The following section will give you enough information to get you started with the Internet tools -- Mailing Lists, Usenet Newsgroups, and the World Wide Web.
First, though, there's a book, available in most libraries, that you should know about. It is
This reference book -- like ALL reference books -- is always out-of-date and incomplete. A lot of stuff has been added to the Internet since the book was written. Some of the addresses and other information in the book may no longer be valid. And the authors of the book left out some of the information that was available when they wrote it.
However, this book, and other guides to the Internet, can give you at least a starting point. You should be aware that it exists. But try doing your research on the Internet itself. The chances are that you'll find more up-to-date information faster on-line than from even an excellent book.
A complete list of Mailing Lists "known to the list at the time" can be gotten from any Mailing List by sending the following command to the list:
LIST GLOBAL
This list will be very long -- 50 printed pages or more. The list is alphabetical, by the name of the list. It has a brief description of the subject as well.
NOTE FOR 'VAX' USERS:
When you get it, you can 'extract' it to make a file out of it. Then open the file with the 'edit' command, and type GOLD [ to get the 'command' line.
Users of other computer systems will have other ways of saving information in the form of files.
At the command line, enter 'find keyword', where 'keyword' is any word you want to find. If you're looking for Mailing Lists on journalism, type 'journalism', and so on.
But this is the hard way! Here are some easier ways.
TILE.NET
http://www.tile.net
This site contains indexes to ftp sites; Usenet Newsgroups; and Mailing List discussion groups. Use the indexes to find what you want.
There is also a list of "publicly accessible mailing lists" at
http://www.NeoSoft.com/internet/paml/bysubj.html
It makes more sense to use these resources rather than the "List Global" command.
There are SIX different software programs used on what we call "Mailing Lists." The three most common are: Listserver, Majordomo, and Listproc, with Mailserver probably fourth.
Each uses slightly different commands. However, many Majordomo, Listproc and Mailserver programs will recognize a Mailing List command, and return to you an error message containing instructions what to do next.
Rather than give subscription details for all these kinds of software, I'll give you instructions for the Listserver software, and then give you directions for obtaining a file which will explain all six in more detail, should you want that.
A Listserver has TWO addresses: that of the list itself, and that of the Listserver software that runs the list. A Listserver may run many different lists, but there will be only one list with a given list name.
For example, the Listserver that runs the main list concerning the Vietnam War, VWAR-L, has the following address:
listserv@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu
To subscribe to this list, you would send the following one-line message, with a blank subject line, to the above Mailing List address:
SUBSCRIBE VWAR-L
You'll automatically receive a standard message about the list, and about the commands you can use to manage the list. For instance, you'll be told to use a different address to post to the list,
vwar-l@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu
You'll also be informed about various options you have: to be sent copies of your own posts or not; to get the messages one at a time, or in one long message per day ("digest" form), and so on.
NETSCAPE
If you are at a lab computer that has NETSCAPE, double-click on the NETSCAPE icon. There is a special button on the MSU Home Page that will guide you to some of the "search engines." These are addresses that permit you to search the WWW by key-word.
LYNX
If you are on LYNX, look down the LYNX Home Page (space-bar scrolls down the pages) til you find a link to WWW Search.
Or, you can press G (for GO) and enter one of the following two addresses:
http://webcrawler.com
or
http://lycos.cs.cmu.edu
There is also a list of many WWW "search engines" at the following address:
http://ugweb.cs.ualberta.ca/~mentor02/search/search- all.html
USING THE WWW ON LYNX
NETSCAPE works with MicroSoft Windows, and is pretty intuitive. Double-click on any icon, or click on any text or button, and you are connected to a URL address.
Since it works with a mouse, rather than with key
strokes, and is so easy, we won't cover it here. If you
have any problems, ask the Lab Assistant in the lab, or a
friend.
Instead, we'll concentrate on LYNX.
LYNX works with keystroke commands. The most common ones are at the bottom of the screen.
G is for "Go". You press G to enter a URL address. Most URL addresses begin with HTTP:// FTP:// GOPHER:// or some other prefix followed by :// (the only two that do NOT user the :// format are mailto: and news: ; you won't have to worry about these normally). Don't forget to type this prefix, or the address is not valid.
H is for "Help". You can find explanations for many LYNX functions and all keystroke commands. We'll cover the most common ones here.
= is for "Show URL". Pressing = displays the address of the URL you are connected to. If your cursor is on a highlighted, or HyperText, "link", = also displays the address of the link your cursor is on below the first URL.
/ is for "search." This is VERY useful! Press / and enter any text string you wish to find in the document you are connected to.
This is especially important for use with the WWW Search Engines. They will search many documents for the keyword(s) you choose. But when you connect to a URL found through a search, your cursor will be at the top of the document, not at the place your keyword shows up. Use / to find your keyword.
Z is for "Stop Search." Sometimes a search is very slow (usually because the remote computer is busy). If you want to abort a search, press Z.
The ARROW KEYS are important. You move up and down link by link with the up- and down-arrow keys. The left- and right-arrow keys move you back and forth among the URLs you have already selected.
DEL is the "history" key. Press it and LYNX displays all the URLs you have connected to during the current session, and the order you connected to them.
Want to save what you're looking at? You can mail it to your Alpha address as an email message by pressing P for "Print." A menu appears on which this is one of the choices. You must enter your full Internet address -- your "login name" followed by @alpha.montclair.edu. For example, mine is "furrg@alpha.montclair.edu." (This is called your "fully qualified Internet address").
But by pressing "o" for Options, you can set your email address permanently. Then it will appear automatically, whenever you want to mail yourself a file you've found on the Web. In the "Options" menu, press "p" for "personal mail address," and then ">" to save it.
At the end of this little manual I have put an Appendix listing all the LYNX commands. They are very useful; take a look.
Like NETSCAPE, LYNX permits you to save addresses you want to use again and again in a file called a "bookmark" file. This saves you from having to remember a long URL and from typing it in at the "GO" command over and over.
If you are at a URL you want to save -- say, the common Search Engines listed above -- do this:
* press a for "ADD"
* press d to save the address of the (D)ocument you are on, or
* press l - to save the address of the (L)ink your cursor is on, in your BOOKMARK file; or
* press c - to (C)ancel.
* press v - to display your bookmark file. Use the arrow keys to select a bookmark you want to connect to, and connect with Enter.
* press R - to (R)emove a bookmark if you no longer want it.
You can also edit this file like any other file, with your editor. It's in your root directory, at the $ prompt, under the name "lynx_bookmark.html".
- is one bookmark you'll want to enter right away. Its URL is
http://www.montclair.edu
Another page, even more useful, is that of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences:
http://www.shss.montclair.edu
It has links to many search engines and lots of other useful Internet-related information.
For VAX users:
If you want to get to the MSU Home Page -- or any other page -- when you first open LYNX, you can set up a file that will save you from having to type the URL every time.
Using your ALPHA editor, at the VMS or "dollar sign" prompt ($), create a file. Let's name it "MSU.COM". You can call it anything, as long as the extension is ".COM". Here's what you'll put into it:
LYNX http://www.montclair.edu/
That's all.
Now, when you want to go straight to the MSU Home Page, just type "@msu" at the $ prompt. Press Enter. Like this:
$ @msu
This will give the LYNX command, and take you directly to
the MSU Home Page.
You can make as many of these .COM files as there
are home pages you want to connect directly to. For
example, you could make up .COM files to connect you
directly to the various "Search Engines," or ANY WWW
Pages you like to access regularly.
To be able to read any Newsgroups, you need access
to a Newsgroup Reader. You can now read them from your
ALPHA account, using the World Wide Web (WWW) browser
LYNX and going to the MSU Home Page.
Or, you can read the Newsgroups somewhat more easily
from a special program called a Newsgroup Reader, which
runs on Windows.
For Montclair State University users:
You get to the Usenet Newsgroups through the MSU
Home Page on the WWW. You can get to this in either of
two ways:
* by typing lynx at the $ prompt. This brings
up the University of Kansas WWW page. From here, you can
press G (for "go"), enter the address for the MSU Home
Page, which is
http://www.montclair.edu
and press Enter; OR
* by simply typing lynx plus this address at
the $ prompt to begin with:
$ lynx http://www.montclair.edu
Whatever you do the first time you access the MSU
Home Page, though, you'll never have to do it again IF
you make a "bookmark." Once at the MSU Home Page, press
"a", then "d", to put this page in your Bookmark File.
Now, once you're at the U. Kansas Home Page, you can
simply press "v" to (v)iew your Bookmark file. Use the
arrow keys to move the cursor til it highlights the MSU
Home Page entry, and press Enter again. You'll be
automatically connected.
Yet another way is to make a .COM file to connect
you right from Alpha (For .COM files, see above). Give it
the name "msu" or anything you like, as long as you give
it the extension .COM, and put in it the single line
lynx http://www.montclair.edu
Now, when you want to get to the MSU Home Page, just
type "@msu" from the $ prompt:
$ @msu
You'll be directly connected.
Once you're at the MSU Home Page, use the space bar
to move down til your cursor is on the word "Resources"
underneath the heading "Internet", and press Enter. This
brings up a menu of Internet facilities -- FTP, Gopher,
Mailing Lists, etc. Use the down arrow key to move your
cursor onto "Usetnet Newsgroups", and press Enter again.
At this third screen, press "Enter" yet once more
(your cursor is on a hypertext link called "Newsgroups").
Doing this makes an NNTP, or "Net News" connection, to
the MSU Newsgroup server, called "goliath.montclair.edu".
Now you'll be at the top of a long, long list of
Newsgroup names + one-line descriptions. You COULD scroll
down the list one screen at a time, using the scroll bar,
until you find a group that looks like what you want.
But there's a much easier way. Use the "/" key --
the Lynx "search" key -- to enter a key word. Lynx will
then instantly find the nearest occurance of this word
either in the name or the description of a Newsgroup.
Once you've found a Newsgroup that looks promising,
put your cursor on the name, press Enter, and you'll see
the subject lines of the various posts on that group. You
can read them by moving the cursor onto them and pressing
Enter. You get back to the list of subject lines by
pressing the left-arrow key (the Lynx key for `back',
remember?).
If you scroll to the end of the listing of posts by
subject line, you'll find a hypertext link that allows
you to "post" a message or query to the Newsgroup. Press
Enter again, and follow the directions.
Once you've posted, don't expect your post to show
up for a few hours. And don't forget to check back for
the next week or so to see if you've gotten any replies.
Of course, you could always request in your message that
replies be emailed directly to you, and not to the list.
But my experience is that such requests are sometimes
ignored. So check back for responses!
Log onto a Lab computer and, if it's a PC, open
"Windows". This may be in the "Applications" directory;
you can ask the Lab Assistant. Find the "Communications"
menu, and double-click on "Trumpet."
Once you open Trumpet, find the "Group" menu at the
top of the screen, and select the "Subscribe" option
(second from the bottom). You'll get a list of Newsgroup
headings: comp (for computers), soc (for society), news
(for news), rec (recreational), and so on.
You'll also get, on the right side of your screen, a
space to type in key words. When you do this, the
Newsgroups known to the Newsreader which contain these
keywords will appear in a window. You "subscribe to", or
access, the Newsgroup you select by double-clicking on
it, exiting this menu, and double-clicking on it again on
the main menu.
When you've selected the Newsgroup you want to read,
press the "OK" button, and double-click the name of the
Newsgroups you've just sub'ed to. It will be at the top
of the screen, along with any other Newsgroups that
anyone who has ever used "Trumpet" at this particular
workstation has ever subscribed to. Trumpet will now
access, sort and display the messages in the Newsgroup.
Because it's a Windows program, you can control it
with the mouse, and the commands are pretty intuitive.
One VERY useful feature of Trumpet is the "Format"
option, at the bottom of the screen. By clicking on
"Format" you'll be able to switch from having the
articles appear by name of poster, by subject, by date
posted, and other ways. "By subject" is usually the best
choice. Other obvious commands let you post a new query,
a follow-up to one already posted, or a reply to a query.
Each method has its advantages and disadvantages as
a way of reading and posting to Newsgroups.
TRUMPET -- ADVANTAGES
LYNX -- ADVANTAGES
TILE.NET (see above) also permits a subject search
of Usetnet Newsgroups.
Remember the .COM files I discussed above? The one I
use the most I call "newsg.com". It has the address:
LYNX http://www.montclair.edu/Request$Internet
, and takes me right to the Internet Resources section of
the MSU Home Page, where I can connect to the Usenet
Newsgroups directly. I highlight the "Usenet Newsgroups"
link, press Enter, and then use the / command to search
for the Newsgroup I want. By pressing Enter again, I'm
reading it!
This is enough to get you started. Now, go to it!
You may click here to return to the Table of Contents of my Research page.
Here are all the LYNX Commands.
USENET NEWSGROUPS
NEWSGROUPS ON ALPHA VIA "LYNX"
MOVING TO THE NEWSGROUPS
NEWSGROUPS ON WINDOWS VIA `TRUMPET'
LYNX OR TRUMPET -- WHICH IS THE BEST WAY?
The Trumpet Newsreader is really designed for
individual users -- hence the need to "subscribe". But in
fact it will have MANY users, so this feature is not very
useful in a lab setting.
GET STARTED!
APPENDICES
http://www.shss.montclair.edu/english/furr/interne2.html / last modified 27 Mar 96 / furrg@alpha. montclair.edu
CURRENT KEY MAP (LYNX VERSION 2-4)
a ADD_BOOKMARK add to your personal bookmark list
b PREV_PAGE view the previous page of the document
c COMMENT send a comment to the author of the current document
d DOWNLOAD download the current link to your computer
e EDIT edit the current document
g GOTO go to a document given as a URL
h HELP display help on using the browser
i INDEX display an index of potentially useful documents
j JUMP go directly to a target document or action
k KEYMAP display the current key map
m MAIN_MENU return to the first screen (home page)
n NEXT search for the next occurence
o OPTIONS display and change option settings
p PRINT display choices for printing the current document
q QUIT quit the browser
Q ABORT quit the browser unconditionally
r DEL_BOOKMARK delete from your personal bookmark list
s INDEX_SEARCH allow searching of an index
u PREV_DOC go back to the previous document
v VIEW_BOOKMARK view your personal bookmark list
x RESUBMIT force resubmission of form if presently cached
z INTERRUPT interrupt network transmission
^B PREV_PAGE view the previous page of the document
^D ABORT quit the browser unconditionally
^F NEXT_PAGE view the next page of the document
^H HISTORY display a list of previously viewed documents