to Todd D. Kelley: KELLEY@OYSTER.SMCM.EDU. FORENS-L@FAUVAX (Forensic Medicine and Science) Send a subscription request to: FORENS-RE QUEST@ACC.FAU.EDU. HYTEL-L@KENTVM (TELNET Access to Network Resources) Send subscription request to Peter Scott: SCOTT@SKLIB.USASK.CA. IPE (International Political Economy) Send the following command to mailserv@csf.colorado.edu: SUB IPE Firstname Lastname LAW-LIB@UCDAVIS.EDU (Law Librarians) Send subscription requests to: LAW-LIB-REQUEST@UCDAVIS.EDU Contact Elizabeth St. Goar for technical questions: ESTGOAR@UCDAVIS.EDU. LIS-LAW@mailbase.ac.uk (Bri tish law librarians) Send the following command to mailbase@mailbase.ac.uk: JOIN LIS-LAW Firstname Lastname LS2K@CC.UTAH.EDU (LS/2000 Users Group) Send subscription request to: LS2K-REQUEST@CC.UTAH.EDU. PALS-L (PALS System) Send the following message to listserv@knuth.mtsu.edu: SUBSCRIBE PALS-L Firstname Lastname STUMPERS-L (Difficult Reference Questions) Send the following message to roslibref@library.sdsu.edu: SUBSCRIBE STUMPERS-L your-email-address T LTP-LAW (Law Courseware Consortium--UK) Send the following command to mailbase@mailbase.ac.uk: JOIN TLTP-LAW Firstname Lastname VISIONS (Strategic Visions Steering Committee Electronic Discussion Forum on the Future of Librarianship) Send the following message to listserv@library.sdsu.edu: SUBSCRIBE VISIONS Firstname Lastname IV. Maintaining Your Mail Files After you have finished reading your messages, you must decide what you want to do with them. If you do not want to keep a message, type del [number] <Enter>. To delete multiple messages, type del 1-[number] <Enter>. If you want to keep the message, you should "file" it on the VAX. For instance, suppose you have just received a valuable message from Professor Joe Blow at another law school, and you plan to reply. You might like to keep a file of all the messages that you and Joe exchange. If Joe's message was #5 in your NEWMAIL folder: type 5 <Enter> to retrieve that m essage; type file joe_blow <Enter> to file the message. If this will be a new folder, the VAX will ask if you want to create the folder; if you are adding the message to an existing folder, the VAX will simply return the "MAIL>" prompt. To retrieve a folder, type select [foldername] <Enter>. For a listing of all your folders, type dir/fol <Enter>. Note: Unless a message is either filed nor deleted, it is automatically moved from the NEWMAIL folder to a folder called MAIL. If you allow too many messages to hang around in this way, your file space on the VAX will eventually fill up and you will be unable to receive new messages. For this reason it is very important to keep track of your messages and delete those you do not want to keep. (To see how much file space you have available on the VAX, type show quota <Enter> at the "$" prompt.) Summary of MAIL Commands (All these commands are entered at the "MAIL>" prompt.) CURRENT Re-display the current message. DEL Delete the current e-mail message, if you are viewing one. To delete messages 1 through 10, enter del 1-10 <Enter>. DIR List the e-mail messages in the current folder. DIR/FOL List the e-mail folders you have created. EXTRACT [filename] Convert the current message to a strai ght text file without "Press RETURN for more" pauses. EXTRACT TT: Display the current message on the screen, without pauses (useful for printing long messages). EXTRACT/ALL [filename] EXTRACT all the messages in the current folder into a single file. FILE [foldername] File the current message in the specified folder. REPLY/EDIT Send a r eply to the sender of the current message. If the message was distributed by a discussion list, the reply will also go to the list. The address ("To:") and subject header ("Subj:") will be supplied automatically. To reply privately to the original sender of such a message, use the send/edit <Enter> command, and at the "To:" prompt, type th e original sender's Internet address instead of the address for the list. SELECT [foldername] Retrieve the specified message folder. SEND/EDIT Begin an e-mail message. The system will prompt you for an address ("To:") and a subject header ("Subj:"), and will then give you the "*" EDT prompt to begin editing your message. See page 6 for a summary of EDT commands. To send a copy to yourself, type SEND/EDIT/SELF.Part 2: TELNET, FTP, and More V. TELNET (Remote Login) Telnet, or remote login, is the function that allows you to connect over the Internet to use computers in remote locations; the most common example is to search online library catalogs or other databases. Telnet itself is a remarkably simple function; simply type "telnet" followed by the Internet address of the computer system you wish to access. The complexity ar ises, however, in finding out what computer systems are available, and to a lesser extent, in learning the commands that each remote system uses. For instance, the Harvard library catalog may use a completely different set of search commands than the Yale catalog, the Oxford catalog, or the University of Texas catalog. There are hundreds of library catalogs accessible through the Internet; some of the largest and most useful are listed below. More are added every week. For this reason, I r ecommend using one of the library "gateways" such as the SLU "gopher" (see page 25)or the Washington and Lee site (page 21). Some Selected Internet-Accessible Library Catalogs Cambridge University 1. Type TELNET SUN.NSF.AC.UK. 2. At the login prompt, type janet. 3. At the hostname prompt, enter uk.ac.cambridge.university-library. 4. Enter Y. To exit, type END. Harvard University 1. Type TELNET HOL LIS.HARVARD.EDU. 2. Press RETURN when Mitek Server screen appears. 3. Type hollis on the Harvard Univ./Office for Information Technology screen. To exit, hit ESCAPE xx. Northwestern University 1. Type TELNET NUACVM.ACNS.NWU.EDU. 2. Enter 56 for VT100 when asked for terminal type. 3. TAB down to the COMMAND prompt. 4. Type DIAL VTAM. 5. When prompted for Application ID:, enter LUIS. To exit: 1. Type STOP on the LUIS command line. 2. On the University Computer Center menu, type EXIT. University of California and California State Library at Sacramento The library system is known as the MELVYL system. The MELVYL system contains library information for all universities in the University of California system and the California State Library at Sacramento. 1. Type TELNET MELVYL.UCOP.EDU. 2. When asked for terminal type, enter VT100. 3. Press RETURN wh en prompted to. 4. Type START LOOK for easy to use library system. - or - Type START COM for command line library system. To exit: 1. Type END or STOP. 2. Type LOGOFF. University of Texas at Austin, Tarlton Law Library 1. Type TELNET TALLONS.LAW.UTEXAS.EDU. 2. at the "login:" prompt, type LIBRARY. 3. At the GO prompt, press RETURN. 4. Type v. 5. Type y. To exit, type D on the main menu. Som e Useful Sites The Washington & Lee Law Library Guest Site (telnet liberty.uc.wlu.edu, login lawlib) John Doyle, the Associate Law Librarian at Washington and Lee University Law Library, maintains what is probably the single most useful resource on the Internet, not only for lawyers and law librarians, but for all users. John keeps this system scrupulously up to date, daily adding new resources as they become available. By accessing this one location, it is possible to access almost every other resource available on the Internet through a simple, menu-driven system. The following section describes some of these resources; after most headings, an alternative telnet location is listed, for those occasions when the Washington and Lee site is unavailable. Gateway to library catalogs (also telnet access.usask.ca, login hytelnet) Washington and Lee Law Library provides two means of menu access to all Internet-accessible library c atalogs. (1) Direct connection: To search U.S.libraries, at the opening menu, type 10 and press <Enter>. Type S to search for the name of the library you wish to use. Type the number for that library. When you are finished, type &&& to disconnect and return to the Washington & Lee system. To search all libraries (U.S. and foreign), type R (for "Restrict set") at the opening menu. Then type 12 for "Libraries." Then type 1 to "REQUIRE that the ent ries be libraries" (you can also restrict by eliminating libraries from the set of resources to be searched). Type S to search for the name of the library you wish to use. When finished, type &&& to disconnect. (2) Hytelnet connection: Choose 7 from the opening menu; use the <down arrow> and <up arrow> keys to choose which type of resource you wish to search (for instance, all library catalogs or just law libraries). Use the <right arrow> key to choose a branch of the directory; use <left arrow> to return to the previous "level" or menu. (Hytelnet is a hypertext directory of Internet resources; the advantages of Hytelnet over direct connection are that Hytelnet includes some textual information about each database, and that it gives you the login procedures in case you prefer to telnet directly to a particular site.) Archive of Internet documents You may directly access many of the most popular orientation and training documents (for instance, Zen and the Art of the Internet or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Internet) from the Washington and Lee system. At the opening menu, choose R to restrict, then choose 30 for Internet/Bitnet/Mail. Page down (by typing N for "next page"), or type S to search, until you find the document you are interested in. Type the number of the document (do not press <Enter>) to view the document. When you are finished viewing the document, type q. The system will ask yo u if you wish to have the document e-mailed to you; if you type Y, you will be asked for your Internet address. CARL's UnCover (also telnet victor.umd.edu) CARL (the Colorado Association of Research Libraries) produces a periodical index and document delivery service called UnCover. This is a wide-ranging, interdisciplinary index that includes thousands of academic journals. From the Washington and Lee opening menu, choose S to search, then type "uncover+" and press [Enter]. You will then have your choice of several libraries to connect through; any one will do (except the direct connection, which requires a password). Once connected, follow the on-screen instructions to search the database. UnCover2 is CARL's document delivery service. When browsing through the citations retrieved by your search, you may request telefax delivery at any time. To request delivery of an article, press D. You will then be prompted for a telefax phone number and your VI SA or MasterCard number. (Of course, you can request the same articles for free from the Law Library's Interlibrary Loan service, but CARL's UnCover2 promises 24-hour delivery.) Electronic Jurisprudence BBS (also telnet 129.239.1.110, login telnet, TERM: dumb, $ ejbbs) This is an electronic bulletin board system operated by Trotter Hardy, a law professor at William and Mary College of Law. There are a number of interesting features on this BBS, including Professor Hardy's hypertext legal research "expert system," Paper Choice. To access the Electronic Jurisprudence BBS from the Washington and Lee system, type S to search, then type "jurisprudence". Archie (also telnet archie.unl.edu, login archie) Throughout the Internet there are a vast number of documents, as well as shareware and public domain software, that you will have access to. FTP (file transfer protocol; see page 27) is the technique that allows you to download these files to your PC; archie is the index that enables you to find them in the first place. Developed at McGill University, archie regularly scans all the publicly accessible ftp sites on the Internet and constructs an easily searchable database from this information. To access archie from Washington and Lee, choose 3 from the main menu. You will then have a choice of several Archie sites; each one offers slightly different features, so pick any one you like. Most allow you to search for either a "substring" or an "exact match." You will probably have better luck searching substrings; "exact match" requires that you know exactly how the file you are searching is name, including use of upper and lower case (some computers on the Internet are case-sensitive.) However, since substring searches can be quite slow, you will probably want to have the results e-mailed to you. You are given this option af ter you type the string you want to search for. There are a number of archie sites you may search (although the database is the same at each; they are simply dispersed geographically to spread the processing load). The nearest one to us is archie.unl.edu, at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. To search archie directly, without going through Washington and Lee, telnet to archie.unl.edu, and login as archie. The command to search is prog [filename]. For instance, to search for a copy of Zen and the Art of the Internet, you could enter prog zen. Archie will respond with a list of all the ftp sites containing files matching that description. For information on using ftp to retrieve those files, see page 27. Archie can also be searched by e-mail; this method is actually easier, since you do not need to maintain a connection to the archie site while it executes a lengthy search; simply e-mail your request, and the results are returned to you the same way. To search for Zen and the Art of the Internet, send a message to archie@archie.unl.edu containing only the line prog zen. These services offered through the Washington and Lee system are constantly updated and improved. The best way to learn how they work and what they can do for you is to just plunge in and try them. It's worth spending a couple of hours some afternoon or evening exploring the Internet with the use of these navigation tools. Washburn University Law Library (WASHLAW) (telnet acc.wuacc .edu, login washlaw) This is a "World-Wide Web" server (see page 26) that is the home of several unique resources of interest to lawyers and law librarians, such as bibliographies and pathfinders on various topics (by Advanced Legal Research students at Washburn), and AALL and MAALL documents--more is being added. Cleveland Free-Net (telnet freenet-in-a.cwru.edu, freenet-in- b.cwru.edu, or freenet-in-c.cwru.edu) The Cleveland Free-Net is the best, and best known, system making up the National Public Telecomputing Network (NPTN). The goal of the NPTN organizers is to promote the creation of community computer systems throughout the United States. The Cleveland Free-Net demonstrates what such a system is capable of. Operated under the sponsorship of Case Western Reserve University, the Cleveland Free-Net is organized on the model of a small city, with such features as a Medical Arts Building, a Courthouse and Government Center, a Post Office, and so on. Thousand s of individuals, both in Cleveland and across the world, login to the Cleveland Free-Net every day to use the many conferences and other services available. Anyone may freely read the material posted on the Free-Net; to send messages, however, it is necessary to be a registered user (at no cost). Listed below are two of the most interesting features of the Cleveland Free-Net. U.S. Supreme Court Opinions (also telnet info.umd.edu, login info) U nder a two-year test program known as Project Hermes, the Cleveland Free-Net makes freely available U.S. Supreme Court Opinions as soon as they are handed down. To access the Supreme Court opinions, choose 4, The Courthouse and Government Center, from the main menu. At the next menu (The Government Center), select 2, The Courthouse. At the Courthouse menu, select 6, Supreme Court Opinions (Project Hermes). Usenet newsgroups (also read-only on World-Wide Web) Usenet is a parallel network to the Internet which makes possible the dissemination of discussion lists (called "newsgroups") similar to Bitnet discussion lists. (Actually, Usenet newsgroups and Bitnet discussion groups are technically quite different, but the result--group communication--is similar. See Brendan P. Kehoe, Zen and the Art of the Internet (1992) [TK5105.8 .I58 K43 1992] for more information.) There are hundreds of newsgroups, covering both academic and popular topics. There are also a great many means of accessing Usenet news. It is available on many campus-wide information systems; for those (like us) without direct access on campus, Cleveland Free-Net offers access. Anyone may read Usenet news on the Free-Net, but only registered users may post messages (called "articles"). To access Usenet via the Cleveland Free-Net, type go usenet. VI. Other Services Gopher Gopher is a menu-based, hierarchical system for organizing and retrieving networked information regardless of where the information is stored. It was initially developed in 1991 as a campus-wide information system for the University of Minnesota, but it quickly became very popular for a variety of applications, and now there are over 1300 Gopher servers at institutions around the world--and they are all interconnected. An Internet user, by connecting to any Gopher server, has almost instantaneous access to any other Gopher and the information stored therein. Many gophers are "campus-wide information systems," containing material like course listings, faculty/staff/student directories, local events calendars, and so on. Most also include general interest material ranging from weather forecasts and song lyrics to scholarly articles. Gopher makes it easy to retrieve information by having documents e-mailed directly to you. To access the SLU gopher, just type gopher at the $ prompt. The SLU Law Library portion of the gopher is under "Frost Campus Information" (it may also be found under "Library Services"). I have been storing a variety of useful information about the Library, the Law School, and other law-related sources here. (If you have suggestions for other information you would like to see on the SLU Law Library gopher, please let me know.) Gopher is very easy to navigate. Use the up and down arrows to browse the items on a menu; press the right arrow to choose a menu item, and use the left arrow to back out again. The cha racter at the end of each menu line indicates what kind item it is: a "." denotes a text file, "/" means another menu, "<?>" is a searchable database, "<TEL>" is a telnet service, and so on. It is also possible to search all of "gopherspace": it is not necessary to know where information is stored to be able to find it. The search system for gopher is called "Veronica" (Very Easy Rodent-Oriented Netwide Index to Computer Archives). To use Veronica, choose "Other Gophers and Information Serve rs" from the main menu, then select "Veronica." For instance, to find all information on "law," simply select "Veronica" and then type law. Gopher is very easy to use, and it provides a wealth of information. The best way to become familiar with it is to spend some time "burrowing" through "gopherspace"--exploring some of the menus and seeing where they lead. WAIS (Wide Area Information System) WAIS, like gopher, is a "distributed information delivery system." WAIS was deve loped as a means of providing a uniform user interface to a variety of databases. The initial versions of WAIS used a weighted indexing search system, something like WESTLAW's "natural language" system. A search in a WAIS database retrieves documents sorted by "relevance" as determined by the weightings of the words in the document; the weight of a particular word is determined by its frequency in a given document and its placement in that document (headline words are weighted more heavily). Bool ean search capabilities have recently been added to some implementations of WAIS. Because of this weighted indexing system, creating a WAIS database is not as simple as setting up a Gopher server; each database must be indexed and converted to a WAIS "source" file (identified by a ".src" extension). Any text file can be converted to a WAIS source file; at this writing there are over 450 WAIS databases distributed throughout the Internet, ranging from discussion list archives to transcripts of spe eches from the 1992 presidential campaign. WAIS offers the ability to search a user-specified selection of databases, no matter where they are located. However, it is arranged alphabetically rather than hierarchically, so the user must have a fairly good idea of which files will contain the relevant information. Like Gopher, WAIS has the capability of directly e-mailing documents to the searcher. WAIS is accessible through the SLU gopher under "Frost Campus Information/SLU Law Library Ser vices" (the "SLU Law Library gopher"), or you can telnet directly to quake.think.com and login as wais. World-Wide Web World-Wide Web (also known as WWW or W3) is another means of accessing distributed electronic information. Unlike Gopher and WAIS, however, W3 is a hypertext system. Links are indicated by bracketed numbers; type the number in the brackets to connect to a given link. In this way, W3 provides a relatively "seamless web" of textual information. W3 is accessible through the SLU Law Library gopher, or you can telnet directly to info.cern.ch or eies2.njit.edu and login as www. Of particular interest is the version of W3 developed by Tom Bruce and Professor Peter Martin of the Legal Information Institute at Cornell University School of Law. This Web includes hypertext versions of the U.C.C., federal intellectual property statutes, U.S. Supreme Court opinions, and other materials. Try out the Cornell by telnetting to fatty.law.cornell.edu and logging in as ww w. VII. FTP (File Transfer Protocol) FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is the Internet system for transferring a file from a remote computer to your computer (using the "get" command) or from your computer to a remote computer (using the "put" command). Ordinarily, this process would require that you have an account on the remote computer to gain access to it. However, the widespread practice on the Internet is to establish public accounts for transfer of freely available files; this publi c account is then given the name "anonymous." Therefore, all you have to do to access one of these public ftp sites is to login as "anonymous." Compared to e-mail, file transfer itself is amazingly simple. You only need to know two or three commands, but these commands will allow you to access a tremendous variety of publicly available text, data, and program files via Internet. However, as with telnet, the hard part is learning what files are available and where they are. There are three steps to using ftp: (1) identify and locate the document or file you need; (2) use ftp to transfer the file from the computer it is stored on (which may be anywhere in the world) to the VAX at Saint Louis University; (3) download the file from the VAX to your personal computer. (1) Identify and locate the file. Ordinarily, you would use ftp when you already know (perhaps through an e-mail message on a Bitnet list, or through an archie search [see page 23]) of the availab ility of a document or program that you would find useful. As a rule, anyone who posts a message about the availability of a file for ftp also includes the location information and the commands necessary to retrieve it. The information you need is: (a) the ftp address, (b) the directory, and (c) the filename. (2) Use ftp to transfer the file from the remote computer to the VAX. (a) To connect to the remote computer, at the "$" prompt type the c ommand ftp [address] (for instance, ftp hydra.uwo.ca). (b) At the "login:" prompt, type anonymous. (c) At the next prompt, enter your Internet address. (d) At the "ftp>" prompt, enter cd [directory name]. (e) Type dir to see a list of files in that directory. (f) To retrieve a file, type get [filename]. (If you are retrieving a "binary" file--e.g., a software program or a WordPerfect document, you must enter type binary before entering the "get" command.) Be sure to type the file name exactly as it was given to you; pay particular attention to the use of upper and lower case, because most anonymous ftp computers use an operating system called Unix which, unlike DOS, is case sensitive. (g) After you have retrieved the file, type quit. (3) Download the file from the VAX to your PC. (a) At the "$" prompt, type kermit and press [Enter]. ( b) At the "C-Kermit>" prompt, type server. This sets the Kermit program on the VAX to receive commands from your PC. (If you are downloading a binary file, type set file type binary.) (c) Proceed to download the file using MS-Kermit or WinQVT. The Cornell "drop-off" site (ftp fatty.law.cornell.edu, login anonymous, cd incoming) Ftp is the easiest method for retrieving files across the Internet. However, yo u ordinarily cannot use ftp to send a file directly to another person (for instance, a co-author) because you must ordinarily have account authorization to store a file on a computer, and remote users are usually not given such access. Fortunately, Tom Bruce at Cornell Law School, as a public service to the law school community, has set up a public "drop-off" ftp site, where you may use ftp to "put" a file and another person may use ftp to "get" it. (1) Use your communications software to transfer the file from your PC to the VAX. (2) Connect to the Cornell site by typing ftp fatty.law.cornell.edu, login anonymous, directory incoming.. (3) When you are in the "incoming" directory on the Cornell computer, type put [filename]. (Remember to type type binary first if you are ftp'ing a WordPerfect or program file.) (4) After the file has been transferred, type quit. (5) Contact (via phone, e-ma il, or whatever) the person to whom you are sending the file and give them the access instructions above, and the name of the file they are to retrieve. Appendix A: E-Mail Etiquette Electronic mail is a quick and easy way of communicating; however, because it is so quick and easy, it can lead to miscommunication. Few people compose their writing as carefully for e-mail as they do in more formal communication, and sometimes for the sake of brevity subtleties of tone are lost. On the other hand, since the visual cues of dress, body language, and so on are absent, e-mail can be an extremely democratic means of communication; messages are more likely to be judged by their content than by who wrote them. Nonetheless, there are a number of points that are useful to keep in mind when reading and sending e-mail. Here are a few suggestions: Read carefully what you receive, to make sure that you are not misunderstanding t he message. Read carefully what you send, to make sure that your message will not be misunderstood. If you are using humor or sarcasm, make sure it is clearly labeled as such. A widespread convention is the use of a sideways smiling face :-) If you are responding to a message, either include part of the original message in your message or make sure you unambiguously refer to the original message's contents. Always include a descriptive subject l ine in your message, particulary when posting a message to a discussion list. Many e-mail users receive dozens, even hundreds, of messages each day; the subject line helps them decide which to read immediately and which to hold until later. Keep messages to only one subject. This allows readers to quickly decide whether they need to read the message in full. Second subjects may be missed. Sign your messages. Not all mail systems allow the reader to see the address in the header of the message, and on long messages, it could be on a different screen anyway. Appending a "signature" or "sig" file to the end of your message is always appreciated. At the very least, include your name, institution, and e-mail address. When you respond to a message, first check to see if it came from a discussion group or an individual. At least once a week I read personal messages that the sender was no doubt embarasse d to see displayed before several hundred people. If a message has upset or angered you, resist the temptation to fire off an immediate response. Write the response, file it away, and wait 24 hours. Reconsider the response later, in the light of a new day (and perhaps a rereading of the original message). Appendix B: Technical Information Communication settings 9600 or 2400 baud, no parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit VT100 emulation or better VAX Dial-up numbers 658-2600 658-2201 658-2202 658-2564 658-2514 (9600 baud) 658-2516 (9600 baud) LOGIN.COM $ FTP == "$UCX$FTP/ULTRIX" $ SET TERMINAL/LINE_EDITING $ SET TERMINAL/DEVICE_TYPE=VT100 EDTINI.EDT set wrap 65 set mode change Miscellaneous: To reset counter: MAIL> read/news