FTP is usually faster than sending files by e-mail and it handles binary files, so you don't have to worry about encoding or decoding them. The easiest method to transfer a file to or from the IBM mainframe is to first copy the file to Temple's anonymous FTP server and then transfer the file from there.
Files remain at the site for seven days.
If you place a file in the contrib directory, you or anyone else who wants the file, must know the exact filename in order to retrieve it. You cannot get a listing of the files in this directory. If privacy is not an issue, you can place files in the contrib.visible directory. The FTP site will list filenames in this directory so you or anyone else can retrieve them. When you use FTP, you must also indicate if you are transferring a binary file.