From: muszynsk@tne01.tele.nokia.fi
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: ITU Goes Electronic Again
Date: 8 Nov 92 15:19:57 GMT
Organization: Nokia Telecommunications.
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 827, Message 1 of 4

**** WELCOME TO THE TELEDOC AUTO-ANSWERING MAILBOX (TAM) ****

TELEDOC is an electronic document distribution service of the
International Telecommunication Union in Geneva, Switzerland.

For help on TELEDOC Auto-Answering Mailbox (TAM) commands, send a
message with the line HELP in the message body.

NEWS FLASH: Summaries of CCITT Recommendations are being added to the
ITU Document Store.  Send the command LIST CCITT/REC to see the
Recommendation Series groups now available.  A new TAM help file is
also available (send the command HELP).

REPLY TO COMMAND => HELP

TAM replied on October 29, 1992 at 11:19 AM local time in Geneva.

TAM Help is attached in the next message body part.

 ********************* END COVER MESSAGE *********************


Start of body part 2

TELEDOC AUTO-ANSWERING MAILBOX (TAM) HELP
LAST REVISION: October 8, 1992

** INTRODUCTION **

TELEDOC is an electronic document distribution service of the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU).  The ITU is a United
Nations agency based in Geneva, Switzerland.  It consists
organizationally of five permanent organs: the General Secretariat,
the International Frequency Registration Board (IFRB), the
International Radio Consultative Committee (CCIR), the International
Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee (CCITT) and the
Telecommunications Development Bureau (BDT).

ITU documents are stored in a database called the ITU Document Store.
The ITU Document Store organizes ITU documents into hierarchical
groups.  Each group can contain additional groups and/or documents.
Remote access to the ITU Document Store is planned via:

- electronic mail (auto-answering mailbox)
- interactive VT interface (planned for early 93)
- Internet FTP (planned for early 93)

This document describes the electronic mail access, the Teledoc
Auto-Answering Mailbox (TAM).


** TELEDOC AUTO-ANSWERING MAILBOX (TAM) **

The Teledoc Auto-Answering Mailbox (TAM) is an X.400 "robot"
electronic mailbox at ITU headquarters.  The electronic mail address
of the TAM is:

(X.400)

S=teledoc; P=itu; A=arcom; C=ch

or --

(Internet)

teledoc@itu.arcom.ch

Electronic mail sent to the TAM should only contain simple commands
described below.  When the TAM receives a message, it scans it for
these commands which it interprets and processes.  It then constructs
and mails back a reply.

For example, you can ask the TAM to send help (HELP), a list of groups
and/or documents in the ITU Document Store (LIST) or an actual
document (GET).  Here is a sample message to the TAM:

               -----------------------------------------

 To: S=teledoc;P=itu;A=arcom;C=ch (X.400)
    or
    teledoc@itu.arcom.ch (Internet)
 FROM: (NAME)
 SUBJECT: (IGNORED)

HELP
LIST
LIST CCITT
LIST CCITT/REC
LIST CCIR
LIST IFRB
LIST BDT
LIST TIES
GET 1449

The above message to the TAM asks to:

1. Send a help file;
2. Send a list of groups and/or documents at the root
level of the ITU Document Store;
3. Send a list of groups and/or documents in the CCITT
Group (CCITT);
4. Send a list of groups and/or documents in the CCITT
Recommendations group (CCITT/REC);
5. Send a list of groups and/or documents in the CCIR
Group (CCIR);
6. Send a list of groups and/or documents in the IFRB
Group (IFRB);
7. Send a list of groups and/or documents in the BDT
Group (BDT);
8. Send a list of groups and/or documents in the
Telecom Information Exchange Services Group (TIES);
9. Send the document that has the Unique Permanent
Identifier (UPI) of 1449.


** GETTING STARTED **

1. Find out how the electronic mail system you use in your
organization or company can access the TAM via either the X.400 or
Internet mail address listed above.  Alternatively, you can access the
TAM via various major email service providers (see below).

2. Send a test message (TEST or HELP) to the TAM.  If you receive a
reply then you have established that your message has reached the TAM
and that it can also reach you.

3. Decide which group of documents in the ITU Document Store you are
interested in.  Send a mail message requesting a list (LIST) of groups
and/or documents in that group.

4. After you receive a list of available documents and groups, send a
mail message to list (LIST) other sub-groups or get (GET) the document
you want.  The TAM will send to you the list or document requested.


** TELEDOC AUTO-ANSWERING MAILBOX COMMANDS **

TAM commands consist of a command word followed, in some cases, by an
argument.  Commands and arguments can be specified in upper, lower or
mixed case.  Every line of your mail message to the TAM should contain
a valid command.  Only commands contained in the mail message are
interpreted.  All other lines and the mail subject field are ignored
(you can use the subject field to document your request for your own
needs).  Up to 50 lines per message will be processed by the TAM.
Each valid command currently generates a separate mail reply.

START
     This optional command tells the TAM to begin
     processing commands after this line.  If this
     command is present, any text in the mail
     message before this command is ignored.

TEST
     This command is used to test that the TAM can
     receive mail from your electronic mail system
     and can also respond back to your mail system.
     The TAM will acknowledge your message and send
     a help file.   Typically, if you have not
     received a reply within 48 hours, there is a
     connectivity problem between your electronic
     mail system and the TAM.

HELP
     This command sends the latest help file listing
     and explaining the commands understood by the
     TAM.

LIST <PATH>
     This command returns a list of groups and/or
     documents in the specified group.  The path to
     a group is defined by its location relative
     from the top of the ITU Document Store.  For
     example:

     LIST
     LIST CCITT
     LIST CCITT/REC
     LIST CCITT/REC/F
     LIST CCIR
     LIST IFRB
     LIST BDT
     LIST TIES

     The first example of the LIST command above
     returns a list of groups and/or documents at
     the root level of the ITU Document Store.

GET <UPI>
     When the TAM sends a list of documents and/or
     groups, it provides a Unique Permanent
     Identifier (UPI) code for every document in
     each available format.  The UPI is the code
     used to retrieve the document that you want.
     For example:

     GET 1449
     GET 1453

     You should only retrieve documents in formats
     that can be handled by your electronic mail
     system (see ENCODE below).

ENCODE
     Most mail systems can handle ASCII documents
     attached to mail messages but may have
     difficulties with non-ASCII (i.e., "binary")
     formats such as word processing and graphics
     files.  With the ENCODE command, you can
     request the TAM to encode non-ASCII files into
     the UUENCODE format which is ASCII.  To decode
     the UUENCODED file back into its original
     binary format, you need a utility program
     called UUDECODE.  This program is widely
     available in different computing environments.
     Enter this command in your mail message before
     any GET commands retrieving binary formats if
     your mail system can only support ASCII
     formats.  For example:
     
     ENCODE
     GET 2314
     GET 2315
     
     Internet (SMTP) mail does not typically
     support binary attachments to mail messages.
     Therefore, if the TAM is replying to Internet
     mail, the ENCODE command is automatically
     applied.
     
HUMAN
     Since the TAM is a "robot", it may not
     understand exactly what you are trying to say
     to it.  If you type the command HUMAN followed
     by any message, the TAM will STOP processing
     commands and automatically forward your
     incoming mail message to a human operator at
     the ITU.  For example:
     
     HUMAN
     I am having a problem locating a document
     concerning XXXX.  Could you please tell me
     where it is available?
          Thank you,
          Bill

END
     This optional command tells the TAM to ignore
     the rest of the mail message.  This command is
     only required if your mail message contains
     text after your commands you want the TAM to
     ignore (e.g., your signature).


** IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS **

There are problems sometimes with international mail connections just
as there are problems sometimes with long distance telephone calls.
The electronic mail circuits between the TAM and your mail system can
fail or be temporarily unavailable.  In this case, email can be
delayed or not delivered.  So, the first advice if you have a problem
is to try again.

The TAM will only reply to valid commands.  If the argument to a LIST
command or GET command cannot be interpreted then you should receive
an error message explaining why.  If the TAM cannot process any
commands in your mail message, it will return a message saying so and
send back the help file.  If you have no problems retrieving ASCII
documents but difficulties with non-ASCII formats, your mail system or
the mail gateways to your system may not support binary messages.  In
this case, try using the ENCODE command.

If you have problems that you can't resolve, you can use the HUMAN
command and then enter your written description of the problem in the
mail message.  The TAM forwards messages containing the HUMAN command
to an ITU help desk.  If you wish to make a suggestion on how the
service can be improved, please contact:

Mr. Robert Shaw
TELEDOC Project Coordinator
Information Services Department
International Telecommunication Union
Place des Nations
1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland

TEL: +41 22 730 5338/5554
FAX: +41 22 730 5337
X.400: G=robert; S=shaw; A=arcom; P=itu; C=ch
Internet: shaw@itu.arcom.ch


** ACCESS TO TAM FROM EMAIL SERVICE PROVIDERS **

If you do not have direct access to either X.400 or Internet mail,
many major email service providers (e.g., MCI, Compuserve) provide
gateway facilities and can access the TAM.

ACCESS FROM MCI:

MCI users can access the TAM through MCI's facilities for access to
other mail systems (EMS).  TAM can be accessed through either MCI's
X.400 or Internet gateways.  X.400 responses appear faster and more
reliable.

ACCESS FROM MCI MAIL VIA X.400:

1. At COMMAND, type CREATE

2. At TO, type TELEDOC followed by EMS in
parentheses.  For
example,

      TO: TELEDOC (EMS)

3. At the prompt EMS: type ARCOM.  For example,

   EMS: ARCOM

4. At MBX: type PR=ITU.  For example,

   MBX: PR=ITU

5. At the next MBX: type return to end addressing

6. Complete as usual

ACCESS FROM MCI MAIL VIA INTERNET:

1. At COMMAND, type CREATE
2. At TO, type TELEDOC followed by EMS in
parentheses.  For
example,

   TO: TELEDOC (EMS)

3. At the prompt EMS: type INTERNET.  For example,

   EMS: INTERNET

4. At MBX: type TELEDOC@ITU.ARCOM.CH.  For example,

   MBX: TELEDOC@ITU.ARCOM.CH

5. At the next MBX: type return to end addressing

6. Complete as usual


ACCESS FROM COMPUSERVE

Compuserve mail users can access the TAM through Compuserve's Internet
mail gateway facility.

ACCESS FROM COMPUSERVE MAIL VIA INTERNET:

1. Choose COMPOSE a new message, edit the message with TAM commands,
then choose SEND

2. At SEND TO (NAME OR USER ID), type
INTERNET:TELEDOC@ITU.ARCOM.CH  For example,

   Send to (Name or User ID):
INTERNET:TELEDOC@ITU.ARCOM.CH

3. At SUBJECT, type any text (TAM ignores subject
fields)

4. Complete as usual

** END HELP FILE **