Request: info Topic: help Document Updated: 21 jan 93 Subject: 'Help' for request 'info' in the NNSC Info-Server 'HELP' FOR THE NNSC INFO-SERVER Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION - WARNINGS 2. THE 'REQUEST:' COLLECTIONS - SELECTED DOCUMENTS 3. CURRENT STATUS OF THE INFO-SERVER 4. DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT USING THE INFO-SERVER 5. IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS WITH LARGE MESSAGES 6. ANONYMOUS FTP FOR INTERNET AND DIAL-UP IP USERS ****************************************************************************** 1. INTRODUCTION - WARNINGS ****************************************************************************** The National Science Foundation Network Service Center (NNSC) operates the Info-Server for the purpose of providing important Internet documents by email. * HELP: There is now one general 'help' document for the whole Info-Server, which is the file you are now reading. It contains over-all information about 'Request:' categories, and samples of the most important or recent 'topic:' files under each 'Request:'. To order this document, Send a message to info-server@nnsc.nsf.net. The Subject field does not matter and may be omitted. Place the following text in the body of the message: request: info topic: help This is the only 'Topic: help' in the Info-Server, and can be ordered from any of the 'Request:' categories * INDEXES: In most collections of information on the Internet, an 'index' is the name for a list of the files in the collection. To order an 'index' of topics for a request category, e.g., nsfnet, use either of the following: Request: nsfnet Topic: index-nsfnet or Request: nsfnet Topic: index ***************************************************************** * WARNING - SEND REQUESTS TO INFO-SERVER * * To prevent failed messages from causing infinite loops, the * * mail address 'nnsc@nnsc.nsf.net' is placed in the From: and * * Reply-To: field of the documents sent by the automated Info- * * Server. But please do NOT use 'nnsc@nnsc.nsf.net' when you * * order documents from the automated Info-Server. You should * * send document requests to 'info-server@nnsc.nsf.net'. * ***************************************************************** * WARNING - RESTRICTION ON THE NUMBER OF TOPICS PER MESSAGE * * The current version of the Info-Server ignores requests for * * more than twenty (20) topics. Please restrict the number * * of "topic:" lines in any request message to twenty (20) or * * fewer. You may, however, send any number of separate * * request messages. For more information about ordering, see * * Section 4 of this document. * ***************************************************************** ****************************************************************************** 2. THE 'REQUEST:' COLLECTIONS - SELECTED DOCUMENTS ****************************************************************************** (Size in Kbytes if >40K) Requests and Topics Descriptions (Use in request messages) (Do NOT use in request messages.) REQUEST: CALENDAR EVENTS OF INTEREST TO THE INTERNET COMMUNITY TOPIC: index-calendar List of CALENDAR documents TOPIC: jan Calendar for each of twelve consecutive months, starting with the current month: jan, feb, mar, etc. REQUEST: IESG IETF STEERING GROUP (IESG) TOPIC: index-iesg List of minutes of IESG meetings REQUEST: IETF INTERNET ENGINEERING TASK FORCE (IETF) TOPIC: index-ietf List of IETF documents TOPIC: 00README Help for IETF collection. TOPIC: 0... Information about upcoming meetings. (Files begin with 0 (zero). The "..." is NOT part of the file name.) TOPIC: 1directories.txt Information about IETF and INTERNET-DRAFTS collections of files. TOPIC: 1... General information about the IETF, the working groups, and the internet-drafts. (Files begin with 1 (one). The "..." is NOT part of the file name.) REQUEST: INFO GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS TOPIC: help Help for the Info-Server (this document) TOPIC: index-info List of INFO documents TOPIC: domain-info.txt Top and second-level domains (62K) TOPIC: domains.txt Top domains with IP numbers TOPIC: interest-groups Mailing lists (List of Lists) (872K) REQUEST: INTERNET-DRAFTS MIRROR OF FILES ON NIC.DDN.MIL (An Internet Draft is a document that has been proposed to become an RFC.) TOPIC: index-internet-drafts List of INTERNET-DRAFTS TOPIC: 1id-abstracts.txt Short synopsis of each document. (81K) REQUEST: INTERNET-SOCIETY See REQUEST: ISOC REQUEST: INTERNET-TOUR INTERNET OVERVIEW FOR NOVICE NETWORK USERS (This Hypercard 2 stack requires a MacIntosh System Version 6.0.2 or higher.) TOPIC: index-internet-tour List of INTERNET-TOUR documents TOPIC: Internet-Tour-README How to Get and Install the INTERNET TOUR TOPIC: Internet-Tour4.0.2.sit.hqx Internet Tour files, compressed and stored in binhex format REQUEST: ISOC INTERNET SOCIETY (ISOC) Topic: index-isoc List of ISOC documents Topic: announcement Announcing the formation of the ISOC Topic: charter The ISOC charter Topic: inet-conference Networking Conference, June 1992 Topic: questions-and-answers Perspective on ISOC objectives REQUEST: NSFNET DOCUMENTS ABOUT THE NSFNET TOPIC: index-nsfnet List of NSFNET documents TOPIC: internet-overview NSFNET Overview and Introduction TOPIC: nnsc What is the NNSC? TOPIC: networks Networks on the NSFNET Backbone TOPIC: referral-list NNSC Network Provider List REQUEST: PHONEBOOK INTERNET MANAGER'S PHONEBOOK TOPIC: index-phonebook List of PHONEBOOK documents TOPIC: README Announcement of Online Phonebook TOPIC: phonebook.txt Electronic version of the printed 'Internet Manager's Phonebook' published by the NNSC. REQUEST: POLICIES-PROCEDURES Information about the policies and procedures of the NSFNET and its associated networks. TOPIC: index-policies-procedures REQUEST: RESOURCE-GUIDE NNSC'S OWN GUIDE TO INTERNET TREASURES TOPIC: index-resource-guide List of RESOURCE-GUIDE documents TOPIC: README Help file for getting the Resource- Guide by FTP (File Transfer Protocol) TOPIC: front-matter cover, introduction, list of chapters, etc. [For a description and list of sections for each chapter, see below.] TOPIC: intro1 Chapter 1. Computational Resources TOPIC: intro2 Chapter 2. Library Catalogs TOPIC: intro3 Chapter 3. Archives TOPIC: intro4 Chapter 4. White Pages TOPIC: intro5 Chapter 5. Networks TOPIC: intro6 Chapter 6. Network Information Centers TOPIC: introM Chapter M. Miscellaneous REQUEST: RFC RFCS FROM NIC.DDN.MIL TOPIC: index-rfc List of RFC and FYI documents (46K) TOPIC: fyi-index.txt The official list of FYI (For Your Information) documents. Each FYI is also an RFC. TOPIC: rfc-index.txt The official list of RFCs (168K) TOPIC: rfc-by-author.txt List of RFCs, sorted by author (25K) TOPIC: rfc-by-title.txt List of RFCs, sorted by title (68K) TOPIC: rfcNNNN Individual RFC, where NNNN stands for a 3 or 4 digit number, e.g., RFC822 or RFC1340. REQUEST: THE-SCIENTIST THE SCIENTIST NEWSPAPER TOPIC: index-the-scientist List of available issues of "The Scientist" and other documents. TOPIC: overview Overview of "The Scientist" newspaper project TOPIC: the-scientist-yymmdd Individual issue of "The Scientist" where yymmdd is a date, e.g., 921109 = 9 Nov 92. ****************************************************************************** 3. CURRENT STATUS OF THE INFO-SERVER ****************************************************************************** NNSC, the NSF Network Service Center, and CSNET, the Computer+Science Network, shared the operation of the Info-Server on the host sh.cs.net until CSNET ceased operations on September 25, 1991. At that time, the Info-Server was taken over by the NNSC and moved to the host nnsc@nnsc.nsf.net. The NNSC Info-Server continues to supply on-line services to the Internet community and to other networks that have email access to the Internet. The NNSC Info-Server continues to distribute Info-Server documents for request categories NSFNET, CALENDAR, and RESOURCE-GUIDE. In addition, we have added the former CSNET request categories INFO and RFC, and the new categories IESG, IETF, INTERNET-DRAFTS, INTERNET-TOUR, ISOC, and PHONEBOOK. We have had to suspend temporarily the popular request category MOD-SOURCES (comp.sources.unix), but we hope to be able restore it in the near future. The NNSC staff is reviewing and modifying the NNSC Info-Server offerings. Further changes will be announced in this HELP document. If you have questions or suggestions, send them to 'nnsc@nnsc.nsf.net'. You are encouraged to suggest additional documents you would like to have available from the NNSC Info-Server. Thank you. The NNSC Staff ****************************************************************************** 4. DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT USING THE INFO-SERVER ****************************************************************************** ***************************************************************** * WARNING - SEND REQUESTS TO INFO-SERVER * * To prevent failed messages from causing infinite loops, the * * mail address 'nnsc@nnsc.nsf.net' is placed in the From: and * * Reply-To: field of the documents sent by the automated Info- * * Server. But please do NOT use 'nnsc@nnsc.nsf.net' when you * * order documents from the automated Info-Server. You should * * send document requests to 'info-server@nnsc.nsf.net'. * ***************************************************************** * WARNING - RESTRICTION ON THE NUMBER OF TOPICS PER MESSAGE * * The current version of the Info-Server ignores requests for * * more than twenty (20) topics. Please restrict the number * * of "topic:" lines in any request message to twenty (20) or * * fewer. You may, however, send any number of separate * * request messages. * ***************************************************************** The NNSC Info-Server is an automatic program that delivers information by electronic mail. To order a document from the Info-Server, send a message to 'INFO-SERVER@nnsc.nsf.net'. You do not need a subject field. The text of your message must be in a special format, such as: REQUEST: INFO TOPIC: HELP TOPIC: INDEX REQUEST: END This request asks for two documents 'HELP' (this document) and 'INDEX' from the collection 'INFO'. Your message must have a 'REQUEST:' line, and one or more 'TOPIC:' lines to specify one or more documents. As noted above, you should not put more than twenty (20) 'TOPIC:' in any one request message. 'REQUEST:' and 'TOPIC:' must be on a separate lines. The line 'REQUEST: END' is optional; it tells the Info-server to ignore the rest of the message. To send documents to an address that is different from the address in your From: field, include a Reply-to: field in the header of your message. Do NOT include a Reply-to: or Acknowledge-to: field in the body of the message -- the Info-Server won't recognize them. For each request message, the Info-Server generates a receipt message which includes the list of documents sent, a report of errors in the request, and, if a Reply-to: field is used, the address in the From: field of the request message. (The Info-Server does not generate receipt messages for request messages with more than twenty (20) 'TOPIC:' lines.) You may combine different requests in the same message, and use any combination of upper- and lower-case letters in your text. You may also include or omit spaces and tabs, use any number of 'REQUEST:' lines, place any number of 'TOPIC:' lines under each 'REQUEST:', and omit 'REQUEST: END'. REQUEST : info byte-limit: 22000 topic: interest-groups (Byte-limit in effect; see below) topic: domain-info.txt request: internet-drafts TOPIC: 1id-abstracts.txt (Byte-limit not in effect) Request : rfc TOPIC : rfc822 If you include 'REQUEST: END', the Info-Server will ignore whatever follows in your message. Please do NOT put questions for the NNSC staff in the request messages to the info-server. Send them directly to 'nnsc@nnsc.nsf.net'. ****************************************************************************** 5. IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS WITH LARGE MESSAGES ****************************************************************************** The NNSC Info-Server is now configured to split documents into a maximum size of 40000 bytes (40K bytes). The reason is that some important mail gateways reject messages longer than an arbitrary limit, and others have difficulty with long messages from time to time. You may specify a limit, in lines or bytes, to the maximum size of document that you wish to have sent in a single message. For example: LINE-LIMIT: 1000 or BYTE-LIMIT: 25K The Info-Server will break the documents at exactly the specified number of lines, or at the line preceding the specified number of bytes. The minimum limit is 250 lines or 19000 bytes. You may use the form '25000' or '25K' in either limit, but NOT '5,000'. The limit affects only lines up to the next REQUEST: line. To allow for added header lines, you should set your limit at least 5K lower than the limit set by your gateway. ****************************************************************************** 6. ANONYMOUS FTP FOR INTERNET AND DIAL-UP IP USERS ****************************************************************************** You may use the file transfer protocol, 'ftp', to retrieve documents from NNSC.NSF.NET. Log in as 'anonymous' with password 'guest'. Info documents are individual files in the directory 'info'. For example, a copy of 'interest-groups-announcement' has the pathname 'info/interest-groups-announcement'. To see what is in the top-level directory, use the 'ls' or 'dir' commands. 'ls' shows filenames only; 'dir' is the equivelent of the command 'ls -ls'; it shows a more verbose display, and puts the filenames in alphabetical order. ftp> ls 200 PORT command successful. 150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for file list. test info calendar ... ftp> dir 200 PORT command successful. 150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for /bin/ls. total 1845 ... drwxr-xr-x 2 nnsc nnsc 512 Apr 20 1987 bin drwxrwxrwx 2 nnsc nnsc 1024 Jan 27 21:01 calendar drwxr-xr-x 2 nnsc nnsc 512 Dec 16 03:38 dev ... You can use 'ls' or 'dir' to show pathnames of lower-level directories on nnsc.nsf.net. ftp> dir info/i* -rw-rw-r-- 1 nnsc nnsc 7774 Feb 4 15:58 iin -rw-r--r-- 1 nnsc nnsc 4565 Jul 17 06:15 index-info -rw-rw-r-- 1 nnsc nnsc 879381 Apr 6 14:15 interest-groups -rw-rw-r-- 1 nnsc nnsc 2156 Feb 5 20:02 interest-groups-announcement But note that when you transfer a file from a lower-level directory nnsc.nsf.net (the remote host) to your local host, you cannot use the pathname 'info/interest-groups-announcement'; instead, you must use two commands, 'cd' (change directory) and 'get'. ftp> cd info 250 CWD command successful. ftp> get interest-groups-announcement To return to the top-level directory, type ftp> cd / A single topic may be split up into multiple files, in which case the document name may be a directory, and the individual files in the directory may have names such as 'part01'. nnsc.nsf.net is a Unix host, so type all filenames as either upper or lower case, just as they appear in the 'ls' or 'dir' listing.