******** ************************************************** * * * * * The independent guide to BITNET * * * * * * February, 1990 * * * * * * Volume 4, Number 4 * ******** * * * * *** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * smsg rscs cmd cunyvm cpq user diana * * DMTCMX320E LINK CUNYVM IS NOT ACTIVE * * * R; T=0.02/0.02 01:29:27 * * * * ****** * tell umnews at maine checkin * * * DMTCMX320E LINK MAINE IS NOT ACTIVE * * * R; T=0.02/0.02 01:29:45 * * * ******** * tell relay /who * * * RELAY NOT LOGGED ON * * * R; T=0.02/0.02 01:29:56 * * * * * * tell harry at marist yello.... * * * LINK UCONNVM IS NOT ACTIVE * ******** * R; T=0.02/0.02 01:30:03 * * * *** * tell antonio at bostonu hello? * * * * DMTCMX320E LINK BROWNVM IS NOT ACTIVE * * * * R; T=0.02/0.02 01:30:19 * * * * * *** * tell all at everywhere help! * * DMTCMX320E NO LINKS WHATSOEVER ARE ACTIVE * ****** * R; T=0.02/0.02 01:31:02 * * * * * * tell rscs what's going ON over there??? * * * DMTCMX772E HEH HEH HEH. * **** * R; T=0.02/0.02 01:31:40 * * * * * * * * * ****** * * * * * * * * * * ******** * * * * * * * * * * * **** ************************************************** 1 * * ****** ******* * * ***** * * ******* * * ** * * * ** ** * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ***** * * * * * * * * * * ******* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * ** * * * * * ****** * * * ***** * * * * * * * * * *********************** ******************************* Editor: Christopher Condon CONDON @ YALEVM ********************* Contents - Issue 35 ********************* ********* * *** * EDITORIAL PAGE____________________________________ * *** * * *** * Bitnotes ....................................... 1 *** *** Flames To: ..................................... 3 * *** * BITNET Ease-of-use Redux ....................... 5 * *** * * *** * ********* ********* * *** * FEATURES__________________________________________ * *** * * **** * Quanta ......................................... 7 * ***** * The Adobe File Server .......................... 9 * ****** * Sending Mail To and From Telemail ............. 11 * *** *** * The Internet NETSERVER ........................ 14 * *** **** ********* ********* * * DEPARTMENTS_______________________________________ * ***** * *** * Headlines ..................................... 15 * *** * New Mailing Lists ............................. 16 * *** * Helpdesk ...................................... 23 ***** * Feedback ...................................... 27 * * NetMonth Policies ............................. 29 ********* ********************** 6083 Subscribers ************************ 1 Page 1 ********* * *** * Bitnotes * *** * * *** * by Christopher Condon *** *** * *** * Yale University * *** * * *** * CONDON@YALEVM ********* "But will it play in Peoria?" Dave Bates wrote an interesting letter/editorial for this issue, concerning BITNET and ease-of-use. He brought up an interesting question, namely, how do we go about making BITNET (or networking in general) more accessible to people in general? The sinister hand of computing is making it's way into more and more people's lives, whether they like it or not. More often than not, it is in the form of a personal computer. The typical new PC user is abused, bemused, and confused by A: prompts, periods, slashes, Control and Alt keys, and so on. The new Macintosh user will take a while to figure out when to click, double click, drag, while finding out into what folder they accidentally moved their documents. All of this is exacerbated by references to RAM, storage, high-density, low- density, ASCII, inits, system folders, megabytes, kilobytes and rebooting. To a typical PC or Macintosh user, all of this is pretty much old hat. To the average person who can barely hunt-and-peck on a typewriter, it is pure horror. Imagine, then, the grief of someone attempting to survive in a mainframe environment, designed when the concepts of "personal" and "user-friendly" weren't in fashion. Add to this the complications of nodes, mail headers, messages, servers, domains, and you have quite a number of hurdles to deal with before getting comfy with BITNET. People handle these obstacles because there is some payoff, something that makes it worth all the effort. It might be raw information, the stimulus from mailing lists and relays, the ability to contact people quickly. It might just be fun. All of us went through some mental gauntlet to get to the point where using BITNET is a natural part of every day life. 1 Page 2 For the occasional user, or the person who isn't expecting such a payoff, they are likely to throw their hands up in disgust and walk away from it. The challenge, then, is to make mainframe computing and networking as quickly and painlessly accessible as possible. People shouldn't have to take weeks and months to be able to get much out of BITNET. Dave's question seems to me to be about what can be done about these difficulties in the long run. My question to you is, what can we do to make BITNET and its services more accessible now? I'm asking this not only on a network level, but on a local, "What can be done HERE?" level as well. And what do you do already? Virtually, Chris Condon@YaleVM 1 Page 3 ********* * *** * Flames To: * *** * * *** * by Craig White *** *** * *** * University of Alabama * *** * * *** * CWHITE@UA1VM ********* Hello again. I hope your month was pleasant and uneventful. As you probably could tell by my absence from the last issue, my work here is keeping me very busy. So busy in fact, that I do not have anything to flame about because I have not had time to keep up with current net happenings. I was very surprised to receive so few Flames from you folks. I did get several of the standard "why is it that node so and so is always down" and "please remind people that you should always send your requests to be added/deleted to a list to LISTSERV and not the list". It is sad that these types of problems never seem to be resolved. Some think it's the transient population of BITnet that causes this. I like to think it's simply a by-product of the increase in involvement with electronic mail-lists. Because my node is a member of a regional network that uses TCP/IP, I have had the opportunity to dabble in this area of networking recently. This caused me to think philosophically about networks. I wonder what kind of services will we have 10 years hence. I wonder what will happen to all of our networks when the telephone company puts digital signals straight into our houses. So that becoming part of a network is much like getting long distance service today. I am happy to be able to participate in BITnet/CSnet at such a crucial time in the formation of CREN. I think that we are very fortunate to be involved with these networks during this time. It will be interesting to see how well of a job the administrators can do in integrating the two very different groups of users. On the other hand, its possible that many users are members of both groups making unification of the two that much smoother. I am always surprised at the amount of "brand" loyalty that computer users exhibit. Once upon a time you could tell a fair amount about the type of system a person was likely to use based on which network they were connected to. Nowadays that is becoming increasingly difficult. 1 Page 4 A thought that occurs with somewhat regular frequency as I attempt to keep track of the merger, is what happened to the BITnet we used to know. You know the one where everything was done by volunteers and the charges for the network were minimal. No one cared much about what a Network Information Center did. There was no limit on the size of files you could send. Congestion was only an issue on the rare occasion when Ohio State got really backlogged. Oh well so much for the old days. This months flame is: WHEN YOU WISH TO BE ADDED/DELETED TO A MAIL-GROUP THAT IS HANDLED THROUGH A LISTSERVer, PLEASE, PLEASE SEND THAT REQUEST TO LISTSERV AND NOT TO THE LIST. Next month (or the month after that if my writing frequency for this column holds) I will be back with "real" flames. In the meantime flames, comments, and suggestion to CWHITE@UA1VM. 1 Page 5 ********* * *** * BITNET Ease-of-use Redux * *** * * *** * by Dave Bates *** *** * *** * University of Pennsylvania * *** * * *** * BATES@PENNHEP1 ********* Sometime before Christmas as I was reading your description of movements within the CREN enterprise, and considering (as are we all) What It Might All Mean / Add Up To, I had the happy notion of asking "What could this do for me, a user?" The cosmic - level comings and goings of Large Committees really should work in the interest of the average user. The folks at the phone company once knew this - and the new folks in the multitude of new smaller phone companies are learning this all over again. Two almost - enirely - separate "discussions" have been taking place in NetMonth during the several years I have been reading it. One is conducted by the more computer - oriented community. It deals with technical issues and, in general, the politics of BITNET (and more recently CREN). The other is - not so much conducted by as formed from the comments from nog - computer oriented people. CREN could profitably note how non - computer oriented people fail repeatedly to form organized discussions over time in NetMonth. There's so little *focus* to what they contribute. However, BITNET and CREN are "about" connections providing useful ways of communicating, whether machine - to - machine or person - to - person / group - to - group. And both BITNET and CREN cost participating institutions a lot of money. Who gets served and to what extent are therefore real issues. Is it likely that undergrads and the vast majority of faculty either have not been exposed to BITNET or have been discouraged by encounters with it? Is it possible that we are seeing evidence for the latter in the comments from non - computer oriented people in NetMonth? Were large numbers of people within this population to find BITNET / CREN "accessible" and *useable*, funding would be more assured. (And internet communications must become far more reliable and easy to do for this to happen.) 1 Page 6 I suggest little about BITNET is easily and reliably accomplished by the average academic. The common rejoinder, "Read the manual", does not apply in this case: there is none. In its place is a marvelous ad hocery of clever software which can no longer be allowed to exist free of a documented user interface coupled to reliable processes which really do what the user asks them to through the interface. CREN therefore has to deal with *access* in order to get the funding it needs. It's that simple: it needs users to stay alive, and to thrive it needs satisfied ones. Who do we write to, we potential users? 1 Page 7 ********* * *** * Quanta * *** * * **** * by Dan Appelquist * ***** * * ****** * Carnegie-Mellon University * *** *** * * *** **** R746DA1@CMUCCVMB ********* ÕThanks to Dave Applepie for forwarding this information.å Quanta is a magazine devoted to Science Fiction and topics related to science fiction. It is published bi-monthly by Dan Appelquist (R746DA1@CMUCCVMB). Send mail to Dan to subscribe, submit material, or just to receive more info. Quanta is published in both straight ASCII and PostScript formats. The introduction from the first issue follows: "Looking Ahead" Hi. I'm Dan Appelquist, and I have been known to sleep all day. I've also produced, with a little help from my friends, the magazine you're currently reading. A couple of years ago, when I was freshmanning in computer science, I had an idea that it would be kind of neat to set up a literary magazine and distribute it around campus. There was certainly a need for such a magazine, but the idea kind of fizzled. There was really no way for a freshman to produce a magazine and distribute it. The costs were simply too prohibitively high. The issue of a magazine came up again several months ago when I was asked to help produce a fanzine for a local science fiction club. The problem of cost still cropped up. The club fizzled out before anything developed with that, but the cost still would have been too high. Shortly after this, I responded to the call for subscriptions for Jim McCabe's Athene (see ad at the end of this issue.) I didn't realize it at the time, but this was the format I was looking for. With the computing resources available to me as a student at Carnegie Mellon, I could produce a professionally typeset magazine electronically with almost no cost to myself, and then distribute the magazine, again electronically, over the various nets, again at no cost to myself. Three weeks after I sent out a call for subscriptions and submissions to Quanta, we already had over 200 subscriptions, including, to my surprise and delight, subscriptions from the 1 Page 8 United Kingdom, Finland, Sweden, Norway, France, Canada, and Belgium (if I've missed some, please excuse me, it's not trivial to decode the various sorts of mail paths.) We also had enough submissions to produce at least one issue of real quality. I'm very excited about the material in this issue, and fortunately there's plenty more where that came from. In that context, I'd like to thank Peter David for donating our only article this issue. In future issues I'd like to include more articles, but if you're thinking of submitting an article, please don't write it newsnet style. We got a few article submissions that were basically newsgroup posts. We're looking for a bit more professionalism than this. Looking ahead, as the title of this rather hastily written article would suggest, I see the arena of electronically distributed magazines such as Quanta expanding greatly. For now, here's one issue of Quanta. It comes after much blood, sweat, tears and wrestling with unruly typesetting programs. Enjoy. 1 Page 9 ********* * *** * The Adobe File Server * *** * * **** * edited by Christopher Condon * ***** * * ****** * Yale University * *** *** * * *** **** BITLIB@YALEVM ********* ÕThanks to Greg Miller for forwarding this information.å The Adobe File Server is a automatic mail-response program. There are many documents available from the server such as PostScript files, program source code, Adobe Font Metrics files, and PostScript Printer Description files. To get in touch with the server, send mail to: PS-FILE-SERVER@ADOBE.COM You can place commands on either the Subject: line or as the first line of text in the body of you mail. Valid commands are: HELP - sends documentation on how to use the server. INDEX - returns a list of categories INDEX - returns a list of files under . For example, the command INDEX Programs will return a list of files in Programs. SEND - sends you the requested file. For example, you might request something with SEND Programs ehandler.ps. Please note that the actual file names for the programs are case-sensitive, although nothing else is. These are the current available categories: AFMFiles - Contains AFM files (Adobe Font Metrics) for many currently released Adobe fonts. ÕThis is almost never a complete list, so don't depend on it to be.å Listed by full PostScript name (for example: AvantGarde-Book). Please don't send for more than a handful of these files, or the system will overload. Remember, these files are only useful if you have the fonts to which they correspond, either in ROM or as downloadable fonts. All Adobe downloadable PostScript fonts are shipped with the correct AFM files. 1 Page 10 Documents - This directory contains PostScript source for many documents that we routinely mail to people in paper form. There have been many updates to this directory starting in December of 1988, so please pay close attention to the dates in the indexes (including this one). Some of the documents contain new information, and have version numbers (like EPSF2.0.ps). Others have gotten a facelift. PPDFiles - This directory contains PostScript Printer Description Files (PPD files) for available PostScript printers. These files contain much of the information that is in the PostScript supplement for each printer, but in machine- readable form intended for parsing by spooling and document management software. See also the documentation available under Documents/PPDformat.ps. Programs - Contains an assortment of helpful or interesting PostScript files, including error handlers, a sample Adobe Illustrator file, the program listings from the "Green Book", and others. 1 Page 11 ********* * *** * Sending Mail To and From Telemail * *** * * **** * by Ann Westine and Chloe Holg * ***** * * ****** * ISI * *** *** * * *** **** INTERMAIL-REQUEST@ISI.EDU ********* ÕThis article is a somewhat shortened version of the document "Mail Forwarding Between Telemail and the Internet Using Commercial Mail Relay (CMR)" by Ann Westine and Chloe Holg. Thank to Chris Refuerzo for forwarding this information.å These are the instructions for using the Commercial Mail Relay (CMR) system that has replaced the Intermail system. The CMR is used for transmitting computer mail between the Internet ARPA-Mail system and users on the Telemail system. CMR may be used in either direction. Messages to be forwarded are sent to the CMR mailbox on the local mail system. CMR operates a program to service mailboxes in both the local and the destination mail systems. When the right forwarding information is supplied either in the Internet header "To" field, or at the beginning of a message, the program forwards those messages to the other mail system to the appropriate mailboxes. The mailbox is called "TELEMAIL@INTERMAIL.ISI.EDU" in ARPA-Mail and "ÕINTERMAIL/USCISIåTELEMAIL/USA" on the Telemail system. * Sending mail to Telemail: In order for a message to be delivered from Internet to a mailbox on a Telemail system the Internet Relay-Style addressing format is used. Simply type the Telemail mailbox in the Internet header: user-mailbox%TELEMAIL@INTERMAIL.ISI.EDU (for TELEMAIL/USA system only) For example: JOHNDOE%TELEMAIL@INTERMAIL.ISI.EDU ÕUSER-MAILBOX/ORGåSYSTEM_BRANCH/COUNTRY%TELEMAIL@INTERMAIL.ISI.EDU (for all other Telenet systems) For example: ÕJDOE/NASAåNASAMAIL/USA%TELEMAIL@INTERMAIL.ISI.EDU 1 Page 12 * Sending mail from Telemail: The following is an example of how to send a message to our user service mailbox "Intermail-Request", to Claudio in BITNET and Eddie in the Internet. First send a message to the CMR mailbox in Telemail called "ÕINTERMAIL/USCISIåTELEMAIL/USA". Then add the ARPA forwarding information at the beginning of the text of message. A typical internet address is in the form (user@host.domain). Addresses are separated by commas (not spaces). Note, when sending mail to BITNET, or UUCP, you must type "Forward: ARPA", not "Forward: BITNET" or "Forward: UUCP". Example ------------------------------------------------------- To: ÕINTERMAIL/USCISIåTELEMAIL/USA Subject: Test Message Number 1 Forward: ARPA To: Intermail-Request@INTERMAIL.ISI.EDU CC: CLAUDIO@YALEVM.BITNET, EDWARD@VENUS.YCC.YALE.EDU Hi, This is the text of the test message. --Fred --------------------------------------------------------------- "Forward: ARPA" signals the beginning of the forwarding information and tells the forwarding program that this is mail for the ARPA-Mail system. On the next line, "To: Intermail- Request@INTERMAIL.ISI.EDU," specifies the mailbox that it will be delivered to. The "To:" line is required, to deliver the message. It is also possible to send copies to other mailboxes, using a "Cc:" line. Note that in the forwarding information section, the "To" and "Cc" fields must start at the beginning of the line. Continuation lines of the "To:" and "Cc:" fields, however, are indented. The "To" and "Cc" fields can contain anything that ARPA-Mail allows. A blank line separates the forwarding information from the rest of the text. Therefore, there can't be any blank lines between the "Forward:" line and the "To:" line. The "Subject" field from the Telemail header will also be used as the subject in the ARPA-Mail header, when the message is forwarded. 1 Page 13 Telemail users please note that forwarding information MUST be included in the text of the message even when the "ANSWER" command is being used. * Notes for BITNET users: Some systems in the BITNET world treat square brackets, "Õ" and "å", as special characters. On these systems, a square bracket that is used in an address must be quoted through the use of a preceding backslash, "\". For example: \ÕGORDON/OMNET\åMAIL/USA%TELEMAIL@INTERMAIL.ISI.EDU Full documentation on the Commercial Mail Relay can be requested from INTERMAIL-REQUEST@ISI.EDU. 1 Page 14 ********* * *** * The Internet NETSERVER * *** * * **** * edited by Christopher Condon * ***** * * ****** * Yale University * *** *** * * *** **** CONDON@YALEVM ********* ÕThanks to John Price for forwarding this information.å NETSERVER is an Internet file server with many programs and packages of interest to VAX users. You can send commands to NETSERVER by mail, addressed to: NETSERVER@RML2.SRI.COM Your commands should be in the body of your mail message, *not* on the subject line. Valid commands are: ?HELP -- sends you a helpfile ?PACKAGE*packagename -- sends you a package ?PACKAGE*? -- sends you a list of packages If you would like to know how this incredibly simple NETSERVER works, have suggestions on how to improve it, or other related topics, please feel free to send mail to the author (chojnacki@vaxmfg.tech.nwu.edu) he'll see what he can do. Note that much of the software on NETSERVER is available in BITNET from the VMSSERV file servers. 1 Page 15 ********* * * Headlines * ***** * *** * edited by Christopher Condon * *** * * *** * Yale University ***** * * * Send your headlines to BITLIB@YALEVM ********* * New BITNET Information (from Jim Conklin): Two files on LISTSERV@BITNIC may be of interest to those seeking information about BITNET: The file BITNET OVERVIEW has been updated to reflect the new corporate structure with the Corporation for Research and Educational Networking (a continuation of the old BITNET, Inc.) operating BITNET. It also provides additional data about the network. A new file named BITNET TOPICS lists discussion-list topics supported by the LISTSERV software on BITNET. To obtain these files, simply send the following commands to LISTSERV@BITNIC via mail or interactive message: SEND BITNET OVERVIEW SEND BITNET TOPICS * CHAMAS news (from Dirk Rode): The Chaos Mailbox System (CHAMAS), formerly running at 107633@DOLUNI1, is now running at the more sensible address of CHAMAS@DOLUNI1. * NETLIB address update: The AT&T Labs server address is now NETLIB@RESEARCH.ATT.COM. * A new NETSERV )from Chuck Kesler): The North Carolina State Computing Center is pleased to announce that NCSUVM is now a NETSERV site. Forthcoming changes in the network topology will put NCSUVM on the BITNET backbone between Virginia Tech (VTVM2) and Florida (NER), in the place which is now occupied by TUCC. Because of this change, we have been looking at ways in which we can improve the level of BITNET services for the rest of North Carolina and the Southeast, and hosting a Netserv seems to be one way in which we can accomplish this goal. Besides somewhat lightening the potential load on the future NCSUVM- VTVM2 link, NETSERV@NCSUVM will provide easier accessibility for sites in our region to the files which are important to the operation of a BITNET site (BITEARN NODES, node update files, XMAILER and DOMAIN names). It will also make it easier for us to keep NCSUVM's RSCS, Mailer, and Listserv as up-to-date as possible, which will be an important function once we are a hub node. If there are any problems with NETSERV@NCSUVM, please notify me, CHUCK@NCSUVM, and I'll try to rectify them as soon as possible. 1 Page 16 ********* * * New Mailing Lists * ***** * *** * edited by Christopher Condon * *** * * *** * Yale University ***** * * * Send new 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 DIAPERS 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). ***** SCUBA-L@PURCCVM - SCUBA diving This list is maintained by the Purdue University SCUBA Club, but is open to the public. Any articles, views ideas, and opinions relating to SCUBA diving are welcome. The list will discuss all aspects of SCUBA diving including: Safety/First Aid Places to Dive in INDIANA Decompression computation Best Places to Dive Decompression Tables History New Equipment Dive Shops New Technologies Mail/order Shopping Diving Science & Technology Tropical Diving Dive Computers Underwater Animal Life Underwater Photography Questions/Quizzes Underwater Vehicles Certifications 1 Page 17 HELPNET@NDSUVM1 - Network Emergency Response Planning HELPNET is intended as a working list for those interested in the roles global computer networks might play in times of disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, etc. APOLLO-L@UMRVMB - Apollo computer discussion list The purpose of this list is to provide an avenue for Apollo computer users to share comments, ideas, and problems (and possibly utilities), associated with the use of Apollo computers. 3D%BFMNY0@UUNET.UU.NET - Stereo Photography Purpose: 3D is a list for discussing 3D (stereo) photography -- a discipline as old as photography itself, with a fascinating history and an enthusiastic crowd of modern day practitioners and collectors. Membership is open to everyone. You will be most likely to enjoy subscribing if you work in stereo yourself, or if you are generally interested and would like to learn more. No particular expertise is required to participate here -- it's my hope that we can share what expertise we do have so that everyone both learns something and has the pleasure of helping others learn. The list is currently not moderated. To subscribe, send your name and net mail address to: 3D-REQUEST%BFMNY0@UUNET.UU.NET FELINE-L on UMNEWS@MAINE - Interested in cats? The FELINE-L Discussion List is intended for the discussion and dissemination of information about all members of the cat family. Particular emphasis is placed on the large/feral cats,e.g., lions, tigers, leopards, cougars, etc., both in captivity and in the wild. However, discussion concerning any felines, including personal pets and household tabbies, is welcome. Appropriate discussion subjects might include research papers dealing with any aspect of any cat population, conservation issues, legislation impacting these animals, management in zoos, wildlife parks and the like, care, feeding, veterinary considerations, research use of cats, animal rights concerns, and almost any other area dealing with any sort of cat, including showing, breeding, or training. 1 Page 18 To subscribe to this list, send the following message to UMNEWS@MAINE via mail or message: SUBSCRIBE FELINE-L Your_Full_Name To post messages using E-mail, send to UMNEWS@MAINE with either a "TO:" entry in the form: TO: FELINE-L Discussion or a "SUBJECT:" entry of: SUBJECT: UMBB.FELINE-L Your_own_subject_entry_goes_here DRUGABUS@UMAB - Drug Abuse DRUGABUS at UMAB is intended to be a forum for issues related to community drug abuse education and the epidemiology and study of drug abuse. It is run by the Office of Substance Abuse Studies at the University of Maryland at Baltimore. 9NOV89-L@DB0TUI11 - November 9th, 1989 Whoever may attach a meaning to the date of 9.11.1989 (or 89-11-09, or 11/9/89) is invited to subscribe to the 9NOV89-L list at DB0TUI11. Unfortunately the people living in the German Democratic Republic will not be able to participate in this discussion, because they are not (not yet?) on this network. The list name reflects the most important event in the recent German history, but it can't and shouldn't be seen isolated from what happened in Poland, the USSR, and Hungaria before (and is still going on). And yes, dear Joe Techno, all this will influence even such important things as our networks. HORROR@PACEVM - Horror Fiction, Film, and Folklore HORROR has been established for the discussion of horror (natural, preternatural and supernatural) in legend and literature. We want to discuss Gothic and modern horror, and speculate on future trends in the genre. Anyone wanting to delve into these and related topics is welcome to join. PROCOM-L@ATSUVAX1 - Procomm User List The PROCOM-L list is dedicated to discussion among users of the ProComm 2.4.2, 2.4.3, and ProComm Plus Terminal Emulators on PCs and PC clones. Subscribe by sending mail to MAILSERV@ATSUVAX1 with the message SUB PROCOM-L Your_full_name. 1 Page 19 EMULPC-L@USACHVM1 - Terminal Emulation Programs for PCs The Emulations Programs for PC compatible machines, which allow emulate Host's terminals, are a power tool in the Information Management, we can to achieve speed, power, networking, improve graphics capacity, flexibility, portability and all from our PC. This list deals with issues related to the PC Emulation software and hardware. (PC3270, IRMA, PCOX, Extra, Graph-Tek APA, GWSP, Yterm, Smarterm and others...) PAGAN@DRYCAS - Paganism Discussions The PAGAN list was created as an offshoot of PSI-L to discuss the religions, philosophy, etc. of Paganism. To subscribe to PAGAN, send a brief message to PAGAN-REQUEST@DRYCAS via mail text. INDIA-L@ANDY.BGSU.EDU - India Interest Group Tentatively people of Indian subcontinent are the expected readership of this group. Anything that is of interest to this readership is welcome! To subscribe To this group, please send your request to: INDIA-L-REQUEST@ANDY.BGSU.EDU C370-L@NCSUVM - C on the 370 This list has been created for the discussion of the C programming language on 370-architecture machines. Products covered are IBM's new C/370 compiler (5688-040), the IBM C Program Offering (5713-AAH), Waterloo C, SAS/C, or any other such implementations. MOTO.CHASSIS@OCE.ORCE.EDU - Motorcycle Chassis Design Moto.chassis is a mailing list devoted to the theory and practice of motorcycle chassis design and construction. To subscribe, send a mail to MOTO.CHASSIS-REQUEST@OCE.ORST.EDU. APOGEES@FRMOP11 - Critical and Strategic Information Management A new list has been created for persons wishing to get involved in the study of critical and strategic information management. Its objective is to identify information of long-term value to an organization and to develop realistic methodologies and 1 Page 20 policies of management (data bases, ethics policy, education, supervisory systems ...). In APOGEES, we share the creation of business information supervising systems. We discuss methodologies suitable to the management and development of technological information through supervisory divisions. We welcome in APOGEES people from all fields of sciences, management, information technology, computer science, and so on. APOGEES needs this diversity to succeed in achieving its objective of quality. We also welcome managers who are concerned with several critical items when making their business decisions. Their practical experience will contribute to the quality of group discussions. BISEXU-L@BROWNVM Bisexu-L, is a forum for discussion of issues of bisexuality. Cordial and civilized exchange of relevant ideas, opinions and experiences between members of all orientations is encouraged - we do not discriminate on the basis of orientation, religion, gender, race, etc. This list is not intended in the spirit of separatism from any existing lists devoted to lesbian, gay and bisexual issues but as an additional resource for discussion of bisexual concerns in particular; by the same token, the existence of Bisexu-L should not imply in any way that other discussion lists are no longer appropriate forums for discussion of bisexuality. The list of subscribers is confidential for purposes of personal privacy; excessively rude, obnoxious or abusive postings will not be tolerated. LAWSCH-L@AUVM - Law students On December 8, 1989, the new list LAWSCH-L was created at American University Law School. It is designed as a forum to discuss matters of concern which affect all law students. it is also designed to allow for interaction between students and law schools to lessen the gap between them. 1 Page 21 SAFETY@UVMVM - Environmental, Health, and Safety Issues The SAFETY list is for people interested in the various environmental, health and safety issues and problems on college and university campuses. These can include life safety issues (fire protection, trip and fall and other general safety issues), chemical safety issues (waste disposal laboratory safety, meeting regulations), biological hazards and radiation safety. Both users of hazardous materials and people administering campus safety programs are welcome on this list. WXSPOT-L@UIUCVMD - Storm Spotter Discussion List The list WXSPOT-L has been created to facilitate discussions about severe storm spotter training, spotter networks, training materials, upcoming training, methods of transmitting weather data, and local community programs. The list, although a spin- off of STORM-L, will be used for discussions only and will carry current weather data. It is hoped that through these discussions better community severe storm spotter training and public awareness programs can be developed. MEDCONS@FINHUTC - Medical consulting and case descriptions This list is not intended for Non-professionals or patients, which still are welcome to follow the activity on the list. It is intended for Physicians and investigators in the medical field to allow medical consulting on a voluntary basis. The final responsibility for the care of patients is always that of the personal Physician exclusively. Short descriptions of cases "hard to solve" in the form anamnesis status and laboratory findings - question: what bothered the patient - followed by the diagnosis and cure are encouraged. Real bedside problem solving could also be enlightened by short descriptions of the most exotic and puzzling cases the colleagues have encountered. Absolute anonymity for the patients is required. Please favour Latin and professional terminology to make it more easy for me to keep laymen from obstructing this list. Contributions from the field of so called alternative medicine are obsolete, and will not be redistributed to the subscribers. INGRES-L@HDETUD1 - Inres databases INGRES-L is a list, dedicated to the discussion of the RDBMS INGRES. Discussion may include any topic related to the 1 Page 22 subject, such as problems in implementing, tuning or using the product in any environment (MS/DOS, UNIX, VMS, CMS, MVS or a combination of any of these), conversion to new versions (such as from Version-5 to Version-6), announcements of conferences, etc. AIDS-STAT@WUBIOS.WUSTL.EDU - AIDS Statistics AIDS-STAT is a moderated mailing list whose sole purpose is for the distribution of AIDS statistics from various agencies. The prime information being distributed will be the Center for Disease Control's monthly AIDS Surveillance Report. To subscribe, send a mail to: AIDS-STAT-REQUEST@WUBIOS.WUSTL.EDU WORD-PC@HVRFORD WORD-PC is a list for users of Microsoft Word running under DOS and Windows. It is intended to serve as a forum in which all issues related to MS Word for the PC, technical and non- technical, may be discussed in depth. The list is not currently moderated, but may be at a later date. Interested persons may subscribe by sending mail with a blank subject line and the single command SUBSCRIBE WORD-PC to MAILSERV@HVRFORD. WORD-MAC@HVRFORD - Microsoft Word on the Nacintosh WORD-MAC is a list for users of Microsoft Word running on Macintosh computers. It is intended to serve as a forum in which all issues related to MS Word for the Macintosh, technical and non-technical, may be discussed in depth. The list is not currently moderated, but may be at a later date. Interested persons may subscribe by sending mail with a blank subject line and the single command SUBSCRIBE WORD-MAC to MAILSERV@HVRFORD. STUTT-L@TEMPLEVM - Stuttering discussion list Purpose: This list was designed to facilitate the exchange of information among researchers and clinicians working on the problem of stuttering. Researchers are encouraged to submit descriptions of current projects (purpose, procedures, results if any, current status) and to raise questions that may be of interest to other researchers. Clinicians are encouraged to describe unusual, interesting, or provocative cases and to ask for consultation on particularly difficult cases. Individuals who stutter may also want to get information about therapy, recent research results, etc. 1 Page 23 ********* * * Helpdesk * ***** * *** * by Murph Sewall * *** * * *** * University of Connecticut ***** * * * SEWALL@UCONNVM ********* *Q* A number of weeks ago a note was sent via LINKFAIL regarding 4381 capacitor problems. Could somebody out there please advise me as to what the note was in reference to? *A* ÕBy Murph Sewallå: Send the following to LISTSERV@BITNIC (or LISTSERV@MARIST or whichever LISTSERV is the nearest LINKFAIL Peer distributor to you) as mail: // DATABASE SEARCH DD=RULES //RULES DD * SEARCH 4381 AND capacitor IN LINKFAIL INDEX PRINT ALL OF 1782 /* I sent the INDEX command first, got the list of 'hits' and subsequently sent the PRINT ALL OF (you don't need to request the INDEX again to get a copy of the messages) - > SEARCH 4381 AND capacitor IN LINKFAIL --> Database LINKFAIL, 2 hits. > INDEX Item # Date Time Recs Subject ------ ---- ---- ---- ------- 001782 89/10/18 14:20 22 GITVM1 downtime on 10/21 001809 89/11/03 12:50 12 4381 Capacitors > PRINT ALL OF 1782 >>> Item number 1782, dated 89/10/18 14:20:47 -- ALL ===================================================== Date: Wed, 18 Oct 89 14:20:47 EDT Reply-To: Dave Buechner Sender: Link failure From: Dave Buechner Subject: GITVM1 downtime on 10/21 1 Page 24 GITVM1 will be down from 6:00 a.m. until 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, 10/21/89 for some pre-emptive hardware work. We will be replacing capacitors in the 4381 power supply. As an aside, 4381 users may want to check with their CEs on capacitor problems. The other 4381 on campus (GTRI01) was down for 16 hours 2 1/2 weeks ago when the capacitors failed, taking the microcode diskettes and some channel attached hardware with them. From what our CE has indicated there are problems appearing with capacitors that were manufactured by a particular company whose name I forget. Good capacitors were manufactured by GE. If anyone would like more detail please reply to me privately. Dave Buechner Lead IBM Systems Programmer Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA ===================================================== You can use the format of the SEARCH command above to search any archive of a LISTSERV list (INFONETS has useful messages on all sorts of questions, such as, how to send email to India, Australia and other popular destinations or to Comserv, MCImail or FidoNet). *Q* USENET: How does on access this, or subscribe (whichever term applies...)? *A* of a more correct type Õby John McMahonå: USENET is not a true network. USENET is a collection of nodes on various networks which distribute News files. Newsgroups are similar to a regular mailing list, except a person does not subscribe to a Newsgroups. He/She reads a Newsgroup like you would read a column in a large Newspaper. In the USENET, every node receives a copy of every message in every Newsgroup. Each node provides a common system area where users can read any/all of the groups and can reply to them. This is much like getting the entire Newspaper delivered to you, and then you read the parts of the paper you are interested in. The great advantage to the USENET is that when a user develops a new interest, he or she merely selects the new Newsgroup they are interested in and starts reading. There is no time lag to subscribe and catch up on the current topic. Also, the user doesn't have to use up his/her own disk space since USENET news is stored in a system common area. 1 Page 25 A common misconception is that the UUCP and UUNET networks and USENET are interchangeable terms. They aren't. USENET is a service that runs on a network, like the LISTSERV and RELAY systems. UUCP and UUNET supports a variety of services including USENET News. A second misconception is that you have to be a Unix host on UUCP/UUNET to get easy access to News. More than a few USENET sites are on the Internet or DECnet networks, and many do not run UNIX. USENET has grown beyond it's UNIX-only beginnings. However, to become a USENET site your system management will have to install special software. In some cases, the software is available at low cost. Check the operating system mailing lists (e.g. Info-Vax@Sri.Com for VMS) for details. To access USENET, you must be on a site that is receiving USENET News. Check with your system manager for details. Finally, some USENET groups are gatewayed to mailing lists that you can subscribe to if you don't have access to News. For example, the News group comp.os.vms is linked to the INFO-VAX mailing list on various BITNET LISTSERVs. Check a good directory of mailings lists (Like issues of NetMonth) to find if the group you are looking for is gatewayed to a mailing list. *Q* What does the domain name ending .EDU mean? I keep hearing "Internet" and "Arpanet". Is .EDU an entire network? Or is Internet (if that's what it is) part of CSNet? *A* Õby Chris Condonå: At one time the Arpanet was one, large, (*very* large network). A few years ago the addressing for the Arpanet was split up into something we now call the Internet. The major portions of the Internet are .GOV (Government), .EDU (Education), and .COM (Commercial). Under Arpanet, one of my addresses might have been CONDON@VENUS.ARPA. Under current "domain" scheme, the address is now CONDON@VENUS.YCC.YALE.EDU. While this is somewhat longer, it makes routing of the mail somewat easier, because every computer in the Internet doesn't need to know how to send mail to every other one. (There is more detail on how this works in BITNET USERHELP). CSNET is (for now) it's own animal. 1 Page 26 *Q* How does one send mail to Fidonet? *A* Õby David Dodellå: FidoNet is fully coupled into the Internet. You do not need to know any specific gateways, just address the message correctly into the fidonet.org domain, and everything will be routed automatically. FidoNet addresses can be addressed in the basic format of: FirstName_LastName@fzz.nxx.zyy.fidonet.org zz= FidoNet Node xx= FidoNet Network or Region yy= FidoNet Zone (Presently only 1 to 4 are valid) Therefore, as an example, my name David Dodell, resides at FidoNet address 1:114/15. My FidoNet Internet address is: David_Dodell@f15.n114.z1.fidonet.org Now how to you go from a fidonet node to a internet style address? Just as easy, however, you need to find a gateway on fidonet first, since there is no automatic routing to internet gateways at this time. For example, you could use my gateway at 1:114/15 You would send a message to the user "uucp" at 1:114/15. In the first line of the text, you put the internet style address, followed by 2 returns, i.e. The addressing is in the form: To: user@site.domain For example, to send to my bitnet account of ATW1H @ ASUACAD, the fidonet message would go to "uucp" at fidonet address 1:114/15. The first line of text in the body of the message would be: To: atw1h@asuacad.bitnet 1 Page 27 ********* * * Feedback - a Letters Column * ***** * *** * edited by Christopher Condon * *** * * *** * Yale University ***** * * * Send your letters to BITLIB@YALEVM, now!!!!!! ********* From: Joyce Neu Subject: NetMonth Just want to compliment you on this issue of NetMonth (loved the greetings from Pisa) and thank you for the great p.r. for XCULT-L and the inclusion of SLART-L in the "new lists" group. I'm going to send the XCULT-L blurb to my students so that they can see (especially Joan, whose article you've selected here) that they're "famous"! (in some small, Warholian way). From: Stephen Orton Subject: CREN CREN de Monthe gets two thumbs up. How about "Creme de la CREN" for your new letters column? * Editor's note: I dunno. People might find it a little inCRENdible. Or would they be inCRENdulous? From: Dave Gomberg Subject: Mail from Listserv I think I have offended as many BITNET folks as anyone, which classifies me as a GRADE IX crudmugeon: There is no point in a list with no editor. Many recent contributions have said things like: Who is running things here? What about the requests for HELP? And so forth. I propose that all nodes refuse to propagate unedited lists. I am not against anyone's free speech, and an editor must have an exceptionally light touch, but garbage is garbage. I am talking about things the author would be embarassed to have sent to the list if he/she/it knew the facts. I am talking about HELP/SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE/Is Sweetie-pie still there? This is not free speech, this is free drooling. 1 Page 28 I expect that I may have a lot of time to volunteer soon, so I will volunteer as the interim editor of any list that cannot (temporarily) find a real one. Now let's get our act cleaned up! Go for it! From: Dave Bates Subject: CREN user interface NetMonth may be described as a highly - useful form of glue holding the network together through repeated giving of advice to users. While there is a legitimate need to educate new users, and to provide guidance and instruction to users who need to explore the more arcane or advanced "features" of the network (taken to include listservers, etc), one has to observe that a common thread running through the talk in Bitmonth is the complaint that much about BITNET (now CREN) is confusing to the person who needs what is available at some other end of BITNET. **Using** the system and its services **in order to get service** is problematic. Your patience, and the patience of people offering advice, is admirable . However, the time may have come when people can now offer help to users through adopting a set of standartd user interfaces along the lines of that offered by COMSERVE. This could do a lot to increase access and accuracy and therefore use of BITNET by **users** who are not primarily experts in or on the system itself. 1 Page 29 ********* * * 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 30 * 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." ***************************************************************