******** ************************************************** * * * * * The independent guide to BITNET * * * * * * ***** March, 1989 * * * ***** ***** * * * ***** ***** Volume 3, Number 9 * ******** * ***** * * ***** * *** * ***** ***** * * * * * ***** ***** ***** ***** * * * * * ***** ***** ***** ***** * * * * * ***** ***** ***** * * ** * ***** ***** * * ***** ***** ***** * * * ***** ***** ***** * * * ***** ***** * ****** * * * * ***** * * * ***** ***** ***** * * ***** ***** ***** * ******** * ***** ***** ***** * * * ***** ***** ***** * * * ***** ***** ***** ***** * * * ***** ***** ***** * * * ***** * * * ***** * ******** * ***** ***** ***** * * ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** * *** * ***** ***** ***** ***** * * * * ***** ***** * * * * ***** * * * * ***** ***** ***** * *** * ***** ***** ***** ***** * * ***** ***** ***** * ****** * ***** * * * ***** * * * ***** ***** * * * ***** ***** * **** * ***** * * ***** * * * ***** ***** * * * ***** ***** ***** ***** * ****** * ***** ***** ***** ***** * * * ***** ***** ***** * * * ***** * * ***** * ******** * ***** ***** ***** ***** * * * ***** ***** ***** ***** * * * ***** ***** ***** * * * * **** ************************************************** 1 * * ****** ******* * * ***** * * ******* * * ** * * * ** ** * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ***** * * * * * * * * * * ******* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * ** * * * * * ****** * * * ***** * * * * * * * * * *********************** ******************************* Christopher Condon Editor CONDON @ YALEVM Timothy Stephen Associate Editor STEPHEN @ RPIECS Craig White Associate Editor CWHITE @ UA1VM June Genis Contributing Editor GA.JRG @ STANFORD David Hibler Contributing Editor ENGL0333 @ UNLVM Henry Mensch Contributing Editor HENRY @ MITVMA Deba Patnaik Contributing Editor DEBA @ UMDC Gerry Santoro Contributing Editor GMS @ PSUVM Valdis Kletnieks Helpdesk Editor VALDIS @ CLVM Glen Overby Technical Assistant NCOVERBY @ NDSUVAX Gary Moss The Eye MOSS @ YALEVM ********************* Contents - Issue 30 ********************* ********* * *** * EDITORIAL PAGE____________________________________ * *** * * *** * Bitnotes ....................................... 1 *** *** Spacetime Physics .............................. 3 * *** * Joint Statement on the Internet Virus .......... 4 * *** * * *** * ********* ********* * *** * FEATURES__________________________________________ * *** * * **** * NetCon '89 ..................................... 6 * ***** * Behind BITNET II ............................... 9 * ****** * Mednews ....................................... 12 * *** *** * * *** **** ********* ********* * * DEPARTMENTS_______________________________________ * ***** * *** * Headlines ..................................... 13 * *** * New Mailing Lists ............................. 15 * *** * Feedback ...................................... 19 ***** * NetMonth Policies ............................. 20 * * ********* *********************** Distribution: 4572 ********************* 1 Page 1 ********* * *** * Bitnotes * *** * * *** * by Christopher Condon *** *** * *** * Yale University * *** * * *** * CONDON@YALEVM ********* "Yes. No. I don't know." I haven't played the part of Student for a few years. That is, I haven't recently assumed the role where one takes classes, fails tests, and ignores social events. My persona these days is that of a young and hopefully up-and-coming lower level white collar professional. Translated into English, that makes me a Yuppie in training. As such, my views of the network and how it works (or how I think it *should* work) are influenced by my daytime life in the wonderful world of business MIS. I tend to view my audience as a group of education, research, and computing professionals... as opposed to students. The people for whom I write have practical, work-related reasons for being network users. This is probably because the people who come in contact with at work and in BITNET usually have practical, work-related reasons for coming in contact with me. When I think of students, I tend to think of those at the graduate level. In my mind I imagine them discussing their theses on esoteric mailing lists, or contacting researchers for the latest information on genetic engineering, or what have you. As you see, I like to think of NetMonth readers as a bunch of happy, informed, and active network users. These thoughts, for the most part, have little relation to reality as we know it, but I *do* sleep better at night. The truth is that I probably have had personal contact (such as it is) with maybe 25% of the readers, probably less. That is still about 1000 people, and of those there are maybe 100 with whom I have contact more than once a month. These network "power users" are postmasters, run mailing lists, or are otherwise very actively involved in BITNET. Too often I forget that there are people with access to the network who don't have a "practical, real-world" reason for using it. Very often they are here for the same reason as I: for the fun of it. They find it interesting, intriguing, enlightening. I think that this is the reason behind all 1 Page 2 reasons when somebody accesses BITNET. The difference between most people and the power users is that the power users have an easier time justifying their use of the network. However, this doesn't mean that an undergraduate student can't get some practical (albeit not measurable) benefit out of BITNET. This can be expressed in that timeless phrase "Experience makes good Resume Material". For example, this excerpt from a resume might remind you of somebody: "Yale Computer Center User Services, 5/85 to present: BITLIB Help System Manager: Created an organized the online help system, which is now distributed to over forty universities. Activities include regularly updating information on the system, and working as Editor for weekly and monthly newsletters about BITNET network services for over 4000 readers throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and the Far East. As a consultant for users, the manager writes documentation and promotes the responsible and effective use of the network." Now, I don't play this up nearly as much as I could (or should), but there is a limit to how much text you want to pack into one job description. The attempt here is to portray myself as someone with self-initiative and ideas. The entry is different enough from your typical "work experience" blurb that it might generate enough interest to rate an interview. BITNET is ready-made outlet for your initiative, whatever your field may be. Whether you start a mailing list or produce a newsletter or write a server isn't the point. That fact that you *do* something and gain experience from that action is. Look for the gaps in services or information you see in the network and fill them. Opportunity awaits. **** Finally, let me welcome Valdis Kletnieks to the NetMonth staff as our new Helpdesk editor. If you have questions about how and why things work in BITNET, send them to me at BITLIB@YALEVM, and I will forward them to Valdis. Send in your questions! Valdis is a veritable font of technical information. Also, you may note that there are a few articles in this issue about practical applications for which BITNET is used. If you have information about an interesting use for the network, tell us about it! Everyone is looking for new ways to take advantage of BITNET access, and your ideas help. Chris Condon@YALEVM 1 Page 3 ********* * *** * Spacetime Physics * *** * * *** * by Dick Smith *** *** * *** * University of West Florida * *** * * *** * RSMITH@UWF ********* SPACETIME PHYSICS is a regular college-course-for-credit being taken by 30 students at 8 schools this term. A physics faculty member, referred to as a Liaison Professor (LP), at each school has arranged for local registration and subsequent academic credit for interested students, and has agreed to meet regularly with the group, to administer regular quizzes, and to evaluate student projects. The course is supported by four private Lists running on the Listserv at the University of West Florida, a fifth list being used to coordinate the course among all the LPs. The course topic is Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, that part of physics which applies to objects moving at speeds near the speed of light. Textbook for the course is a prepublication version of "Spacetime Physics, Second Edition" by Edwin F. Taylor and John Archibald Wheeler. One of the course requirements is that each student send a Reading Memorandum of reaction to each chapter to Taylor, who is participating with us in this pilot course, and who is using student reactions to fine-tune the revision. Weekly assignments and discussion questions are posted each week by the Discussion Leaders, Alex Burr (New Mexico State) and myself. The questions are posed in such a way as to give our students challenge and practice in using plain English words in trying to understand the bizarre predictions of the Special Theory. The fact that Bitnet is a text-oriented medium makes it suitably difficult for students to retreat behind swarms of equations, the usual safe haven for physicists. Schools participating in the course are: Boise State University, Dickinson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New Mexico State University, Oberlin College, Towson State University, the University of Vienna, and the University of West Florida. 1 Page 4 ********* * *** * Joint Statement on the Internet Virus * *** * * *** * from BITNEWS *** *** * *** * Network Information Center * *** * * *** * BITNEWS@BITNIC ********* In case you haven't seen it elsewhere, you may be interested in the following statement adopted by the BITNET and CSNET Boards after the Internet "worm" incident last fall. Jim Conklin Director, BITNIC BITNET/CSNET Joint Statement on Internet Virus The network worm (sometimes called virus) affair raises issues that are very important to our field. Both the BITNET Board of Trustees and the CSNET Executive Committee have been struck by the fact that many public comments on the event have contained statements such as, "We learned from it," "We will make sure technically it will not happen again," or "He did us a favor by showing...," unaccompanied by expressions of ethical concern. We have succeeded as a profession technically in creating facilities -- the BITNET, CSNET and other components of the national research network -- which are now critical to the conduct of science and engineering in our nation's academic, industrial, and government research laboratories. Further, this technology has spread within our nation's commercial research and development organizations and even into their manufacturing and marketing. Just as medical malpractice can have a serious effect on an individual's health, one of the costs of our success is that we are now in a position where misuse of our national and private computer networks can have as serious an effect on the nation's economic, defense, and social health. Yet while almost every medical college has at least one course on medical ethics and insists on the observance of ethical guidelines during practice, computer scientists seem to avoid such non-scientific issues. 1 Page 5 The worm "experiment" caused a major disruption in the research community. Many hours of talent were wasted finding and curing the problems raised by this "game". Many additional hours were lost when researchers were unable to access supercomputers and mail systems due to system overload and network shutdown. Among other points of attack, the worm exploited an overt, but unadvertised, trapdoor that had been distributed as a software "feature". We condemn the perpetration of such "experiments", "games", or "features" by workers in our field, be they students, faculty, researchers or providers. We are especially worried about widespread tendencies to justify, ignore, or perpetuate such breaches. We must behave as do our fellow scientists who have organized around comparable issues to enforce strong ethical practices in the conduct of experiments. We propose to join with the relevant professional societies and the national research networks to form a Joint Ethics Committee charged with examining existing statements of professional ethics and modifying them as necessary in order to create a strong statement of networking ethics and recommendations for appropriate enforcement procedures. 1 Page 6 ********* * *** * NetCon '89 * *** * * **** * by Reba Taylor * ***** * * ****** * Virginia Polytechnic Institute * *** *** * * *** **** REBA@VTVM1 ********* NetCon(tm) is a 'con' or a mini-convention that is planned and coordinated by computer users, like yourself, whose main link is the BITNET. NetCon89 offers you a chance to meet the "face at the other end," meaning that you can finally meet the people to whom you have spoken on Relay, UMNEWS, or directly. NetCon89 allows you to meet many of these people at the same time, in the same location (convenient, eh?). You also have the opportunity to visit a new city and take in the sights. NetCon89 will also feature speakers whose topics range from the birth of the Relay to the future of the networks (BITNET, NetNorth, EARN,the InterNet, etc.). 1. Time and Place: NetCon89 will take place May 26-29, in Baltimore, Maryland. 2. Travel Information: NetCon, Inc., is working with Piedmont Aviation, Inc., to finalize an arrangement for discount airfare to Baltimore-Washington International Airport, a Piedmont hub. Once an agreement has been reached, we shall notify you through the NETCON-L list. If you prefer to travel by train, you should phone Amtrak at 1-(800)-USA-RAIL. They should be able to help with scheduling and costs. Also if you are planning to drive to NetCon please send a note to Reba Taylor (REBAT@VTVM1). She is trying to help people get to NetCon with low travel expenses. If you need a ride or can offer a ride or be of help, it would be greatly appreciated. Please do not wait too long, or a good opportunity might be missed. 3. Hotel Information: All meetings and lodgings will be at the Comfort Inn on Franklin Street. This hotel provides a shuttle to/from the BWI airport. The hotel is handicapped accessible and has handicapped only rooms available. (Please specify on the registration form if you need one of these rooms.) 1 Page 7 Rates vary, depending on the number of persons in the room. All rooms have a tax of 11%. 1 -- $48 per night + tax, totalling $159.84 for the weekend. 2 -- $52 per night + tax, totalling $173.16 for the weekend. This is $86.58 per person. 3 -- $58 per night + tax, totalling $193.14 for the weekend. This is $64.38 per person. 4 -- $64 per night + tax, totalling $213.12 for the weekend. This is $53.28 per person. (NOTE: the hotel does not recommend 4 persons per room.) A deposit of one night's lodging must be sent when you register for NetCon89, so that we can make your room reservations for you. Deposits will be as follows: Single -- $53.28 Double -- $28.86 each Triple -- $21.46 each Quad -- $17.76 each The city controls the parking in the area. The parking fee is $5.00 per car per night, totalling $15.00 for the weekend. Depending on readiness and availability, it is possible for you to check in early. The hotel provides complimentary transportation to the Inner Harbor, or you may walk there if you prefer. 4. T-Shirt Information: We are pleased to offer you the official NetCon89 at a price of $10.00 per shirt. The shirts come in small, medium, large, and extra-large. If you desire a shirt, please include the price with your registration fees. 5. Registration Fees: The following fees must accompany your NetCon89 registration. $17.76 (or more) -- One night's lodging for room deposit. $15.00 -- NetCon89 registration fee. $ 5.00 -- Membership fee in NetCon(tm) Society. $10.00 -- NetCon89 t-shirt (optional). The registration deadline is May 1, 1989*. Note that Late Registrations impose a $15 fine and no guarantee of your receiving a room at convention rates. NOTE: Deadline for registration if you order a t-shirt is April 28, to insure that all shirts are prepared in time. We do not guarantee that there will be extra shirts available at a higher price in Baltimore. 1 Page 8 6. If you wish to join the NETCON mailing list, send the following command to LISTSERV@NCSUVM via mail or message: SUB NETCON-L Your_full_name. If you have any questions or need a registration form, please feel free to send e-mail to any of the userids listed below. We are always willing to help you. The NetCon Committee Wendel Bordelon (CI60UCU at TCSVM) Charlene Charette (CI60UCU at TCSVM) Rick Greene (18862246 at VUVAXCOM) Ron Jarrell (JARRELLR at VTCC1) Jon Lewin (ST6876 at SIUCVMB) Bill McBrayer (C9M5R at ASUACAD) John McMahon (FASTEDDY at DFTBIT) Joe Ogulin (P12I1798 at JHUVM) Lee Radigan (LIBLJR at SUVM) Christy Russell (CRUSSELL at SUNRISE) Reba Taylor (REBAT at VTVM1) 1 Page 9 ********* * *** * Behind BITNET II * *** * * **** * from the NETINFO FILELIST * ***** * * ****** * Network Information Center * *** *** * * *** **** LISTSERV@BITNIC ********* BITNET has grown rapidly every year since its founding in 1981. This growth has contributed to BITNET's success but also has created a pressing problem: network congestion. At the same time TCP/IP protocols have become widely accepted in the higher education community, form the basis for other national networks which have substantial traffic capacity, and offer a far richer set of communications options than the RSCS protocols on which BITNET is based. The BITNET II research project was conceived to give BITNET access to TCP/IP transport and the communications flexibility that access represents, potentially helping to address the existing BITNET capacity problem and possibly also allowing direct access to BITNET from the popular TCP/IP protocols. * The Goal: To give BITNET access to TCP/IP as a transmission medium, so as to broaden options for managing point-to-point BITNET connections, to allow BITNET traffic to be carried by high- bandwidth TCP/IP networks such as NSFnet, and to reduce the dependency on intermediate hosts for the movement of BITNET traffic. Note that use of TCP/IP for BITNET traffic carries a number of other possible advantages, including dynamic routing, support of redundant links and a wide selection of communications technologies and speeds, and the potential for network management. The BITNET II project does not seek to "convert BITNET to TCP/IP," but rather to add TCP/IP as one of the link options available for carrying BITNET traffic. A corollary possibility would be to allow connection to BITNET of nodes who do not have cost effective options for supporting RSCS over BISYNCH (e.g., many UNIX hosts). * The Concept: Encapsulate standard RSCS NJE traffic in TCP/IP segments and use standard TCP/IP tools (IP routers, X.25 lines, Ethernet, 1 Page 10 whatever) to deliver those segments to the destination BITNET node where they are unwrapped and processed by the target BITNET node's RSCS. The above concept is written in terms of the BITNET networking program, RSCS, which runs on IBM hosts because this is all that has been tackled to date. Nothing precludes expanding this work to be available on DEC VAXes, UNIX hosts and so on, but no such work is currently underway. * The Pieces: For now, the communications must always be between two BITNET IBM VM/CMS hosts. Each host must run the following software and hardware: RSCS - the standard IBM package supporting BITNET on IBM VM/CMS hosts. The RSCS routing table may be expanded to include LINKs to other BITNET II hosts which are reachable via a TCP/IP link. Version 2 of RSCS is strongly recommended for best performance by using multiple streams. VMNET - a custom package developed under the BITNET II project by Princeton which runs on the IBM host. VMNET takes RSCS NJE data, encapsulates and blocks it in TCP/IP segments, addresses those segments according to the RSCS next hop destination and delivers them to IBM FAL (see below) for routing. IBM FAL - the standard IBM package supporting TCP/IP on IBM VM/CMS hosts. FAL examines the IP destination address and forwards the packets to the appropriate IP router. IBM channel/Ethernet interface, such as IBM's 8232 or BTI's Ethernet Lan Controller (which BITNET members can purchase for approximately $5,900 with reference to a BITNET discount program with BTI). The IP packets are passed from the IBM hosts onto an Ethernet enroute to an IP router. IP router such as made by Bridge, Proteon and others, including cisco (which BITNET members can purchase at a 30% discount with reference to a BITNET discount program with cisco). The router removes the packets from the Ethernet and sends them down the appropriate communications line toward the ultimate TCP/IP destination. Compatible routers must be used at each end of a serial communications line. The packets move through an indefinite number of IP routers until they arrive at their ultimate destination. There they are forwarded onto an Ethernet, back through the channel 1 Page 11 interface, into FAL and via VMNET to the destination RSCS, which, for all intents and purposes, thinks it received them via a standard BISYNCH RSCS line. * Current status and plans: BITNET II software is in test today at Princeton, Cornell, CUNY and Penn State using the Internet to provide TCP/IP connectivity. Initial tests revealed a problem (RSCS's end-to- end acknowledgements were timing out due to Internet delays); this problem has been addressed by design changes which eliminate the need for end-to-end synchronization. The revised version goes into test in July. Assuming this version runs well, the code will be rolled out to an additional six or so schools (already identified, no volunteers needed yet!). Once this larger configuration has run successfully for a period of time, the code will be made available to any school who wishes to participate. Note that this software can be used to replace half duplex BISYNC point-topoint connections; for example, if both Yale and CUNY installed BITNET II it would be possible to route traffic with full duplex IP routers over the existing line using BITNET II protocols and technology, which can run faster than the current approximately 14.4Kb throughput. Even better, with IP routing, BITNET II schools could potentially avoid bottleneck BITNET links such as CUNY-Yale and Penn State-Ohio State by going direct or closer to direct to their destination node via NSFnet. 1 Page 12 ********* * *** * Mednews * *** * * **** * by David Dodell * ***** * * ****** * Arizona State University * *** *** * * *** **** ATW1H@ASUACAD ********* "*Jane* is 71 years old; she weighs just 100 pounds. She works mornings in Washington, D.C., office, then travels to a Virginia nursing home to care for her husband, a victim of Alzheimer's disease. When she came down with shingles (herpes zoster, a viral irritation of the nerve endings), her doctor prescribed a painkiller he had used successfully in patients for 20 years so she could keep up her routine. "When Jane took the prescribed dose at work, something went wrong. So violent were her dizziness and nausea that her colleagues rushed her to a nearby emergency room. She was given an electrocardiogram, intravenous fluids, and a sedative injection. After five hours, she still needed help in getting home, and she was still groggy a week later. "Now recovered, Jane blames herself for not being more careful. With her small frame, she'd had milder reactions to adult doses of both prescription and nonprescription drugs in the past. She feels she should have reminded her long-time physician of this when he wrote the prescription. She wonders whether adult drug dosages shouldn't be modified to take into account the patient's health, weight and age. "Jane isn't alone. In 1986 FDA received over 53,000 reports of adverse reactions to drugs. While many reactions are mild, some are serious indeed; more than 12,000 deaths or hospitalizations suspected of being related to reactions to drugs are reported yearly. (Not all of these suspected reactions are confirmed.)" MEDNEWS is a weekly electronic newsletter. Regular columns consist of medical news summary from USA Today, Center For Disease Control MMWR, weekly AIDS Statistics from the CDC, plus other interesting medical news items. To subscribe, send the following command to LISTSERV@ASUACAD via mail or message: SUB MEDNEWS Your_Full_Name. 1 Page 13 ********* * * Headlines * ***** * *** * edited by Christopher Condon * *** * * *** * Yale University ***** * * * Send your Headlines to BITLIB@YALEVM ********* * Note to COMSERVE users: Comserve's host computer changed its name from RPICICGE to RPIECS on Monday, March 20th. Despite this, an arrangement was made to allow messages to Comserve or to Comserve's hotlines to continue to be addressed to RPICICGE for several months to come. Basically, the host computer has two synonymous addresses for the present. Some correspondents may find that their own computer, or one in the path to Comserve, does not yet recognize the existance of RPIECS. Should that happen, please revert to the RPICICGE node name. Users of the Easycom program should not be concerned about the address change since the RPICICGE address is still valid. We will issue new versions of Easycom that use the RPIECS address well before use of RPIECS becomes mandatory. Users of the PDFILES feature of LISTSERV@RPICICGE should also note this nodename change. * John McMahon of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has written a program for VAX/VMS users which changes Fortran form feeds in an issue of NETMONTH to ASCII form feeds. This allows a user on a VAX/VMS system to RECEIVE a copy of NETMONTH, reformat it using this procedure, and print it using the standard VMS PRINT command. The program is internally documented, and you can get a copy by sending the following command to LISTSERV@CMUCCVMA or MARIST: SENDME NETMONTH COM. Thanks to John for taking the time to write this program! * BITNET Technical Meeting - Spring '89 (from BITNEWS): Host: Emory University Atlanta, Georgia Woodruff Health Sciences Administration Building When: Saturday, May 6, 1989 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM (EDT) Maps: GET BITTECH DIRECTIO from LISTSERV@BITNIC 1 Page 14 The objective is to provide a forum for the BITNET community to get involved with network-related issues and develop proposals for submission to the BITNET Board of Trustees through its Committees. The meeting opens with a one-hour session at 9:00, after which the working groups break off for the rest of the morning. Following lunch the groups reconvene, allowing time for a summary later in the afternoon. Each working group has a chairperson designated from the BITNET user community. Jim Gerland, Harry Williams and Roger Fajman have long been supporting numerous positive changes through this forum. One point to make with your management is that airfare is often less when departing on a Friday -- enough that it usually covers the extra night's hotel. There is no registration fee for the BITNET Technical Meeting and refreshments will be served. At a typical BITTECH meeting we follow this rough agenda: 1) Opening session a) Status of current projects (BITNET II, CSNET Merger, etc) 2) Break into working groups a) Domains i) Discuss issues for implementing 'Domains for BITNET' b) Node Management i) New NODE ENTRY tags formats ii) Generating routing tables iii) Postmaster Canon c) New INFOREP/TECHREP orientation i) Bring them up to speed on current working group activit ii) Continue discussion of what needs to be in the 'INFORE and TECHREP Information Packets' d) Tools i) What's out there and what needs to be converted/written for VMS and other non-VM systems 3) Lunch on your own then back to the working groups 4) 4:00 all reconvene to summarize working group discussions It's always interesting to meet the 'faces behind the userids', so we hope to see many of you there. 1 Page 15 ********* * * New Mailing Lists * ***** * *** * edited by Christopher Condon * *** * * *** * Yale University ***** * * * Send your list descriptions to NEW-LIST@NDSUVM1 ********* Each of the lists described here is maintained on a LISTSERV machine unless otherwise noted. To subscribe to one of these lists you would send the following command to the the appropriate server via mail or message. SUBSCRIBE listname Your_full_name For example, if your name is Kristen Shaw and you want to subscribe to a list described as "DIAPERS@YALEVM" you would send the following command to LISTSERV@YALEVM: SUBSCRIBE DAIPERS Kristen Shaw To make contributions to the list you would send mail to DIAPERS@YALEVM. Please note that this is just and example and to my knowledge there are no mailing lists about diapers (although you never know). ***** BIOMCH-L@HEARN - Biomechanics and Movement Science This list is intended for members of the International, European, American, Canadian and other Societies of Biomechanics, and for others with an interest in the general field of biomechanics and human or animal movement science. For the scope of this list, see, e.g., the Journal of Biomechanics (Pergamon Press), the Journal of Biomechanical Engineering (ASME), and Human Movement Science (North-Holland). The list was started in October 1988; at the time of writing this item (Mid February 1989), membership is about 55 (Canada, USA, Europe). IDMS-L@UGA - Cullinet user forum IDMS-L is a forum for users of Cullinet software. Cullinet system software and application software operate on several platforms. IDMS/R is the data base management software for 1 Page 16 mainframes; IDMS/SQL (aka Enterprise DB) operates on VAX. Goldengate, Infogate, and IDMS/Architect are examples of micro- computer software. Appropriate discussion topics include (but are not limited to): installation/migration issues, "How To" questions, and any other concerns/problems encountered by users of Cullinet software. SEAC-L@UNCVX1 - Student Environmental Action Coalition List This list is for members of local chapters of SEAC and students interested in forming chapters of SEAC on their campuses. Topics included actions taken by local chapters, coordination of national efforts, conferences as well as bulletins of scientific interest on enviromental topics. To subscribe to SEAC-L, send a MAIL message with the following line (no interactive messages) to MAILSERV@UNCVX1: SUBSCRIBE SEAC-L SKEPTIC@YORKVM1 - Discussions of the paranormal This list is for the critical and _rigourous_ exchange of information regarding claims of the paranormal. All topics are welcome, and no one will be refused subscribership due to inclination with respect to these claims. Topics can include Creationism, the Bermuda Triangle, Ancient Astronauts(?), Parapsychological Concerns, Trance Channeling, spoon bending, astrology, UFOs, and so on... The moderator of the list will to try to promote inquiry based on the best evidence avaiable whether this evidence be scientific, anecdotal, or otherwise. I wish to be as critical as possible, for if these 'phenomena' are actual, we want to have the best possible understanding of them to continue the investigations. In addition, the list will be providing space for the exchange of papers on these subjects for the consideration of those who are interested and those who might be qualified to provide expert critique. ESPER-L@TREARN - Esperanto List A list on the Esperanto Language. 1 Page 17 ADND-L@UTARLVM1 - Advanced Dungeons and Dragons This list has the purpose of discussing all the aspects of the Dungeons & Dragons and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons games; new spells, new monsters, and so on. PHOTO-L@BUACCA - Photography List This list is a forum for discussion of all aspects of photography, including esthetics, equipment, technique, etc. HP-28@NDSUVM1 - HP-28 series caclulators This list is for users/owners of HP-28C and HP-28S calculators, ranging from "everyday-type" questions/discussion to more advanced and technical-type support-- This list will be for open discussion, posting of programs (see footnote) technical support, advancements, and problem solving. Things you may want to share/talk about: Bugs in the HP-28's, Nifty programs, Uses of SYSEVAL, Modifying Hardware, Accesories/Hardware, Other HP clubs and organizations, Machine Language Programming, New Models, Making your 28C more like a 28S, Music and Graphics processing, and so on. PSUNEXT - NeXT computer discussion PSUNEXT list established to support discussion among developers and users of the NeXT workstation. The list is maintained at Penn State University. In addition to university folks, many of the support staff from NeXT, Inc. are members of the list. MECH-L@UTARLVM1 - Mechanical Engineering Discussion List MECH-L was formed to discuss any topics pertinent to the Mechanical Engineering communities such as meeting announcements, software evaluation, composite material research and others. MECH-L welcomes any suggestions and comments and encourages faculty/students in ME-related areas (such Aerospace and Civil) to join the list. STORM-L@UIUCVMD - Weather related phenomena The list STORM-L has been created for the purpose of discussing weather-related phenomena such as severe storms, tornadoes, forecasting, interesting local weather events, SKYWARN storm 1 Page 18 spotter groups, and tornado chasing --to name several. You can subscribe by sending an interactive message to LISTSERV at UIUCVMD as follows: BEE-L@ALBNYVM1 - Discussion of Bee Biology BEE-L is for the discussion of research and information concerning the biology of bees. This includes honey bees and other bees (and maybe even wasps). We communicate about sociobiology, behavior, ecology, adaptation/evolution, genetics, taxonomy, physiology, pollination, and flower nectar and pollen production of bees. CYBSYS-L@BINGVMB - Cybernetics and Systems The Cybernetics and Systems mailing list is an open list serving those working in or just interested in the interdisciplinary fields of Systems Science, Cybernetics, and related fields (e.g. General Systems Theory, Complex Systems Theory, Dynamic Systems Theory, Computer Modeling and Simulation, Network Theory, Self-Organizing Systems Theory, Information Theory, Fuzzy Set Theory). The list is coordinated by members of the Systems Science department of the Watson School at SUNY-Binghamton, and is affiliated with the International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS) and the American Society for Cybernetics (ASC). 1 Page 19 ********* * * Feedback * ***** * *** * edited by Christopher Condon * *** * * *** * Yale University ***** * * * Send your letters to BITLIB@YALEVM ********* From: Gabriel Basco Subject: LISTSERV In the February issue of Netmonth, Eric Thomas told us how LISTSERV came around. That article gave me a view of the person behind a product most of us use. I would love to hear more about these people 'behind the scenes'. BITNET is not just a cold medium, but a group of real people. I would like to hear from people who made and are making important contributions to the network. Give a face and personality to things we use almost everyday. From: Bob Gray Subject: How BITNET Works I have recently started to subscribe to Netmonth magazine, and have read your articles. I am very pleased with the magazine so far. I would like to ask for your assistance if you have the time to help me. As part of the Networks course here at the University of Vermont, the graduate students, including myself, have been asked make a presentation to the rest of the class about some aspect of Computer Networks. Since I have worked with Bitnet extensively when I worked for the Center For Academic Computing at Penn State, I am trying to find some information about Bitnet. Specifically, I am looking for some kind of technical manual about how Bitnet works on the inside, not just how to use it, but how it works on the inside. If you could tell me where to call or send for a manual of this type, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you in advance for any assistance you can give me. 1 Page 20 ********* * * NetMonth Policies * ***** * *** * Everything you ever wanted to know... * *** * * *** * ...but were afraid to ask. ***** * * * BITLIB@YALEVM ********* NetMonth is a network service publication distributed free of charge to students and professionals in BITNET and other networks. This magazine and its companion file, BITNET SERVERS, are the work of the BITNET Services Library (BSL) staff and contributors from around the network. BITNET SERVERS is BITNETs list of servers and services. If you know of servers not listed in BITNET SERVERS, or if some listed are no longer available, please contact the NetMonth Editor. * Subscribing to NetMonth and BITNET SERVERS: Send the following command to LISTSERV@MARIST by mail or messgage: SUBSCRIBE NETMONTH Your_full_name A subscriber can delete him/herself from the mailing list by sending LISTSERV@MARIST the command: UNSUB NETMONTH Internet users may use these methods, but must address the mail to LISTSERV@MARIST.BITNET * Back issues: BITNET users may get NetMonth back issues from the file server LISTSERV@CMUCCVMA. For a list of files, send the server the the command: INDEX NETMONTH * Letters to the Editor: If you have questions or comments about BITNET or NetMonth that you would like to see printed here, mail your letter to BITLIB@YALEVM. Make sure that you specify in the "Subject:" header or somewhere in the letter that it is for the NetMonth letters column. 1 Page 21 * Article Submissions: The only requirements for NetMonth articles and columns are that they be informative, interesting, and concern some BITNET-related topic. Send your articles and to BITLIB@YALEVM. * Printing this file: VM users can print this file by using the "( CC" option of the PRINT command. VAX/VMS users should RECEIVE NetMonth with a format of FORTRAN. John McMahon of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has written a program or VAX/VMS users which changes Fortran form feeds in an issue of NETMONTH to ASCII form feeds. This allows a user on a VAX/VMS system to RECEIVE a copy of NETMONTH, reformat it using this procedure, and print it using the standard VMS PRINT command. The program is internally documented, and you can get a copy by sending the following command to LISTSERV@CMUCCVMA or MARIST: SENDME NETMONTH COM _ __- __--- The __----- BITNET __------- Services ___________ Library "Because We're Here." ***************************************************************