There are many resources now available through computers connected by phone to various networks. There may still be some uses that a local church can make of the computer bulletin boards, usually maintained by individuals as a hobby for local users.

Of more common use now are the commercial online service providers (America Online, Compuserve, Prodigy, and several smaller services), which provide various information sources to their subscribers. For instance, on Compuserve, the Religion and Spirituality Community is available by typing "go society." These service providers also now compete as Internet Service Providers.

Currently, most online services are available through the Internet, but that collection of networks can be accessed in various ways. In the rest of this guide, you will find some information on the Internet resources known as "World Wide Web," "Mailing Lists," and "Newsgroups." There is also a very brief glossary.

The World Wide Web is a means for moving around the Internet to find useable information, using markers (called "buttons") in documents. "Clicking" on a button (using a mouse or arrow and enter keys) retrieves the highlighted document from its home location for you to view on the local screen. Following a sequence of such "links" will retrieve material from many places webbed together; however, you do not login to the "server" computers. World Wide Web servers, on which these documents reside, may be reached only by client programs (called "browsers") on computers directly connected to the Internet.

For those people who do have a connection to a commercial Internet service provider, there are graphics browsers for Macintoshes and PC’s running Microsoft Windows. Using these browsers, you can view various images from around the world, and with the appropriate programs and computer hardware, you can also watch animations and movie sequences and listen to music and other sound. The library’s patron access Internet computer provides the Microsoft Explorer as a browser; it is set to dial up the patron account automatically, but you have to supply the password.

For dial-up users and for those desiring to retrieve textual material from the Internet more quickly, it is possible to access World Wide Web sites by the text browser Lynx on many machines, including earth.execpc.com. Text-based browsers connect to all the World Wide Web sites which graphics-based browsers do, but are unable to display the graphics. If you’re using Lynx, you will be able to save image and sound files on the central computer, from which you will later be able to download them to your own home computer.

With most browsers, it is also possible to go directly to a home page which does not have a button on the beginning home page. You do this by supplying a Uniform Resource Locator (known as URL), which is a standard way of defining the "address" of resources on the Internet, following the general format:

On graphics browsers, the URL is usually typed in a dialog box available from the button bar or file menu. Text browsers provide a command to provide a line to enter the URL.

The most common resource-type is that native to the World Wide Web, the hyper-text transfer protocol (HTTP). For instance, the address for the Nashotah House home page is expressed as follows:

http://www.nashotah.edu

Other Internet resources available from Web browsers are those provided by gopher servers and anonymous ftp servers. Sample URL’s for these resources include

gopher://lubavitch.chabad.org

(Hasidic Jewish group)

and

ftp://ftp.nlm.nih.gov

(resources available from the National Library of Medicine).

Web browsers can also provide telnet connections, but this capability depends on the separate availability of a telnet program on the client machine. Sometimes browsers also provide access to Usenet newsgroups.

There are home pages with subject lists of World Wide Web resources, as well as search programs which have access to large indexes to Internet materials. Both kinds of searching tools are available from links on the library’s home page. Most graphics browsers also provide built-in links (sometimes labelled "Internet directory" or "Internet search") on button bars or menu bars.

Most browsers also provide the capability for you to save the addresses of your favorite Internet sources for easy access. The resulting list of URLs is often called a "bookmark" or a "hotlist".

There are various kinds of programs available on the Internet for carrying on "discussions" on specific topics. This is a guide to using the programs of the mailing list or "listserver" variety; details of use will depend upon the specific software used by the list and the options for operation chosen by the list operator.

The actual discussion is carried on by sending mail to an Internet address which is assigned to the specific discussion group (the "list address"); this mail is forwarded to all people who have active "subscriptions" to (or "memberships" in) the discussion group. This forwarding is done (usually automatically) by software designed for that purpose. To join one of these discussion groups, however, you do not usually send mail to the discussion group’s address (sometimes the software doesn’t even permit email to be received from non-members of the group). Rather, you send mail to an associated email address (the "server address"); this address usually begins with the name of the specific software used to maintain the mailing list (discussion group). Often these are referred to generically as listservers; that term technically refers only to the most common software used for the purpose.

For most lists, sending the subscription letter to the server will result in your being automatically added to the list. In that case, one of the first things you will receive from the list is a brief guide to the major commands you can send, including the command to unsubscribe. It is wise to save this information for future reference.

In a few cases, however, you will first receive some communication requesting information from you. Sometimes membership on a list is open only to people meeting certain requirements; occasionally new members provide information about themselves as information for other members. After you have provided the requested information, you will be added to the list membership.

Once you are "on the list," most of your communication will be to and from the list [not the server.] To communicate with the list, you send your messages to the same computer to which you sent your subscription request, substituting the name of the list for "listserv" (or equivalent). When you "reply" to messages from the list, it will usually be to the list. In those circumstances, you should remember that many people who do not know you will be reading your contributions. If you want to send a comment only to the author of the message, you must send a new message; do not use the "reply" function of your email software for this purpose. You should add your signature file to all these messages. Usually, your letters to the list will be sent automatically to all members of the list; there’s usually a way to set whether or not you receive copies of your own messages. However, some lists are moderated; items sent to those lists will appear after the moderator has seen them. One other form of list is the digest, which (in most cases) collects the items sent in a day and delivers them as one daily electronic letter.

Here is a review of the more frequently used messages addressed to the various kinds of mailing list software:

Join a list:

Listproc: SUBSCRIBE [listname] Firstname Lastname

LISTSERV: SUBSCRIBE [listname] Firstname Lastname

Mailbase: JOIN [listname] Firstname Lastname)

Mailserv: SUBSCRIBE [listname] Firstname Lastname

(Optionally, include the e-mail address at which you wish to receive list mail:)

SUBSCRIBE [listname] Firstname Lastname [address]

Majordomo: SUBSCRIBE [listname]

(Optionally, include the e-mail address at which you wish to receive list mail:)

SUBSCRIBE [listname] [address]

Leave a list:

Listproc: UNSUBSCRIBE [listname]

LISTSERV: UNSUBSCRIBE [listname]

Mailbase: LEAVE [listname]

Mailserv: UNSUBSCRIBE [listname]

(UNSUBSCRIBE [listname] [address]

if you subscribed under a different e-mail address.)

Majordomo: UNSUBSCRIBE [listname]

(UNSUBSCRIBE [listname] [address]

if you subscribed under a different e-mail address.)

Receive the list in digest format:

Listproc: SET [listname] MAIL DIGEST

LISTSERV: SET [listname] DIGEST

Majordomo: SUBSCRIBE [listname]-DIGEST

(in the same message, unsubscribe from the undigested version:)

UNSUBSCRIBE [listname]

Cancel digest format:

Listproc: SET [listname] MAIL ACK

LISTSERV: SET [listname] MAIL

Majordomo: UNSUBSCRIBE [listname]-DIGEST

(in the same message, subscribe to the undigested version:)

SUBSCRIBE [listname]

Obtain a list of subscribers:

Listproc: RECIPIENTS [listname]

LISTSERV: REVIEW [listname]

Mailbase: REVIEW [listname]

Mailserv: SEND/LIST [listname]

Majordomo: WHO [listname]

For More Information On Mail Server Commands:

The latest version of a document by James Milles of Saint Louis University Law Library listing more commands used by commonly-used mailing list software is available by e-mail and by anonymous ftp:

E-mail: Send a message containing only the line

GET MAILSER CMD NETTRAIN F=MAIL

to LISTSERV@UBVM.cc.buffalo.edu.

FTP: Anonymous ftp to ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu

cd /nettrain

get mailser.cmd

subscribe

An Introduction to

There are various kinds of programs available on the Internet for carrying on "discussions" on specific topics. This is a guide to using the resource known as Usenet newsgroups.

Usenet news arose separately from the growth of the Internet and is still available through non-Internet computer sources, including many community computer bulletin board systems. This helps to account for the wide range of intellectual background and assumptions revealed in various groups. It also helps to account for the perception that various "postings" arrive out of sequence more often than they do on Internet mail lists.

The individual newsgroups (similar to SIG’s and forums on consumer computer services) are organized by a hierarchy of names. The seven classical top hierarchies (since the mid 1980’s) are:

An additional hierarchy has been approved, but is not widely available:

There are detailed rules (imposed by tradition and consensus, since there is no official governing organization for Usenet) for establishing and maintaining individual newsgroups (or series of newsgroups) under these hierarchies. There is also provision for locally restricted groups, which follow these rules in generalities. There are many other newsgroup hierarchies, using the same software, and often distributed through the same channels. For various reasons, they do not seek to follow traditional Usenet rules. Some of these groups are of a more controversial nature; others are restricted in access to institutions which pay commercial fees; others are designed specifically for academic contexts.

Computer administrators at each institution or Internet Service Provider decide which newsgroups will be made available on their computer system. Postings to the newsgroups are kept in a central location for a specified period of time, which varies according to individual institution and specific newsgroup. During the time in which a posting is available, individual users may access the article using provided newsreader software (whether on the provider’s central machine or as part of a software package on the local machine.). Individual readers may also, using that software, save a copy of an article to their own directory on the institution’s machine or their own personal computer, post a follow-up article to the newsgroup, send a personal email reply to the author of the posting, or post an independent article to the newsgroup (starting a new "thread".)

Those using newsreader software on the provider’s machine (e.g., earth.execpc.com) will most likely find the program tin to be the easiest to use for reading newsgroups. Those using Internet Explorer or Netscape will usually want to use the built-in newsreaders to access Usenet groups. Although the variety of software makes it impractical to tell you exactly how to read Usenet groups, the general steps in each case are similar:

Select newsgroups to read. [Your Internet Service Provider has already limited your

selection by supplying only certain groups, but there may be a few thousand of them.]

Archie: A navigational tool which searches for Internet software files on FTP hosts world-wide which are available for anonymous FTP.

ARPANET: The forerunner network of the Internet. A network provided by the federal government for the military and military suppliers and researchers. For security reasons, the network was designed to be decentralized.

ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange): A standard for encoding and exchanging textual information over networks.

Binary File: Files that are not ASCII; "binary" is a numbering system using 0 and 1 to create codes representing characters. Binary files are often computer programs or files formatted according to some specific software standards (e.g., Postscript).

Bitnet: A computer network originally for elite academic institutions with IBM mainframes. The name reputedly comes from the explanation, "Because It’s There Network." Although once the primary academic network, it has become much less significant due to the growth of the Internet.

Bookmark: A tool used with gopher menus or World Wide Web browsers which allows the user to "mark" a gopher menu item or home page and thus create a personal file or customized menu for quick access to frequently used sites.

Browser: Client software for the World Wide Web. (See Client-Server Architecture.) Common browsers include Lynx and WWW for text-only access and Netscape, Explorer, Cello, and Mosaic for graphics.

Client - Server Architecture: The method by which certain computer programs connect a user’s computer to a distant computer. The client program requests information from the server program on the distant computer; the server sends that information. The user reads the information on the client machine, not by direct connection to the server machine. Gopher and World Wide Web are both built on the client-server model.

Directory: A method for organizing files on Unix and MSDOS computers -- equivalent to folders on Macintosh or Windows95 systems. [Often compared to drawers in a filing cabinet.]

Domain Name or Node: A computer's Internet address, consisting of words or abbreviations separated by periods (e.g., vm.temple.edu). The portion of the name at the end indicates the kind of organization the institution is.

E-Journal: A journal or magazine distributed electronically, sometimes as a listserv, sometimes as ftp, gopher or www files.

Finger: A program used to obtain information about users on a particular computer.

FTP or Anonymous FTP: A method for transferring files [whether programs or data] from one computer on the Internet to another on the Internet.

Gopher: A navigational tool, developed at the University of Minnesota, which provides a menu-based searching system to improve identification and access to Internet resources. Gopher inability to display images resulted in its losing primary place on the Internet to the World Wide Web.

Home Page: "Pages" are the organizing units for information used by the World Wide Web. An institution’s (or individual’s) beginning page is usually referred to as its "home page."

HTML: (Hyper Text Mark-up Language) The coding scheme for indicating how material is to be displayed on the World Wide Web. HTML is a subset of Specialized General Markup Language.

Internet: The international collection of networks, using specific rules (the TCP/IP protocols) to exchange information.

Internet Service Provider (ISP): Organization (usually commercial) which will provide varying kinds of connections to the Internet to private individuals or smaller organizations.

Listserv: Listserv was originally software to manage electronic discussion groups (lists) on the BITNET network and to provide searchable archives of the lists. The original software is now available for Internet use and other programs with similar uses (Listproc, Majordomo, etc.) are often referred to by the same term.

Netiquette: General courtesy guidelines for network users.

Netscape: (see Browser)

PPP: Point to Point Protocol. (See SLIP)

SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocol): A method for providing "direct" Internet connections via ordinary phone lines and modems. [An alternative method is PPP; there are also programs to "emulate" SLIP.]

Telnet: An Internet protocol and standardized program which allows users to connect to remote computers.

UUCP: Although technically a protocol for copying files between two UNIX machines (Unix to Unix Copy), this term also refers to the loose network of (primarily small academic) institutional computer centers on which the UseNet newsgroups originated. (See UseNet)

Universal Resource Locator (URL): A all-purpose format for specifying Internet resource, following the general format:

UseNet: A world-wide network of public news groups and electronic conferences. Messages are received by the main computer and read by the user through "newsreader" software, rather than being received in the individual’s mail box.

Username, login, or ID: Personal account address for a user’s account on a computer, e.g., "faculty@nashotah.edu"

WWW (World-Wide Web): A navigational tool based on hypertext technology, for "browsing" the Internet. In WWW, everything (indexes, documents, menus, etc.) is a potential hypertext "searchable" connection.