FAQ sheet for the Internet
 
        So, you've heard these buzzwords bandied about that have to do
with the Internet and you're wondering what the heck it all means.
This is a start.  It's a list of topic buzzwords with answers to the
two most important questions:  What the heck does that mean and why
should I care?
 
 
InterNET--This is the chain of connected machines, worldwide.  Several
          machines, all idly chatting with one another until they're
          called upon to do something really nifty, like transfer
          email or news articles or ftp packets or so on.  You should
          care about these because if you're on ISCABBS, you're using
          the InterNet, more than likely.
 
News [aka UseNet News]--If you're on a Unix machine, more than likely
          there's an immense wealth of information at your fingertips.
          Through the network of machines, articles on topics ranging
          from computer-related to sex-related are transmitted.  To get
          your grubby fingers on this info, try doing a 'man rn' on your
          machine and see what it echoes back.  Other newsreading utilities
          are available, notable vn and nn.
 
Telnet--  This is a fairly nifty protocol for connecting machines over
          the Internet.  With it, you can reach out and connect to machines,
          using either alphanumerics [l_cae05.icaen.uiowa.edu, for ex.]
          or octals [128.255.21.25, for example.] and either login or,
          if you specify a port, connect directly to a running program.
          Examples of this are MUDs and the Information Server at
          Berkeley University.  More information on connecting to a MUD
          can be found in the MUDding room of this BBS.
 
Email--   You've made all kinds of friends, on BBS's and MUD's and you'd
          like to talk to them during the inevitable downtimes of your
          favorite machines.  What's a poor Netrider to do?  Simple.  More
          than likely they will have an email address.  If you have an
          account on a mainframe computer, then you have an email address,
          too.  Using a mail program, you can send a message to someone
          using somename@somename.somename.somename.
 
Addresses & Ports--Every machine out there that has access to the Internet
          has an address.  It usually has two forms, one formed of letters,
          and one composed of four numbers between 0 and 255.  The first
          form, occasionally termed alphas, will look something like this:
          grind.isca.uiowa.edu.  From the tail end of that address, you
          know that it's an educational machine, and it's at the University
          of Iowa.  The problem with using the alpha address is that the
          particular machine you're using may not have ever heard of the
          machine you're referring to.  That's why the other form, the
          octals, are so spiffy.  They're a universal kind of coordinate
          system that should suffice for nearly any use.
          So what about these port thingies you sometimes hear about?
          There are sometimes programs running on machines that you can
          connect directly to without going through the silliness of a
          login:.  To use them from a fairly normal Unix system, just do
          a:  telnet ???.???.???.??? ???? where you have to supply the
          numbers, yourself.  telnet 128.255.21.25 2001, for example,
          will take you to the ever melodramatic realm of Pegasus.
 
ftp--     This is an acronym for either [depending on context] file
          transfer protocol or file transfer program.  What it does
          is allow you to transfer really big files quickly from one
          Unix system to another.  The really nifty corollary is that
          there are computer sites out there who would be very happy
          to have you rummage through their directories of ftp-able
          files.  There are sites with GIF pictures, sites with
          scientific research papers, sites for nearly any imaginable
          thang.  If it exists and there's an interest in it, odds
          are there's an archive for it somewhere.  To find the site
          that has what you're looking for, a copy of the ftp.list is
          almost invaluable.  It's a guide to sites and what's on them.
          How to access these places:  Find a site you think might have
          something you want on it, type:
          ftp the.address.of.there
          And when it asks you for a login, type anonymous [unless you've
          been told otherwise; this is a fairly standard login for open
          ftp sites.]  Normally, they'd like to know an email address for
          the password entry, but you can be paranoid if you like.
          Once you're there, it works much like a regular Unix system.
          To copy files down to your own machine, use get.  If you need,
          there's built in help at your fingertips, using the 'help'
          command [Surprise, surprise.]
 
 
