From: edguer@ces.cwru.edu (Aydin Edguer)
Subject: alt.bbs.internet Frequently asked Questions [FAQ] (with answers)
Followup-To: alt.bbs.internet
Summary: FAQ
Supersedes: <1992Mar30.230323.6968@usenet.ins.cwru.edu>
Reply-To: edguer@ces.cwru.edu
Organization: Computer Engineering and Science, Case Western Reserve University
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 92 16:19:22 GMT
Expires: Mon, 11 May 1992 05:00:01 GMT
X-Copyright: Copyright 1992 Aydin Edguer

Archive-name: inet-bbs-faq
Last-modified: 13 Apr 92 00:00:01 EST

alt.bbs.internet Frequently asked Questions [FAQ] (with answers)

	-1-  What is the purpose of this newsgroup?
	-2-  How can I search this list to find the answers?
	-3-  What is the Internet?
	-4-  How can I get access to the Internet?
	-5-  How do I get connected to the Internet?
	-6-  How do I find out if Alpha Beta University is on the Internet?
	-7-  Is there a list of all the sites on the Internet?
	-8-  How do I send mail to users on Prodigy?
	-9-  How do I send mail to users on Compuserve?
	-10- How do I send mail to users on Fidonet?
	-11- How do I find Jane Doe's e-mail address?
	-12- Where can I find a list of Internet accessible bulletin boards?
	-13- Where can I find a list of Internet accessible services?
	-14- What is FTP and how do I use it?
	-15- What is a MUD and where can I get more information on them?
	-16- How can I find answers to other questions?

Please send suggested corrections and additions to: edguer@ces.cwru.edu
The latest version of this FAQ is available from:
	pit-manager.mit.edu:/pub/usenet/news.answers/inet-bbs-faq

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

Subject: -1-  What is the purpose of this newsgroup?

This newsgroup is for the announcement and discussion of Internet accessible
Bulletin Board Systems and services offered on the Internet.

This newsgroup is NOT for the discussion of dial-outs, electronic mail,
public access UNIX sites, or dial-up bulletin board systems.

Please DO NOT post articles asking for "Internet access in (xxx) area code?"

If you are trying to send mail from one network to another and are unsure
of how to do this [and you can't find the answer from your local system
administrator or this document] then you should get a copy of the 
"Internetworking Guide".  The Guide is posted regularly to comp.mail.misc.
The Guide is maintained by John J. Chew <poslfit@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca> 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 newsgroup comp.mail.misc.

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 <phil@ls.com> and is available
for anonymous FTP from GVL.Unisys.COM in the file pub/nixpub/long.
Questions or comments should be directed to alt.bbs.

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.

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

Subject: -2-  How can I search this list to find the answers?

This FAQ follows the RFC1153 recommendations for message digests and
thus should easily be viewed by newsreaders that understand message
digests.

This FAQ also uses the Subject: lines with the answer to each question
and thus should be easily step through the answers with the "^G" command
of rn.

This FAQ marks each question with a "dash number dash" so that using
a regular expression search pattern you can easily get directly to any
question on the document.

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

Subject: -3-  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.
This definition has also been a subject of great debate; however, this
newsgroup is not valid place for such debates.

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

Subject: -4-  How can I get access to the Internet?

There are at least two ways you can gain access to the Internet.

The first method to gain access to the Internet is by getting an account
on a public access bulletin board system that is connected to the Internet.
There are a growing number of such systems available.  For information
on some of these systems, send electronic mail to:
	info@world.std.com
	info@netcom.com
	info@concert.net
	info@panix.com
Any of these systems is open to the public for a monthly access fee.

A second method to gain access to the Internet is by getting an account
with a network service provider who offers a "Dialin" service.  See the
"How do I get connected to the Internet?" section for more information.

Please note, although this is a Frequently asked Question, this newsgroup,
alt.bbs.internet, is NOT for the discussion of how to get access to the
Internet.  This newsgroup makes the assumption that you already have access
to the Internet.

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

Subject: -5-  How do I get connected to the Internet?

Traditionally, connections to the Internet were dedicated connections.
This is still the most common type of connection.  Monthly costs for the
connection range anywhere from $250 per month [plus line charges] for a
dial-up 9600 bps connection to $4,000 [plus line charges] for a T1 [1.44Mbps]
connection.  There is also an initial one time startup fee of anywhere
from $100 to $8,000 [plus equipment charges].

Some service providers are also offering part-time dial-up connections.
Customers share a set of phone lines and dial-up when needed.  This is
usually less expensive than dedicated dial-up connections for customers
who need a connection less than 80 hours per month.  Monthly costs range
from $40-100 per month [plus line charges] plus an hourly charge of $2-4.

Some service providers have begun to offer a new "Dialin" service.  The
name for Dailin service varies from vendor to vendor.  The Dialin service
is usually provided as a way for Internet connected users to connect back
to their home sites from remote locations.  But most service providers do
not limit their service to this audience, it is open to people not already
on the Internet.  The Dialin service provides either a terminal server
connection [with password] or an account on the service provider's equipment
[with password] which permits you to use telnet to connect to other sites
on the Internet.  This service differs from the normal "dial-up" IP services
because it does not require the user to run any IP software like PPP 
(Point-to-Point Protocol) or SLIP (Serial Line IP).  The cost for this
service usually range from $35 to $250 per month [plus line charges].
There is also an initial $35 to $500 connection fee [plus equipment charges].

The following are a list of known Internet service providers, along with
the services they offer, an e-mail address to contact for more information,
a phone number to contact for more information, or an FTP archive for more
information.

ALTERNET
Full time connections
 speed		9.6K 14.4K 56K   T1   T3
Leased Line	 y     y    y    y    n
Dialup Line	 y     y    -    -    -
 note: T1=1.544Mbs T3=45Mbps
Part time connections: no
Dialin Service:	none
Region: national (USA)
Contact: alternet-info@uunet.uu.net
Phone: 1-800-4UUNET3
FTP: ftp.uu.net:/uunet-info/

PSINet
Full time connections
 speed		9.6K 14.4K 56K   T1   T3
Leased Line	 y     y    y    y    n
Dialup Line	 y     y    -    -    -
 note: T1=1.544Mbs T3=45Mbps
Part time connections: yes
Dialin Service:	Global Dialup Service (GDS)
Region: national (USA)
Contact: info@psi.com
Phone: 1-800-82PSI82
FTP: ftp.psi.com:/press.releases/

CERFnet
Full time connections
 speed		9.6K 14.4K 56K   T1   T3
Leased Line	 n     y    y    y    n
Dialup Line	 y     y    -    -    -
 note: T1=1.544Mbs T3=45Mbps
Part time connections: yes
Dialin Service:	DIAL'n'CERF (nationwide USA)
Region: California
Contact: help@cerf.net
Phone: 1-800-876-CERF
FTP: nic.cerf.net:/cerfnet/

ANSNET
Full time connections
 speed		9.6K 14.4K 56K   T1   T3
Leased Line	 n     n    y    y    y
Dialup Line	 n     n    -    -    -
 note: T1=1.544Mbs T3=45Mbps
Part time connections: no
Region: national (USA)
Contact: info@ans.net
Phone: 1-914-789-5300 or 1-313-663-2482
FTP: nis.ans.net:/pub/info/

MSEN
Full time connections
 speed		9.6K 14.4K 56K   T1   T3
Leased Line	 y     y    n    n    n
Dialup Line	 y     y    -    -    -
 note: T1=1.544Mbs T3=45Mbps
Part time connections: yes
Dialin Service:	yes [*note* it is a local call from any 313 #]
Region: Michigan
Contact: info@msen.com
Phone: 1-313-741-1120
FTP: ftp.msen.com:/pub/vendor/msen/

OARnet
Full time connections
 speed		9.6K 14.4K 56K   T1   T3
Leased Line	 y     y    y    y    y
Dialup Line	 y     y    -    -    -
 note: T1=1.544Mbs T3=45Mbps
Part time connections: yes
Dialin Service:	none
Region: Ohio
Contact: nic@oar.net
Phone: 1-614-292-0700

Please note, although this is a Frequently asked Question, this newsgroup,
alt.bbs.internet, is NOT for the discussion of how to get connected to the
Internet.  This is the correct newsgroup to discuss your bulletin board
system and what it offers once you are connected to the Internet.

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

Subject: -6-  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.

Another method to check on how to reach a college or university, is to
check the college/university email directory maintained by Mark Kantrowitz
<mkant@cs.cmu.edu>. 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 don't have anonymous ftp access,
you can get it by sending a message to "mail-server@pit-manager.mit.edu"
with the subject "send usenet/soc.college/Student_Email_Addresses".

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

Subject: -7-  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.

More information on the growth of the Internet is available in RFC 1296.
Written by Mark Lottor <mkl@nisc.sri.com>, RFC 1296 describes 10 years
of the history of the growth of the Internet and the program used to try
to characterize its growth.  This project produced a much more complete
list of hosts, but it is over 10 megabytes compressed(!) and took days(?)
to run.  RFC 1296 is available via anonymous FTP from nic.ddn.mil in
the file /rfc/rfc1296.txt.

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

Subject: -8-  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.

Please note, although this is a Frequently asked Question, this newsgroup,
alt.bbs.internet, is NOT for the discussion electronic mail addressing.
Questions about electronic mail should be directed to the newsgroup
comp.mail.misc.

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

Subject: -9-  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.

You can also connect directly to Compuserve via the Merit Network, Inc.
gateway to SprintNet (formerly Telenet).  You will be billed as though you
were connecting to Compuserve directly through SprintNet but there are
[currently] no additional charges for the use of the gateway. To use this
service, you must telnet to hermes.merit.edu and enter "compuserve" at the
"Which Host?" prompt.  For more information on getting an account, contact
acctmgr@merit.edu

Please note, although this is a Frequently asked Question, this newsgroup,
alt.bbs.internet, is NOT for the discussion electronic mail addressing.
Questions about electronic mail should be directed to the newsgroup
comp.mail.misc.

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

From: pozar@kumr.lns.com (Tim Pozar)
Subject: -10- 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
"Zone 1, Net 105, FidoNode 302, Point 0." 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 "Fully Qualified Domain Name" 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. "Tim Pozar") will have a period '.' 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.

 [and its corollary - 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
a 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 "To" field enter "Uucp".
   2] The destination FidoNet node will be the gateway.
   3] On the first line of your message you will enter "To: <Internet address>"
      i.e. "To: pozar@kumr.lns.com"
   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!  What's shaking?

		Joe User
<End of message>

Please note, although this is a Frequently asked Question, this newsgroup,
alt.bbs.internet, is NOT for the discussion electronic mail addressing.
Questions about electronic mail should be directed to the newsgroup
comp.mail.misc.

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

Subject: -11- How do I find Jane Doe's e-mail address?

The short answer:
The most widely accepted way of finding another user's 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 "standard" for storing this information
and very few locations use even one of these "standards".

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.

A second method of finding users is "X.500".  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 "usenet-addresses" 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 is "NetFind", a commercial program
for discovering information.  This program will actively try to search
out a user given their organization and full name.
For more information, contact netfind@xcaret.com.

A fifth method of finding users, if you're looking for somebody at a
college or university, is to check the college/university email directory
maintained by Mark Kantrowitz <mkant@cs.cmu.edu>. 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 don't have anonymous ftp access,
you can get it by sending a message to "mail-server@pit-manager.mit.edu"
with the subject "send usenet/soc.college/Student_Email_Addresses".

More information on these and other methods is available in the
"FAQ: How to find people's E-mail addresses" maintained by Jonathan I. Kamens
<jik@mit.edu> 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.

Please note, although this is a Frequently asked Question, this newsgroup,
alt.bbs.internet, is NOT for the discussion electronic mail addressing.
Questions about electronic mail should be directed to the newsgroup
comp.mail.misc.

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

Subject: -12- 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 <zamfield@Dune.EE.MsState.Edu> and is irregularly
posted under the title "Zamfield's Internet BBS List".
The list is also available via anonymous FTP from wuarchive.wustl.edu
in the file /pub/Internet-BBS.list.[date-of-last-update].

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

Subject: -13- 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 <yanoff@csd4.csd.uwm.edu> and is regularly posted
under the title "Updated Internet Services List".  The list is also
available via anonymous FTP from csd4.csd.uwm.edu in the file
/pub/inet.services.txt

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

Subject: -14- 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 "anonymous" 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 "Anonymous FTP List" 
maintained by Tom Czarnik <aftp-list@netcom.com>.  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*.

In general, the "Anonymous FTP List" should be used as a last resort
when trying to locate information.  There are a _large_ number of anonymous
FTP sites on the Internet, and it is much too time consuming to try to
search each site when trying to find information.  There are other
tools, such as Archie, that help you to locate sites that carry a specific
package.  

It is beyond the scope of this FAQ to try to cover all the ways to locate
sources on the Internet.  More information about how to find sources and
sites is posted in the comp.sources.wanted FAQ "How to find sources".
It is available for anonymous FTP from pit-manager.mit.edu in the file:
/pub/usenet/comp.sources.wanted/H_t_f_s_(R_T_B_P).

Perhaps the best way to learn how to use FTP is the read the manual pages
[if any] that are on your system.  Lacking such documentation, the following
summary should help.  More information is available in other FAQs.

To use FTP, a command similar to "ftp hostname" 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 "Name:" prompt.
At this point, if you are using anonymous FTP, you should enter the username
of "anonymous".  On some sites "ftp" will also work as an anonymous username.
If the system recognizes the username as an anonymous entry then you should
receive back a "331 Guest login ok" response followed by a "Password:" prompt.
At this prompt you should enter your email address for the password.
It's not necessary, but it's 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 "230 Guest login ok" response or something similar.  If for some
reason things did not work you may receive a "530 Login incorrect" response.
Type in "quit" at the "ftp>" 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 "help".  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 files.
		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 'pub' 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
"quit" command to close the FTP connection and exit the FTP program.

Please note, although this is a Frequently asked Question this newsgroup,
alt.bbs.internet, is NOT for the discussion of anonymous FTP sites.
Questions about FTP should be directed to the newsgroup comp.sources.wanted
or comp.archives.admin.

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

Subject: -15- What is a MUD and where can I get more information on them?

A MUD (Multi-User Dungeon) is a program which allows multiple people to
interact with each other in a simulated environment.  Because of the growing
popularity of MUDs which are not dungeons, the acronym is slowly evolving
to be Multi-User Dimensions.

You may also get more information from the 3 part FAQ which is regularly
posted to rec.games.mud.  The MUD FAQ is maintained by Jennifer "Moira" Smith
<jds@math.okstate.edu> and is available via anonymous FTP from
ftp.math.okstate.edu in the file pub/muds/misc/mud-faq.

alt.bbs.internet is _not_ the newsgroup to discuss MUDs.  There is a newsgroup
specifically for the discussion of all aspects of MUDs called rec.games.mud.

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

Subject: -16- How can I find answers to other questions?

By asking the questions in an appropriate manner in an appropriate newsgroup.
To find out about appropriate manners and appropriate newsgroups please read
all the postings in news.announce.newusers.  You might also want to take a
peek at some questions that already have answers in the news.answers group.

This newsgroup is NOT for the discussion of dial-outs, electronic mail,
public access UNIX sites, or dial-up bulletin board systems.

DO NOT post an article asking for "Internet access in (xxx) area code?"
This newsgroup is for how to reach systems once you are already on the
Internet, not how to reach the Internet.

If you have a question about Internet accessible bulletin boards then you
have found the right place - alt.bbs.internet.  Please post your question
and ask people to send you the answer via e-mail.  Once you have determined
that you have a correct answer, please post a new message with a Subject:
line that begins with "SUMMARY:" followed by your original subject line
and post a BRIEF summarization of your question, the correct answer, and
the people who helped you find the answer.

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

< Due to readability complaints, the copyright notice has been placed
  here at the end. >

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 "as is" without express or implied warranty.
Newsgroups: alt.bbs.internet