From: fnia@willett.pgh.pa.us (ForthNet Information Account)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.forth
Subject: [comp.lang.forth 1/2] Forth On-line Resource/Technical Help (v1.6, 15-Mar-92)
Date: 9 Nov 92 12:23:06 GMT
Organization: EIEI-U



 F O R T H   O N - L I N E   R E S O U R C E  /  T E C H N I C A L   H E L P

		    Last updated on 15 March 1992.

    If you have corrections, clarifications, additions, comments or
    updates, please send them to the address at the end of this note.

  This is the first of two regularly posted articles to comp.lang.forth.
  Both of these messages are posted on or about the 1st and the 15th of
  each month.  The other article's subject line is:

	[comp.lang.forth 2/2] Frequently Asked Question Answers

  That article covers more specific questions about where to get
  particular versions of Forth, etc.  You should probably read this
  article completely before reading that one.


  New with version 1.4 of this message are change bars '|' in the left
  hand margin.  The change bars indicate text which has changed since
  the last version.


  Hello,

	This post is to introduce you to the resources available to
  those who read comp.lang.forth and can also send UseNet/Internet mail
  or do anonynmous FTP.

    This message answers the questions:

		    What is ForthNet?
		    Where do I find Forth Libraries on-line?




  FORTHNET
  --------

    ForthNet is a virtual Forth network that links designated message
  bases of several Bulletin Boards and Information Services in an
  attempt to provide greater distribution of Forth related information.

    ForthNet is provided through the courtesy of the SysOps of its
  various links who shunt appropriate messages in a manual or
  semi-manual manner.  The current branches of ForthNet include:
  UseNet's comp.lang.forth, BitNet's FIGI-L, the BBoard systems RCFB,
  ACFB, LMI BBS, Interface BBS, Grapevine, and FIG's RoundTable on GEnie.
  (Info on modem-accessible systems is included below).

    The various branches of ForthNet do not have the same rules of
  appropriate postings or ettiquette.  Many BBoard posts are very chatty
  and contain some personal information, and some also contain blatant
  commercial advertising.  Most comp.lang.forth posts are not like that.
  ForthNet messages that are ported into comp.lang.forth from the rest
  of the ForthNet all originate on GEnie, which is a kind of defacto
  ForthNet message hub.  All such messages are ported into
  comp.lang.forth with a from line of the form:

		From:  ForthNet@willett.pgh.pa.us ...

  Most messages ported to comp.lang.forth also contain some trailer
  information as to where they actually originated, if it was not on
  GEnie.

     			   ****	NOTE: ****
 	    Because ForthNet messages are routed beyound the
 	    system from which they originate, we, the manual
 	    and semi-manual linkers of ForthNet, ask that you
 	    try to keep your the lines in your message to under
 	    77 characters in length.  You do not have to do that.
 	    If you use long lines, your message will end up
 	    formatted differently than you intended on the various 
 	    branches of ForthNet.
 

    			   ****	NOTE: ****
	    There is NO E-MAIL link between the various
	    branches of ForthNet.  If you need to get a
	    message through to someone on another branch,
	    please either make your message general enough
	    to be of interest to the whole net, or contact
	    said person by phone, USMail, or some other
	    means.  Thoughtful message authors place *a few*
	    lines at the end of their messages describing
	    how to contact them (electronicly or otherwise).


  Phone information for the dial-in services mentioned above:

    RCFB (Real-Time Control Forth Board)	303-278-0364
	SysOp:		Jack Woehr
	Location:	Golden, Colorado -USA-

    ACFB (Australia Connection Forth Board)	03-809-1787 in Australia
						61-3-809-1787 International
	SysOp:		Lance Collins
	Location:	Melbourne, Victoria -AUSTRALIA-

    LMI BBS (Laboratory Microsystems, Inc.)	213-306-3530
	SysOp:		Ray Duncan
	Location:	Marina del Ray, California -USA-

   Interface BBS 				707-544-9661 
       Sysop:		b0b (Bob Lee) 
       Location:	Santa Rosa, California -USA-

    Grapevine (Grapevine RIME hub)		501-753-8121 to register
						501-753-6859 thereafter
	SysOp:		Jim Wenzel
	Location:	Little Rock, Arkansas -USA-

    GEnie					800-638-9636 for information
    (General Electric Network for Information Service)
	SysOps:		Dennis Ruffer(D.RUFFER)
			Leonard Morgenstern(NMORGENSTER)
			Gary Smith(GARY-S)
			Elliott Chapin(ELLIOTT.C)
	Location:	Forth RoundTable - type M710 or FORTH





  FORTH LIBRARIES
  ---------------

    There are several repositories of Forth programs, sources,
  executables, and so on.  These various repositories are NOT indentical
  copies of the same things.  Material is available on an AS-IS basis
  due to the charity of the people involved in maintaining the
  libraries.  There are several ways to access Forth Libraries:


				FTP
				---

    			   ****	NOTE: ****
	    You can only use FTP if you are on an Internet
	    site which supports FTP (some sites may restrict
	    certain classes of users).  If you have any
	    questions about this, contact your system
	    administrator for information.  Your system
	    administrator should always be your first line
	    of resort if you have any difficulties or
	    questions about using FTP.

	    You can also read comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d where you can
	    find a regulary posted article with the subject:
		    Beginner's Guide to FTP


    For MSDOS related files there are several sites from which
  you can anonymously FTP Forth related materials, two of which are:
	    WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL	(Simtel20 for short)
	    WUARCHIVE.WUSTL.EDU		(Wuarchive for short)
  Wuarchive maintains a "mirror" of the material available on Simtel20.
  Simtel20 has a limited amount of material, most of it binaries for
  MSDOS computers.  The Forth files on Simtel20 are in directory
  'PD1:<MSDOS.FORTH>'.  The Forth files on Wuarchive are in directory
  '/mirror/msdos/forth'.  For detailed information on how use FTP and
  the Simtel20 archive see the text files in:  (it is too much to include here)
	    PD1:<MSDOS.STARTER>SIMTEL20.INF	or
	    /mirrors/starter/simtel20.inf

    You can find other sites using the "archie" archive finder.  Details
    on how to use archie are included in the FAQ posting that accompanies
    this one.



			EMAIL access to FTP sites
			-------------------------

    Date: Tue, 2 Apr 91 09:13:41 CST
    From: pitt!sifvs9.SINet.SLB.COM!fisher
    Message-Id: <9104021513.AA10971@SLCS.SLB.COM>
    Subject: Re: F.O.R/T.H. Letter

    Firstly, F.O.R/T.H.  mentions BITNET/EARN servers for SIMTEL20 in
    passing.  These may easily be accessed via EMail if you can
    provide an EMail path to and from the Internet.

    Mail a message containing 'help' in the body of the message to either :-

		listserv@rpiecs.bitnet
	or	listserv@ndsuvm1.bitnet

    Secondly, all FTP sites are accessable from Internet using a
    program at Princeton Uni.  called BITFTP.  This allows you to send
    whatis basically an FTP batch job to BITFTP@PUCC.BITNET, which
    will execute the job and mail any files back to you in UUENCODED
    format.

    Mail a message containing 'help' in the body of the message to :-

		bitftp@pucc.bitnet


	Craig Fisher			|**** fisher@sifvx6.sinet.slb.com ****
	Schlumberger Technologies	|
	Instruments Division		|   Disclamer:  These views are mine,
	Farnborough, Hants.  UK		|    my boss thinks I'm working. ;-)



				MODEM
				-----

    For those desiring (or stuck with?) to use modems, the dial-in
  systems listed above also have Forth libraries.

			   ****	NOTE: ****
		GEnie is the official repository of the
		Forth Interest Group's on-line library.

			   ****	NOTE: ****
	    If you are unable to access SIMTEL20 via
	    Internet FTP or through one of the BITNET/EARN
	    file servers, most SIMTEL20 MSDOS files,
	    including the PC-Blue collection, are available
	    for downloading on the Detroit Download Central
	    network at 313-885-3956.  DDC has multiple lines
	    which support 300/1200/2400/9600/14400 bps
	    (HST/V.32/V.42/V.42bis/MNP5).  This is a
	    subscription system with an average hourly cost
	    of 17 cents.  It is also accessable on Telenet
	    via PC Pursuit and on Tymnet via StarLink
	    outdial.  New files uploaded to SIMTEL20 are
	    usually available on DDC within 24 hours.

	    Information provided by:
		Keith Petersen Maintainer of SIMTEL20's MSDOS,
		    MISC & CP/M archives [IP address 26.2.0.74]
		Internet: w8sdz@WSMR-SIMTEL20.Army.Mil or
			  w8sdz@vela.acs.oakland.edu
		Uucp: uunet!wsmr-simtel20.army.mil!w8sdz
		BITNET: w8sdz@OAKLAND




				EMAIL
				-----

    For those with email only access there is not much.  For now,
  posts from ForthNet ported into comp.lang.forth sometimes advertise
  files being available on GEnie.  Those messages also contain
  information on how to get UUencoded EMail copies of the same files.
  There is an automated email service being developed.  When it is
  functional an article will be posted to comp.lang.forth with details
  on who/what/how, etc. and this paragraph will be replaced by the
  appropriate instructions.  As many of you who have written me (Doug
  Philips) know, this is nearly finished.  Expect word soon!


			   ****	NOTE: ****
		EMail is the mode of last resort.  EMail archive
		access compared to the other forms puts the
		heaviest load on the network.  If you have
		access to other methods, please use them!
---
If you have any questions about ForthNet/comp.lang.forth or any information
to add/delete or correct in this message or any suggestions on formatting or
presentation, please contact Doug Philips at one of the following addresses:

  o   Internet: dwp@willett.pgh.pa.us

  o   Usenet:   ...!uunet!willett.pgh.pa.us!dwp

  o   GEnie:    D.PHILIPS3