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NOTICE

Forward

I prepared this material to help students of Emergency Management at the University of North Texas become familiar with the Internet. Although directed to this group, anyone operating from a university based Unix system can benefit from this material. Where the manual refers to UNT, insert your university initials. Where it refers to Jove, insert the name of your university's Internet host computer.

The objective of this manual is to compile and consolidate Internet training materials currently available on the Internet and from UNT's computer science department and present it in a simplified format. An understanding of computer basics is assumed. If you know nothing about computers, I strongly advise taking the computer basic course (CSCI-1100). At the very least, you should know how to turn on a computer, find directories and sub-directories, create files, name and rename files, move, delete, and copy files. A familiarity with DOS commands will help you quickly grasp UNIX commands. A basic understanding of UNIX is a must on the Internet.

For the past six months I have made the mastering of the Internet my highest priority. I am far from mastering the Internet, though I have read reams of material and down-loaded over two megabytes of information from the Internet itself. I have learned enough to get around, but I learned the hard way. My goal is to pass on what I have learned and make the learning process much easier for those that follow.

This manual will offer features not available elsewhere. Besides drawing upon the most popular information sources, this information is tailored to a university system. The manual will lead you step-by-step from applying for an Internet account, to logging onto other computers half-way around the world. Whether using a dial-up line from a home computer or one of the computers in a computer lab, you will learn using the equipment, tools, and software available at UNT and most universities.

Using this manual should make the learning process much easier. To facilitate this, take advantage of human help. Either work alongside someone with more computer knowledge than yourself or use the university lab assistants--most are human and it is a safe bet that they all know more about computers than you.

If you are learning from home--using the dial-up line--the VAX/UNIX operator can be of great help. You can query (they don't mind being queried) the operator by calling 565-4161 or by sending E-mail to the operator at operator@jove.acs.unt.edu. You may also contact me by sending E-mail to ix48@jove.acs.unt.edu. Your comments and suggestions can help others.

The Internet is a dynamic system. Changes occur hourly. This manual is designed to be flexible. I plan to continually update it while I am here; and hopefully, someone will continue doing so after I leave. Any volunteers? Acknowledgements:

This manual makes numerous references to, and draws examples from, two books found on the Internet: The Electronic Frontier Foundation's _The Big Dummy's Guide to the Internet_ (sometimes simply called Dummy's) and to Brendan P. Kehoe's _ Zen and the Art of the Internet_ (sometimes called Zen).

From Dummy's: EFF's Guide to the Internet, v.2.21 (formerly The Big Dummy's Guide to the Internet)

Copyright 1993, 1994 Electronic Frontier Foundation

DISTRIBUTION: This guide may be freely reproduced & distributed electronically or in hardcopy, provided the following conditions are met:

1) Please do not qualitatively modify the guide, and leave all copyright, distribution, attribution, and EFF information intact. Permission expressly granted for translation to other languages and conversion to other formats.

2) EFF has signed a contract with MIT Press to publish a hardcopy book version of the guide, entitled _Everybody's_Guide_to_the_Internet_. Everybody's Guide will be available in bookstores by the end of summer 1994. All other for-profit distribution of printed versions of the guide is forbidden. However, you may print out copies and recoup the cost of printing and distribution by charging a nominal fee.

3) Any for-profit non-paper distribution (such as shareware vendor diskettes, CD-ROM collections, etc.) must be approved by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (the time- and usage-based access fees of online services, bulletin boards, and network access providers are specifically exempted). Donations appreciated.

4) You may not charge a for-profit fee specifically for this guide, only for a collection containing the guide, with the exeception of a nominal copying charge (online usage fees exempted, as above).

The Electronic Frontier Foundation 1001 G Street NW, Suite 950 E Washington DC 20001 USA

From Zen:

Copyright cfl1992 Brendan P. Kehoe

Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this guide provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved on all copies.

Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this booklet under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a permission notice identical to this one.

Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this booklet into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions, except that this permission notice may be stated in atranslation approved by the author.

Introduction: The Internet Today

Unless you've been living with the apes of Borneo for the past decade, you realize that computers have taken over the world. This is a frightening thought to those who think computers are evil and smart; it's a blessing to those who know they are not. In fact, computers are pretty dumb. They can only deal with two numbers: zero and one. A computer is simply a tool. Like any tool, it can be used for constructive or destructive purposes. A hammer can build a house or render a house to rubble. The computer is simply a tool.

Computers have been linked together for decades. Networks of computers have been linked since the sixties. Internationally linked networks have been in existence since the late seventies. The Internet--the mother of all networks--can be traced to the sixties, seventies, or eighties depending on how you want to define the Internet. Who really cares? The point is, it is here now! Today, virtually all networks of computers are inter-connected either via telephone or dedicated communications equipment. The Internet is essentially a network of interconnected networks.

The Internet can be likened to a human being, an entity. It has survived infancy and childhood and is now a teenager. Like many humans in their teens, this is a difficult period. The Internet has an idea of adulthood and is generally headed towards that ideal; however, it is also being pushed and pulled in dozens of conflicting directions. Trying to understand the Internet today is a lot like trying to understand any teenager. Just when you think you have it understood, it will show you a side you never knew existed.

Learning the Internet has never been as complicated as it is today, and probably never will be again. Things are getting better but for the next few years it will still be difficult. We just have to deal with it. We all survived our teen years and as did some parents. The one thing we can't do is ignore or abandon a teenager; the Internet is no different.

On the positive side, the Internet is emerging as an indispensable communications tool. E-mail is becoming the preferred means of written communication. As an information source, the Internet is unparalleled. Many students want to become proficient at navigating the Internet as part of their education. UNT offers its students computer resources and Internet access; however, classes are infrequent and limited. Written material is available but it, too, is limited. Books on the Internet are available, but they are expensive and difficult to understand. The Internet has a huge repository of instructional manuals, tutorials, and books that can teach you how to use the Internet. Ironically, if you knew how to find this information, connect to the system that archives it, download the files and convert it into a usable format, you probably don't need them.

How about this idea? Why don't I help you find and retrieve these books and files. You can then use them as supplemental reading to this manual. A few simple keystrokes can bring up Zen and the Art of the Internet, or The Big Dummy's Guide to the Internet. How about a tutorial on Gopher? No problem. One of the first things you'll do is logon to Gopher and locate these materials. This manual will give a brief overview of most topics and refer to other texts for more detailed information. This will save paper, rain forests, and I won't have to type as much.

Before we can begin, you'll need to get an account on the general access UNIX machine, Jove, which also provides you with some storage space on the system. One megabyte is currently what they'll start you off with. If you find that you need additional storage space, talk to the VAX/UNIX Operators about increasing your disk quota. The next section will take you by the hand and help you get set-up.

Section One--Getting Started

1-01 Terms 1-02 Getting an Account 1-03 Getting Set-up 1-04 First Call 1-05 Password 1-06 UNIX Commands

Section Two--Internet E-Mail

2-01 What is E-mail 2-02 The E-mail Address 2-03 PINE Mailer 2-04 Z-Modem and Sending Files 2-05 Finding Addresses

Section Three --Mailing Lists

3-01 Mailing Lists 3-02 LISTSERV Section Four Gopher

Section Four--Gopher

4-01 Gopher Defined 4-02 The Gopher Menu 4-03 Bookmarks 4-04 Gopher Commands

Section Five--Jughead, Veronica, & Gopher Jewels

5-01 Jughead/Boolean Search 5-02 Gopher Jewels 5-03 Veronica

Section Six--Telnet

6-01 Telnet Defined

Section Seven--File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

7-01 FTP Defined 7-02 FTP Example

Section Eight Archie

8-01 Archie Defined 8-02 Archie How To

Section Nine-WAIS

9-01 What is WAIS 9-02 WAIS Example 9-03 Accessing a WAIS Server

Section Ten--USENET News (The Bulletin Boards)

10-01 What is USENet 10-02 The TIN News Reader

Section Eleven--The World Wide Web (WWW)

11-01 What is World Wide Web 11-02 Accessing the Web

Section Twelve--Internet Relay Chat

12-01 IRC Defined 12-02 Accessing IRC 12-03 THE IRC HELP FILE 12-04 IRC Advice

Getting Started 1-01 Terms--Solbourne, Jove, and UNIX

To avoid confusion, we must get these three terms straight in our minds. It will help if you give your computer a name. My personal computer is a Packard Bell 486DX2.

I'll call it Pebble. Pebble is an IBM compatible micro-computer running the MS-DOS operating system. Likewise, the host system at UNT that provides us with Internet access is named Jove. Jove is a Solbourne 5E/902 multi-user computer running on a UNIX operating system. Sol is a more powerful Solbourne multi-user, UNIX based computer. Sometimes you will see the term "the Solbourne" used to genericly refer to either Jove or Sol; this is an incorrect usage of the term. Computers have names just as people do.

The Solbourne 5E/902, is a multiprocessing Sun compatible UNIX machine. Sun compatible UNIX machines are popular on the Internet. Most institutions run systems similar to ours. Okay, here is what you need to get straight: Solbourne = IBM, Apple, Compaq, etc. = a type of computer Jove = Pebble, Fred, Martha, Barney, Bozo, etc. = a name UNIX = DOS or any other operating system = a software program

1-02 Getting an Account

Before we can do anything you'll need to get an account on Jove. Go to the Information Science building across from the Administration building. This application process will change in the future to be an electronic one. For now, go to the Computing Center (ISB 119) office and ask for an application for a Jove account. You will receive a single sheet form. Fill out the indicated blocks, then take the form to your department for a signature and other information required of the department. Return it to the Computing Center and wait one week. After one week, return to ISB 119 with your student ID and pick up your USER ID and temporary password. It will look something like this: USER ID: iy56 PASSWORD: 5ts4L7.

While waiting out this week, you can take this opportunity to familiarize yourself with the UNIX operating system. When you turn in your form, ask for all handout materials. Study the Unix material, but I wouldn't get too wrapped up in it. If you've ever had to learn DOS, UNIX will look familiar. UNIX, however, is more complex. It does more than DOS; programmers, nerds, and hackers love it. For ordinary people and purposes, it does too much. To function on the Internet you only need to know a few simple commands. Even the ACS handout goes into more detail than necessary.

Another factor to consider before investing much time learning UNIX or DOS is that in a year or so both will be obsolete for common users. Windows, the mouse, and voice-recognition software may even obsolete the keyboard one day. The trend on the Internet is away from DOS style operating systems. Within a year, maybe two, user-friendly graphic interfaces will be the norm.

Unless you plan to get heavily involved in programming, or just love to tinker with bits and bytes, don't waste time mastering a system that you'll only need temporarily. The few commands I've learned have served me well. I'll pass those along in this chapter.

The computing future looks simple and bright; unfortunately, we aren't there yet. A basic knowledge of UNIX commands is essential. Primarily, you'll use UNIX commands to manipulate your files stored on the hard drive space allocated to you on Jove.

You will be allotted one megabyte of disk space. This isn't much, but it should be adequate for most of your needs. If you use this space wisely, storing your long-term files on floppy diskettes, or downloading to your personal computer's hard drive, you won't need more. If, however, your work requires more space, you can get more. If they like you, if you know somebody, or if you look pitiful enough, chances are good that you can get more space. I wouldn't push them beyond five megs; but then again, I have no idea how pitiful you can look.

1-03 Okay, so you now have a USER ID and PASSWORD. Now, you want to call Jove and introduce yourself. For those with personal computers, you'll need a modem and communications software. Most modems come with communications software.

Procomm Plus is a communications software program that you can get for free from the Computing Center Support Services area in the Information Science Building (ISB 119), where you picked up your Jove password slip. Bring them a blank high density diskette and they'll give you Procomm along with instructions. You'll have to work out the technical aspects of making your modem, software, and telephone connection.

For those unfamiliar with the use and setup of modems, get a pro to set you up. If you have difficulty, the folks at the Computer Science Support Center can be helpful. You might find a nerd you can rent. When you get to the point where you can make your computer call another computer and establish a good connection, you'll be ready to call Jove. We'll wait!

For those using any UNT General Access computer lab, simply select "communication" from the main menu, then click on "Jove." If you dial-up via the local or Dallas/Ft. Worth metro phone lines, you'll be presented with a screen allowing you to simply pick Jove as the machine to connect to.

When displaying terminal output along with text instructions, I'll separate the instructions by placing them inside brackets--[like this]. When you see stuff in carrots like <this>, it means type the word inside--NOT THE CARROTS! You always hit enter after you enter the word. It goes without saying, so I won't say it again. Also, remember that UNIX is case sensitive, so if something is supposed to be typed in lowercase, type it in lowercase, don't mix case. That is, when logging in, type in your USERID and password both in lowercase. Ix48 is totally different from ix48 and IX48. Note that this is different from both DOS and Macintosh operating systems where case is unimportant.

1-04 First Call/Pass Word We'll begin from the UNT welcome screen. It should look like this if you call in on 565-3989: (if you call in on 565-3300, you have to type in <call jove>)

Type <1>, and you'll see:

1-05 Password

You're in! Congratulations!

Now, the first thing you'll want to do--and the first UNIX command you'll use--is change your password. First, select a password that you will always remember! Don't make it too obvious or simple. Use at least eight characters of numbers and letters, though six will do. Mixing lower and upper case is also good. For example 2Bon2Btitq would be a difficult password to crack but easy to remember. "To Be or not to Be, that is the question." Clever, huh?

Keeping the system secure is everybody's responsibility. If a hacker breaks into Jove and wreaks havoc on our files because you have a password like ABCDEF; well, I wouldn't want to be you that semester. Take security seriously. It is not just your stuff that your password protects. Also, change your password periodically. I change mine monthly, and the system will force you to change your passwords periodically in the future.

To change your password type <passwd> at the % prompt. You will be prompted for your old password, then the new one. After typing in your clever new password, you will be asked to type it in again.

It's not that the computer wasn't paying attention the first time; this is to verify it. If the two entries match, it becomes your new password. Remember it!

DO NOT WRITE IT DOWN!

If you can't get access to your account because you forgot your own password, you'll have to slink into the Computing Center Support Services (ISB 119) and humble yourself.

The person at the front desk will need to see your ID Card and then will call the VAX/UNIX Operators and have them change the password to something else. You must show up in person to do this, and you must change your password to something else as soon as possible. The Operators will not accept requests for password changes from anyone other than the Support Services personel and can not find out what your old password was.

1-06 UNIX Commands

All right, you're now in your home directory with a fresh new password. Let's take a look at what's in your home directory. Normally, you could use the ls command to do this, however, the VAX/UNIX Operators have allowed you to issue the standard MS-DOS command, dir, instead of ls. At the % prompt, type <dir> and hit enter.

(Remember, you always hit enter after a command line. It goes without saying, so I won't say it ever again. I really mean it this time.) Your screen should look like this:

This indicates that you have two directories. If we were to look into those directories, you'd see nothing because you haven't done any mail or collected any news. When you do, there will be files to look at. Let's look at my home directory.

This shows both files and directories. The first two entries are files; the last two are directories. The first character tells me what it is. A "-" indicates a file; a "d" indicates a directory. The next few characters have to do with access restrictions and my user-id. Next comes a series of numbers before a date. This tells the file size in bytes. The date and time of creation follows, and that is followed by the file name.

Remember, UNIX is case sensitive; so, when calling up a file, pay attention to case. Calling up "link-info" will bring an error message on a UNIX system. It must be exactly as it is shown--"Link-Info".

Now, lets look into my mail directory. To do that, we must change directories. To change directories type <cd (directory-name)>.

In this case--<cd mail

Notice that ~/mail now precedes the % sign, indicating that we are now in the mail directory. To look inside, type <dir> and you get:

This says that I have three files in my mail directory. Notice the length of the first filename. UNIX allows long file names and some users like to be very descriptive. When you save a file you are sometimes asked to rename it. Doing so is a good idea if you plan to use the file on a PC. DOS only accepts eight characters and three character extensions. If you downloaded that first file it would be truncated as "About-Cu".

To move back to your home directory, all you have to do is type <cd>.

You'll then be back at the simple ~% prompt.

By typing <cd news> we get:

We are now in the news directory. Type <dir> to look inside.

To look into a file type <vi>, or <more>. Let's see what's in writing.03

That's enough of that! Oh, one thing to remember, vi (a common editor on UNIX) requires a special sequence to get out. Remember this sequence! Hit Esc, then shift ZZ. Or, hit Esc and :wq to save the file and quit out of the editor. Of course, you can always use the pico editor, which gives you instructions along the bottom of the screen on how to move about. To get out of "more", type q.

UNIX nerds seem to delight in creating cryptic ways of getting out of programs. It would be far too simple to have a universal escape key. You will get stuck from time to time. That's life. Before simply hanging up without logging out, try these methods:

Ctrl-c aborts most programs. If not, try Ctrl-d, g, or h. Try q, Q, or typing "quit". Hit the escape key. Hit the whole keyboard. Hit the monitor. Hit the person sitting next to you. When all else fails, hang up, get a stiff drink, go to the bathroom, pet the dog, and then call the Computing Center Support Services at 817-565-2324 (It will make their day). They can put you in contact with the VAX/UNIX Operators if you manage to stump them with your particular problem.

Here are some other nifty UNIX commands you should know:

man               Brings up the on-line help when followed by what you want help on. ie:

man mkdir     Brings up help on making a directory.

cat                 Is the same as the DOS "type" command cp copy a file--as in <cp                       writing.03 news> copies writing.03 to the news directory.

cdup             Move back one level (cd .. also works but you DOS folks will probably                      forget to put the space between cd and get an error message.)

rm                Delete a file--as in <rm writing.03>

mkdir           Creates a directory

rmdir            Removes a directory

mv                Renames a file or directory

lpr                Prints a file when followed by the filename

ls                  Will list the files or subdirectories

mail             Gets you into the PINE mailer

elm             Gets you into the ELM mailer

ctrl-c          Break

vi               Editor

pico           Editor (better)

ctrl-d         Logout

A handy cross reference of commands is included in the handout material. Learn these and you will probably never need any others. Okay, now that you are a crack UNIX programmer, let's check the mail.

2-01 What is E-mail

Internet E-mail is possibly the most useful utility provided by the Internet. Besides being fast, it is easy to use. Busy people love E-mail because they can quickly browse large volumes of mail and make mass replies. You can reach people through E-mail that you could never reach by phone or snail-mail. Snail-mail, by the way, is Internet slang for overland mail.

Another advantage of E-mail is that large volumes of data can be sent. You may attach files, even books, and send them along to a friend. If you have a large circle of friends that you want to stay in touch with, you can set up a mailing list. Write one letter and mail to all. If you have a newsletter to send, send it by E-mail.

One of the nicest features of E-mail is the ease of replying to mail. While reading a letter, you may reply by entering a keystroke. The computer sets up the reply, addresses it, references the subject, even prompts you to include all or portions of the original letter. All you have to do is say what's on your mind and send it. You're done. That's another reason why busy, important people will sometimes respond to E-mail whereas secretaries handle all other types of communication for them.

Millions of people have Internet addresses and don't know it. Anyone in a college or university has an E-mail address or can get one free. Anyone working for a big company with a network of computers probably has one. Government employees, associations, and many small businesses operate computer networks. Very few computer networks are stand-alone systems. Most are tied to the Internet--directly or indirectly.

Millions of computer owners have accounts on services like Prodigy, Online America, Comp-U-Serve, or MCImail. All of these people have Internet addresses. If, for example, you have a friend on Prodigy, ask for her ID number. It is usually something like IY48XE. Her Internet address would be iy48xe@prodigy.com. (Internet addresses are not case sensitive.) She can write you, and you can write her. Be careful, though; these services usually charge their customers for incoming and outgoing Internet traffic. It isn't much. A typical letter might cost a dime. If, however, you find "War and Peace" on the Internet and think she might appreciate a copy, think again.

2-02 The E-mail Address

Let's take a look at the Internet address. It consists of several parts: user, host, domain, & source code. Ie: IX48@jove.acs.unt.edu

user(IX48) at (@)host domain (jove.acs.unt) code (edu)    ix48 @ jove.acs. unt. edu

jove.acs.unt.edu is considered a fully qualified domain. Here is another that includes a county designator with the code: anderson@hoshi.umb.edu.ca. The ca on the end stands for Canada. Others are: uk, for the United Kingdom; fi, for Finland; us, for the good old U.S. of A., etc.. U.S. addresses rarely include the country code. Don't add it if you don't see it.

The Internet has a number of useful utilities for locating existing active E-mail addresses. These topics will be covered as we learn each section. One way to get an address is to ask your friend for it. If you get a response like:

"What the heck is that?" ask a few more questions, like:

"Do you have access to a computer tied to a network?"

"Do you own a computer with a modem?"

"Are you connected to a computer dial-up service?"

"Do you have a close friend who is?"

A "yes" to any of these questions means that the two of you can communicate using E-mail. If she has access to a computer network, tell her to request an address from the sysop (system's operator). If she owns a computer with a modem, talk her into joining a service like Prodigy.

Internet service providers are springing up everywhere. In this area, Onramp offers unlimited Internet access from dial-up metro lines for $39 a month. I have seen several advertised locally. Prodigy only costs fourteen dollars a month for toll-free access, but its Internet access is limited to E-mail. As a last resort, she may have a friend on a service that will share the account. Prodigy, for example, allows a member to set up sub-accounts for up to five, free. The sub-accounts are supposed to be for additional family members, but who's to say you aren't like a member of the family?

The big push today is to get everyone networked. In some areas of the country, communities are setting up Freenets to residents through community colleges. Some are free to anyone, anywhere.

The Cleveland Freenet will give you an Internet account with full access absolutely free. The only hitch is that you have to call long distance to log on. If you get on and off quickly--say under ten minutes each night and call at the lowest rate times--you can probably check your mail daily and only add ten to twenty dollars to your phone bill each month. I rarely spend more than ten minutes in my mailer. It is that fast and easy. I don't even have to read my mail there. I can simply download my mail and read it at home.

Also, I can write my longer letters on a word processor and upload the file. At UNT, we have unlimited access for free, so rushing isn't necessary. You might give thought to getting on and off in order to free-up lines. I hate getting busy signals; I'm sure you will too. If you have nobody to write to, write to me at Sonny@Sonny,Net. Tell me what you think of the manual.

2-03 PINE Mailer

Okay, now that you have somebody to write to, logon to Jove and type <mail> at the % prompt. This brings up the PINE mailer (a mail handeling software program)and you'll see a screen like this:

Hit ctrl-x, hit return, and it's off. That's it! You just mailed me a letter. If I happen to be in my mailer at the time, I'll be alerted, pull up your message, hit "r" for reply, and write back. You might still be fooling around in your mailer when the reply reaches you. Yes, it is that fast. If we didn't have a life, we could spend hours going back and forth with silly messages.

At the bottom of every PINE mailer screen is a menu bar like this:

The ^ thingie represents the ctrl key. PINE is not case sensitive, so you don't have to use capital letters. ^x works as well as ^X.

Browse the help file of each screen to learn more about PINE.

This mailer is the best that is currently available.

It has many features that make E-mailing fun and exciting for those who don't have a life; and for those who do, PINE can make your hectic life less so. If you don't like typing those long cryptic addresses, check out the address book feature from the main menu. You can assign ddrg365thh64v@adgtr55.disaster.com a nickname like ED. Type ED at the address header and you get ddrg365thh64v@adgtr55.disaster.com.

Anytime you want to go to the main menu, type <m>. This works unless you are actually composing a letter. In that case, your "m" will simply appear in the text. You must exit the letter--abandon, save, or send it. From the main menu, you can check your mail by hitting "L". It will highlight your INBOX. Hit return. Your messages will appear as line items. Enter "V" to view the highlighted item, "N" to view the next, "P" to view the previous. Again, you'll have a menu bar at the bottom to follow.

The main menu offers several options:

Spend time learning to use the PINE mailer. It is well worth the effort. The unique feature of PINE is that you can send binary files. That means that your Word Perfect document, complete with graphics and formatting, can be sent to someone. It can not be viewed in the mailer. It goes as an attached file. The recipient downloads the file.

You can also send pictures this way. PINE encodes the binary file in MIME format, then decodes it when exporting. This is the feature that makes PINE such a great mailer. It is a little tricky to use. Be sure to get the PINE handout from ACS. Read the entire handout.

You can find further reading in "The Dummy's Guide to the Internet," (hereafter called Dummy's)and in "Zen and the art of the Internet" (hereafter called Zen). We will be downloading these books in the next chapter. You'll have them available on floppy diskette--FREE!

Once you get good at using the mailer, you may want to compose your messages off-line. When you save your file, save it as a text file--ASCII. (Yes, I know, you can send anything in PINE, but only text can be read in the mailer. Not all people have read the manual and know about attached files or how they work.)

All word processing programs offer this option. Doing so will wipe out any formatting, but that's tough. This means that your underlining and italics won't show up. Fancy fonts won't translate either. PINE is a super mailer, but a lousy word processor. It has a spell checker, but only tells you that you spelled a word it doesn't recognize. You have to look it up. Writing a lengthy letter in PINE can be very frustrating. Instead, create it in your favorite WP then upload to your Jove account or use cut and paste.

2-04 Z-Modem and Sending Files

If your communications software supports Z-Modem transfers, you have it made. Others must use kermit. In order to use Z-Modem, it must be in your path. Instead of explaining, just call 565-4161 and ask to have Z-Modem placed in your path. Say it as though you know what you're talking about, and they won't ask any questions. The next time you are in your account, all you have to do to send a file to your computer is type <sz> followed by the filename.

To send a file named goodstuf.txt, type <sz goodstuf.txt> hit enter, and your computer should take over. It would be wise to find out where your program plans to put incoming files. I created a file on my PC called c:\comit\jove for this purpose.

To send a file to Jove type <rz>. From your computer select the send option, select the file to send, and initiate the transfer. When Jove has it, the % prompt will return. My computer also goes "Ding". I don't know where that "Ding" comes from. It might just be my computer; it might be Jove; it might be in my head.

Look for the % prompt. Ding or prompt, when you do a "dir", your file should appear in the home directory, or whatever directory you were in when you did <rz>.

To drop the file in your mail message, simply hit ^R after addressing and entering a subject header. Your typed file will scroll into the message box. If you uploaded a binary file, you enter the file name in the header area for attachments. It says: Attchmnt: (type the file name here) A typical attached file letter might look like this:

That's all there is to it. In another chapter, I'll show you how to find viewers. You'll have to find your own Tiffany.

I should mention that not all systems can handle PINE mail. PINE uses MIME format that only other MIME compliant mailers can read. Most universities have PINE, but many comercial and foreign networks do not.

When mailing to a small outfit or a service, it would be best to use the ELM mailer. To get the ELM mailer, type <ELM> at the % prompt. ELM is so easy to use, I won't insult your intelligence by explaining it. If you can use PINE, Elm will be a cinch. Everybody can read ELM. When in doubt, send it in ELM. All return mail, in fact, all mail comes in through PINE. You don't need to check ELM for mail.

2-05 Finding Addresses

Once you learn how to use Gopher, you'll be able to access Internet white pages and various search utilities for finding people's E-mail addresses. John E. Goodwin wrote an excellent book called E-mail 101. You can find it on Gopher. The following is a section from his book on finding people and computer systems:

Finding Persons and Computers

There are a couple of standard methods for checking and verifying E-mail addresses.

% ping rtfm.mit.edu

Remember that "%" is the prompt the computer gives you. Your system prompt may look different). You should get back a message saying "rtfm.mit.edu is alive" or something like that.

Many machines support a command called "nslookup" that will return the dotted decimal address given the name of the machine

% nslookup rtfm.mit.edu

returns "xxx" as the dotted decimal address.

If you can guess the name of person or institution--this is not hard--then you can try to see if you have a valid address by "fingering" your intended victim [We're all adults, here. Stop giggling!]:

% finger pdq@hoople.usnd.edu

If the system supports the "finger" feature (and many don't...and stop that damn giggling!), you can try any number of guesses or permutations. If you succeed, you can find out lots of information about the person: their telephone number, when they last logged on, when they last read their mail, what department they work in, etc.

Many systems allow you to leave a file called ".plan"--note the initial dot--that contains further contact information.

Good guesses for names:

• last name (bach),
• last name with one or more initials (pbach, pdqbach),
• three (or more!) initials (pdqb)
• nicknames, cute handles, etc. (fluffy,aragorn)
• work ID numbers (bach2378@bigblue.com)

Your last resort is a search program called "netfind". It lets you find a machine or person by keyword. If you know your target is at USND, you can try the keywords PDQ, USND, EDU and find pdq@hoople.usnd.edu.

Note that you often have to guess the "domain", but this should not be hard. You can also search with PDQ, "University of Southern North Dakota", EDU, if USND is not sufficiently obvious. City and state names work, too. Try it.

The main short comings of "netfind" are: (1) it often fails if the target computer does not support the "finger" command; and

(2) it only works on the Internet, not Bitnet or other mail systems.

To use "netfind" you have to telnet to any of several standard locations and log in as "netfind".

If one server is busy it should give you a list of alternate servers to try.

Detailed information on how to find someone on the net is given in the Usenet FAQ (ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/ xxxx ). This FAQ is oriented towards helping University students, who flood the networks every Fall looking for the E-mail addresses of their friends. Copyright (c) 1993 by John E. Goodwin. All Rights Reserved. (End of Text)

3-01 Mailing Lists

Mailing lists are becoming increasingly popular on the Internet. A mailing list is a group of people who share a common interest and share their mail. When you join a mailing list, all mail sent to the list gets reproduced and distributed to all subscribers to that list. This is a great way to stay in touch and keep informed.

Today, there are lists to serve every conceivable interest. Clubs, fraternities, veterans groups, and political activists can all stay in touch with one another very effectively and cheaply by setting-up a mailing list run by a LISTSERV program.

3-02 LISTSERV

LISTSERV is a software program that manages mailing lists. The lists used to pose a big problem on the Internet, generating huge volumes of bit traffic. LISTSERV has solved that problem and gives mailing lists many useful features in the process. Lists can be made private, selective, or open. They can archive information and collect usage data. They can even be customized for streamlined use.

Scott Yanoff maintains a list of available mailing lists. It is called the List of Lists. You can locate this list by using Veronica while in Gopher. Just type in <Scott Yanoff>.

Once you get an address for a list you want to join, send an E- mail message to the server with word HELP or INFO in the subject line or in the message body. Most lists tell you what to do to make the initial contact. You will receive a message by return mail telling you about the list and how to subscribe. You will also get information about various other commands you will find useful.

Basically, the server is just a machine running a program. It looks at incoming mail for command words. For instance, on most systems, the word sub or subscribe will place you on the list. The word "Help" in the subject or body of the message will send the help file to the sender. You can also use set commands to change the mode. When I go away for a few days, I send this command to my server: set writer-l nomail

This tells the server not to forward any mail to me from the writer-l list. When I return and want to start getting mail again, I send: set writer-l mail

It is that easy. Some lists generate large volumes of mail. I belong to one private list that puts an average of one-hundred pieces of mail a day in my inbox. When I go online, I always have mail to sort through. I could reduce this traffic by setting the mode to digest: set writer-l digest

The help file will explain your options. Try joining a list and learn to work with the server functions.

4-01 Gopher Defined

If you want to get to know the Internet, you gotta make friends with a gopher. UNT's campus wide information system (CWIS) is a Gopher system--a Gopher hole. The proper name, however, is Internet Gopher. I found the following explanation of Gopher and Veronica on the UNT server:

That was a pretty good explanation, but it didn't tell us what Gopher and Veronica stand for. Gopher, aside from being a prairie rodent and the mascot for those University of Minnisota kids that created this monster, is someone or something that "goes for" someone or something. Clever, huh?

In brief, Gopher is a software program that makes information stored on the Internet easy to access.

4-02 Gopher Utilities

VERONICA is an acrynym that stands for Very Easy Rodent Oriented Netwide Index to Computerized Archives. Veronica is a tool that makes finding gopher files easy. Gopher Jewels organize Gophers by subject. Jughead searches a local gopher hole. Gopher is so large and widespread today that without tools like Veronica, Jewels, and Jughead it would be like having the largest encyclopedia set on Earth without an index or alphanumeric structure.

Gopher made the information super highway possible. Gopher made it possible for people like me--people that are not computer whizes--to work the Internet. Now, everbody wants on the net. Now, we need a super highway.

Gopher is not the only way to access information, but it is the easiest. Not all information can be accessed by Gopher; but every day, more and more information gets put into Gopher. By the time you read this, Gopher may be all you need to know. For this reason, and because UNT is big on Gopher, I advise you to pay particular attention to this section.

THE GOPHER MENU Gophers are set up in menu structures. Each Gopher server has a main menu. The menu structure is built on a hierarchy going from the broad to the finite. Here is UNT's main menu for Gopher

Like a tree that branches out to leaves, gopher menus branch out to individual files. Files can be viewed, down-loaded, or mailed. The file is the object of every Gopher search.

Many Gopher menu entries are not files, but directories. You can tell if an item is a directory by the ending. A directory ends in a forward slash (/). When you select an item that ends this way, you'll be presented with another menu of choices. If the next item you select from that menu also ends with a /, you'll get yet another menu. Each menu narrows the field of your search, but you can easily go down long pathways to get to the wanted file. If, after wandering through gopherspace for hours, you finally stumble upon the neatest Gopher hole you ever saw, you better have a good memory...OR...a bookmark if you ever want to return.

You can create your very own personal Gopher menu by creating bookmarks. To do this, all you have to do is type a capital "A" from the menu you are in. To make a menu item a bookmark, type a lowercase "a". In either case, Gopher will bring up the menu title and offer you the opportunity to rename it. Once you hit enter, it's yours. To call up your personal Gopher menu from anywhere in gopherspace, just type "v". Your favorite places to go are just a keystroke away. Here is my Gopher bookmark menu:

The best way to learn Gopher is to just jump in and go. After you've explored Gopherspace for a few hours or a few days the rest of this chapter will make more sense.

While exploring remember these simple Gopher commands:

u backs you up one menu level

A or a creates a bookmark

q quits and sends you home to the % prompt

s saves a file to your home dir

D downloads a file to your computer

v takes you to your bookmark menu

^c Breaks an operation (Sometimes you get hung-up. After breaking, you'll be asked if you want to quit y/n. If you enter "y", you'll get dumped out of Gopherspace. Type "n" and you'll be placed back in the menu that you were in before you got hung-up.)

Okay, now logon to Jove and type <Gopher> at the % prompt. You will find yourself at UNT's main menu--the Gopherspace launchpad. Happy travels.

One caution, don't go through any gateways. If you do, you'll likely be on telnet, a subject we haven't covered. Telnet is a scary place! Bon Voyage!

Well, how was your trip? Find anything interesting? Did anything offend you? Did anything shock you? If not, go back and explore some more. This time, select item six, then item ten, then item one. Make this a bookmark!

You can go directly to a Gopher server by entering the pathname.

From the % prompt, type <Gopher pathname>.

For example. <Gopher moose.uvm.edu>.

Try these Gophers. If you like them, make bookmarks.

• moose.uvm.edu
• Gopher.cc.umanitoba.ca
• wiretap.spies.com
• Gopher.well.sf.ca.us
• futique.scs.unr.edu
• hoshi.cic.sfu.ca
• Gopher.vifp.monash.edu.au

Gopher is vast and getting vaster every day. You have explored a few Gopher servers, but you haven't scratched the surface. UNT has a Gopher that you can spend a full day exploring. Many Gopher servers are much larger than UNT's. Pull up the list of all the Gopher servers in the world, and you'll get over 100 pages of entries. That's a bunch. You also have Gophers within Gophers. Trying to figure out how many Gophers there are is a lot like walking the prairie and counting holes to determine the Gopher population.

Gopherspace is very big! Chances are good that the information you want is somewhere in gopherspace. To help navigate this space, you have several tools you can use. Veronica is my favorite, and it always produces results for me. Veronica is a search tool. It uses the boolean keyword search method to search through Gopher menus world wide. If you are unfamiliar with search functions, get familiar.

5-01 Jughead/Boolean Search

Jughead is like Veronica, but searches only the local menu. I down-loaded the About Jughead file from the UNT Gopher menu. It does a good job of explaining jughead to other computer nerds, but I'm including it here because it also gives a quick overview of the boolean search:

Wasn't that fun, boys and girls? This didn't tell you much about Jughead, but it did explain the boolean search. In brief, Jughead does basically the same thing as Veronica. When you select either Jughead or Veronica in a Gopher menu, you will be presented with an entry box for your search item. Type it in and see what comes back.

5-02 Gopher Jewels

Gopher Jewels organize Gopherspace by subject heading in the way macro-encyclopedias are set up. It also offers to search through your selected area. This narrows the field of a search, is faster, and produces more relevant hits. If your field of interest is limited to one subject area covered by a Jewel, this may be your favorite utility. Look for Gopher Jewels next time you get into a Gopher top-level menu.

5-03 Veronica

I prefere Veronica because my interests are more general. The only problem I've found with using Veronica is that it brings back too much useless garbage. You can reduce the garbage by restricting the search to directories only, or by employing the NOT variable.

For instance, if you type in <emergency management>, you get back 200 entries (hits), mostly federal postings from FEMA. To eliminate them, run another search but type in <emergency management NOT federal>. This returns seventy-eight hits. Here is the first page:

You could reduce the list further by adding "NOT Networks" to "emergency management NOT Federal." If you see something you like and want to go to it, simply enter the number and hit enter. If you want to know where it came from, move the curser to the number and type the "=" sign. You'll be presented with the full path string.

It will look like this for item one:

And this for item 13:

Note: The host name gives you the address of the Gopher hole this item came from. In the above example, hoshi.cic.sfu.ca, is an outfit in Canada called EPIX (Emergency Preparedness Information eXchange). You can go there by typing <Gopher hoshi.cic.sfu.ca> at the % prompt.

The best advice I can give you is to choose one search tool and become familiar with it. I like veronica, but you might find Gopher jewels more useful. By all means learn how to do a boolean search. Any Gopher menu item that ends with a "?" mark is a search item. These are very handy tools.

I strongly suggest that you read the chapters on Gopher in Dummy's and Zen. See if you can find them using Veronica. There is a tutorial on Gopher on the UNT system. Try Jughead to locate it. This manual is also available in electronic format and located on the UNT Gopher. When you get to these files, use the "D" command to save them to a diskette or to your home computer. You can refer to them while online.

Personally, I don't think much of DOS-based software like Procomm Plus. Although it is free, you get what you pay for. My communications software is a windows application called Comit. I find it useful to work out of windows with Word Perfect open in the background and with Dummy's or Zen loaded to the chapter I'm working on. You might want this manual loaded also. If I need help, I simply pull the WP window into the foreground and read. I can also have a new file open to copy and paste information from my screen. You can also use a screen capture feature of most communication programs, but this doesn't work nearly as well as copy and paste. If I find something I like, I simply highlight it, copy it, enter WP, and paste it. Seconds later, I'm back on the net.

Computers are so cool!

Next, we'll be looking at other information sources. Take the time to learn Gopher well. That way, you won't get confused, and it will give you a good point of comparison.

6-01 Telnet Defined

The following explanation was downloaded from the UNT Gopher:

Networks of computers are connected to other networks of computers via telephone lines. For large institutional networks such as UNT, dedicated high capacity fiber optic lines make the connection into the web of networks. Over these lines, and using the power of today's super-computers and modems, the Encyclopedia Britanica can be transmitted in two seconds.

These super-computers talk back and forth all day and night, keeping each other current, updating files and lists. (Computers just love doing this kind of stuff.) Because these networks are connected, it is possible for you to connect to any network on the system if they'll let you in. Telnet is the tool that allows you to do that.

When a telnet connection is established, it is as though your keyboard were connected directly to the remote computer. Before they'll let you play on their system; however, they must recognize you as an authorized user. You'll need an ID. To insure that you are who you say you are, you'll need to know that user's ID password. It is just like logging on to Jove.

You call the host at UNT. It answers and says, "What do you want?"

You say, "I want you to call Jove."

Jove says, "Who are you?"

You type in your user ID.

Jove says, "Okay, if you really are iy567, then you should know iy567's secret password. What's the password?"

If you get it right, you are in. If you get it wrong repeatedly, you get disconnected.

Basically, you telnet every time you logon to Jove from home or from a computer lab. Telnet is no big deal. If you were visiting your uncle in Singapore, and he had Internet access, you could get on his computer, type <telnet jove.acs.unt.edu> and find yourself facing the same drill as if you'd called from across the campus.

Jove would say, "Who are you?" Once you give a valid user ID and password combination, you'd be in your home directory. From there, you could check your mail, post an article to a newsgroup, download that file you told your uncle about, or upload some neat stuff from Singapore without going through customs.

Years ago, you needed an account on every system you wanted to deal with. The Internet community recognized the need to provide for guest logins. Many host systems set aside portions of their system for guests to browse. This is like having a free yard sale, putting your junk on the front lawn, inviting people to enter the gate, but keeping your valuables and private things locked in the house.

When prompted for a user ID, the word anonymous is acceptable. When asked for the password, your E-mail address will work, or just the word guest. You will be allowed into a special area on the host system reserved for guests. Once in, you can browse the files located on that system and download anything of interest. Some host systems are more friendly and open than others. The CIA won't even let you on the street. The military won't let you in the gate. They put their public stuff on the curb by the trash.

Universities are generally very friendly and more closely fall into my yard sale analogy. Some hosts are so open, they let you wander through the house and look in the drawers. The Cleveland Freenet is such a system.

When you telnet to freenet-in-a.cwru.edu, they let you right in the front door. Understanding how telnet works will help you understand FTP. You will discover unusual features and services located on remote systems, and you may want to go there to get them. Telnet makes the connection.

If you get involved in the newsgroups, much of the discussion centers around interesting things and nuggets mined from the Internet. Often, you'll see an address such as jove.acs.unt.edu, and a file path such as

/pub/bin/internet-tools/zen-and-the-art-of-the-internet.

Also, many libraries allow you to telnet to them and browse their online catalogs.

Telnet is slowly fading away. New software programs such as Gopher and World Wide Web are hiding the interfacing between networks. Some host systems now provide Internet software that is all windows supported. Simply point and click, drag and drop.

The future isn't here yet, at least not at UNT. You should take the time to understand telnet, but I wouldn't advise investing too much time. For more information on Telnet, read chapter five in Zen and chapter 6 from Dummy's. Both offer useful tutorials and interesting telnet sites to visit.

7-01 FTP Defined

The following explanation of FTP was downloaded from UNT's gopher:

If you become active on the Internet, you will encounter terms like FTP, FTP site, anonymous FTP, and FTP archive. Cybernauts use a term called mining the Internet. For the most part, mining the Internet means seeking, extracting, and processing files stored in FTP sites. Mining is a good metaphor. Computer nerds will scoff and tell you that FTP is as easy as Calculus. For them, maybe. I have pulled out more hair trying to use FTP than I did raising three teenagers. I persisted and eventually learned, but I wouldn't do it again--teenagers or FTP.

Actually, if everything goes right, FTP is easy. Of course, if bullfrogs had wings, they wouldn't bump their butts when they landed. To show how it should work, let's run through a textbook FTP drill. Let's say you located a file using Archie. (Archie comes in the next chapter, but it basically does for FTP what Veronica does for Gopher.)

7-02 FTP Example

Note: the following example was borrowed from Zen and the Art of the Internet and adapted for this manual. Archie is a search utility like Veronica that searches FTP sites.

Archie returns a report like this:

.You'll see a lot of references on the Net to "anonymous ftp." This is how it gets its name--you don't really have to tell the library site what your name is. The reason is that these sites are set up so that anybody can gain access to certain public files, while letting people with accounts on the sites to log on and access their own personal files.

Next, you'll be asked for your password. As a password, use your e-mail address. This will then come up:

This looks like your Unix directory, that's because it is a Unix directory. You should be able to at least tell a file from a directory. Remember, files start with a dash.

Notice the README.POSTING file up at the top of the directory. Most archive sites have a "read me" document, which usually contains some basic information about the site, its resources and how to use them. Let's get this file, both for the information in it and to see how to transfer files from there to here. At the ftp> prompt, type <get README.POSTING> Note that ftp sites are no different from Unix sites in general: they are case-sensitive. You'll see something like this:

And that's it! The file is now located in your home directory on your host system, from which you can now download it to your own computer. The simple "get" command is the key to transferring a file from an archive site to your host system.

If you want to download more than one file at a time (say a series of documents, use mget instead of get; for example:

<mget *.txt>

This will transfer copies of every file ending with .txt in the given directory. Before each file is copied, you'll be asked if you're sure you want it. Despite this, mget could still save you considerable time -- you won't have to type in every single file name. If you want to save even more time, and are sure you really want ALL of the given files, type

<prompt>

before you do the mget command. This will turn off the prompt, and all the files will be zapped right into your home directory.

There is one other command to keep in mind. If you want to get a copy of a computer program, type <bin> and hit enter. This tells the ftp site and your host site that you are sending a binary file, i.e., a program. Most ftp sites now use binary format as a default, but it's a good idea to do this in case you've connected to one of the few that doesn't.

To switch to a directory, type <cd directory-name> (substituting the name of the directory you want to access) and hit enter. Type <dir> and hit enter to get the file listing for that particular directory. To move back up the directory tree, type <cd ..> (note the space between the d and the first period) and hit enter. Or you could type <cdup> and hit enter. Keep doing this until you get to the directory of interest.

Alternately, if you already know the directory path of the file you want (from our friend archie), after you connect, you could simply type <get directory/subdirectory/filename>

On many sites, files meant for public consumption are in the pub or public directory; sometimes you'll see an info directory.

Almost every site has a bin directory, which at first glance sounds like a bin in which interesting stuff might be dumped. But it actually stands for "binary" and is simply a place for the system administrator to store the programs that run the ftp system. Lost+found is another directory that looks interesting but actually never has anything of public interest in them.

From our example, you can see that some system administrators go a little berserk when naming files. Fortunately, there's a way for you to rename the file as it Is being transferred. Using our archie example, you'd type <get zterm-sys7-color-icons.hqx zterm.hqx> and hit enter. Instead of having to deal constantly with a file called zterm-sys7-color-icons.hqx, you'll now have one called, simply, zterm.hqx.

Those last three letters bring up something else: Many program files are compressed to save on space and transmission time. In order to actually use them, you'll have to use an un-compress program on them first.

The problems you run into with FTP have to do with getting something back that you can use. Several compression programs exist in a variety of forms. Some files are tarred (glued together in one big file) in addition to being compressed. Some are tarred, compressed and encoded. Some are binary, some are text. In order to make an effective transfer, you must learn these codes and decompression techniques. To teach this goes beyond the scope of this manual. You are going to lose hair no matter what you read.

On the bright side, FTP software programs are available that allow Windows ease in dealing with FTP. In the not-to-distant future, FTP may blend into the seamless web of Internet utilities like Gopher or World Wide Web. Even today, most things of any value on FTP sites are also in Gopher or World Wide Web.

8-01 Archie Defined

The following explanation of Archie was downloaded from the UNT Gopher:

In other words, Archie is a search utility like Veronica. Archie is especially useful if you know the name of a particular software program, file, or document. By initiating an Archie query, you can find out exactly where the file is. To use Archie at UNT, all you need do is type <Archie -s filename>. The -s makes the search case insensitive. Although Archie does not recognize the DOS and Unix wildcard characters * or ?, it will search an incomplete entry.

8-02 Archie How To

If you want the file PKZIP204.EXE, you can type <Archie -s pkzip> and Archie will return anything it finds that has pkzip in the title. The more specific you can be, the more useful the returns.

Archie can get very sophisticated in its search if you designate restrictors and qualifiers other than -s. I'll leave this to Zen. It has a full chapter devoted to Archie for those who want to delve deeper into this subject. The rest of us just learned everything we need to know about Archie.

Archie, like FTP, will continue to loose favor to more user friendly utilities like Gopher and World Wide Web. As long as there are files stored on FTP sites, I'm sure there will be a need for Archie. Try it a few times, but chances are good that anything you find using Archie, you'll also find using Veronica. The difference is, Archie will direct you to an FTP site and give you the file's path; Veronica will take you to the file on Gopher. Furthermore, most files on Gopher are uncompressed and decoded, ready for transfer to your computer. You already know what a hassle FTP can be.

Again, this is one of those subjects that doesn't deserve a great deal of your attention. Know what it is and what it does, but focus your energies studying future directions on the Internet not what was big in the past. Archie is my smallest section. I think I'll stop here and keep it that way.

9-01 What is WAIS

The Internet offers hundreds of databases and library catalogs that you can search through for valuable nuggets of information. This is often referred to as minung the Internet. As in mining, each site has its own intricasies; each has its own quirks. Dealing with individual database sites and libraries can be extremely frustrating and time consuming. Many sites are down right cryptic. Gopher reduces this problem somewhat, but gopher doesn't have all the nuggets.

Wide-Area Information Servers (or service) offer another way to zero in on information hidden on the Net. With WAIS, the user sees only one interface. The program worries about how to access information on dozens, even hundreds, of different databases. You give a WAIS a word and it scours the databases you select looking for places where it is mentioned.

You get a menu of documents, each ranked according to how relevant to your search the WAIS thinks it is, based on the number of "hits" it found. In a way, this is like getting a geologist's report on where gold might be found and how lucritive a particular site might be. The report does not give you actual information; it simply tells you where the information is. You still have to do the digging. If you do a great deal of research, you will use WAIS.

9-02 WAIS Example

Note: The following is a WAIS session from "The Dummy's Guide to the Internet."

John E. Goodwin has this to say about WAIS from his book "E-mail-101":

9-03 Accessing a WAIS Server

The UNT Gopher also features access to WAIS databases. Simply choose Remote Information & Resources from the top menu. Choose WAIS Search Source Files and you will be presented with a very long listing of databases that you can search. Simply selecting a database and hitting <RETURN> will tell Gopher that you want to search that database. Enter the search term that you want to look for and hit <RETURN>. Gopher will call the remote WAIS server, have it conduct the search for you and return back to you a menu with all of the matching articles it found. Additional information on how to use Gopher and searching is found earlier in this manual.

As a research tool, WAIS is hard to beat. Knowing where to look for gold is ninety percent of successful gold mining. Knowing where not to look is one-hundred percent of successful time management. On the Internet, when you waste your time, you are also wasting Internet resources. If I can't access an important database because you are looking for something that isn't there, we both lose. Do everyone a favor; learn to use WAIS.

10-01 What is USENet

If you've been around computers for any length of time, you've undoubtedly encountered computer bulletin board systems (BBSs). Bulletin boards are a popular way for individuals to communicate with many people at once, and vice versa. On the Internet, the bulletin boards are called newsgroups. USENet, Clari-Net, MILNet, and BITNet are all newsgroup systems commonly lumped together under the heading Usenet Newsgroups.

Usenet operates much the same as a conventional bulletin board. Someone posts a notice and others respond to that posted message--publicly or privately. You've seen messages on bulletin boards that inspire others to add their own comments to it. On Usenet, you'll often see this. Sometimes, the strings of add-on messages can be quite extensive. Post a message to a religious newsgroup that proclaims "God is dead," and you'll see a very long string. When you look in your mail in-box, you'll see an even longer string of messages. To meet even more people, post this message to a feminist newsgroup:

"Hey! Any babes want to talk?"

To many people, Usenet is the Internet. Actually, the newsgroups are not a part of the net. You don't need to be on the Internet to subscribe to the newsgroups. Usenet works a lot like E-mail.

Dummy's offers this technical explanation:

10-02 The TIN News Reader

In order to participate in a newsgroup, you need to use a news reader program. Two of the most popular are nn and tin. Since tin is the one I use--and the only one I know--we will discuss tin.

To bring up the tin reader, type <tin> at the % prompt. What you'll get is a blank page except for the guide at the bottom.

It will look like this:

<n>=set current to n, TAB=next unread, /=search pattern, c)atchup, g)oto, j=line down, k=line up, h)elp, m)ove, q)uit, r=toggle all/unread, s)ubscribe, S)ub pattern, u)nsubscribe, U)nsub pattern, y)ank in/out *** End of Groups ***

It is empty because you haven't subscribed to any newsgroups yet. Type <g misc.writing> and you'll be subscribed to the newsgroup misc.writing. Your screen will then look like this:

1 152 misc.writing Discussion of writing in all of its forms

<n>=set current to n, TAB=next unread, /=search pattern, c)atchup, g)oto, j=line down, k=line up, h)elp, m)ove, q)uit, r=toggle all/unread, s)ubscribe, S)ub pattern, u)nsubscribe, U)nsub pattern, y)ank in/out *** End of Groups ***

After you have selected a few newsgroups, it may look like mine: 1 152 misc.writing Discussion of writing in all of its forms 2 235 rec.humor Jokes and the like. May be somewhat 3 4 rec.humor.funny Jokes that are funny (in the modera 4 134 rec.arts.prose 5 190 alt.tasteless.jokes 6 9 alt.irc.hottub 7 73 alt.war.vietnam 8 19 alt.uu.future Planning the future of Usenet Unive 9 43 alt.newbie Alt's answer to news.newusers.*. 10 1 alt.uu.virtual-worlds.misc Study of virtual worlds in

<n>=set current to n, TAB=next unread, /=search pattern, c)atchup, g)oto, j=line down, k=line up, h)elp, m)ove, q)uit, r=toggle all/unread, s)ubscribe, S)ub pattern, u)nsubscribe, U)nsub pattern, y)ank in/out *** End of Groups ***

Let's look at number one a little closer.

1 152 misc.writing Discussion of writing in all of its forms.

The first number is its line order. The second set of numbers indicates the number of threads (articles) currently unread. A thread is a posted message. Next is a short description of the group. Not all groups have this feature. To look at one group--let's take the first one--type <1> and hit enter. You will be taken to the first page of misc.writing

misc.writing (82T 150A 0K 0H R) h=help 1 + MLA Citations for Internet Material Joe Lapp 2 + 3 College major????? Fred Welden 3 + How does one go about printing Brenda J.Grolle 4 + 2 Computer jobs for liberal arts majors? jgaskin@onramp. 5 + 3 help re names 2 D. Y. 6 + Credentials? Robert

<n>=set current to n, TAB=next unread, /=search pattern, ^K)ill/select, a)uthor search, c)atchup, j=line down, k=line up, K=mark read, l)ist thread, |=pipe, m)ail, o=print, q)uit, r=toggle s)ave, t)ag, w=post [END SCREEN OUTPUT]

The second entry indicates that three strings replied to the origional post. That the post was called College Major?????, and that it was submitted by Fred Weldon. Enter number two, and you'll see this:

Sat, 30 Jul 1994 00:57:47 misc.writing Thread 2 of 82 Lines 31 Re: College major????? Respno 7 of 9 kepi@halcyon.com Jeff Carlson at Northwest Nexus Inc.

In article <XxlDk8W5pQBM065yn@infi.net>, stomey@infi.net (Sasha Tomey) wrote:

> Now I sent you this thought provoking, wonder-filled >post...will you tell me what you're writing this week?

As far as the whole side of selling my writing goes, I'm a real newbie. You could probably say that I'm developing my craft, which means that I try to write when I can (and succeed more and more). This week I'm hoppingbetween three stories (fiction): [END SCREEN OUTPUT]

Well, that's enough of that. As you can see, the writer, Jeff Carlson is responding to a previous string. The > before a line indicates this. Jeff's words have no > before them. If you were to respond to this string, yours would look like this:

>> Now I sent you this thought provoking, wonder-filled >>post...will you tell me what you're writing this week?

>As far as the whole side of selling my writing goes, I'm a real >newbie. You could probably say that I'm developing my craft, >which means that I try to write when I can (and succeed more and >more). This week I'm hopping between three stories (fiction):

Hey! What the hell is going on? What are you guys talking about? [END SCREEN OUTPUT] There, see how that works? Tin is a sophisticated news reader. It has many features. To pull up the help file, type <h> anytime. Here is the tin help file:

HELP FILE: 4$ Goto article 4 ($=goto last article) ^D^U Down (^U=up) a page ^F^B Down (^B=up) a page ^K Kill / Auto select (hot) current article ^L Redraw page <CR> Read current article <TAB> Goto next unread article or group aA Author forward (A=backward) search b<SPACE> Back (<SPACE>=forward) a page B Article body search c Mark all articles as read and goto group selection menu C Mark all articles as read and goto next unread group d Toggle display of subject or subject & author g Choose a new group by name hH Command help (H=toggle mini help menu) I Toggle inverse video jk Down (k=up) a line K Mark article/thread as read & goto next unread l List articles within current thread m Mail article/thread/hot/pattern/tagged articles M Menu of configurable options o Output article/thread/hot/pattern/tagged articles to prn np Goto next (p=previous) group NP Goto next (P=previous) unread article q Return to previous level Q Quit r Toggle display to show all / only unread articles R Report bug/comment via mail to iain.lea@erlm.siemens.de s Save article/thread/hot/pattern/tagged articles to file t Tag current article for crossposting/mailing/piping/printing/saving u Toggle display of unthreaded & threaded articles U Untag all tagged articles v Show version information w Post an article to current group W List articles posted by user x Crosspost current article to another group zZ Mark article (Z=thread) as unread /? Subject forward (?=backward) search ! Shell escape - Show last message | Pipe article/threadd/hot/pattern/tagged articles into cmd * Select thread . Toggle selection of thread @ Reverse all selections (all articles) ~ Undo all selections (all articles) X Mark all unread articles that have not been sel' as read + Perform auto-selection on group = Mark threads sel if at least one unread art is selected ; Mark threads sel if at least one unread art is selected

PgDn,End,<SPACE>,^D - page down. PgUp,Home,b,^U - page up. <CR>,q- quit [END SCREEN OUTPUT]

At the bottom of each tin screen are helpful guides of common commands. The best way to learn how to use a newsreader like tin is to simply jump in and start reading. You'll soon catch on. Here are a few good newsgroups to start with:

news.announce.newusers This group consists of a series of articles that explain various facets of Usenet news.newusers.questions This is where you can ask questions (we'll see how in a bit) about how Usenet works news.announce.newsgroups Look here for information about new or proposed newsgroups news.answers Contains lists of "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQs) and heir answers from many different newsgroups. Learn how to fight jet lag in the FAQ from rec.travel.air; look up answers to common questions about Microsoft Windows is an FAQ from comp.os.ms-windows. alt.internet.services Looking for something in particular on the Internet? Ask here. alt.infosystems.announce People adding new information services to the Internet will post details here.

Before you try posting to a newsgroup, you may want to take a few days to become familiar with the flow of conversation. Most questions asked by newbies are covered in the FAQ (Frequently Asked Question)file at the beginning of most newsgroups. If you ask one of these questions, you will get flame mail. New users are considered flame bait in some groups. I would advise you to read from both Dummy's and Zen. They both have extensive sections on newsgroups, though neither deals with the tin mailer. The nn mailer is very similar. When you are ready to attempt a posting, goto misc.test and post a message there. Nobody will bother you there, and you can see how your post looks.

You may also want to reply by mail to a posting. This is much easier and less risky since you aren't broadcasting to the whole world. To reply to the author of a post, simply type <r>. You will be dropped into the PINE mailer with the address header already set up. The mailer will ask if you want the message you are responding to in your reply, y/n. If you say yes, you can cut out all but those lines you are responding to by using ^k.

Select someone that appears affable. Tell them how wonderful they are. They will surely write back and thank you, telling you what a good judge of character you are. If you decide to take on the world, consider this. Some newsgroups are read by over 500,000 people a month. That is an awful lot of mail to sort through if you happen to say something that puts a twist in their shorts.

Finally, the newsgroups are just plain fun and interesting. Whether your interests are politics or pig farming, particle physics or pantyhose, there is a newsgroup out there just for you. Talking with people just like yourself, people from all over the globe, can be very uplifting. To browse the most current listing of active newsgroups, telnet to freenet-in-a.cwru.edu (b or c work if a is busy). Logon as a visitor. Go to the teleport and select usenet newsgroups. Select a list of current newsgroups. It will take you the full allotted hour to scroll through the list. There are literally thousands of them. * * *

Remember that your need to post something needs to be tempered by the proper use of the net. That is, follow the same general guidelines you would in writing a personal letter to each and every person that reads that newsgroup. You wouldn't want to write a letter to thousands of people and insult them would you? Think closely about that stinging rebutle you are about to post. The board can sting back!

11-01 What is World Wide Web

The World Wide Web is an information utility like Gopher, only different. Like Gopher, WWW hides the connections going on in cyberspace and presents the user with a seamless interface with information servers. Like Gopher, the information can be browsed, searched, read online, or downloaded. The two are, however, quite different.

Gopher is set up like a filing system. Gopher is linear. You follow a constantly narrowing path. To branch out, you have to back along the path to an approprate branching off point, sometimes going all the way back to the root menu.

Gopher servers can serve up anything that Web servers do, but can not display (easily) formatted text or graphics without calling an external program. That is, the Dallas Museum of Art has images on the UNT Gopher, but you must download them to view them. Most Gopher clients will launch images viewers for you automatically, but in the Web, the image can be an actual part of the page you view. However, if you connect to Jove from anything other than an X-Terminal (graphical terminal) than you will still have to download graphics from Web or Gopher in order to view them.

WWW is set up differently. WWW is not linear; it is a matrix. Each document in WWW is linked to others, sometimes hundreds of others, through hypertext links. I'm sure you've used hypertext help files. Well, WWW (sometimes called the web, or W3) is very similar.

The Web offers the ability to view graphics and sounds basically within the Web viewing program. That is, when using a micro computer based Web client such as Mosaic for Windows or Macintosh, you will actually see a graphic or an icon indicating a sound file instead of simply seeing a menu entry for it (as you would in Gopher). The web has no real begining and has no end. If you get on and start clicking on hypertext words, trying to get to the end, you may never be seen again. The web is an exciting new utility that has a big future on the Internet. Time devoted to learning and using the web will be time well-spent.

The web offers something special--audio and visual. That's right, on the web you can hear stuff and watch movies and slides. You'll need to use a browser program like Mosaic to do this, but the computers in our labs have the Mosaic program. As of this writing, those using dial-up lines have nothing. I understand that plans are in the works to add a Mosaic program for the dial-up lines. We'll see.

11-02 Accessing the Web

To use the Web from your Jove account, simply type <lynx>. This is a simple character based WWW browser that is very simular in operation to the Gopher client on Jove. For help, just type <?>. Move between pages displayed by hitting the <space> bar and select new hypertext links by using your arrow keys. Hitting <RETURN> on a hypertext link will retrieve that piece of information for you. Make sure to type <q> to quit from lynx. In the future, you will be able to use products like Mosaic and Mac Web from your house using something called PPP or SLIP connection through an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

More current information is available from online sources. My advice is to use WAIS to research the topic (it will be good practice for you). Explore Gopherspace for current WWW info (more good practice). Better yet, get on the web and explore just like you did with Gopher. For those using the dial-up lines, try the computer lab's Mosaic browser in order to really appreciate WWW.

Because this is such an important topic, I am including the short section on WWW from The Big Dummy's Guide to the Internet.

From Dummy's 8.6 THE WORLD-WIDE WEB

12-01 IRC Defined

The Internet has many functions and features, but the one that holds the greatest promise for the future of personal communications is IRC (Internet Relay Chat). IRC is a program that lets you hold live keyboard conversations with people around the world. It's a lot like an international CB radio--it even uses "channels." Type something on your computer and it is instantly echoed around the world to whomever happens to be on the same channel with you. You may even assign yourself a nickname and set up private conversations within a public channel.

In a sense, when you enter an IRC channel, you are entering an electronic room--a virtual space. Imagine yourself in a large room with other people and the lights are off. Everyone can hear what you say; you can hear everyone else. To speak with someone in particular, you would address that person by name and get close then whisper. To get the group's attention, you speak loudly at no one in particular. IRC allows you to do both. A virtual room in IRC can be orderly, run by a moderator as in a meeting or a classroom; or it can be maddeningly chaotic like a sports bar on wet T-shirt night.

The beauty of IRC is that it allows for people from all over the world to meet and talk in real time very inexpensively. Why fly people in from the four corners of the globe to attend a meeting when you can all meet for free on a predesignated IRC channel at a predesignated time? If you want to stay in touch with graduating classmates, simply set up a special time each week or each month to meet on IRC. If your sweetheart goes overseas, forget snail mail, definitely forget Ma Bell; instead, meet each night on a private IRC channel and make virtual whoopie.

IRCs are being used as virtual meeting rooms, virtual classrooms, virtual conference halls, virtual seminars, and virtual game rooms. The future of IRC looks very bright. One day we'll have sound; soon after that, we'll have pictures; soon after that, we'll have motion pictures. When that day comes--and you meet your virtual sweetheart online--you better make certain the channel is private.

12-02 Accessing IRC Okay, let's take a look at IRC as it is today. You access IRC from the % prompt by typing irc. Just type <irc> and hit enter.

You'll get something like this:

You are now in channel 0, the "null" channel, in which you can look up various help files, but not much else. To see what channels are available, type </list> You'll get something like this:

(This is just the first page of a ninety-two page list.) Note that the channels always have names, instead of numbers. Each line in the listing tells you the channel name, the number of people currently in it, and whether there's a specific topic for it. To switch to the Money channel, type </join #Money> Some "public" channels actually require an invitation from somebody already on it. To request an invitation, type </who #Money>

I must admit that I found IRC rather difficult to understand even after reading the Dummy's IRC section several times. Since IRC is so important to understand, I am including the information in the IRC help file for new users. {The section on IRC from The Big Dummy's Guide to the Internet can be found in Appendic 'C'.)Sometimes getting the same message from two or more sources helps it sink in.

12-03 THE IRC HELP FILE:

ETIQUETTE: HOW TO BEHAVE ON IRC Authors: Lea Viljanen (LadyBug) viljanen@kreeta.helsinki.fi Ari Husa (luru) so-luru@tolsun.oulu.fi Modified by: Troy Rollo (Troy) troy@plod.cbme.unsw.oz.au

12-04 IRC Advice

The following is from Bill Pontikakis, a true IRC vet( WildGreek on IRC ):