The Federal Bulletin Board (FBB)  User's Guide

		     The FBB is a Free Service   
	      of the U.S. Government Printing Office


MAILING ADDRESS
-------------------------------------------------
U.S. Government Printing Office
732 North Capitol Street, NW
Mail Stop: SDE
Washington, DC 20402

INTERNET ADDRESS
-------------------------------------------------
Telnet/FTP: fedbbs.access.gpo.gov
WWW access: http://fedbbs.access.gpo.gov

USER SUPPORT
------------------------------------------------
Phone: (202) 512-1530
FAX:   (202) 512-1262
Help address: gpoaccess@gpo.gov

************************************************************************

		       T A B L E    O F   C O N T E N T S 

INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

PUBLIC ACCESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS  . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 3

SERVICE AVAILABILITY AND USER ASSISTANCE . . . . . . . . . . . .. .3

ACCESS PRIVILEGES                                                                  3
	Accessing The Federal Bulletin Board as a New User. . . . . . . 3
	Downloading a Copy of This User's Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
	Calling The Federal Bulletin Board. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

OVERVIEW                                                                                    5
	Standard Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
	Concatenated Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

GENERAL SERVICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

ORDERING PRODUCTS FROM GPO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

ELECTRONIC MAIL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
	The Messaging System: E-Mail Services for Users . .. . . . . . 12
	Files Attached to Messages:      . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

ELECTRONIC MAIL  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . .13
	The Default or Next Message      . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
	F ... Read messages from you     . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
	W ... Write a message    . . . . . . . . . .. . . .  . . . . . 15
	A ... Attach a file to this message      . . . . . . . . . . . 16
	R ... Request return receipt     . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
	P ... Mark message as priority   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
	M ... Modify the message text or topic   . . . . . . . . . . . 16

ACCOUNT INFORMATION      . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

USING THE /GO COMMAND TO ACCESS BULLETIN BOARD SERVICES  . . . . . . . 16
	The Find Command         . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

FILE DOWNLOADING SERVICES        . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

SPECIAL SERVICES         . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
	What's New and Hot       . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
	FBB Information Center   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

USING THE INTERNET TO ACCESS THE FBB     . . . . . . . . . . .. 19

	WORLD-WIDE WEB AND THE FBB - HYPERTEXT AND GRAPHICS FOR  INTERNET USERS    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

	TELNET CLIENT - CONNECTING TO A REMOTE 
	COMPUTER ON THE INTERNET . . . . . . . .19

TELNET AND THE FBB - CONNECTING TO THE FBB FROM THE INTERNET. . . . . .19
	File Transfer via Unix Telnet:   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
	File Transfer via COMt:  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

FTP - GETTING FILES FROM, OR PUTTING FILES ON, THE FBB  20
	Anonymous FTP access:    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
	Deleting or overwriting files:   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
	File mode:       . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
	TCP/Connect II:  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
	FTP Supported commands:  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

***********************************************************************

 INTRODUCTION
----------------------

The Federal Bulletin Board (FBB) is a free service of the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO).  This electronic bulletin board service (BBS) enables Federal agencies to provide the public immediate, self-service access to Federal information in electronic form.

The BBS permits users to identify, select and transfer electronic files to their own personal computers quickly and easily through the File Library System.  It  supports direct ordering for a selection of GPO sales items in the Ordering Service.  The E-Mail Service allows users to direct their comments or inquiries to GPO and some of the Federal agencies that participate in the BBS.  To contact GPO, send your E-Mail message to one of the following designated addresses:  Sysop via the FBB or  gpoaccess@gpo.gov via Internet E-mail.

PUBLIC ACCESS
Equipment Requirements

The Federal Bulletin Board may be accessed in four ways: (1) via telephone in dial-up mode or  via the Internet through (2) telnet, (3) FTP, and (4) the World Wide Web.

* For dial-in mode, a user needs a personal computer, a modem, a telecommunications software package and a telephone line.  The BBS will accommodate baud rates ranging from 300 to 14,400.  Modem settings are 8 bits, no parity, 1 stop bit (8N1).  Modems should be set with automatic baud rate adjustment off.  A hard disk is recommended for file transfers.  

* For Internet access a user needs Internet connectivity.  Users can telnet or FTP to: fedbbs.access.gpo.gov;  users can access the FBB via the World Wide Web (WWW) at http://fedbbs.access.gpo.gov.

Service Availability and User Assistance

The Federal Bulletin Board is available 22 hours each day, seven days a week.  It is unavailable from 3:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m., Eastern Time, when routine maintenance is performed.  

User assistance for The Federal Bulletin Board is available from 7:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except Federal holidays) by calling the GPO Office of Electronic Information Dissemination Services (EIDS) at (202) 512-1530, send Email to gpoaccess@gpo.gov, or by FAX at (202)512-1262.

Access Privileges 

Access is free.  There is no membership or subscription fees required to access The Federal Bulletin Board.  There are no charges for time spent browsing, reading or downloading files, or using the E-Mail services.

All users can browse in the File Library System and download files from file areas by selecting one of the options from the MAIN MENU.  All users can order publications from GPO.  All users can send and receive E-Mail.

All Users are limited to 60 minutes of free time per session, but there is no limit on the number of times they can call the BBS. 

Accessing The Federal Bulletin Board as a New User

If you have never used a BBS before, this document is intended to help you learn your way around.  A few  basics to keep in mind: if you want to exit from wherever you are in the system, type X ENTER.  Most selections and commands must be followed by ENTER.  On menus (and most prompts) you may also type ? ENTER for help. Otherwise, type a letter or number from the list of options provided by menus and prompts.  Sometimes you'll type more than one character, such as when entering a filename.ext or writing a message.  

This document will help you get started using FBB, and will be a reference for later, even after you've found your way around.  

Downloading a Copy of This User's Guide

At the conclusion of the new user registration, you will receive a message that says:  You have new E-mail.  Do you wish to see it now? (Y/N)

All new users receive an E-Mail message with a copy of this User's Guide attached.  To read the message now, enter Y and press RETURN.  If you enter N, you will go directly to the MAIN MENU.  

You can read or download the User's Guide when you are ready by
selecting J from the MAIN MENU, and then typing 2R at the
ELECTRONIC MAIL MENU.  If you need another copy of this manual,
you may download the USER.DOC file attached to your E-Mail message.  

Calling The Federal Bulletin Board

When you first call into FBB, you're asked to sign up, creating an account for yourself.  If you're online reading this document, you must have already signed up, and should now have a User-ID and password that you can use from now on.  When you call in, all you have to do is enter in your User-ID and then your password. The system remembers who you are, and starts by telling you if you have any mail waiting (it may also ask you if you want to read it right away).  You might also get some other important notices, but you'll eventually be taken to the MAIN menu.

The MAIN menu is the first menu on the system.  The various selections on this menu go to different areas of the system.  Here's what the MAIN menu looks like:

 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
		      THE FEDERAL BULLETIN BOARD                             
	   A service of the U.S. Government Printing Office                  
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
	      A - What's New at GPO!                                         
	      B - GPO ACCESS - Online Databases; Information                 
	      ------------------------------------------------               
	      C - Congress and Legislative Agencies                          
	      D - Federal Register and CFR (Selected)                        
	      E - White House and Federal Agencies                           
	      F - U.S. Supreme Court and other Federal Courts                
	      G - Miscellaneous File Areas                                   
	      ------------------------------------------------               
	      H - General Information on the Government Printing Office      
	      I - Federal Depository Library Information                     
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
	      J - Email, Order Products Online, News Bulletins, etc.         
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
		    S - Search for a File by Name, Date, or Keyword          
		    T - List Files Uploaded 19-JUN-96                        
		    X - EXIT (Logoff the Board)                              
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
    Please enter the selection of your choice:

NOTE: Whenever you respond to a BBS question or select a menu option, you must press your RETURN or ENTER key to send your response to the BBS.

 SERVICES OF THE FEDERAL BULLETIN BOARD
Overview

This section contains information on the services available from the MAIN MENU.  There are three types of services:   General Services, File Downloading Services,  and Special Services.    Special Services include (A) What's New and Hot and (J1) the BBS Information Center.   General Services include:  Ordering Products from GPO, Electronic Mail, Account/Registry Information, and GO TO hot keys.   Since the FBB now also serves an oficial Internet site, there is a section  in the manual about using the Internet.

File Downloading Services are available through MAIN MENU options (A) through (I).  Starting from the MAIN MENU, you can browse the file lists, review file descriptions, and transfer selected files to your own personal computer, quickly and easily.  Although full-text searching of the file contents is not available, you can search by file name, date, and keywords.  

Only ASCII text files can be displayed (listed) to the screen.  Other files must be downloaded before they can be read.

Standard Commands

On each BBS menu you will find letters and numbers that can be used to activate the various features of the BBS.  The commands below are constant throughout the program:

X               Exits to a prior menu or logs off the system from the MAIN MENU.
?               Brings up the On-Line Help screens or the full version  of a Quick  (abbreviated) Menu.
CTRL S          Suspends temporarily scrolling of information on the screen
CTRL R          Resumes scrolling of information on the screen

WARNING!!  The system will automatically disconnect if no commands are typed or carriage returns entered for 10 minutes.

Concatenated Commands

One of the useful features of the BBS is that you can avoid viewing every menu in a series by using a string of commands,  also called concatenated commands.  The BBS permits concatenating or stacking up to 16 commands.  If you know the sequence of commands that is required to complete an activity, you can type all of the commands on a single line and avoid stopping at each intermediate menu.

General Services

General Services of the FBB include:  Ordering Products from GPO, Electronic Mail, Account Information, and GO TO  or "hot keys".
Ordering Products from GPO

The following GPO Online Ordering services are available:

   B ... Browse through stores and departments
   K ... Keyword search through all stores and departments
   ? ... Help
   X ... Exit GPO Online Ordering 

GPO ONLINE ORDERING
Select an option: ?


HELP - Main Menu

You are at the main menu of GPO Online Ordering.  Select B to begin browsing products by store and department.  Select K to search through all stores and departments by a keyword.  Press X to exit GPO Online Ordering.

Select an option: B - Browse

HELP - Browse Menu

You are at the browse menu.  You may select a different store with S, and a different department with D.  To view products in the selected department, use P.  Select K to search through the currently selected store and department (if there are any; if there aren't, it will search all stores and/or departments). 1 will bring up information on the current store, and 2 will bring up information on the current department.  Press C to edit your customer registry.  Press E to write E-Mail to the store manager of the current store, if one exists.  X will bring you back to the main menu.

Select an option: X

The following GPO Online Ordering services are available:

   B ... Browse through stores and departments
   K ... Keyword search through all stores and departments
   ? ... Help
   X ... Exit GPO Online Ordering 

GPO ONLINE ORDER MODULE
Select an option: K

HELP - Keyword searches

You are being asked to input a keyword to search for.  Input it here, or enter X to exit to the browse menu.

Enter a keyword to search for, or X to exit:

GPO Browse Menu

     Current Store: CD-ROM Products Sold by GPO  - CDROM
Current Department: Tax Information on CD-ROM  - TAX

   S ... Select a new store
   D ... Select a new department
   P ... Product listing
   K ... Keyword search
   1 ... Store information
   2 ... Department information
   C ... Your customer information
   E ... E-mail store manager
   ? ... Help

GPO BROWSE
Select an option: S - Select a Store from the List Below

  Code      Title
- --------- ----------
A CDROM     CD-ROM Products Sold by GPO
B DISKETTE  GPO Diskette Products
C FILES     Downloadable Products (Files)
D MAGTAPE   Magnetic Tapes for Sales
E PAPER     GPO Print Publications
   ? ... Help
   X ... Exit

GPO STORES
Select a code or option: ?

HELP - Store Selection

  You are changing the store you are in.  Select a store by entering the code from the list.  You may also use X to return to the browse menu without selecting any store.

Select a code or option: B - Diskette Store

GPO Browse Menu
     Current Store: GPO Diskette Products(Note the change from CD-ROM                                                             to Diskette Products)
Current Department: GPO ACCESS PRODUCTS

   S ... Select a new store
   D ... Select a new department
   P ... Product listing
   K ... Keyword search
   1 ... Store information
   2 ... Department information
   C ... Your customer registry
   E ... E-mail store manager
   ? ... Help

GPO BROWSE
Select an option: D (to display a list of Departments under the Diskette Store)

  Code      Title
- --------- ----------
A ACCESS    GPO ACCESS PRODUCTS
B BUDGET    BUDGET
C GOVT      U.S. Government Manual
D HCFA      Health Care Financing Admin.
E ITC       Intl Trade Commission-HTS
F MM        Merchant Marine Study Q&A
- --------- ----------
   ? ... Help
   X ... Exit

GPO DEPARTMENTS
Select a code or option: ?

HELP - Department Selection

You are changing the department you are in.  Select a department by entering the code from the list.  You may also use X to return to the browse menu without selecting any department.

Select a code or option: A  (Selects GPO Access Products)

GPO Browse Menu 

     Current Store: GPO Diskette Products
Current Department: GPO ACCESS PRODUCTS

   S ... Select a new store
   D ... Select a new department
   P ... Product listing
   K ... Keyword search
   1 ... Store information
   2 ... Department information
   C ... Your customer registry
   E ... E-mail store manager
   ? ... Help

GPO BROWSE
Select an option: P (Now you can view Products listed in this department)

  Code             Title
- ---------------- ------------------
A MAC CLIENT       EINet MacWAIS Client Software;Macintosh
B WINDOWS CLIENT   EINet WinWAIS Client Software (Windows)
- ---------------- ------------------
   ? ... Help
   X ... Exit

GPO PRODUCTS
Select a code or option: ?

HELP - Product Selection

  You are selecting a product to view.  Choose a product with the code from the list.  You may also use X to return to the browse menu.

Select a code or option: B (WINDOWS CLIENT is selected for purchase)

[Information about this product is seen on the next screen:]

Store Code: DISKETTE     Department Code: ACCESS
Product Code: WINDOWS CLIENT
Product Title: EINet WinWAIS Client Software (Windows)

Windows client software for use with the GPO ACCESS 
online systems diskette  GPO Access download windows 
WAIS electronic

ELECTRONIC
---------- ----------
Diskette

Retail price: 15.00
Handling 1st:  0.00        Handling additional: 0.00
   A ... Download abstract file
   O ... Order this product
   X ... Exit

Select an option: O (Order this product; A - Abstract file lists further                                         information about the product)
   Format
--------------
A) Diskette
B) Download
--------------
   ?  ... Help
   X  ... Exit

Select a format or an option from the list: ?

HELP - Ordering a product - format

Select a product format at this menu.  Most files that can be downloaded can also be sold on a diskette;  Users can only download a product when using a credit card (MasterCard or VISA) to purchase the product.  Press X to exit to the product format menu.


Select an option or code: A (DISKETTE format)

How many do you wish to order? 1
This product has been added to your order.

Press <ENTER> to continue... (At this point, you are returned to the BROWSE menu in case users want to order other GPO products online.

GPO Browse Menu

     Current Store: GPO Diskette Products
Current Department: GPO ACCESS PRODUCTS

   S ... Select a new store
   D ... Select a new department
   P ... Product listing
   K ... Keyword search
   1 ... Store information
   2 ... Department information
   C ... Your customer registry
   E ... E-mail store manager
   I ... Your order
   ? ... Help

GPO BROWSE
Select an option: C - Your customer registry

		     GPO Online Ordering Customer Registry Editor

 +Bill to---------------------------------------------------+  Control Panel
       Company: xxx                                         +-------------+
	  Name:                                             TAB - Select 
       Address:                                                 - Select 
       Address:                                                 - Select 
	  City:                                              ^F - Insert 
	 State:                  ZIP Code:                   ^G - Save   
       Country:                                              ^O - Quit   
   Voice Phone:                 Fax Phone:                  +-------------+
 +----------------------------------------------------------+
 +Ship to---------------------------------------------------+
       Contact:                                            
       Company: xxx                                        
       Address:                                            
       Address:                                            
	  City:                                            
	 State:                  ZIP Code:                 
       Country:                                            
   Voice Phone:                                            
 +----------------------------------------------------------+

	       Exit:       (select (S)ave or (Q)uit and hit enter)
 GPO Browse Menu

     Current Store: GPO Diskette Products
Current Department: GPO ACCESS PRODUCTS

   S ... Select a new store
   D ... Select a new department
   P ... Product listing
   K ... Keyword search
   1 ... Store information
   2 ... Department information
   C ... Your customer registry
   E ... E-mail store manager
   I ... Your order
   ? ... Help

GPO BROWSE
Select an option:  I (Information about the users order)

C ... Clear Order (Clears the order entirely)
D ... Remove an item from your order (Remove one or more items)
E ... Edit an item on your order (Edit format, payment data, etc.,) 
V ... View your order (Displays the order)
S ... Submit your order (Submit to GPO for processing)
X ... Exit to browse menu
? ... Help

GPO ORDER
Select an option: ? 


HELP - Order menu

  The order menu allows you to manipulate your order for the current store.  Press V to view your order.  Select E to edit an item on your order. Press D to remove an item from the order.  Press X to return to the browse menu.

Select an option: 

   C ... Clear Order
   D ... Remove an item from your order
   E ... Edit an item on your order
   V ... View your order
   S ... Submit your order
   X ... Exit to browse menu
   ? ... Help

GPO ORDER
Select an option: S (GPO accepts MasterCard, VISA, and GPO Deposit Account for products ordered on the FBB.  When DOWNLOAD is selected as a format, ONLY credit cards are accepted.)



No. Payment option
--- ----------------
  1 VISA
  2 Mastercard
--- ----------------
Select one: 1
		       GPO Online Ordering Payment Options

		  Name on Credit Card:

	  Credit Card billing address:

 Credit Card billing address ZIP code:

		   Credit Card number:

   Credit Card expiration date (MMYY):

				 Control Menu
		       +-------------------------------+
			 TAB - Select   ^F  - Insert  _
			     - Select   ^G  - Save    _
			     - Select   ^O  - Quit    _
		       +-------------------------------+_
			_________________________________


	Exit:       (select SAVE or QUIT and hit Enter)

GPO ORDER
Select an option: V

No. Dept     Product Code    Format 1   Format 2   Quan  UnitPrice TotPrice
--- -------- --------------- ---------- ---------- ----- --------- ---------
1   ACCESS   WINDOWS CLIENT  Diskette              1         15.00     15.00
--- -------- --------------- ---------- ---------- ----- --------- ---------
							  Subtotal     15.00
   C ... Clear Order
   D ... Remove an item from your order
   E ... Edit an item on your order
   V ... View your order
   S ... Submit your order
   X ... Exit to browse menu
   ? ... Help

GPO ORDER
Select an option:  X

GPO BROWSE
Select an option: x

You have not submitted your order!
Do you want to forget about it?

   Y ... Yes, forget about current order and exit
   N ... No, do not exit and keep it
   S ... Submit the order

Pick one: 
Electronic Mail  

Choose J2 - Electronic Mail from the MAIN MENU to enter the E-Mail Service.  Anyone can read Electronic Mail (E-Mail) addressed to them or write E-Mail messages to the GPO,
participating Federal agencies and other known USER_IDs.  You can enter /GO EMAIL_LIST at any place that you can enter commands to obtain a list of useful E-Mail addresses.  

Each time you sign on, you are automatically notified if E-Mail messages are waiting for you.  You should read your messages frequently and erase your messages after you read them. 

The Messaging System: E-Mail Services for Users 

Messages are the building blocks of one main area of FBB:  E-mail:private messages from one user to another

For example, when you write an electronic mail message, you can send it to one user, and send a carbon copy to another user.  Or you can reply privately to the author of that message, and other users won't see that reply.  And one way to erase a message you wrote is to use the E-mail Read command to find it and then erase it.



Electronic messages consist of:

 o   Header
 o   Body
 o   File attached (optional)

The header contains information like who the message is to, who it's from, what the topic is, and when it was written.  Here's the header  of a typical e-mail message:

 Date: Thursday, April 23, 1992  12:37pm   Electronic Mail
 From: MichelleMsg#: 20483
   To: Jessica Rodier   *RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED*
   Re: for trade show in Phoenix
(Reply to #20461, Reply to #20409)

Message Topic, Re:

Each time you write a new message, you need to give it a topic.  When you reply to a message, you inherit the topic of the original message.


Message Body:

You can compose the body of a message you're writing using the editor.  You'll get the full screen editor if you have an ANSI-compatible terminal.  Otherwise you'll use a line-oriented editor.

Reading a message displays the message body on your terminal.  Whenever you read a message's body, the FBB makes a note not to include that message again when you scan for new messages.


Message Number:

The FBB issues a new sequential message number each time anyone writes a new message.  A private electronic mail  message to one user has a unique message number on the FBB.  This message number is used to jump directly to a message you want to read or reply to.

Files Attached to Messages:

When you write an e-mail or forum message, you usually have the option of attaching a file to the message.  You upload the file after you write the message.  Then, anyone who reads the message gets the option of downloading the file.


Electronic Mail

Electronic mail is a powerful and efficient way to send detailed  messages to individuals who need not be there when the message arrives.   Messages can also deliver attached document or program files, a major improvement over transferring files by floppy disk or copying them  across a network in hopes that the intended recipient will see them.  

E-mail has become a common service on local area networks (LANs) in  businesses.  It is also common on wide area systems such as the  Internet and CompuServe.  The two areas evolved independently, however, and have only recently started to share messages with each other.  Some  producers of e-mail products have been slow to acknowledge the value of  connecting with each other.  

The following E-mail services are available:

   R ... Read messages to you
   W ... Write a message
   M ... Modify a message
   E ... Erase a message
   F ... Read messages from you
   X ... Exit from E-mail

Select an option (R,W,M,E,F,X to exit, or ? for more info):

The FBB keeps track of the messages that were written to you and the messages that you have written to others.

In Box          messages TO you  messages others wrote to you
Out Box         messages FROM youmessages you wrote to someone else
 



R ... Read messages to you

You have these options for where to start your reading:

ENTER or period (.)  Start with the next message you haven't read yet  FStart with the earliest message in your In Box  LStart with the very latest message in your In Box
<message number> Start with a specific message number

The Default or Next Message

You'll probably call into the FBB regularly to get your latest messages.  Some of your messages are not urgent, or they require more work to reply to, or you just want to keep them around for a while.

FBB tries to distinguish between new messages and messages you've already read by remembering the highest numbered message you've ever read from your In Box.  This isn't perfect, but if you're careful to read your messages in order, you might find it very handy for
keeping your urgent mail and your not-so-important mail separated. 

When you Read messages to you and press ENTER when it asks for a message number, you'll get the message that's one higher than the highest numbered message that you've already read.  You can do the same thing in one step by typing R. (R period) from the E-mail menu.

Similarly, RF reads the first (oldest) message in your In Box, and RL reads the last (most recent) message.  

After each message you read, you'll be prompted:

(R)eply, (E)rase, (C)opy, (F)orward, (B)acktrack, (P)revious, or (N)ext?

(R)eply         Write a new message To the person who wrote this message
(E)rase         Delete this message from the FBB
(C)opy          Keep this message but send a copy to another User-ID
(F)orward       Send a copy to another User-ID and delete your copy
(B)acktrack     Read the message which inspired this message, if available
(P)revious      Read the message in your In Box immediately below this one 
(N)ext          Read the message in your In Box immediately above this one

Power User Tip: If you can't respond to a message immediately, you can  make it new again by forwarding it to yourself.  

F ... Read messages from you

Messages from you include all the e-mail and forum messages you've written which are still on the FBB.

After each e-mail message you read, you'll be prompted:

(M)odify, (E)rase, (C)opy, (P)revious, or (N)ext?

(M)odify        Edit a message you wrote, even after it's been sent
(E)rase                 Delete a message even after it's been sent
(C)opy          Leave a message as is but carbon copy it to another User-ID
(P)revious      Read the message you wrote immediately before this one 
(N)ext                  Read the message you write immediately after this one

If your Preferences include forum messages in your E-mail In Box, after each forum message you read you'll be prompted:

(R)eply, (E)mail reply, (C)lear, (T)hread, (P)rev, or (N)ext?

The (C)lear command removes the copy of this message from your E-mail In Box without erasing the original from the forum.  See the Forums  section below for more details on the other options.  

Power User Tip: To reply to a message, then forward the original message to a third user, type F <User-ID> R ENTER all on one line.  

W ... Write a message

You can write an electronic mail message To:

 <User-ID>      a specific user
 ENTER          the Sysop

When writing to an individual user, if you can't remember his or her  exact User-ID, type in the first few letters of your best guess and  fBB will try to find a match.  

Once you finish typing the message, you Save the message.  In the Full-Screen Editor (FSE), you save by pressing CTRL+G.  In the Line Editor, you save by typing S ENTER from command mode or /S ENTER from entry mode.  Either way, you'll next receive this list of options:  

Before sending this message, you may:

   A ... Attach a file to this message
   R ... Request return receipt
   P ... Mark message as priority
   M ... Modify the message text or topic

Select a write option or press ENTER to send message:

IMPORTANT: Typing X ENTER at this prompt ABANDONS your message.  It is not sent and is erased from the FBB.  All of these choices are circular: once they perform their function, you are returned to this prompt.  In order to send your message, you must finally press ENTER at this prompt.  Once you do, you'll receive a confirmation such as:

<<< CONFIRMED: MESSAGE #1789332 WRITTEN TO DISK >>>
  

A ... Attach a file to this message

This will next prompt you for a file transfer protocol (XMODEM, etc.) and will then upload a file from your PC.  If the protocol you choose automatically conveys the name of the file (ZMODEM, for example), the FBB will accept that name.  If the protocol does not convey a name,  the FBB will ask you for a filename.ext once the upload finishes.  

R ... Request return receipt

A return receipt is a brief message that FBB automatically generates when the recipient gets this message.  The recipient is told when a return receipt is generated.  

P ... Mark message as priority

You can label a message as priority.  This causes it to be slightly more noticeable in a long In Box list on the recipient's side.  


M ... Modify the message text or topic

If you've saved the message only to realize that you needed to make a change, this command will take you back to re-edit the message.  



Account Information                               

Enter J at the MAIN MENU to review or edit your Account Information.  This is the information that you entered when you established your USER-ID.  

All users can review and edit their own account information.  You can change any entry except your USER-ID.  Changing your address in the Account information does not automatically alter the information stored in the Online Ordering Service.  

You can use this feature to change your password.  It is a good idea to change your password at least once every 60 to 90 days. 

Using the /GO Command to Access Bulletin Board Services

You can GO directly to certain menus or access certain functions of The Federal Bulletin Board with the /GO command.  Choose J5 - GO TO ... from the MAIN MENU to obtain a list of Menu Page Names and a description of their contents.  To use the GO command, type
/GO followed by a Page Name at any point where the system accepts commands.  For example, typing /GO  WHITE_HOUSE <return> will take you directly to the menu for the White House file libraries.   Typing /GO BYE will take you directly to the system logoff.

Below is a sample of some of the Page Names you may use to get directly to the areas that interest you.  This list will be continually updated as additional information and new File
Libraries are added to The Federal Bulletin Board.  To display the most recent list, simply enter 4 at the MAIN MENU or select G at the bottom of many of the File Menus. 

Page Name               Description of Page
---------               ---------------------------------------
ABOUT_GPO               General Information about GPO             
ACCESS                       GPO Access Legislation Info 
ACCOUNT_INFO         Edit Account Info (Password)    
BESTSELLERS             Order GPO Bestsellers                    
DEPOSIT_ACCOUNT  Opening a GPO Deposit Account
BYE                               QUIT (Logoff the Board)
MAIN_MENU               Return to the MAIN MENU
READ_EMAIL              Read E-Mail Messages To You
WHITE_HOUSE            White House (Menu)
WRITE_EMAIL             Write an E-Mail Message

The Find Command

Typing FIND followed by a string will search for all of the PAGES that you can access using the GO command that have the string you specified in the PAGE DESCRIPTION.  To use the FIND command, type FIND and your string at any point where the system accepts
commands.  For example, the command FIND DEPOSIT would retrieve the following:

Page Name                  Description of Page
--------------                    ----------------------------------------
DEPOSIT_ACCOUNT   Opening a GPO Deposit Account     
DEPOSITORY_LIBS     Depository Libraries Program

NOTE:  On some menus the letter F is already assigned to a menu option.  The FIND command cannot be entered at the prompt, since the system will interpret the F in FIND as the menu selection.   To use the FIND command, you will need to use X to go to another
menu that will accept the FIND command.  


File Downloading Services

Different areas of the FBB that are available through MAIN MENU options (A) through (I), provides you with the the opportunity to transfer files from the FBB to your computer (downloading).  You can attach files to e-mail messages, for example, and retrieve files in File Libraries.  

In order to assure that what arrives on one machine matches what departed the other machine, both computers must first agree on a common file transfer protocol.  

Files are transferred in the same manner as are all other exchanges of data: through Dynapaks.  When dealing with a BBS in terminal mode there there are a number of commonly encountered file transfer protocols:  


ZMODEM          is the best choice for BBS's running on DOS Pcs 
ZMODEM (resume)         can pick up at the point where a previous ZMODEM transfer was                   interrupted
YMODEM Batch    is a good alternative if the FBB doesn't have ZMODEM
Kermit                  is useful when contacting FBBs which are not DOS PC-based
XMODEM-1K               is acceptable on connections with low line noise
XMODEM-CRC      is tolerable on connections with high line noise
XMODEM-Checksum         is the weakest of the accuracy-checking methods
ASCII                   has no accuracy checking and should be a last resort 

The terminal software you're using to call the FBB may not support all of these protocols.  Be sure to pick one that your terminal supports.  In most terminal programs, press PgUp to get a list of upload protocols, and PgDn to get a list of download protocols.  The ASCII and LIST protocols only work with ordinary ASCII text files.  The other protocols work on all types of files.

Another protocol option will appear automatically when you're about to download a compressed file (.ZIP, .ARC, etc.), files which each contain one or more other files in a compressed form.  The V option appear in these cases, allowing you to view what files are compressed into the .ZIP, .ARC, .ZOO, or .LZH file.  

Another download option that may be available is T to tag a file.  This feature allows you to tag up to 10 files for download and then, when you're ready (or when you log off), you can download all your tagged files at once.

Another time-saver is the ! suffix.  You can put an ! character at the end of your protocol selection to have the FBB automatically log you off when the file transfer is over.  This way, if you're not around to disconnect yourself when done transferring a large file, the FBB will disconnect you automatically, possibly saving you connect time charges.


Special Services

Areas that are considered Special Services of the FBB include, from the MAIN MENU, 
(A) What's New and Hot and (J1) the FBB Information Center which provides general information about GPO.

What's New and Hot 

GPO maintains two main electronic list of products, CD-ROMs' and Diskettes, on the FBB.  Users can scan each list online or download the list to the remote computer.  The lists are available in both ASCII text and  WordPerfect 5.1 format.

FBB Information Center 

The GPO Information Center contains general information on  such  subjects as FBB Service Hours and User Assistance; How to Open a GPO Deposit Account;  Ordering Products Online via the FBB; and Downloading the FBB User's Guide.  There is also information on how to find and contact GPO Bookstores and obtain information about the Federal Depository Library Progam (FDLP).

Using the Internet to Access the FBB

World-Wide Web and the FBB - Hypertext and graphics for Internet users

The FBB is also a WWW site that you can point to with Mosaic, Lynx and other hypertext client programs.  

 Telnet Client - connecting to a remote computer on the Internet

Telnet allows you to make a connection to a remote computer across the Internet.  The FBB acts as a relay station, ferrying data in both directions between the remote site and your computer.  The basic format of the command is:    /telnet wais.access.gpo.gov .  Under the MAIN MENU option B - GPO Access, users can select a telnet session from the FBB to the GPO Access WAIS server.  

Exiting from Telnet (without the -a option):

To disconnect from the remote computer and return to the FBB: wait 2 seconds, 
type "---" (3 dashes); If this doesn't work, wait a little extra longer, and then type 3 dashes again.   OR type:    QUIT <ENTER>

This scheme is used, instead of the traditional "X"-to-exit, in case you need to type X <ENTER> on the remote system for some reason.

Telnet and the FBB - Connecting to the FBB from the Internet

Telnet is the scheme for connecting terminals to host computers across the Internet.  If your telnet client supports ANSI or RIP, you'll be able to use the same terminal-mode features of FBB as if you had  called in by modem.  If you don't have ANSI, you may be able to use  VT100 mode, but this doesn't always work.  Use straight ASCII mode if  all else fails.


  File Transfer via Unix Telnet:

 If you have a "shell" account on a Unix computer that's connected to the Internet (such as one run by your service provider), and you want to call across the Internet to the FBB and transfer  files, you may need to disable certain options in Unix's Telnet client  program.  Here's how:

  telnet                        bring up telnet without connecting
  set flushoutput off           don't intercept ^O (0x0F)
  set escape off                        don't intercept ^] (0x1D)
  toggle binary                 allow client to negotiate binary mode
  open fedbbs.access.gpo.gov  t o make the connection to a remote host

Technical note:  The toggling of binary mode is the critical step  that allows downloads to work through some SunOS Unix computers.  Otherwise, the SunOS Telnet client refuses FBB's attempt to negotiate binary mode.  Oddly enough, the "toggle binary" option for Telnet is available in an older version of SunOS, release 4.1, but is not available in the newer SunOS release 5.3.  So there doesn't appear to be any way to get a transparent connection through the newer SunOS Telnet client.

 It appears that there is also no "toggle binary" command in the Telnet client on IBM's RISC/6000 with AIX (version 3.2.5).  If you telnet through this computer, tab characters appear to get expanded, making most file transfer protocols infeasible.

File Transfer via COMt:

COMt allows you to dial across the Internet using a standard terminal emulation package like Telix or PROCOMM PLUS, with, for example the command "ATDT gcomm.com".  To transfer files through COMt, you'll want to make these settings:

  ATS1002=1always request binary connection
  ATS1005=0no carriage-return padding

 Leave the other settings default:  S1001=2 S1003=1 S1004=1

Even with these settings you may have problems transferring files *through* a Unix computer (telnetting to the Unix computer, then telnetting to the FBB).  That problem does not seem to  occur when COMt is connected directly to the FBB via the Internet.


FTP - Getting files from, or putting files on, the FBB

 The files in the File Libraries of this FBB are accessible via FTP, with access restrictions that are very similar to those of the  File Libraries that you can access via modem or telnet.

 When you log into the FBB via FTP, all file libraries appear as subdirectories of the "/gpo_bbs" directory:


  /                     root
  /gpo_bbs              master directory of all File Libraries
  /gpo_bbs/main         the MAIN library
  /gpo_bbs/support      the SUPPORT library

 No files are stored at either the root (/) or the library master  directories (/gpo_bbs).

 Anonymous FTP access:

 This FBB may support anonymous FTP access with restrictions.  To log in without having an account on this FBB, type the word "anonymous" in place of a User-ID, then enter your 
 Internet E-mail address in place of a password:  
	User-ID:  anonymous    Password: <your Internet E-mail address>

 Or use "ftp" in place of "anonymous" as a shorthand:

  User-ID:  ftp
  Password: <your Internet E-mail address>

 Deleting or overwriting files:

You can't use the FTP "delete" command on a library file.  And you can only put a file if it doesn't exist already.  To have a file deleted, leave a note to the Sysop or to a library operator and he or she can do it.


 File mode:

Here are the meanings of the mode characters for files and subdirectories:

drwxrwxrwx              subdirectory, may allow get, put, etc.
dr-xr-xr-x              subdirectory, may allow get, doesn't allow put
d-wx-wx-wx              subdirectory, may allow put, doesn't allow get
d--x--x--x              subdirectory, doesn't allow get, or put
-r--r--r--              file, can get
----------              file, can't get

 TCP/Connect II:

To work best with this FTP client from Intercon, turn on the radio button labelled:  
[X] Don't use extra flags under the Settings pull-down menu, in the Preferences dialog box, under Directory Flags.



FTP Supported commands:

This FTP site recognizes the following FTP client/FBB commands:

USER            TYPE            DELE            HELP
PASSSTRU        RMD             NOOP
ACCT            MODE            MKD             MDTM
CWD             RETR            PWD             SIZE
CDUP            STOR            LIST            QUIT
APPEN           LST             PORT            RNFR
STAT            PASV            RNTO            SYST