This document contains a set of frequently-asked questions about the Internet and the other intermainframe networks (BITNET, UUCP). This question list has been slightly modified to be more meaningful to faculty/staff/students at Penn State. These modifications have been made by Gerry Santoro (GMS@PSVM.PSU.EDU) Ñ please send any questions or comments regarding this document to him. Q: How can I find out more about the Internet and Internet services? An excellent document, ÒZen and the Art of the InternetÓ, is available in hardcopy form from KinkoÕs and Gnomon Copy in State College. It is also available at the Penn State Bookstore at University Park. A postscript version is available on the PSUVM file server PCLIB in the CAC-PC library and the MISC-TXT directory. If you are using PSUVM you can issue the command HELP INTERNET for access to a number of informative help files. If you are trying to send mail from one network to another and are unsure of how to do this [and you canÕt find the answer from your local system administrator or this document] then you should get a copy of the ÒInternetworking GuideÓ. The Guide is posted regularly to comp.mail.misc. The Guide is maintained by John J. Chew and is available for anonymous FTP from Ra.MsState.Edu in the file pub/docs/internetwork-mail-guide. Other questions about electronic mail should be directed to the CAC Help Desk (HELPDESK@PSUVM.PSU.EDU). If you want to get a list of public access UNIX sites, please see the Nixpub bulletin board list that is posted regularly to alt.bbs. The list is maintained by Phil Eschallier and is available for anonymous FTP from GVL.Unisys.COM in the file pub/nixpub/long. If you want to get a list of dial-up bulletin board systems, please get a copy of THELIST. THELIST is available for anonymous FTP from wuarchive.wustl.edu in the directory /mirrors/msdos/bbslists. See the 00-index file for the current name. Questions or comments should be sent to alt.bbs.lists. Q: What is the Internet? The Internet can be defined as the set of all interconnected TCP/IP sites. In the United States, this is usually taken to mean any site connected to one of the regional networks which are joined together by the NSFNET. In the past the Internet was defined as the set of all sites that were IP reachable, but due to the splintering of the Internet into Commercial and Research&Education networks, and the increase in the number of secure Internet gateways, this is becoming less and less a valid definition. Q: How can I get access to the Internet? There are a number of ways that members of the Penn State community can get access to the Internet. These are: - account on PSUVM or another academic mainframe system - microcomputer with IBC connection - microcomputer on LAN with PSU Data Backbone gateway and proper communication software - microcomputer at any CAC public microlab - asynchronous dial-in access through TN1 You may determine which access method is best for you by contacting your local department/college computing support representative (if one exists) or by contacting the CAC Help Desk at 863-1035. Q: How do I find out if Alpha Beta University is on the Internet? The most common way of finding this out is the whois command. For example to find out if Washington University is on the network the command whois washington will list all the sites and registered users with washington in their name. Please note that it must be a full word match - whois wash would not work. Once you have found the entry of interest you can use the whois command to get further information on contacts. For example, the command whois !WUSTL-DOM will give you names and USnail addresses to reach Washington University, St. Louis. Please note that the whois command will only work if you are logged onto a Unix computer or workstation. However, from PSUVM you can TELNET to nic.ddn.mil and run the whois database from there. Issue the PSUVM command HELP ADDRESS for more information. Another method to check on how to reach a college or university, is to check the college/university email directory maintained by Mark Kantrowitz . The directory lists the mail addresses of many schools. A copy is stored in the anonymous FTP file /pub/usenet/soc.college/Student_Email_Addresses on the site pit-manager.mit.edu (18.72.1.58). If you donÕt have anonymous ftp access, you can get it by sending a message to Òmail-server@pit-manager.mit.eduÓ with the subject Òsend usenet/soc.college/Student_Email_AddressesÓ. If you are using PSUVM you can use the NODELIST command to see a list of all active BITNET nodes. Issue the command HELP BITNET for more information. The command NODEINFO may then be used to get information about a particular BITNET node once the node name is known. Issue the command NODEINFO PSUVM to see an example. Q: Is there a list of all the sites on the Internet? No. The Internet [as of 01/92] is composed of more than 727,000 hosts. There are more than 1000 hosts added per day and the rate of growth is increasing. There is no canonical list of sites and by the time you could generate one it would be out of date. The DDN NIC maintains a list of all the hosts registered as primary domain hosts but does not try to maintain a list of all of the subdomains or secondary hosts. This list is available from nic.ddn.mil in the directory netinfo in the file hosts.txt. It contains only a small fraction of the hosts on the Internet and thus should not be used as a definitive reference. Q: How do I send mail to users on Prodigy? By opening an account on Prodigy. Prodigy does not currently have any external connections and has announced no plans to ever add external connections. It is therefore impossible to send mail to a Prodigy user from any system other than Prodigy. Q: How do I send mail to users on Compuserve? The address should take the form of xxxxxx.yyyy@compuserve.com where xxxxxx,yyyy is the Compuserve account number. To create an address, convert the comma in the account name to a period and append @compuserve.com. Q: How do I send mail to users on Fidonet? First you need to know the name of the person and node number of the Fido-Net system that the person uses. The address of a FidoNode looks like this: 1:105/302.0. Usually the 1: and .0 are left off, but they are there by default. (In Europe the Zone is 2: and in the Pacific Basin it is 3:.) That address can be translated as ÒZone 1, Net 105, FidoNode 302, Point 0.Ó or p0.f302.n105.z1. Add the FidoNet domain of .fidonet.org to the end of that, chop off the p0 (it a default since the point number is zero) and you have f302.n105.z1.fidonet.org - the ÒFully Qualified Domain NameÓ of a FidoNet BBS. Another example is 2:105/4.3 which would be written as p3.f4.n105.z2.fidonet.org Notice that we specified the point number since it was a number other than zero. FidoNet uses full names of the callers. Multi-part name folks (eg. First Last, ie. ÒTim PozarÓ) will have a period Ô.Õ seperating their names. So, lets say you wanted to send mail to Tim Pozar at 1:125/555.0, you would address your letter to: Tim.Pozar@f555.n125.z1.fidonet.org. Q: How do I send mail to the Internet from Fidonet? This is a bit more of a trick. You need to know your nearest Fidonet -> Internet gateway. A quick way of telling would be to send mail from the Internet to your FidoNet site. The mail will automagicly pop out your nearest gateway. Some times nets do not have a local gateway. In that case, the mail will pop out the default gateway. Currently the default gateway is in Arizona. So if you live in the New England states and you are not served by local gateway, it may be a bit of a long time before the mail will get to your FidoNet site. Once you know who your gateway is, you need to address the mail as such: 1] In the ÒToÓ field enter ÒUucpÓ. 2] The destination FidoNet node will be the gateway. 3] On the first line of your message you will enter ÒTo: Ó i.e. ÒTo: pozar@kumr.lns.comÓ 4] Put a blank line after the Internet address line. 5] Enter the body of the message after the blank line. A message would look something like: To: Uucp 1:125/555 From: Joe FidoNet User Date: January 31 1992 Subject: Testing 1-2-3 To: pozar@kumr.lns.com Hey Tim! WhatÕs shaking? Joe User Q: How do I find Jane DoeÕs e-mail address? The short answer: The most widely accepted way of finding another userÕs electronic mail address is to pick up the phone and call them. This works wonders!!! The long answer: There is no one standard way of locating user mail box information. There are in fact more than one ÒstandardÓ for storing this information and very few locations use even one of these ÒstandardsÓ. One method of finding users is whois. The DDN NIC keeps a database of all administrative, technical, and zone contacts for domains. Examples of other institutions who use this method are Stanford University and the University of Virginia. Whois will only work if you are on a Unix mainframe or workstation. A second method of finding users is ÒX.500Ó. X.500 is the OSI directory service. It is the choice of the next generation. It is also huge, and an amazing resource hog. A third method of finding users is the WAIS Òusenet-addressesÓ database of all users who post to USENET. This only works if the user has posted a message to USENET. A fourth method of finding users, if youÕre looking for somebody at a college or university, is to check the college/university email directory maintained by Mark Kantrowitz . The directory lists the mail addresses of many schools, and (when available) how you can look for people at those sites. A copy is stored in the anonymous ftp file /pub/usenet/soc.college/Student_Email_Addresses on the site pit-manager.mit.edu (18.72.1.58); if you donÕt have anonymous ftp access, you can get it by sending a message to Òmail-server@pit-manager.mit.eduÓ with the subject Òsend usenet/soc.college/Student_Email_AddressesÓ. More information on these and other methods is available in the ÒFAQ: How to find peopleÕs E-mail addressesÓ maintained by Jonathan I. Kamens and posted regularly to comp.mail.misc. This document is also available via FTP from pit-manager.mit.edu (18.72.1.58) in the file /pub/usenet/news.answers/finding-addresses. Q: Where can I find a list of Internet accessible bulletin boards? By reading the postings to this newsgroup - alt.bbs.internet. The current list of Internet accessible bulletin boards is maintained by Thomas A. Kreeger and is irregularly posted under the title ÒZamfieldÕs Internet BBS ListÓ. The list is also available via anonymous FTP from wuarchive.wustl.edu in the file /pub/Internet-BBS.list.[date-of-last-update]. Q: Where can I find a list of Internet accessible services? By reading the postings to this newsgroup - alt.bbs.internet. The current list of Internet accessible services is maintained by Scott Yanoff and is regularly posted under the title ÒUpdated Internet Services ListÓ. The list is also available via anonymous FTP from csd4.csd.uwm.edu in the file /pub/inet.services.txt The newsgroup alt.bbs.internet is available through NETNEWS on PSUVM. Q: What is FTP and how can I use it? FTP (File Transfer Protocol) allows a person to transfer files between two computers connected to the Internet. Some systems on the Internet offer files through ÒanonymousÓ FTP. Anonymous FTP servers permits users to transfer files to/from the site even when they do not have an account at the site. Not every site permits anonymous tranfers and it is wrong to try systems that have not advertised the availability of such a service. This is similar to walking up to a strange house and trying the windows and doors to see if any are open. To find a list of sites that permit anonymous FTP, you can monitor the newsgroup comp.archives. You can also read the ÒAnonymous FTP ListÓ maintained by Tom Czarnik . The list is regularly posted to comp.sources.wanted and is available via anonymous FTP from pit-manager.mit.edu in the files /pub/usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/sites. ARCHIE is an online database of files available from anonymous FTP sites worldwide. See the CAC writeup on ARCHIE for more informaation. To use FTP, a command similar to Òftp hostnameÓ is used; where hostname is replaced by the name of host you wish to contact. If the computer knows how to contact that host, you will next be presented with a ÒName:Ó prompt. At this point, if you are using anonymous FTP, you should enter the username of ÒanonymousÓ. On some sites ÒftpÓ will also work as an anonymous username. If the system recognizes the username as an anonymous entry then you should receive back a Ò331 Guest login okÓ response followed by a ÒPassword:Ó prompt. At this prompt you should enter your email address for the password. ItÕs not necessary, but itÕs a courtesy for those sites that like to know who is making use of their facility. At this point you should be presented with a Ò230 Guest login okÓ response or something similar. If for some reason things did not work you may receive a Ò530 Login incorrectÓ response. Type in ÒquitÓ at the Òftp>Ó prompt and try again. If it fails a second time, contact someone at your site for help. Once connected to the other site and authenticated, you have a number of commands available to you. Some FTP commands are the same on most computers, but others are not. Most versions of FTP will list the commands available if you type ÒhelpÓ. The standard commands include: dir list the files in the current directory cd Change directory binary Switch to binary mode. For transferring binary files. ascii Switch to ascii mode. For transferring text file. It will automatically translate CR/LF and NL between systems. ASCII mode is the default mode. get copy a file from the remote computer to yours Typically, a directory called ÔpubÕ is where the interesting things are stored. Some sites will have a file with a name like ls-lR, that contains a complete list of the files on that site. Different systems have different organizations for their files and you may need to do some exploring to find where the files of interest you are located. Once you have finished getting the files of interest you should issue the ÒquitÓ command to close the FTP connection and exit the FTP program. See the CAC writeup on ÒAnonymous FTP from PSUVMÓ or issue the PSUVM command HELP FTP for more information. Copyright 1992 Aydin Edguer Permission to use, copy, modify, or distribute this document for no fee is hereby granted, provided that the copyright notice appear in all copies and that both the copyright notice and this permission notice appear. I make no representations about the suitability or accuracy of this document for any purpose. It is provided Òas isÓ without express or implied warranty. Local Penn State modifications made by Gerry Santoro (GMS@PSUVM.PSU.EDU).