9
Introduction
Quarterdeck Message Center
In this chapter you will learn:
t	The purpose of Quarterdeck Message Center (QMC).
t	QMC's features and benefits.
t	How to get started quickly. 
t	About Mail on the Internet.
t	About Internet News and Newsgroups.
Overview
With its graphical user interface, Quarterdeck Mosaic offers you easy access to, and navigation of, many Internet features. Naturally, you would like the same conveniences in the areas of e-mail and news. In the past, e-mail and news were accessible only via relatively unfriendly UNIX commands. Quarterdeck Message Center (QMC) was designed to provide an alternative to accessing these features using UNIX commands, as was the case until a few years ago.
QMC makes it easy to send and receive e-mail via the Internet, and manage all aspects of on-line messaging, from preparing new mail to quoting and replying, to storing messages in logically organized folders. And, you will be able to apply the same techniques when subscribing to Usenet newsgroups to read, post and reply to articles as well as to store and organize articles.

 Usenet is the Internet system which lets computers and people exchange information and ideas through articles which are labeled and posted within newsgroups. If you are new to the Internet, make sure you read the overview sections,"Mail on the Internet" on page 92 and "Usenet: Internet News and Newsgroups" on page 92.
If you are already using the Internet to exchange mail, you will appreciate the efficiency QMC offers; its capabilities rival any DOS or Windows-based mail application. If you are new to the world of Internet mail, QMC will help you get started in a few quick and easy steps. And because the process of reading and posting news (articles) is almost identical to the messaging process, there is very little to learn before you can get started reading news articles, too.
Features and Benefits
Here are some of QMC's most impressive features:
t	Easy-to-Use, Intuitive User InterfaceDouble click folders to check mail and news. Double click messages and articles to read them.
t	Comprehensive E-mail and News Support in One ApplicationCompose, send and receive e-mail and news articles with a Windows-based text editor.
t	Easy File TransferEasily send files across the Internet by attaching them to a message; QMC converts the files to the correct format for you automatically, if necessary. When you receive files attached to a message, QMC converts them back to their original form so you can use them right away. Uuencode and uudecode are implemented transparently by QMC.

For more information on uuencode and uudecode, see "File Utilities" on page 183.
t	Online and Offline SupportCompose and read messages and articles online or offline. You only have to be online to send and receive mail and news. This feature can save you time and connect charges.
t	Internet Address BookCreate and maintain your own personal Internet Address Book of people, organizations, and newsgroups you communicate with frequently.
t	Support for Tar and CompressTwo utilities routinely used by people working on UNIX based systems when they send files via the Internet.
t	Automatic Mail Checks Automate the process of checking for new Internet mail while you are connected and running QMC.
t	Customized Mail FoldersOrganize messages you send and receive within folders you create and name to match your projects, interests, or correspondents.
t	Uncomplicated Newsgroup SubscribingSubscribe to multiple newsgroups, and organize newsgroups within categories, simply by clicking on the name of a newsgroup. QMC shows you the names of all the newsgroups on all your available news servers and you select the ones you want.
t	Post to NewsgroupsSending an article to a newsgroup is as simple as sending an e-mail to a friend. Just select the newsgroup from your address book and type in the message.
Installing QMC
For information on installing QMC, see the included installation guide.
Quick Start for Experienced Users
If you are an experienced Windows and e-mail user and are familiar with newsgroups, you can get started right away. Turn to the following sections to begin and then refer to other sections in this manual when necessary. 
Information on receiving, reading, composing and sending e-mail:
t	To find out how to go on-line to check for new mail and download mail to your personal Inbox folder, see "Receiving Messages" on page 119.
t	To find out how to read your e-mail with QMC, see "Receiving Messages" on page 119.
t	To find out how to create e-mail, see "Composing Messages" on page 105.
t	To find out how to reply to a message, see "Replying to Messages" on page 130.
t	To find out how to attach a file to a message, see "Attaching/Sending Files" on page 115.
t	To find out how to send messages via the Internet, see "Sending Messages" on page 118.
Information on subscribing to newsgroups, retrieving newsgroup articles, and posting articles to newsgroups:
t	To find out how to select the newsgroups that interest you, see "Subscribing to a Newsgroup" on page 164.
t	To find out how to identify and retrieve new articles in newsgroups, see "Checking News" on page 167.
t	To find out how to read newsgroup articles, see "Reading News" on page 168.
t	To find out how to reply to a newsgroup article, see "Replying to an Author" on page 179.
t	To find out how to post an article to a newsgroup, see "Posting to a Newsgroup" on page 177.
Mail on the Internet
The beauty of being on the Internet is that there are very few restrictions on whom you can communicate with via electronic mail (e-mail). Anyone and everyone on the Internet is now just a message away. You simply have to know the Internet address of the person you want to send a message to; the computers do the rest.
If you are currently exchanging e-mail with others in your office, the primary difference you will notice in corresponding over the Internet is that you do not have a directory of everyone to whom you can send mail. Obviously, we cannot provide a list of the millions of people accessible via the Internet. However, you can easily create your own address list and update it on a regular basis. 


Chapter 11 on page 105, will get you started. 
Usenet: Internet News and Newsgroups
QMC allows you to read Usenet news as easily as you would read a message sent directly to you. If you are unfamiliar with Usenet, it is important to understand that the news you read does not resemble news summaries available from a wire service. News on Usenet is a message of some type, and by convention, it is called an article. Articles can, in fact, be newspaper articles, but they can also be scholarly papers, general information or someone's response to an earlier article.
What exactly is Usenet? Usenet encompasses the computers and people who exchange information and ideas through articles which are labeled and posted within newsgroups. Usenet allows home computer users, small and large businesses, schools and universities, and government agencies to share information via the Internet. A newsgroup is a collection of articles on a specific topic which are labeled explicitly for that newsgroup when they are posted. Some examples of newsgroups are:
t	news.announce.newusers includes articles that describe different aspects of Usenet. (You might want to subscribe to this newsgroup first if you are a new user.)
t	alt.culture.usenet includes articles which provide insight into Usenet culture.
t	bit.listserv.c+health offers articles on how computers may affect your health.
t	rec.arts.sf.reviews has reviews of science fiction books, magazines and videos.
There are currently more than 10,000 newsgroups and new ones are created on an ongoing basis. Many, but not all newsgroups are classified as Usenet newsgroups. With QMC, you can access all newsgroups available on your news server. By subscribing to newsgroups of your choice, you can access information which may be of interest. 

Chapter 15 on page 163 shows you how to subscribe to Usenet newsgroups and retrieve articles.
QMC Chapter Organization
QMC Chapters are organized as follows:
Chapter 10, Quarterdeck Message Center Basics, provides an overview of QMC and its mail and news capabilities.
Chapter 11, Outgoing Mail, gets you started sending and receiving Internet mail.
Chapter 12, Incoming Mail, explains how to read your mail and your options after you read it.
Chapter 13, Folders, shows you how to configure your message tree and folders to store the messages and articles you want to keep.
Chapter 14, Address Book, provides complete details on your personal address book and its mailing and newsgroup lists.
Chapter 15, Newsgroups and News, explains how to subscribe to newsgroups and the tasks that are unique to Usenet access.
Chapter 16, Utilities, explains the file utilities you will use when sending and receiving files via the Internet and the QMC TAR/Compress Utility application.
