Using Internet by means of CSRNet by Greg Goddard/Tony Pittarese v.2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ********* PROLOGUE: --------- The (YOUR BBS) is now the Area Hub for CSRNet--a network providing Internet mail and newsgroup access. These areas will be high volume areas with lots of variety. Let it be known that the information included within this document contains material from a variety of sources, which have been paraphrased and changed to work in the Internet environment unique to CSRNet. Commands in real-time Internet may or may not be different. Commands as listed in this document will work on the (YOUR BBS) or in any other CSRNet environment, unless otherwise stated. WARNING: It is imperative that you read all information in this document if you are to use the Internet access which you will receive, regardless if you use a certain area or not. Breaking rules on CSRNet as defined by this document may result in a reprimand by the sysop, or in costs being applied to your account. *************** What is Usenet? --------------- USENET is a collection of computers all over the world that exchange USENET news -- many different "newsgroups"--groups of news on a wide variety of subjects. The messages or articles contained within the newsgroups are then distributed all over the world. If a topic exists, there is a great possibility that a newsgroup exists for this particular subject. Newsgroups range from discussions of alien abductions to Elvis sightings to the most complex of computer topics. On the (YOUR BBS), there is a great variety of newsgroups available. However, there is a more complete list available. If you look at this and would like the sysop to pull in more areas that you find, this can be done so for a nominal charge. Download NEWSGRPS.ZIP for a complete listing of newsgroups available to the (YOUR BBS). [Note: A listing of newsgroups may also be found in the CSRNet information package.] ****************************** What is Internet of use to me? ------------------------------ Some people find Internet useful, others do not. Here on the Nest, you will have access to Internet Newsgroups, as discussed above, and private Internet E-Mail. Using this feature, you can send mail to anyone connected on the Internet, including users on such services as America Online, Compuserve, or Genie. *********************************************************** How do you send mail on the Internet from the (YOUR BBS)? ----------------------------------------------------------- Our address (anyone on CSRNet) is, firstname.lastname@cld9.sccsi.com For example, if your name is Jane Doe, your address will be: Jane.Doe@cld9.sccsi.com When you write a message, you put the To: field in the BODY of the message. It can be on ANY line, but MUST start in the first column. So, once again, an example: If you wanted to write a message to a friend you knew at an Internet address, you would write a message like this: To: Name@Address Please be advised, you must know the address of the person you are writing to. The above is just an example of the proper format. If you do not know the address of the user you are writing, promptly contact them. ********************************** IMPORTANT ---------------------------------- When you enter mail on the system, the BBS will prompt you for a name. You can put the destination name here, but that is NOT what is used for routing. The subject line also is "irrelevant". ALL CRITICAL ROUTING INFORMATION IS CONTAINED WITHIN THE BODY OF THE TEXT. ********************************** General Internet Address Specifics ---------------------------------- The Internet address consists of two parts: 1) The name the person you are sending mail uses on the other service, followed by the "@"--at symbol. 2) The Internet name of the system your mail recipient is using. Normally, the company or system name is followed by a suffix describing what type of organization it is. com --- businesses and the such edu --- educational institutions mil --- military sites gov --- government offices net --- gateways and other administrative host systems org --- private organizations However, some addresses may vary. Be sure that you have verified the address with the recipient before sending. After both parts are put together, the address should be in this form: name@company.com For example, if you are sending a piece of mail to someone at Compuserve, this is what you would put in the "To:" field in the body of the message: 12345.678@compuserve.com If you are sending a message to multiple addresses, be sure to separate them with a comma. Once sent, the piece of mail you have sent will be sent to all to whom it is addressed. Many magazines make it possible to send letters to the editor or other various letters via internet. This is just one useful facet of Internet. For example, Wired Magazine is available on the Internet. They also have a forum on America Online. *********************** Other Address Specifics ----------------------- These suffixes may or may not be useful in determining addresses. au --- Australia ca --- Canada fr --- France uk --- United Kingdom ac.uk --- academic sites alt --- Alternative biz --- Business Related co.uk --- commercial sites gnu --- Groups concentrated on the GNU Project misc --- Miscellaneous Groups sci --- Established Sciences soc --- Social Issues, etc. talk --- Debate Oriented news --- News Faceted rec --- Hobbies/Recreation comp --- Computer Sciences *************************** General History of Internet --------------------------- The e-mail system transfers mail using a computer network named Internet. Internet connects thousands of businesses, universities, and online services, all over the world. Internet began in 1969 as a Defense Department computer network. [DarpaNet/ArpaNet] Over the years it has grown to include research institutions and businesses. Through Internet millions of people, from all over the world, exchange information on a wide range of subjects. For a more complete history, please consult the text, "Zen and the Art of Internet". This is the most complete and technical package describing Internet to the common user available. *************************************** General Internet Commands --------------------------------------- Note: These commands may or may not be utilized by CSRNet. *********************** Internet Telnet Command ----------------------- Telnet, a command which is used to transfer from board to board on the Internet, is currently not supported by the CSRNet environment. The Telnet command, in general, follows this format: telnet computer.site.domain {port} ******************************************** Internet File Transfer Protocol(FTP) Command -------------------------------------------- FTP is supported by CSRNet, but currently is not available to the users, as it is not feasible at this time to accomplish efficient routing. If it is made available to the users in the future, a charge will be made for any files received as a result of long distance charges. FTP follows this general format: ftp computer.site.domain For logging in, most users tell the system that they are "anonymous". This practice is called "anonymous FTP." Once connected by FTP to the remote system, users look though directories at the files they wish to receive. Looking through an FTP directory is much like browsing through a hard drive, or looking at files you wish to download from a bulletin board system. Remember that FTP is a privilege, and as such, should not be overly abused. *********************** Internet Mail Transfers ----------------------- Internet mail is transferred from system to system, until it reaches its destination. Since there are so many Internet sites, the amount of time it takes for mail to be delivered will vary, depending on how many intermediate sites are involved before the mail reaches its final site. Mail can take anywhere from several hours to several days to be delivered. If mail is undeliverable, you'll receive a response from one of the computers between the Nest and the intended recipient. This is called a "bounce" message. ************** Finger Command -------------- The best way to find another users address is to consult them. In the future, by using a command called "Finger", you can search for users by typing in a certain string. Presently, it is not supported in CSRNet. ********************* Internet Mail Command --------------------- Mail is not currently supported by CSRNet. In a real time Internet environment, the "mail" command is used in this format: mail server@computer.site.domain This is like sending an online message in real time. ************** Other Commands -------------- There are other commands such as WAIS, Archie, Ping, and others available from within the Internet, that are not relevant to CSRNet. ********************************** Services Available on the Internet ---------------------------------- ************** America Online -------------- America Online is a commercial online service operated by Quantim Computer Services. You can send mail to users on America Online by using the Internet address "name@aol.com". For example: To send mail to Fjord on America Online, send mail to: Fjord@aol.com To join America Online, please call 1-800-827-6364. ********* AppleLink --------- AppleLink is a commercial online service operated by Apple. You can send mail to users on AppleLink by using the Internet address "applelink.apple.com." This can be abbreviated as "apple." For example: To send mail to JSMITH on AppleLink, send to: jsmith@apple or jsmith@applelink.apple.com ********************** AT&T Easylink Services ---------------------- AT&T EasyLink Services operate two commercial e-mail platforms: AT&T Mail and EasyLink. AT&T Mail addresses are alphabetic or alphanumeric strings of up to twelve characters. The first character is always a letter. AT&T addresses are not case-sensitive. To send mail to AT&T Mail users, use the format @attmail.com. If an AT&T Mail address has a "!" in front of it, remove it. The EasyLink service does not have its' own Internet gateway at the present time, but you can still send mail to your EasyLink friends. EasyLink mailboxes are identified by an 8-digit number beginning with '62'. To send mail to EasyLink members, use the format <62xxxxxx>@eln.attmail.com ****** BITNET ------ BITNET (the Because It's Time network) is a loosely knit network of academic computers. You can convert a BITNET address into an Internet address by appending ".bitnet" to the end of it. For this example, we'll assume you are sending to jsmith@technion on BITNET. Send your message to: "jsmith@technion.bitnet" ********** COMPUSERVE ---------- CompuServe's Internet address is "compuserve.com". However, you can abbreviate this as "cis". CompuServe addresses normally consist of five numbers, followed by a comma, then another three or four numbers. You should convert the comma to a period in order to make sure the address is correct. For example, to send mail to CompuServe ID 12345,678 you would address the mail to: 12345.678@cis or 12345.678@compuserve.com If you would like to join Compuserve, please call 1-800-848-8199. ******* CONNECT ------- CONNECT is a commercial online service operated by CONNECT Inc. You can send mail to users on CONNECT using a system called DASNet as an interim step. We'll assume you are sending mail to "JSMITH" on CONNECT. Send your message to: jsmith@dcjcon.das.net ****** DELPHI ------ You can send mail to a Delphi user at username@delphi.com. For instance, to send mail to JSMITH at DELPHI, send mail to: jsmith@delphi.com To join Delphi, please call 1-800-695-4005. Currently, for full Internet access, Delphi is one of the best places to go. They offer Finger, FTP, Telnet, and other commands. Rates are $10 for 4 hours a month. More popular is the 20/20 Advantage Plan, in which you receive 20 hours a month for $20 dollars. Internet access also costs an additional $3 per month. ******* FidoNet ------- To send mail to somebody on a FidoNET system, you'll need to know the address of their system, and their name on that system. They should be able to tell you this. Normal FidoNET addresses follow the format: :/ FidoNet addresses on the Internet follow the format: Name@p.f.n.z.fidonet.org The is optional, and not usually used unless you are connecting to a specific subsystem. To send mail to John_Smith at FidoNET address 1:222/333, you would address Internet mail to: John_Smith@f333.n222.z1.fidonet.org ***** GEnie ----- GEnie is a commercial online service, similar to America Online. GEnie's Internet address is "genie.geis.com." However, you can abbreviate this on America Online as "genie". You can send mail to a GEnie user at username@genie.geis.com. For instance, to send mail to JSMITH at GEnie, send mail to: jsmith@genie.geis.com or jsmith@genie NOTE: GEnie users must choose to sign up to the Internet and pay a one-time processing fee to receive Internet mail. If you send mail to an invalid user name, or to a user that has not signed up to receive Internet mail, your message will be bounced back. *************************** Internet Relay Chat [IRC's] --------------------------- Since CSRNet's environment is not based on a direct perspective, IRC's are not available. ************* Mailing Lists ------------- Mailing lists are lists of people that send out information to users once they have subscribed to a certain list. Please do not subscribe to mailing lists, as it is futile to do so. Any files coming in from the Internet will be truncated at CSRNet's point of origin. ******** MCI Mail -------- Users on MCI Mail have a ten-digit numeric address. To send mail to MCI Mail, send it to address@mcimail.com, where address is the ten-digit number. This can be abbreviated as address@mci. Internal MCI addresses are seven digits; add three zeros on the LEFT to pad this out to ten digits. For instance, to send mail to user 0123456789, address your mail to: 0123456789@mcimail.com or 0123456789@mci Some MCImail users have their name associated with their email address. In this case, format the address as: firstname_lastname@mcimail.com. ******* Prodigy ------- Prodigy does not currently have a connection to the Internet. Thus, you cannot send mail from America Online to Prodigy. You should contact Prodigy directly for information on any future plans. ********** SprintMail ---------- SprintMail is a commercial E-Mail service, used mainly by corporations and other large organizations. You can send mail to a SprintMail user if you know certain information about their Sprint account. Unlike most common Internet addresses, SprintMail addresses use the X.400 scheme, which requires that you provide specific parameters about the addressee of the mail. You'll need to know their: - First Name - Last Name - Organization Name (this will usually be abbreviated) - Administrative Domain (this will be Telemail) - Country (this will usually be USA) You should then type the following in the To: field of your Compose Mail window: /G=firstname/S=lastname/O=organization/ADMD=telemail/C=USA/@sprint.com For example, to send to John Smith at EPRC, send to: /G=john/S=smith/O=eprc/ADMD=telemail/C=usa/@sprint.com ******************************************************************************* This compilation of information was made exclusively for CSRNet. ******************************************************************************* ******************** Specail Thanks To: Greg Goddard & Tony Pittarese of The Eagle's Nest BBS ******************** EOF