RFC 1290 Network Working Group J. Martin Request for Comments: 1290 Ohio State University FYI: 10 December 1991 There's Gold in them thar Networks! or Searching for Treasure in all the Wrong Places Status of this Memo This RFC provides information for the Internet community. It does not specify an Internet standard. Distribution of this memo is unlimited. Abstract This document was presented at the 1991 ACM SIGUCCS User Services Conference. It appears here in its updated form. There is a wealth of information on the network. In fact, so much information, that you could spend your entire life browsing. This paper will present some of the "gold nuggets" of information and file repositories on the network that could be of use to end users. The ultimate goal is to make the route to these sources of information invisible to the user. At present, this is not easy to do. I will explain some of the techniques that can be used to make these nuggets easier to pick up so that we can all be richer. Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction................................................ 2 2.0 Lists and Indexes of Network Resources/Bibliographies/ Information Available over the Network...................... 2 3.0 Libraries Available over the Network........................ 6 4.0 Anonymous FTP Sites......................................... 7 5.0 Network Information Centers - NICs.......................... 8 6.0 Network Statistics.......................................... 10 7.0 Campus Wide Information Systems - CWIS...................... 11 8.0 Internet Bulleting Board System/Interactive Databases/Freenet........................................... 19 9.0 WHOIS - E-mail white pages.................................. 22 10.0 Books....................................................... 23 11.0 Free Periodicals/Tabloids/Magazines......................... 23 12.0 Glossary.................................................... 25 Security Considerations.......................................... 26 Author's Address................................................. 27 Martin [Page 1] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 1.0 Introduction This paper is a list of the essential things, in my view, that a person who is responsible for providing network information should have in their hands as reference material. One of the basic problems of information is making it easily available to those who have need of the data. Libraries have been performing a cataloging function for many centuries. Information flow is now being provided at such a fast rate that it is difficult to keep up with it, even partially. Computer networks have only added to the problem by opening up even more information. Attempting to make this wealth of information available to those who would find it useful poses some problems. First, we need to know of its existence. To that end, this paper provides an index into the vast realm of network information. Most of the documents listed here are POINTERS to the final information. Second, even if you know of a document's existence, you may not know if it is important or relevant. Few of us are knowledgeable in more than a limited area. We need to rely on others to make us aware of the importance of databases in a specific discipline. The librarians can be of great assistance here. They are familiar with the research databases that individuals search in Law, Mathematics, and many others. Finally, once the existence and importance are known, the information needs to be indexed so that researchers can find it. This is the most difficult task to accomplish. Information available on the network is hardly ever static. It is always moving, growing, changing, and dying. Computers should be able to assist us in managing this ever-changing environment. Right now, we have to catalog the information as it passes through the network. In my case, I generally save it in a file somewhere, spending far too much time trying to retrieve it again when needed. 2.0 Lists and Indexes of Network Resources/Bibliographies/ Information Available over the Network 2.01 Internet Resource Guide (Document) An excellent guide to major resources available on the network. The Table of Contents includes chapters on Computational Resources, Library Catalogs, Archives, White Pages, Networks, Network Information Centers, and Miscellaneous Martin [Page 2] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 Source: Anonymous FTP to NNSC.NSF.NET cd resource-guide get resource-guide.ps.tar.Z (Postscript) or get resource-guide.txt.tar.Z (ASCII Text) Search: Telnet to pac.carl.org (Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries) Select terminal type Choose Item 3 (Information Databases) Choose Item 65 Internet Resource Guide You can then browse or do a keyword search To quit type //EXIT 2.02 Anonymous FTP Sites (Document) A list of all the sites on the Internet that support anonymous FTP. Source: Anonymous FTP to pilot.njin.net cd pub/ftp-list get ftp.list Search: Telnet to quiche.cs.mcgill.ca login as user archie type help to get a list of commands type prog topic - where topic is the keyword for the search of a program or topic 2.03 INDEX - Index of all RFC's - (Document) RFC-1118 - The Hitchhikers Guide to the Internet RFC-1175 - A Bibliography of Internetworking Information RFC-1173 - Responsibilities of Host and Network Managers RFC-1206 - Answers to Commonly asked "New Internet User" Questions RFC-1207 - Answers to Commonly asked "Experienced Internet User" Questions RFC-1208 - Networking Glossary of Terms Source: Anonymous FTP to nis.nsf.net cd rfc get $index.rfc get RFC1118.TXT-1 Martin [Page 3] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 get RFC1175.TXT-1 get RFC1173.TXT-1 get RFC1206.TXT-1 get RFC1207.TXT-1 get RFC1208.TXT-1 2.04 Interest Groups List-of-Lists (Document) This is a document that list the mailing lists or groups that exist. To get on the list to receive updates, send e-mail to Interest-groups-request@nisc.sri.com. Source: Anonymous FTP to ftp.nisc.sri.com cd netinfo get interest-groups 2.05 Regional Network Policies (Documents) Many regional networks have developed policies on responsible use of their network. You can retrieve copies of these policies on line by anonymous FTP. Source: Anonymous FTP to ftp.nsic.sri.com cd netinfo dir get ???.policy where ??? is the name of the regional network. The dir command will give you a directory of the filenames. 2.06 Campus ethics/policy statements (Documents) Many universities have developed more complete policies based on the regional network policies. If you wish to look at some to use as guidelines for your own campus, you can get them through anonymous FTP. Source: Anonymous FTP to ariel.unm.edu cd ethics dir get ???.policy where ??? is the name of the university or college. The dir command will give you a directory of the filenames. Martin [Page 4] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 2.07 VAX book (Document) Joe St Sauver of the University of Oregon has developed a very complete guide of information on the network available via anonymous FTP. The following is a quote from the README file: "While it is tailored to the University of Oregon's VAX8000 system, the skills it illustrates are general enough to be of interest to users at most other VAX sites, and even users at many non-VAX sites connected to the national networks." There is a major section on Network Topics that is excellent. It is a large document, over 300 pages. Source: Anonymous FTP to decoy.uoregon.edu cd pub/vaxbook get vms.ps (for postscript format) get vms.mem (lineprinter format) 2.08 Network Tidbits COMPUNET BIBLIO (Document) This is a "Network Bibliography" by Elliott Parker from the Journalism Dept. of Central Michigan University. It contains a bibliography of network related documents that he finds helpful. Source: Listserv Send e-mail to comserve@rpiecs (BITNET) the message should contain the following one line request SEND COMPUNET BIBLIO You will receive the file "COMPUNET BIBLIO" via return mail as well as a "Welcome to Comserve" message and a "Getting started with Comserve message." If you are unfamiliar with how the program listserv works on BITNET, these documents are a good start. 2.09 Internet Tour Macintosh Hypercard 2.0 Stack (Program) This is a Macintosh hypercard 2.0 stack that does a nice job of describing some of the functions of the Internet. It has a section that you can modify for your own institutions needs. Source: Anonymous FTP to nnsc.nsf.net cd internet-tour get Internet-Tour-README Martin [Page 5] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 get Internet-Tour.sit.hqx Note this is a stuffed and binhexed file. So you must have the program Stuffit to convert it to an executable file on the Macintosh. 2.10 A Survey of Educational Computer Networks (Document) This is a document that list the mailing lists or groups that exist. To get on the list to receive updates, send e-mail to Interest-groups-request@nisc.sri.com. Source: Anonymous FTP to ariel.unm.edu cd library get networks survey 2.11 Network Managers's Reading List (Document) This is a document is an annotated list of books and other resources of use to network managers who are using TCP/IP, UNIC, and Ethernet technologies. Source: Anonymous FTP to ftp.utexas.edu cd pub/netinfo/docs get net-read.txt 3.0 Libraries Available over the Network There are hundreds of libraries available over the network, far too many to list here. There are several documents available that list Internet accessible Libraries. There are two major documents that list many libraries. One is Internet-Accessible Library Catalogs and Databases, coauthored by Dr. Art St. George of the University of New Mexico (stgeorge@bootes.unm.edu [Internet] or stgeorge@unmb [BITNET]) and Dr. Ron Larsen of the University of Maryland. The other is UNT's Accessing On-Line Bibliographic Databases by Billy Barron, (billy@vaxb.acs.unt.edu [Internet]). 3.1 UNT's Accessing On-Line bibliographic Databases (Document) Source: Anonymous FTP to vaxb.acs.unt.edu cd library get libraries.ps (postscript format) get libraries.txt (ASCII text version) get libraries.wp5 (Wordperfect 5.1 source) Martin [Page 6] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 3.2 Internet-Accessible Library Catalogs & Databases (Docment) Source: Anonymous FTP to ariel.unm.edu cd library get library.ps (postscript format) get internet.library (ASCII text version) 4.0 The Mother Lode of Anonymous FTP Sites Throughout this document, there are listed sites for specific documents. Most of the documents listed in this paper are only indexes to more information. A big problem is searching through all of this information to find what you want. Listed below are some of the major sites for specific programs. You can also use Archie for searching for specific programs. (See Search: category under Anonymous FTP sites above.) 4.1 Washington University (Anonymous FTP) Washington University represents perhaps one of the most popular sites for software on the network. The mirrors directory is where a copy of all of the wsmr-simtel20.army.mil files are kept. Wsmr-simtel20-army.mil is the originator and keeper of major amounts of public domain software. Their site, however, is often overloaded with connections and difficult to make connection to. You will find enough software here to keep you busy for the rest of your life. The mirrors directory MSDOS and Macintosh directories contain files for those specific machines. Anonymous FTP to wuarchive.wustl.edu cd mirrors cd msdos for Income tax time cd taxes for unzipping files cd zip, type binary, and get pkz110eu.exe for education software cd education for graphics files cd giff, tiff or graphics cd macintosh for the macintosh there are directories for applications, inits, sounds, reviews and many more. Martin [Page 7] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 4.2 KERMIT (Anonymous FTP) Kermit is a public domain file transfer protocol that is available for just about all microcomputers, minicomputers, and mainframes. It is very popular and has been has been utilized by many computer facilities everywhere. Anonymous FTP to watsun.cc.columbia.edu cd kermit get read.me For executable versions of kermit cd bin get READ.ME file and read for specifics of what file to get For the IBM PC I get msvibm.exe after typing binary to activate the binary transfer mode. 4.3 NCSA Software for Network Access from PC's (Anonymous FTP) Source: Anonymous FTP to ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu cd NCSA_Telnet cd PC/Telnet (for IBM PC Software) get telxxbin.zip where xx is the current version number (in binary format, I also suggest getting readme files) cd Mac/Telnet get telnet.x.sithqx or where x is the current version number (in binary format, I also suggest getting readme files) 5.0 Network Information Centers - NICs These are the individuals to contact if you want information on what networking is all about, and how you can connect. They can put you in contact with the individuals in your area that can assist you in obtaining a network connection. They can also provide assistance if you don't know who else to ask about network topics. Martin [Page 8] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 5.1 Defense Data Network (DDN) Goverment Systems, Inc. (GSI) Attn: Network Information Center 14200 Park Medow Drive Suite 200 Chantilly, VA 22021 (800) 365-3642 or (703) 802-4535 FAX (703)-802-8373 NIC@NIC.DDN.MIL The main NIC on the Internet. The source for network numbers, domain names, and much more. 5.2 NSF Network Service Center (NNSC) NSF Network Service Center Bolt Baranek and Newman Inc. 10 Moulton St. Cambridge, MA 02138 (617) 873-3400 NNSC@NNSC.NSF.NET Corinne Carroll NNSC Staff Publishes Newsletter called NSF Network News; to subscribe, contact them at address above. 5.3 NSFNET Information Services (NIS) NSFNET Information Services Merit Network, Inc. ITI Building 2901 Hubbard, Pod G Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2016 (313) 936-3000 or 1-800-66MERIT NSFNET-INFO@MERIT.EDU Publishes Newsletter called Linkletter, to subscribe send e-mail to NSFNET-linkletter-Request@merit.edu. Martin [Page 9] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 5.4 SRI International Network Information Systems Center (NISC) SRI International Network Information Systems Center 333 Ravenswood Avenue, Room EJ291 Menlo Park, CA 94015 (415) 859-6387 or (415) 859-3695 Fax: (415) 859-6028 NISC@NISC.SRI.COM 5.5 BITNET (NIC) BITNET Network Information Center Corporation for Research and Educational Networking (CREN) 1112 16th Street, N.W. Suite 600 Washington, DC 20036 (202) 872-4200 INFO@BITNIC Lisa Covi, BITNET Support 6.0 Network Statistics If you would like to publish statistics in your newsletter about your institutions network traffic into and out of the NSFNET backbone, you can obtain information on either the packets or bytes sent. I prefer the bytes since that can be translated into some sort of understandable figure. 6.1 Files containing monthly information on NSF Internet backbone traffic by packets or bytes (Document) Source: Anonymous FTP to nis.nsf.net cd stats get nsfyy-mm.ptraffic where yy is year, 91 and mm is month, 06 get nsf91-06.ptraffic ptraffic is the packet traffic get nsfyy-mm.btraffic where yy is year, 91 and mm is month, 06 get nsf91-06.btraffic btraffic is the byte traffic Martin [Page 10] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 7.0 Campus Wide Information Systems - CWIS The information provided in this paper is primarily intended for the individuals who will use this information to then provide methods for access from their own computing environment. Although standards have been proposed, there are no "packages" that give you access to all of the information presented here. What we at Ohio State University have done, as have several other universities, is to provide a menu to the user that accesses these services and databases behind the scenes. In fact, Ur had to go into the shell scripts to look up the network addresses of these machines, because I rely on the menu for access as well. As the name "Information Systems" implies, the user wants access to the information without having to know exactly how to get to it. In this way, the network is invisible to the end user. All they need to know is what they want, not the command structure needed to actually get the information. At the present, the menu system seems to be the easiest way in which to lead the end user to the information. A term "knowbot" has been used to describe the ability to indicate what information you wish in free form, and have a "knowbot" which knows what is available, go out and retrieve it. The following are some of the places you can connect to for a demonstration of their capabilities. 7.1 Appalachian State University conrad.appstate.edu (152.10.1.1) Login as info. Emulate a VT100. Hardware/software: DEC/VTX Contact: Ernest Jones (jonesel@appstate.bitnet) 7.2 Arizona State University PEGASUS and ASEDD asuvm.inre.asu.edu Login as helloasu. Use tn3270. Hardware/software: Running PNN News Network Software under VM/CMS (with Profs and FOCUS). Contact: Joy Kramer (iejxk@asuvm.inre.asu.edu) Martin [Page 11] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 Contains two databases: PErsonal Guide to ASU Stuff (PEGASUS) and Arizona State Economic Development Database (ASEDD). 7.3 Clemson University eureka.clemson.edu Login as public. Emulate a VT100. Hardware/software: DEC/VTX Contact: Amy Slankard (amy@clust1.clemson.edu) System contains information on: Weather for SC, NC, and GA; economics; plants; animals; engineering; food; home, health, family and youth. 7.4 Columbia University cal.cc.columbia.edu Login as calendar. Contact: David Millman (dsm@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu) 7.5 Cornell CUINFO cuinfo.cornell.edu Connect to port 300. Use telnet or tn3270. Different versions of telnet or tn3270 have different syntax for defining the port. The following are the most common: TELNET cuinfo.cornell.edu 300 TELNET cuinfo.cornell.edu::300 or TELNET cuinfo.cornell.edu..300 Hardware/software: VM/CMS; IBM S/370 assembler; locally written Contact: Steve Worona (slw@cornella.bitnet) CUINFO of interest to non-Cornell community members: Uncle Ezra The Electronic Counselor - first program of its kind; a must see Directories Student and Staff directories includes staff electronic addresses Ski Reports Up to the minute Upstate New York Ski Reports (Seasonal) Jobs Listings and Descriptions of jobs at Cornell Martin [Page 12] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 Computing Extensive on-line information regarding computing at Cornell Patents Descriptions of current patents held by Cornell Various Newsletters Newsletters from numerous campus groups Weather Up to the minute local weather forecast 7.6 Lafayette Integrated, Networked Campus - LINC lafibm.lafayette.edu (139.147.8.4) Use telnet or tn3270. When you see the LINC logo, ignore the ALT-L advice and clear the logo by pressing Enter. On next screen, instead of logging on, type DIAL MUSIC (case does not matter). On login screen that appears, use GUEST as ID, and GUEST as password. Hardware/software: IBM 9375 running MUSIC/SP Contact: Patrick Ciriello (ciri@lafayacs.bitnet) 7.7 Lehigh ibm1.cc.lehigh.edu Use tn3270. At the VM prompt, type DIAL MUSIC, and at the /ID prompt, type LUNA. Hardware/software: IBM 4381 running MUSIC. Planning to move to AIX on RS/6000s. Contact: Timothy J. Foley (tjf0@ns.cc.lehigh.edu) 7.8 Mississippi State University (MSUinfo) isis.msstate.edu (130.18.164.2) Login as msuinfo. Terminal type: enter yours, most supported. Hardware/software: UNIX/TechInfo Contact: Bennet George (George_Bennet@admin.msstate.edu) Contains: announcements, campus events, community events, continuing education offerings, jobs, recent press releases, research funding opportunities, etc. 7.9 MIT TechInfo Accessible either via telnet, or via a native Macintosh application that uses the MacTCP drivers to access the TechInfo server. MacPlus with 1 Meg memory or better required, System 6.0.3 or better, and licensed MacTCP drivers. Martin [Page 13] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 Source code available freely to other schools looking to get started quickly - contact folks listed below. For telnet access: telnet techinfo.mit.edu (18.72.1.146) No username/password is required. Once you're in, you can use upper or lower case commands. To exit the system, use the QUIT command. For native Macintosh access: anonymous ftp to net-dist.mit.edu, look in the /pub/techinfo directory, fetch techinfo.hqx Binhex (public domain tool) required to decode the binary. Contact: Tim McGovern (tjm@mit.edu), (617) 253-0505 Bugs: bug-techinfo@mit.edu Comments: comment-techinfo@mit.edu Administration: admin-techinfo@mit.edu 7.10 New Mexico State University NMSU/INFO info.nmsu.edu Login as info. Emulate a VT100. Hardware/software: DEC/VTX Contact: D. Brian Ormand (bormand@nmsuvm1.bitnet) or (bormand@nmsu.edu) 7.11 North Carolina State University Happenings! ccvax1.cc.ncsu.edu (128.109.153.4) Login as info. Emulate a VT100. Hardware/software: DEC/VTX Contact: Harry Nicholos (hmn@ncsuvax.bitnet) MIT TechInfo 7.12 NYU ACF INFO system info.nyu.edu (information.nyu.edu) (128.122.138.142) Emulating a VT100 or better enables some additional suboptions. Contact: Stephen Tihor (tihor@ACFcluster.nyu.edu) or (tihor@nyuacf.bitnet) Martin [Page 14] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 7.13 Pima Community College pimacc.pima.edu Login as pimainfo. Emulate a VT100. Hardware/software: DEC/VTX Contact: Terry Loftus (tloftus@pimacc.pima.edu) or Al Camberos (acamberos@pimacc.pima.edu) 7.14 Princeton News Network PNN pucc.princeton.edu Use telnet or tn3270. When you see the VM 370 logo, clear it, and instead of logging on, enter pnn (case does not matter). Clear the information screen that appears. Hardware/software: VM/CMS - locally written. A UNIX version and a Mac HyperCard version are up, running, and available. All versions (CMS, UNIX, HyperCard) are available to universities at no cost. Contact: Rita Saltz (rita@pucc.bitnet) System and Development: Howard Strauss (howard@pucc.bitnet) 7.15 Rutgers University info.rutgers.edu 98 No password required. Can be accessed from any microcomputer or terminal. Hardware/software: written in lush (a public domain program); runs on any SUN workstation. Contact: Leny Struminger (struming@zodiac.rutgers.edu) INFO contains university wide activities, graduate courses catalogs, Faculty/Staff phone directory, computer services, libraries online catalog, weather, news, bus schedules, etc. 7.16 San Diego State University wintermute.sdsu.edu Login as sdsuinfo. Emulate a VT100. Hardware/software: pnn & nmm Contact: Richard Caasi (caasi@sdsu.edu) Martin [Page 15] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 7.17 University of Arkansas uafsysb.uark.edu Login as info. Hardware/software: IBM 4381-14, VM/HPO 6.0, Cornell's CUINFO module Contact: Susan Adkins (sa06037@uafsysb.bitnet) or (sa06037@uafsysb.uark.edu) System contains information on: Calendar of events, campus e-mail directory, and hours and services. 7.18 University of Colorado at Boulder culine.colorado.edu 852 (128.138.129.2 852) Login as CULINE. Contact: Donna Pattee (pattee@spot.colorado.edu) 7.19 University of Denver du.edu Login as atdu. Contact: Bob Stocker (bstocker@ducair.bitnet) 7.20 University of Minnesota at Duluth ub.d.umn.edu Login as info. Emulate a vt100. Contact: Frank Simmons (fsimmons@ub.d.umn.edu) System contains over 700 documents ranging from athletic schedules to micro-computer prices to art gallery showing schedules. All commands are displayed at the bottom of each screen and separate on-line help is available. Keyword searching is available, although at this time only words in the titles of documents are used. 7.21 University of New Brunswick, Canada, INFO unbmvs1.csd.unb.ca (131.202.1.2) Login with application id INFO. There is no password required. INFO is a full-screen CICS application running under MVS. Martin [Page 16] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 tn3270 emulation. Contact: Bonita Mockler (bgm@unb.ca) System contains: University Calendar, class timetable, phone/fax numbers for faculty/staff/students, faculty and staff email ids, seminar schedules, minutes, newsletter, etc. 7.22 University of New Hampshire's VideoTex unhvtx.unh.edu (132.177.128.58) USERNAME: student (no password required). Control-z to log off. VT100/VT200 terminal emulation. Hardware/software: DEC/VTX Contact: Robin Tuttle (r_tuttle1@unhh.unh.edu) System includes: phone directories, campus calendar, job listings, off-campus housing list, undergraduate catalog, class schedules, newsletters, services and programs, rights and rules of conduct, athletics and recreation information, activities and workshops. 7.23 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill INFO info.oit.unc.edu (128.109.157.1) Login as info. Emulate a VT100. Hardware/software: DEC/VTX Contact: Judy Hallman (hallman@unc.bitnet) System contains: Campus directory; job openings; "The Independent Study" catalog (courses people can take by correspondence); undergraduate catalog; continuing education classes; several campus newsletters, including "Newsbrief," the weekly campus computing newsletter. 7.24 University of North Carolina at Greensboro MINERVA steffi.acc.uncg.edu Login as info or MINERVA. Emulate a VT100. Hardware/software: DEC/VTX Contact: Norman Hill (hillnr@uncg.bitnet) Martin [Page 17] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 7.25 University of North Carolina at Wilmington SEABOARD vxc.uncwil.edu (128.109.221.3) Log in as info. Emulate a VT100. Hardware/software: DEC/VTX Contact: Eddy Cavenaugh (cavenaughd@uncwil.bitnet) or (cavenaughd@vxc.uncwil.edu) System includes: class schedule listings, institutional statistics, library services, faculty & staff publications, current university news releases, phone directories, facilities schedules. 7.26 University of Northern Iowa infosys.uni.edu Log in as public. Prefers a vtxxx terminal, but works with unknown terminal types. Hardware/software: The program uses UNIX tput clear, tput mc4, and tput mc5 (for printing). Contact: Mike Yohe (yohe@iscsvax.uni.edu) 7.27 University of Pennsylvania - PennInfo In final testing phase; due for release at the beginning of November, 1991. penninfo.upenn.edu (no login id is needed). Emulate a VT100. Hardware/software: MIT's Techinfo; type HELP for directions Human contact: Valerie Glauser (glauser@dccs.upenn.edu) Comments: penninfo-comments@dccs.upenn.edu Bugs: penninfo-bugs@dccs.upenn.edu Human contact: Valerie Glauser (glauser@dccs.upenn.edu) PennInfo can be accessed via MIT's TechInfo MAC client program as well. We've modified the MAC client slightly because we have different contact information at Penn than MIT does. Martin [Page 18] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 8.0 Internet Bulleting Board System/Interactive Databases/Freenet There are several systems you can establish a connection with, sometimes referred to as an "anonymous telnet" session, that provide a variety of services/information. In some respects they resemble Campus Wide Information Systems, in others they are more like bulletin boards or interactive databases. A file containing the most frequently asked questions about Bulletin Board systems is available via anonymous ftp. Source: Anonymous FTP to polyslo.calpoly.edu cd pub get alt.bbs.faq Listed below are some of these types of systems: 8.1 Cleveland Freenet - Case Western Reserve University Telnet to freenet-in-a.cwru.edu Follow the menu driven instructions. 8.2 Heartland Freenet heartland.bradley.edu (136.176.10.10) Login as fnguest 8.3 Youngstown Freenet - Youngstown State University Telnet yfn.ysu.edu Type visitor at userid prompt and follow menu driven instructions. 8.4 Ocean Network Information Center Telnet delocn.udel.edu When the Userid: prompt appears type INFO and press Enter/Return key. 8.5 Geographic Name Server Telnet martini.eecs.umich.edu 3000 To use just type the name of the city and state you would like information on, just like you would on the last line of a postal Martin [Page 19] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 address. Example: Zanesville, OH 8.6 ISAAC ISAAC, the Information System for Advanced Academic Computing, serves as a clearinghouse for information about the use of IBM- compatible hardware and software as aids to instruction and research in higher education. Membership is free to all students, faculty, and staff at institutions of higher education. For more information call 206-543-5604. ISAAC requires that you register before you can access the system. To register, type register for the userid and password and fill in the information, using the TAB key to go from field to field. Once registered you will be assigned a userid and password; you must connect again, this time typing your assigned userid and password. To access ISAAC, you need to establish a telnet connection over the network. If you do not have network access, you also can call over phone lines. Call 1-800-237-5551 in the U.S. or, within the local Seattle are or outside the United States, call 1-206-543- 3761. telnet isaac.engr.washington.edu or 128.95.32.61 8.7 FEDIX FEDIX is an on-line information service that links the higher education community and the federal government to facilitate research, education, and services. The system provides accurate and timely federal agency information to colleges, universities, and other research organizations. There are no registration fees and no access charges for using FEDIX. The only cost is for the phone call. FEDIX provides daily information updates on: Federal education and research programs (including descriptions, eligibility, funding, deadlines). Scholarships, fellowships, and grants. Available used government research equipment. New funding for specific research and education activities from Martin [Page 20] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 the Commerce Business Daily, Federal Register, and other sources. Minority assistance research and education programs. News and current events within participating agencies. General information such as agency history, budget, organizaitonal structure, mission statement. etc. For more information, contact the HELPLINE at 301-975-0103 Monday-Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm EST, except on federal holidays. telnet 192.111.228.1 At the login: prompt type fedix 8.8 STIS Science and Technology Information System at the National Science Foundation. Information includes: the NSF Bulletin, Guide to Programs, grants booklet - including forms, program announcements, press releases, NSF Telephone Book, reports of the National Science Board, descriptions of research projects funded by NSF - with abstracts, and analytical reports and news from the International Programs Division. Publications may be searched by using a keyword, such as japan or volcano; using a phrase, such as exchange of scientists and soviet union; or by selecting a broad topic like biosciences. For more information, contact the National Science Foundation, Phone (202) 357-7555, FAX (202) 357-7745, TDD (202) 357-7492 or via E-Mail stis@nsf.gov (Internet), stis@nsf (BITNET). telnet stis.nsf.gov At the login: prompt type public At the terminal type prompt type vt100nkp. Enter your terminal type [blank=vt100]: vt100nkp You are then asked for a userid of up to 8 characters. If you are a new user, you will be asked to supply your name and address for record keeping. You can then search the NSF publications for information and have the information sent to your e-mail address if you wish. STIS provides a menu system. To get back to the main menu, press the esc key until you have the main menu on the Martin [Page 21] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 screen. Press the arrow key until Exit is highlighted, and press enter to exit STIS. 8.9 Weather Source: Telnet madlab.sprl.umich.edu 3000 9.0 WHOIS - E-mail white pages WHOIS is a program available on many workstation/mini/mainframe computers that can connect to another computer. By supplying a persons name, it will respond with information it has on the person. A similar program called finger does the same type of thing, except it only supplies information on individuals with an account on that specific computer. Whois generally is operating on a database containing most of the individuals at the university, not just on the machine you connect. The following is a list of universities that have a whois service working. It is not, by any means exhaustive, and I would be interested in knowing about others that may exist so I can add to this list. 9.1 The Ohio State University Telnet to osu.edu or Use Whois command whois -h osu.edu Enter firstname.lastname Example: whois -h osu.edu jerry.smith 9.2 University of Oregon Use Whois command whois -h oregon.uoregon.edu Enter firstname.lastname Example: whois -h oregon.uoregon.edu Rose.Smith 9.3 University of Virginia Use Whois command whois -h whois.virginia.edu Enter lastname, firstname middlename Example: whois -h whois.virginia.edu Smith, John James 9.4 University of Pennsylvania Use Whois command whois -h whois.upenn.edu Enter lastname, firstname Example: whois -h whois.upenn.edu Smith, Judy Martin [Page 22] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 9.5 University of Wisconsin Use Whois command whois -h wisc.edu Enter firstname lastname Example: whois -h wisc.edu Jane Smith 9.6 MIT Use Whois command whois -h mit.edu Enter firstname_lastname Example: whois -h mit.edu Robert_Smith 9.7 Indiana University Use Whois command whois -h iugate.ucs.indiana.edu Enter firstname_lastname Example: whois -h iugate.ucs.indiana.edu Gerald_Smith 10.0 Books For a more complete listing, see sections 3.08 and 3.11. Internetworking with TCP/IP Principles, Protocols, and Architecture by Douglas Comer, Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-470154-2. The Matrix, Computer Networks and Conferencing Systems Worldwide by John S. Quarterman, Digital Press, ISBN 0-13-565607-9. !%@:: A Directory of Electronic Mail Addressing and Networks, by Donnalyn Frey and Rick Adams, O'Reilly & Associates, Inc., ISBN 0-937175-39-0. The User's Directory of Computer Networks, Edited by Tracy L. LaQuey, Digital Press, ISBN 0-13-950262-9. 11.0 Free Periodicals/Tabloids/Magazines Below are just a few of the periodicals qualified subscribers can receive free. I find the first four, PCWeek, MacWeek, Info World, and Network World, the ones I try to glance over routinely. Others are dedicated to specific network, LAN, or UNIX topics that are useful if you have need for that information. PC Week P.O. Box 1767 Riverton, NJ 08077-9767 Martin [Page 23] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 MacWEEK P.O. Box 1764 Riverton, NJ 08077-9764 Info World P.O. Box 3013 Northbrook, IL 60065-3013 Network World 161 Worchester Road Framingham, Mass. 01701 Computer System News Circulation Dept. P.O. Box 2030 Manhasset, NY 11030-7030 Network Management Circulation Department Box 2417 Tulsa, Oklahoma 74101-2417 Unix Review Circulation Department P.O. Box 7439 San Francisco, CA 94120-7439 Communication News 2504 North Tamiami Trail Nokomis, Fl 34275-9987 LAN Times P.O. Box 652 Hightstown, NJ 08520 Communications Week Circulations Dept. P.O. Box 2070 Manhasset, NY 11030 LAN Computing 101 Witmer Road O.O. Box 322 Horsham, PA 19044-0322 Midrange Systems P.O. Box 445 Horsham, PA 19044-0445 Martin [Page 24] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 Unix Today! Circulation Dept. P.O. Box 2170 Manhasset NY 11030-4376 12.0 Glossary I use some concepts here that may not be familiar to all. The following is a brief explanation of some of the concepts. 12.1 BITNET: A network of normally mini or mainframe computers. BITNET connects many universities and colleges together. It provides e-mail and file transfer capabilities. It does not have the ability to do remote login (Telnet sessions). 12.2 Internet: A very large network that connects just about any type of computer together. It supports e-mail, file transfer (FTP), and remote login (Telnet). 12.3 Anonymous FTP: The ability to transfer a file from a remote computer connected to Internet without having an account on the remote computer. The program that performs the file transfer is normal FTP. To connect to a remote computer offering anonymous FTP you can use the following commands from a computer connected to Internet: FTP Internet computer name When prompted for a userid: type anonymous When prompted for a password type your e-mail address To get a listing of files type dir To change directory type cd directory name To get a file type get filename To get a binary file type binary then get filename To end session type quit Example: FTP pilot.njin.net Username: anonymous Password: yourname@computer.edu cd pub/ftp-list get ftp.list quit Martin [Page 25] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 12.4 Telnet: The ability to establish a connection to a remote computer connected to the Internet network. There are two types of programs that are used to do this. One, normally referred to as Telnet, normally establishes a VT100 type terminal emulation to the remote computer. The second, TN3270, establishes a full screen IBM 3270 type terminal connection. 12.5 Listserv: A program available on many BITNET connected computers that can act as a mail forward system and as a file repository. BITNET is another network that links many colleges and universities together. It does not normally link to military or government institutions as does the Internet. To subscribe to a listserv, you normally send mail to the machine which has the mailing list with the command to subscribe. As an example, to subscribe to a list for discussion of topics pertinent to Mechanical Engineering, you would send e-mail to listserv@utarlvml with the content of the message containing the one line command to subscribe: SUB MECH-1 John Doe (Where John Doe would be your full name) The document "Interest Groups" listed below contains the list of the majority of these lists that you can subscribe. Disclaimer The information provided in the previous sections has been put together from multiple sources acquired from the network. Much of it came from reading newsgroups and trying things out to see how they worked. The information is as accurate as I have been able to determine, as of December 5, 1991. I used a DEC5500 system running Ultrix to check most of these sources. Most of the information is oriented toward Internet, since it has the ability to remote login (Telnet) and File Transfer (FTP). Security Considerations Security issues are not discussed in this memo. Martin [Page 26] RFC 1290 Searching for Treasure December 1991 Author's Address Jerry Martin Leader, Network Information Center Ohio State Univ. ACS, 1971 Neil Ave. Columbus, OH 43210-1210 Phone: (614) 292-4843 EMail: jmartin@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu Martin [Page 27]