How To Do Just About Anything by e-mail - Part 1

The following information is supported by Green Plumbers Sydney , electricians Perth , Industrial electricians Melbourne and Gold Coast Plumbers.

WWW by e-mail

In 1994, Arthur Secret of the world wide web consortium developed an e-mail browser for the WWW that he named an Agora server. Since that time many other web-by-e-mail (or webmail) servers have been developed and put in service around the world.

These services provide e-mail only access to information resources stored on the World-Wide Web. The servers enable e-mail only users to simulate the experience of browsing the Web by sending e-mail requests for either text or HTML versions of documents stored on World Wide Web sites.

The user sends an e-mail request to an web-by-mail server requesting a particular Web document and the document is returned via e-mail in either text or HTML format. The returned HTML documents are formatted suitably for a text browser.

To retrieve a document, you just have to specify its "address", called a "Uniform Resource Locator" (URL).

For example, the URL of this document is:

http://www.expita.com/howto1.html

This means that to get this web page by e-mail, you just have to send e-mail to a server using the proper syntax. A list of e-mail only servers that support web page retrievals can be found in my Email server listings.

Agora

Agora servers skip the Subject line and use the message body with the commands to retrieve the web pages.

=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  OR 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Subject: [leave blank]
Body:
    SEND http://www.expita.com/howto1.html
=======================================================================

NOTE: The commands are not the same on every server - some of the Agora like servers (w3mail servers) use the command GET instead of SEND and others just use the URL without a SEND/GET keyword. Send the "help" command to find out how each Agora like server works.

When you retrieve a hypertext document from the web, you will notice numbers in square brackets such as [5] next to some special words.

   Network by UNINETT[5].

This means you may access a new document, hopefully related to the word(s) preceding the [5]. If you are interested in retrieving this new document, look at the bottom of the returned document in the section "*** References from this document ***" and find the URL next to the number. Then, just copy the URL next to number, and paste it in the body of a e-mail message you send to an [Agora server].

*** References from this document ***
...
[5] http://www.uninett.no/index.en.html
...

LIMITS

Agora servers are limited to 5000 lines. Currently the standard for e-mail is approximately 72 to 80 characters per line so we have between 360,000 and 400,000 characters or bytes. As there are 1024 bytes in 1K we have between 352K and 391K that can be transmitted via an Agora server.

Also note that in retrieving binary files they will be uuencoded which increases their size about one-third.

If you are trying to retreive a text or binary file from a web page and it exceeds the limits of the Agora or other servers, you may wish to use gophermail instead. The gophermail servers allow the retrieval of verrrry large files.

RESEND COMMAND

One Agora server supports the "rsend" command which allows you to "resend" the document requested to a different address than the one from which the mail message was sent. This is a handy feature if you are using a different mail server (for instance, your work address) and you wish the mail sent to your normal mail address. I use this feature when I'm at work to make sure the message is sent to my Netcom account.

    rsend 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
   [URL]

DEEP COMMAND

One Agora server supports the "deep" command which is the same as "SEND", but in addition also sends you the documents referred to in the URL you specified. (If the documents are too large, you will get only the first 5000 lines of what "deep" should provide). Be cautious when using the "DEEP" command as the Agora server might mail you several dozen documents!

SOURCE COMMAND

All the Agora servers support the "SOURCE" command which allows you to retrieve the web page with all the HTML formatting intact. In this manner, you would be able to view the web page offline on your PC if you have a web browser program.

BSOURCE COMMAND

One Agora server supports the "BSOURCE" command which is the same as the "SOURCE" command except that the document is uuencoded.

BINARY FILES

Agora servers are also able to retrieve binary files from web sites (that is, .gif. .jpg. .zip, .exe, etc). Binary files are uuencoded and subject to the same 5000 line limit. The other servers also have some kind of binary file retrievals methods but are also subject to limits. As before, please see the help files for each server type.

HELP DOCUMENT

All Agora servers will send the "HELP" document if you format your message like:

=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  OR 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Subject: [leave blank]
Body:
  HELP
=======================================================================

Getweb

GetWeb was developed by SatelLife, an international not-for-profit organization employing satellite, telephone and radio networking technology to serve the health communication and information needs of countries in the developing world.

To request a document from the World Wide Web, send a message to a getweb server with the body containing one or more requests like:

=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  OR 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Subject: [leave blank]
Body:
  GET http://www.expita.com/servers.html
=======================================================================

=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  OR 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Subject: [leave blank]
Body:
  GET http://www.expita.com/howto1.html

  =======================================================================

=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  OR 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Subject: [leave blank]
Body:
  Hello getweb!
  This preamble will not be processed by the MailBot...

  begin

  GET http://www.expita.com/servers.html

  # ...neither will this comment

  end
  ....and neither will this signature:
  --
  Gerry Boyd -- 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 

=======================================================================

HELP DOCUMENT

All Getweb servers will send the "HELP" document if you format your message like:

=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  OR 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Subject: [leave blank]
Body:
  HELP
=======================================================================

www4mail

A web page (returned as text)
=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  (OR other www4mail server)
Subject: [leave blank]
Body:
  SEND http://www.expita.com/servers.html
  SEND http://www.expita.com/howto1.html

 =======================================================================

A web page (returned as is) as an attachment
=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  (OR other www4mail server)
Subject: [leave blank]
Body:
  TSOURCE http://www.expita.com/servers.html
  TSOURCE http://www.expita.com/howto1.html

=======================================================================

A web page (returned as is) in body of message
=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  (OR other www4mail server)
Subject: [leave blank]
Body:
  SOURCE http://www.expita.com/servers.html
  SOURCE http://www.expita.com/howto1.html

=======================================================================

A form retrieval
=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  (OR other www4mail server)
Subject: [leave blank]
Body:
  XFORMREPLY = TEXT
  http://www.liszt.com/
=======================================================================

Others

=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Subject: URL of page (omit http://)
         URL of page with images (omit http://)
Body: [leave blank]
=======================================================================

=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Subject: URL of page
Body: [leave blank]
=======================================================================

=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Subject: [leave blank]
Body:
  URL: http://www.expita.com/howto1.html
  HTML: http://www.expita.com/howto1.html
       URL - web page returned in text format
       HTML - web page returned in HTML format
  also does https:// (Secure Socket Layer) web sites
=======================================================================

=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Subject: [leave blank]
Body:
  GET http://www.expita.com/howto1.html
  DUMP http://www.expita.com/howto1.html
       GET - returns MIME web page
       DUMP - returns text web page
=======================================================================

=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Subject: [leave blank]
Body:
  GET http://www.expita.com/howto1.html
  SEND http://www.expita.com/howto1.html
       GET - returns HTML code
       SEND - returns plain text
=======================================================================

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it limits you to 1.44Mb (one high-density floppy disk size) on all files retrieved. Files larger than this cannot be returned.

Unlimited web pages returned as text
=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Subject: [single URL or leave blank for multiple retrievals]
Body:
  http://www.expita.com/howto1.html
  rsize=xxxx (file size spilt in bytes, good for PDAs)
  etc.
=======================================================================

Unlimited web pages returned as is, including graphics
=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Subject: [single URL or leave blank for multiple retrievals]
Body:
  http://www.expita.com/howto1.html
  etc.
=======================================================================

Unlimited framed web pages returned as is, including graphics
=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Subject: [single URL or leave blank for multiple retrievals]
Body:
  http://www.expita.com/howto1.html
  etc.
=======================================================================

JAVASCRIPT WEB PAGES

For test results of retrieving a Javascript web page by using Agora, Getweb, w3mail, and web-mail.

Results and Comments:
The three Getweb servers returned the most references because they properly indexed the whole web page. They also returned Agora-like results. However, in general, Getweb servers return more of the page than I like to see. Personally, I like the format returned by the Agora servers. In this case, only This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it worked properly and to my satisfaction. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it scrambled the Javascript and included it as well as returning the normal Agora-like results. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it just returned the Javascript and no Agora-like results.

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it returned the source and the formatted version by using the "GO" command, neither of which I liked for this test. I normally do not retrieve web pages in source format as I have no interest in viewing after retrieval. I find that results returned by this server are best when using the "SEND" command and URLs are not wanted. This works fine for specific searches and for plain text files.

My preferences are toward the type of results returned when using a search engine via e-mail so my comments above reflect these feelings. See the results and determine which ones you like best for yourself.

WWW by e-mail - Sites with Frames

Frames are a Netscape enhancement to standard HTML coding. With frames - which divide Web pages into multiple, scrollable regions - you can present information in a more flexible and useful fashion. Each region, or frame, has several features:

• It can be given an individual URL, so it can load information independent of the other frames on the page;
• It can be given a NAME, allowing it to be targeted by other URLs, and;
• It can resize dynamically if the user changes the window's size. (Resizing can also be disabled, ensuring a constant frame size.)

To figure out what page you want to retrieve by e-mail you must resort to getting the main page in HTML format. This is done by using the "SOURCE" command with an Agora server. The other webmail servers have commands that work in a similar manner. See the help files for each server type.

The keyword HTML tags that e-mail only users will be interested in are: FRAMES, NOFRAMES, FRAMESET, and FRAME SRC.

EXAMPLE WWW by e-mail - Sites with Frames

Some sites are polite and provide a reference to a text-based page like this one: [http://www.lib.virginia.edu/news.html]

If you retrieved the web page by e-mail you would see this message:

                                       UVA Library - News, Weather, Sports
                    THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA LIBRARY



The page you chose uses frames to display information. Because some
browsers do not support frames, we also make an alternative version[1]
available.

The [1] would lead you to a reference at the bottom of the returned page that looks like:

*** References from this document ***
[orig] http://www.lib.virginia.edu/news.html
[1] http://www.lib.virginia.edu/newsnf.html

You would then construct a new URL and retrieve this page:

SEND http://www.lib.virginia.edu/news.html/.newsnf.html

<html>
<head><title>UVA Library - News, Weather, Sports</title></head>
<frameset cols="15%,*">
<noframes>
<body bgcolor="#ffffff" link="#0f0fef" vlink="#ff3300">
<center>
<font color=003387><h1>The University of Virginia Library</h1></font>
<img src="/rotunda.gif" border=0 align=centr  hspace=5 width=30 height=29
alt=" ">
<h2>The page you chose uses frames to display information.
Because some browsers do not support frames, we also make an
<a href="/newsnf.html">alternative version</a> available.</h2>
</body>
</noframes>
<frame src="/toc.html" name="a" marginwidth="1">
<frame src="/newsnf.html" name="b" marginwidth="1">
</frameset>
</html>

<noframes>
<h2>The page you chose uses frames to display information.
Because some browsers do not support frames, we also make an
<a href="/newsnf.html">alternative version</a> available.</h2>
</noframes>

If you retrieved the page with other than an Agora server, and didn't see the message pointing to the alternate page, you could still construct the URL for the text-based page if you retrieved the source HTML format and followed the directions in the "noframes" section. That is, construct the new URL using the reference to the alternate page as follows: [http://www.lib.virginia.edu/newsnf.html]

Let's also look at the section of code that points to pages that a frames capable browser would see. The section we are looking for is identified as follows:

<frame src="/toc.html" name="a" marginwidth="1">
<frame src="/newsnf.html" name="b" marginwidth="1">
</frameset>

So you would construct two new URLs and send these to the Agora or other webmail program. In this case:

SEND http://www.lib.virginia.edu/toc.html
SEND http://www.lib.virginia.edu/newsnf.html

ANOTHER EXAMPLE WWW by e-mail - Sites with Frames

Other sites are polite and provide a reference to a text-based page and include one of the annoying messages like this one: [http://espn.sportszone.com/ipsa97/index.html]

If you retrieved the web page by e-mail you would see this message:

Your browser does not support Frames.

   The Information Please Sports Almanac requires a browser capable of
     displaying frames.  You can download Microsoft's Internet Explorer at
       www.microsoft.com[1] or Netscape's browser at www.netscape.com[2]

   You may have some limited success browsing the almanac with this
     link[3]

The link identified by [3] would lead you to a reference at the bottom of the returned page that looks like:

*** References from this document ***
[orig] http://espn.sportszone.com/ipsa97/index.html
[1] http://espn.sportszone.com/ipsa97/www.microsoft.com
[2] http://espn.sportszone.com/ipsa97/www.netscape.com
[3] http://espnet.sportszone.com/ipsa97/index3a.html

You would then construct a new URL and retrieve this page:

SEND http://espnet.sportszone.com/ipsa97/index3a.html

<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>1997 Information Please Sports Almanac</TITLE>
<META name="Description" content="The 1997 Information Please Sports Almanac: Get the statistics, rankings, scores and more. Visit ESPNET SportsZone">
<META name="Keywords" content="ESPN, soccer, sports, football, nfl, baseball, nba,basketball, hockey, mls, mlb, college football, college basketball, golf, tennis, auto racing, Sport, Almanac, sports almanac">

</HEAD>
<frameset cols="160,*">
        <frame src="/index3a.html" noresize border="0">
        <frame src="/index3c.html" name="display" border="0">
</frameset>

<noframes>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>1997 Information Please Sports Almanac </TITLE>
<META name="Description" content="The 1997 Information Please Sports Almanac: Get the statistics, rankings, scores and more. Visit ESPNET SportsZone">
<META name="Keywords" content="ESPN, soccer, sports, football, nfl, baseball, nba,basketball, hockey, mls, mlb, college football, college basketball, golf, tennis, auto racing, Sport, Almanac, sports almanac">

<body bgcolor="#FFFFF0" lind="teal" vlink="teal">
<map name="header">
<area href="http://espnet.sportszone.com" shape="RECT" coords="0,0,94,29">
<center><img src="/img/infoplease/generichead.gif" USEMAP="#header" border="0"></center><p><p>
</map>

<FONT SIZE=+1><B>Your browser does not support Frames.</B></FONT> <p>
<p> The Information Please Sports Almanac requires a browser capable of displaying frames. You can download Microsoft's Internet Explorer at <a href="/www.microsoft.com">www.microsoft.com</a> or Netscape's browser at <a href="/www.netscape.com">www.netscape.com</a>
<p><a href=http://espnet.sportszone.com/ipsa97/index3a.html> You may have some limited success browsing the almanac with this link</a>

<center><img src="/img/infoplease/genericfoot.gif"></center>
</noframes>
</HTML>

Again let's look at the section of code that points to pages that a frames capable browser would see. The section we are looking for is identified as follows:

<frame src="/index3a.html" noresize border="0">
<frame src="/index3c.html" name="display" border="0">
</frameset>

SEND http://espn.sportszone.com/ipsa97/index3a.html
SEND http://espn.sportszone.com/ipsa97/index3c.html

ANOTHER EXAMPLE WWW by e-mail - Sites with Frames

Other sites are polite but don't provide a reference to a text-based page like this one: [http://www.lpl.univ-aix.fr/~esslli97/]

So we must retrieve the original web page in source code format to figure out the real page to retrieve. Getting the home page in source HTML format you would see the following:

<html>
<head>
   <title>ESSLLI'97</title>
        <meta name="description" content="9th European Summer School in Logic,
Language and Information, August 11-22 1997, Aix-en-Provence (France).">
</head>
<frameset cols=20%,80% border=0>
        <frame src=toc-en.html name=toc>
        <frame src=main-en.html name=main>
</frameset>
<!------------------------------------------------------------------>
<!------------------------------------------------------------------>
<!-------- Pour les navigateurs ne supportant pas les frames ------->
<!------------------------------------------------------------------>
<!------------------------------------------------------------------>
<noframes>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<br>
<br>
Your browser does not seem to support frames which are extensively used
on this site... If you wish to access this site, you'd better download
<a href="http://home.netscape.com/comprod/mirror/client_download.html">
Netscape
</a>
 or
 <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/ie/download/">
 Microsoft Internet Explorer
 </a>
 <p>
</body>
</html>
</noframes>
</html>

<noframes>
Your browser does not seem to support frames which are extensively used
on this site... If you wish to access this site, you'd better download
<a href="http://home.netscape.com/comprod/mirror/client_download.html">
Netscape
</noframes>

<frameset cols=20%,80% border=0>
        <frame src=toc-en.html name=toc>
        <frame src=main-en.html name=main>
</frameset>

So you must construct two new URLs and send these to the Agora or other webmail program. In this case:

SEND http://www.lpl.univ-aix.fr/~esslli97/toc-en.html
SEND http://www.lpl.univ-aix.fr/~esslli97/main-en.html

ANOTHER EXAMPLE WWW by e-mail - Sites with Frames

Others sites return a blank page like this site: [http://www.kochind.com/kochind/WHO_FRAMESET.HTM]

Getting the home page in source HTML format you would see the following:

<HTML>
<HEAD>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; iso-8859-1">
<TITLE>WHO WE ARE FRAMESET</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<FRAMESET COLS="200,*" frameborder="0" framespacing="0">
  <FRAME SRC="WHO_NAVIGATION.HTM" NAME="WHO WE ARE NAVIGATION FRAME"
NORESIZE>
  <FRAMESET ROWS="165,*" frameborder="0" framespacing="0">
    <FRAME SRC="WHO_BANNER.HTM" NAME="WHO WE ARE BANNER FRAME" NORESIZE>
    <FRAME SRC="WHO_CONTENT.HTM" NAME="WHO WE ARE CONTENT FRAME"
NORESIZE>
  </FRAMESET>
  <NOFRAMES>
    <body link="#0080FF" vlink="#800080">
    </body>
    </NOFRAMES>
</FRAMESET>
</HTML>

In all cases you can construct a web page to retrieve via e-mail if you know how to work with the HTML coding, understand FRAMESET and/or FRAME SRC commands.

In this example, we do the same as we did in the other examples, that is, locate the FRAME SRC lines:

<FRAMESET COLS="200,*" frameborder="0" framespacing="0">
  <FRAME SRC="WHO_NAVIGATION.HTM" NAME="WHO WE ARE NAVIGATION FRAME"
NORESIZE>
  <FRAMESET ROWS="165,*" frameborder="0" framespacing="0">
    <FRAME SRC="WHO_BANNER.HTM" NAME="WHO WE ARE BANNER FRAME" NORESIZE>
    <FRAME SRC="WHO_CONTENT.HTM" NAME="WHO WE ARE CONTENT FRAME"
NORESIZE>
  </FRAMESET>

So you must construct two new URLs and send these to the Agora or other webmail program. In this case:

SEND http://www.kochind.com/kochind/WHO_NAVIGATION.HTM
SEND http://www.kochind.com/kochind/WHO_CONTENT.HTM
SEND http://www.kochind.com/kochind/WHO_BANNER.HTM

You always should try to find the NOFRAMES lines. Intelligent web page designers will have a proper URL for a no frames version. Bad web page designers (now in the majority!) will have an annoying or obnoxious message in this area. If the NOFRAMES section is missing, then construct the proper URL from the FRAME SRC lines.

NOTE: If any of these other pages use frames, you will have to get the "SOURCE" and do this all over again, page by page. Generally speaking, once you get past the first page you are usually OK and don't have to do this again.

WWW Search Engines by e-mail

The Internet has millions of web sites with an exponential growth rate. To find the proverbial "needle in a haystack" Internet search engines were developed.

All search engines do keyword searches against a database of web sites, but various factors influence the results from each. Size of the database, frequency of update, search capability and design, and speed lead to a different results.

Currently, the majority of searches are done on the Internet using a browser program and one of the major search engines. As an e-mail only user, the question arises "How can I search the Internet Using e-mail?"

To answer the question, in late 1995 I started spending an enormous amount of time trying to do exactly this. I started looking at the HTML source code of the search engine, at RFC 1866 which specified HTML 2.0 standards and how the HTML coding is supposed to be interpreted by the browser and the server, and also the results returned from the search.

In early 1996 I began posting a series of email only search engine FAQ on how to use e-mail to access the web-based search engines via an Agora server. I also showed in a FAQ how other users could do the same and the methods I used.

However, with the introduction of Getweb servers in late 1997, I have spent less and less time revising and working on these documents. The Getweb servers make it extremely easy to use a form-based search engine.

Here are some sample queries that you can send to an Agora or other type server. Replace the "SPAM" with your search phrase. Separate words with a plus sign ("+") instead of blanks. For details and other options be sure read the help files.

AltaVista
SEND http://www.altavista.com/cgi-bin/query?q=SPAM

AskJeeves
SEND http://www.askjeeves.com/main/askjeeves.asp?ask=SPAM

CNET Search (was SavvySearch)
SEND http://www.search.com/search?q=SPAM

DogPile
SEND http://search.dogpile.com/texis/search?q=SPAM

Excite (also includes old Magellan search)
SEND http://search.excite.com/search.gw?search=SPAM

Fast Search
SEND http://www.alltheweb.com/search?cat=web&lang=any&query=SPAM

GOTO
SEND http://www.goto.com/d/search/?type=topbar&Keywords=SPAM

Google
SEND http://www.google.com/search?q=SPAM

Google Groups (includes old DejaNews)
SEND http://groups.google.com/groups?q=SPAM

HotBot (now part of Lycos)
SEND http://hotbot.lycos.com/?MT=SPAM

Lycos
SEND http://www.lycos.com/cgi-bin/pursuit?query=SPAM

MetaCrawler
SEND http://search.metacrawler.com/crawler?general=SPAM

WebCrawler
SEND http://www.webcrawler.com/cgi-bin/WebQuery?searchText=SPAM

Yahoo
SEND http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=SPAM

Search request
=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  (OR other Agora server)
Subject: [leave blank]
Body:
  SEND http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=SPAM
  SEND http://www.google.com/search?q=SPAM&num=100
=======================================================================

=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  (OR other Getweb server)
Subject: request
Body:
  GET http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=SPAM
  GET http://www.google.com/search?q=SPAM&num=100
=======================================================================

=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Subject: [leave blank]
Body:
  URL: http://www.liszt.com/cgi-bin/liszt.cgi?word=canada&junk=s&an=all
  URL: http://www.google.com/search?q=win+98+shutdown+problems
  URL: http://www.mit.edu:8001/finger?
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
  URL: http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=SPAM
  URL: http://www.google.com/search?q=SPAM&num=100
=======================================================================

=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Subject: [leave blank]
Body:
  DUMP http://www.lsoft.com/scripts/wl.exe?qL=philately%2C+diving&F=L&F=T
  DUMP http://www.liszt.com/cgi-bin/liszt.cgi?word=canada&junk=s&an=all
  DUMP http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=SPAM
  DUMP http://www.google.com/search?q=SPAM&num=100
=======================================================================

=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Subject: [leave blank]
Body:
  SEND http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=SPAM
  SEND http://www.google.com/search?q=SPAM&num=100
=======================================================================

=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  (OR other www4mail server)
Subject: [leave blank]
Body:
  GET http://www.google.com/search?q=SPAM&num=100
  SEND http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=SPAM
=======================================================================

=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Subject: [leave blank]
Body:
  http://www.google.com/search?q=SPAM
  http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=SPAM
  http://www.google.com/search?q=SPAM&num=100
  etc.
=======================================================================

FTP by e-mail (FTPmail)

FTP stands for "file transfer protocol", and is a means of accessing files that are stored on remote computer systems (sites). Files at FTP sites are typically stored in a tree-like set of directories each of which pertains to a different subject.

Using FTP by e-mail requires that the desired site be reached through a special "ftpmail server" which logs on to the remote site and returns the requested files to you in response to a set of commands you issue in an e-mail message.

To use FTP by e-mail, you first need a list of FTP "sites" which are the addresses of the remote computer systems that allow you to retrieve files anonymously. Anonymous FTP means that you can access a site without having an account on that site (i.e. you don't have to be an authorized user of the system).

NOTE: It is a privilege and not a right to allow anonymous FTP. The person responsible for the site can shut it down at any time without you having any control over it.

FTP SITE LIST

You you can get a comprehensive list of hundreds of anonymous FTP sites as follows:

Send e-mail to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and include these lines in the body of the note.

   send usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/sitelist/part1
   send usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/sitelist/part2
   ... (lines omitted for brevity) ...
   send usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/sitelist/part23

   send usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/sitelist/*

You can also get the files by anonymous FTP at one of these sites:

  Anonymous FTP to rtfm.mit.edu and getting all the files from the
  /pub/usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/sitelist directory for the sitelist
  and /pub/usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/faq for the FAQ List (ASCII files)

  Anonymous FTP to garbo.uwasa.fi and getting the file
  /pc/doc-net/ftp-list.zip

 

FTP FAQ

Another file you might want to get is "FTP Frequently Asked Questions" which contains lots more info on using FTP services.

Send e-mail to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and include this line in the body of the note.

   send usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/faq

  Site   : ftp.cs.wisc.edu
  Country: USA
  GMT    : -6
  Date   : 23-Jul-95
  Source : mail
  Alias  : fyvie.cs.wisc.edu
  Admin  : 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
  Organ  : University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, CS dept.
  Server :
  System : Unix
  URL    : ftp://ftp.cs.wisc.edu/
  Comment: server can (de)compress, tar files and directories; RoadMap
           contains list of directories; files from shorty.cs.wisc.edu
  Files  : 007; afs-tools; AIX; Approximation Theory; bolo; CDIFF;
           computer-vision; condor; connectivity table; coral; Exodus; galileo;
           ghost; goodman; HP; list-archives; machine learning; markhill;
           math prog; mcplib; Novell; par-distr-sys; paradise; shore; sohi;
           spim; spimsal; swartz; tech-reports; Ultimate Frisbee files; UW;
           warts; wisc; wwt; X; xunet

EXAMPLE FTPMAIL RETRIEVAL

First off you need the name of an FTP site to send the e-mail to. In this example, I am going to FTP to ftp.simtel.net -- the largest Simtel site. I will use a German site, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . It doesn't really matter which one you choose, but a server that is geographically close may respond more quickly.

Send e-mail to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (Germany)

Now in the body of the note we will start with the commands to get a list of files from the ftp.simtel.net FTP site.

open ftp.simtel.net      -- point to the FTP site
dir                      -- get a directory listing
get README               -- almost every site has one - this one does
quit                     -- go home !!!

These similarly named files usually give a description of the files found at the FTP site. If you're just exploring and your "dir" reveals one of these filenames, do a "get" on the file and save yourself some time in the future.

By returned mail you will get a listing of the root directory (from the dir command) and some information about this site (from the README).

This is the result of the "dir" command.

total 12
-rw-r--r--  1 root  wheel   480 May  1 16:59 RATECARD.TXT
-rw-rw-r--  1 root  wheel   696 Nov 19  1997 README
-rw-r--r--  1 root  wheel  3344 Sep  1  2000 UPLOADS.TXT
drwxrwxr-x  2 root  wheel   512 Oct  5  1998 archive-info
lrwxr-xr-x  1 root  wheel    21 Nov 22  1998 catalog.txt -> pub/cdrom/catalog.txt
lrwxr-xr-x  1 root  wheel    26 Nov 22  1998 config.txt -> archive-info/wcarchive.txt
drwxr-xr-x  2 root  wheel   512 May  2  1999 etc
drwxrwxr-x  2 root  wheel  2048 Jun 12 20:53 pub

The first byte of the first column tells you what type of file it is:

d : directory
- : file
l : a link to another file or directory

The access permissions are r=read, w=write, and x=execute. A dash ("-") means the permission is not granted.

1. Read permission -- allows you to look at the file. In the case of a directory, it let's you list the directory's contents.
2. Write permission -- allows you to modify (or delete) the file. In the case of a directory, you must have write permission in order to create, move, or delete files in that directory.
3. Execute permission -- allows you to execute the file by typing it's name. With directories, execute permission allows you to "cd" into them.

The following combinations are possible:
"---" (no permissions)
"r--" (read-only)
"-w-" (write-only, very rare)
"--x" (execute)
"rw-" (read and write)
"r-x" (read and execute)
"-wx" (write and execute, very rare)
"rwx" (read, write and execute)

The next 2 columns are the owner and user group to which the file belongs (these can be numeric).

The next 2 columns are the file size and last modification date and optional time.

The last column is the name of the file or directory or a link. The "->" characters indicate a link. (This is like an alias, and is often used to provide a shortcut to a file buried several subdirectories deep - it saves keying). The links also are identified in byte 1 of the first column - (l=link). A link can refer to either a directory or a file.
NOTE: some ftp servers may truncate the linked-to file name.

So, looking at a line like this:

-rw-r--r-- 1 ftpuser ftpusers 1498680 Jun 2 03:19 Index-byname

This is a file, ("-") in first byte of column 1
The owner has read and write permission (rw- , he'd better!)
The group has read permission only (r--)
The world has read permission only (r--)
There is 1 link to the file
The owner is ftpuser
The user group is ftpusers
The file size is 1498680 bytes
The date of last modification is Jun 02, 1999 at 03:19 local time
  If there is no year shown, then it's the current year -- usually
The file name is Index-byname (which implies a text file and typically
  is a complete listing of all files in all directories). The most
  common of these names is 00index.txt

lrwxrwxrwx 1 ftpuser ftpusers 7 Apr 6 1998 irc -> pub/irc

This is a link, ("l") in first byte of column 1
The owner has read, write, and execute permission (rwx)
The group has read, write, and execute permission (rwx)
The world has read, write, and execute permission (rwx)
There is 1 link to the file
The owner is ftpuser
The user group is ftpusers
The link size is 7 bytes (the actual number of characters in the link
  name - pub/irc)
The date of last modification is Apr 06, 1998
  (no time because a year is shown)
The file name irc refers to a link in a lower lever directory where
  the file is actually located. i.e., oak.oakland.edu/pub/irc

=======================================================================
Received: from info6.rus.uni-stuttgart.de (IDENT:
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  [129.69.1.84])
        by no2.superb.net (8.11.1/8.11.1) with ESMTP id f5CNsBF06129
        for <
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 >; Tue, 12 Jun 2001 19:54:11 -0400 (EDT)
Received: by info6.rus.uni-stuttgart.de (Postfix, from userid 42)
        id 62EBB1B044; Wed, 13 Jun 2001 01:53:58 +0200 (CEST)
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Subject: ftp.simtel.net://README ()
Precedence: bulk
Message-Id: <
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 >
Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2001 01:53:58 +0200 (CEST)
From: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  (ftpmail account)
X-Sorted: Default
Status: RO


Welcome to wcarchive.cdrom.com!

This ftp server supports automatic tar support.  To get a directory as a
tar file, say:

        get <dir>.tar

If you find you get "Permission denied" messages when you try to retrieve
files, you probably do not have write permission in the local directory you
are in.  Make sure your disk isn't full and you may write to the directory
you are in.

Many files in this area are also available on CDROM from Walnut Creek CDROM.
For more information about our products, please check out:

  http://www.cdrom.com

Alternatively, you can e-mail 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  , or finger 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 .
For technical questions about our products send e-mail to 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 .

Thanks!

=======================================================================

   chdir pub        (use "cd" if "chdir" doesn't work)

   get [name of file]

   binary

NOTE: By default, file transfers assume that the files are plain ASCII text. The word binary above was to denote that the file is an executable program. Use binary to transfer .exe, .zip, .gif, .jpg, .wav, .hqx. .sit. .com, and other such files that are not plain text ASCII files.

Remember that you can't just send e-mail to ftpmail@[anysite], rather you send the "open [site]" command to one of the known ftpmail servers.

Notes:

• The ftpmail servers tend to be quite busy. Your reply may not arrive for several minutes, hours, or days.

   

• Some large files may be split into smaller pieces and returned to you as multiple messages. You can control this (and also override the return e-mail address) using special ftpmail commands.

   

• The commands are not the same on every server - send the "help" command to find out how FTPMAIL works on the server you are using.
• Often the ftpmail servers keep local archives. Open the local archives by not specifying a site on the "open" line. Using the local archives gives your request priority so it will be processed before all outside requests.

If the file that is returned to you ends up looking something like what you see below, (the word "begin" with a number and the filename on one line, followed by a number of 61-character lines) it most likely is a binary file that has been "uuencoded" by the sender. (This is required in order to reliably transmit binary files by e-mail.)

    begin 666 answer2.zip
    M4$L#!`H`!@`.`/6H?18.$-Z$F@P```@?```,````5$5,25@S,34N5%A480I[
    M!P8;!KL,2P,)!PL).PD'%@.(!@4.!P8%-@.6%PL*!@@*.P4.%00.%P4*.`4.

MORE EXAMPLE FTPMAIL RETRIEVALS

OK, let's assume that you want the PKZIP program and somebody has notified you that it is available via FTP to oak.oakland.edu in the directory /SimTel/msdos/zip/ as file name pkz204.exe. How do you get this file?

Send e-mail to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (United States)

Now in the body of the note we will list the commands to get the file we are interested in.

open oak.oakland.edu     -- point to the FTP site
chdir SimTel/msdos/zip   -- change to the directory where the file is
binary                   -- because it's an executable program
get pkz204g.exe          -- get our file
quit                     -- we are done here !!

FTPmail by Parts

Let's assume you read about two files that you might be interested in downloading:

Paint Shop Pro version 5.03 Win 95/98/NT psp501ev.zip 7M
Paint Shop Pro version 3.12 Win 3.x      psp311a.zip 2M

Paint Shop Pro is a complete image creation and manipulation program
that enhances the imaging power of business and home users with
unrivaled ease of use, speed and affordable functionality.

WinZip v7.0 for Windows 95/98/NT wz32v701.exe 922K

WinZip brings the convenience of Windows to the use of Zip files and
other archive and compression formats.  The optional wizard interface
makes unzipping easier than ever.  WinZip features built-in support CAB
files and for popular Internet file formats such as TAR, gzip, UUencode,
BinHex, and MIME.  ARJ, LZH, and ARC files are supported via external
programs.  WinZip interfaces to most virus scanners.

The following ftpmail servers will do this:

  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
              - mirrors 86 sites
send parts, splits mail, resend missing parts


  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
                - mirrors 12 sites
send parts, splits mail, resend missing parts

These two work in much the same manner:

  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
            - mirrors 4 sites
splits mail, resend missing parts


  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  - mirrors 32 sites
splits mail, resend missing parts

However, each of these is a local FTP mailserver. What does this mean? It means they only retrieve files from their site and no other. In other words, you can't use an "open" command to open another remote ftp site.

This causes problems unless they "mirror" some of the other major ftp sites. I will also show to overcome this obstacle.

In addition, each of the above listed servers implements the "parts" differently. In the examples following, I will show how each site and set of commands work.

The examples I use herein will show you how to download files of varying sizes. However, the methods can be used to download files of any size.

Let's start with This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and look at the revelant portions of the help file. You can obtain the help file by sending a message to:

To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 

Subject: [leave blank]
Body: help

...
    Fileserver functions
...skip portions for brevity...

        PARTSIZE        [sizeexpr]      Delivery partitioning mechanism.
          (Command alias: SIZE)         (Default: 65k, max: 1M.  READ THE DOC!)

        PARTS           [part list]     If only few parts are needed for
          (Alias: PART)                 multipart request retry, this can
                                        be used to pick only that/those.

        MAILQUOTA       [sizeexpt]      Delivery limitation mechanism
                                        Default limit  1M -- 1 MB worth mail.
...

You can obtain detail information on the commands by sending for this detailed help file:

To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 

Subject: [leave blank]
Body: help files

...
PARTSIZE        (no argument)
Alias: SIZE

        Tells current setup of partitioning information.

        value   Count of CHARS/BYTES IN RECORDS of file to be sent out.
                In practice cut off is at first newline/record change AFTER
                count expires.  Mail headers must be accounted into mail
                length, and they may form up to 1k increase in size.

PARTSIZE        [partsizevalue]
        Defines partitioning parameter value.

                60000                   60 000 chars for max size
                60k                     60k (k == 1000) chars for max size
                60kBytes                (Only `k' is checked)
                (600l  or  600r         600 lines/records  * 80 -] chars)

        Minumum value:  5 000 bytes, max: 256 000 / "semi-infinite"
        Default value: 65 000 bytes

        Danger Ahead!
                0                       Requests semi-infinite partsize,
                                        currently that means 1 000 000 chars.

        Our sad experience shows that  when people ask for larger pieces,
        than about 60k, they have far too often (for our managers liking)
        problems at receiving  such  chunks.   Those  problems  may be at
        their own system, or at gateways  leading to their system,  or at
        the network connectivity at any place in between.

        Even when you can receive large e-mail (1MB or more) from your
        local friends/system,  you  may  or  may  not be  able to receive
        similar from far away the Internet.

        Please  consider  upgrading  to  MIME  capable  user-agents  that
        understand on how to decode and  combine  MESSAGE/PARTIAL kind of
        messages.  Such clients  handle  automatically  message combining
        independent of how many parts you have actually received.

PARTS           [part-list]     If set, affects following DIR and SEND
Alias: PART     1,2,3           command outputs by sending only those parts
                1-3,5,7-9       of the reply that really are needed by the
                                customer.
                                NEED TO USE THIS COMMAND INDICATES THAT YOU
                                HAVE NETWORK PROBLEMS!

MAILQUOTA       [sizelimit]     Sets limit on how much output can be generated
                20000           with this particular order file.
                20k             (We count only mail body bytes, not headers)
                20kBytes        Value range: 20k .. 50000k
                2M                         : 1M .. 50M

IMPORTANT:      Default (before you change it) is 1M. Change it if you want
                in order more than 1MB in any single request mail!

...

This particular server defaults to MIME encoding. If your mail program doesn't handle MIME encoding it will be necessary to UUencode it. Hence, the "ENCODER UUENCODE" command must be used.

If you didn't know that This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it "mirrors" many of the popular ftp sites, you can always ask the server if it has the file(s) you are interested in downloading. I will show you later what sites are mirrored.

You see if the file(s) are here by sending a message to:

=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 

Subject: [leave blank]
Body:
find wz32v701.exe
find psp501ev.zip
find psp311a.zip
=======================================================================

=======================================================================
From: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Cc: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
X-Warning:  NEVER use REPLY on the answers that arrive to you from
            this server, the reply 'comes' from an error-trap address.
Subject:     Re:
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Date:   Wed, 2 Jun 1999 22:15:20 +0300

> find wz32v701.exe
* Matching for regexpr: `wz32v701.exe'
* Found 1 matches.
* ----------------
*:pub/mirrors/ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/win95/compress/wz32v701.exe
*:* ----------------
*:> find psp501ev.zip
* Matching for regexpr: `psp501ev.zip'
* Found 1 matches.
* ----------------
*:pub/mirrors/ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/win95/graphics/psp501ev.zip
*:* ----------------
*:> find psp311a.zip
* Matching for regexpr: `psp311a.zip'
* Found 1 matches.
* ----------------
*:pub/mirrors/ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/win3/graphics/psp311a.zip
*:* ----------------
*:
Count of input lines: 4
Did 3 command(s)
Resource usages:
  Self:     Utime:   0.018,  Stime:   0.089
  Children: Utime:   0.025,  Stime:   0.051
=======================================================================

The Paint Shop Pro v3.12 file is 2M, After uuencoding, this file will be close to 3MB. So we will use 3MB as our mailquota when retrieving this file. However, instead of retrieving it all at once, I would really like to know how many files I must retrieve. How do you do this?

EXAMPLE FTPMAIL BY PARTS

You can see how many parts are required by just downloading 1 part:

=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 

Subject: [leave blank]
Body:
mailquota 30000K
chdir pub/mirrors/ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/win3/graphics/
encoder uuencode
partsize 50K
parts 1
send psp311a.zip
=======================================================================

The "chdir" (change directory) command came from the first message that I sent to locate the file. I just selected one of the directory locations where the file was located.

I want the mail uuencoded, so I used the "encoder uuencode" command. If I want MIME encoded mail, I would just omit this command.

I used the "partsize 50K" command just to show you how many files you must receive if you are limited to an e-mail message size, like Juno users. I myself could have used a larger value for my Netcom account.

I only want to receive 1 part because I really want to know how many parts there are to retrieve which will allow me to format later requests, so I used the "parts 1" command. You also use this command to request missing parts or parts that didn't uudecode properly.

The "send" command tells the server which file in the directory ("chdir") that I want to retrieve.

You will be returned with a document that looks like:

=======================================================================
From: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Cc: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
X-Warning:  NEVER use REPLY on the answers that arrive to you from
            this server, the reply 'comes' from an error-trap address.
Subject:     Re:
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Date:   Wed, 2 Jun 1999 22:37:26 +0300

> mailquota 30000K
* Can you accept MIME ?  Ask "HELP MIME" for more information.
* Now MAILQUOTA has value: 30000000
> chdir pub/mirrors/ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/win3/graphics/
* CHDIR successfull. Current dir: `/pub/mirrors/ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/win3/graphics'
> encoder uuencode
* New encoder has comment: `Basic USENET UUE'
> partsize 50K
* Now PARTSIZE has value: 50000
> parts 1
* scanned bits, result: 1
> send psp311a.zip
* Check PARTS command if you need to partially retry the request.
* Your file `/pub/mirrors/ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/win3/graphics/psp311a.zip' has size of 1914939 Bytes (1871kB)
* Running file through command "uuencode 'psp311a.zip' < '/mnt/nic/info/ftp/pub/mirrors/ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/win3/graphics/psp311a.zip'"
* mailed out a piece of it, 49870 bytes/805 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 2 of it, 49848 bytes/804 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 3 of it, 49848 bytes/804 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 4 of it, 49848 bytes/804 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 5 of it, 49848 bytes/804 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 6 of it, 49848 bytes/804 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 7 of it, 49848 bytes/804 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 8 of it, 49848 bytes/804 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 9 of it, 49848 bytes/804 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 10 of it, 49848 bytes/804 lines of contents

...skip 11 through 49 for brevity...

* skipped piece nbr 50 of it, 49848 bytes/804 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 51 of it, 49848 bytes/804 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 52 of it, 49848 bytes/804 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 53 of it, 46272 bytes/749 lines of contents
* Mailed out 1 piece(s) of results.

Count of input lines: 7
Did 6 command(s)
Resource usages:
  Self:     Utime:   0.021,  Stime:   0.071
  Children: Utime:   1.410,  Stime:   0.517
=======================================================================

You will also be returned with the first part (part 1) uuencoded.

Wow, with a limit of 50K on an e-mail message, I would need to retrieve 53 parts. The easy way to do this would be to send multiple messages requesting 10 parts at a time. This is easier on the server and also yourself when trying to handle them in your e-mail program. The requests would now look like:

Body:
mailquota 1M
chdir pub/mirrors/ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/win3/graphics/
encoder uuencode
partsize 50K
parts 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
send psp311a.zip

Body:
mailquota 1M
chdir pub/mirrors/ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/win3/graphics/
encoder uuencode
partsize 50K
parts 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
send psp311a.zip

parts ... up to 53 getting 10 or so at a time.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE FTPMAIL BY PARTS

Let's get the "winzip" file with the following request:

To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 

Subject: [leave blank]
Body:
chdir pub/mirrors/ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/win95/compress/
mailquota 2M
encoder uuencode
partsize 50K
parts 1
send wz32v701.exe

How come I formatted the request like I did? Well, I know that the file will be less than 2MB even when it's uuencoded. So I just used the "mailquota 2M" command. The is not really required but I have set up a template for sending mail to this server so I always include the same lines in every request. I just change the "mailquota" and "partsize" to fit.

The "chdir" (change directory) command came from the first message that I sent to locate the file. I just selected one of the directory locations where the file was located.

I want the mail uuencoded, so I used the "encoder uuencode" command. If I want MIME encoded mail, I would just omit this command.

I used the "partsize 50K" command just to show you how many files you must receive if you are limited to an e-mail message size, like Juno users. I myself could have used a larger value for my Netcom account.

I only want to receive 1 part because I really want to know how many parts there are to retrieve which will allow me to format later requests, so I used the "parts 1" command. You also use this command to request missing parts or parts that didn't uudecode properly.

The "send" command tells the server which file in the directory ("chdir") that I want to retrieve.

You will be returned with a document that looks like:

=======================================================================
From: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Cc: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
X-Warning:  NEVER use REPLY on the answers that arrive to you from
            this server, the reply 'comes' from an error-trap address.
Subject:     Re:
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Date:   Wed, 2 Jun 1999 23:16:38 +0300

> chdir pub/mirrors/ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/win95/compress/
* CHDIR successfull. Current dir: `/pub/mirrors/ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/win95/compress'
> mailquota 2M
* Can you accept MIME ?  Ask "HELP MIME" for more information.
* Now MAILQUOTA has value: 2000000
> encoder uuencode
* New encoder has comment: `Basic USENET UUE'
> partsize 50K
* Now PARTSIZE has value: 50000
> parts 1
* scanned bits, result: 1
> send wz32v701.exe
* Check PARTS command if you need to partially retry the request.
* Your file `/pub/mirrors/ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/win95/compress/wz32v701.exe' has size of 943835 Bytes (922kB)
* Running file through command "uuencode 'wz32v701.exe' < '/mnt/nic/info/ftp/pub/mirrors/ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/win95/compress/wz32v701.exe'"
* mailed out a piece of it, 48197 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 2 of it, 48236 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 3 of it, 48236 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 4 of it, 48236 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 5 of it, 48236 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 6 of it, 48236 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 7 of it, 48236 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 8 of it, 48236 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 9 of it, 48236 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 10 of it, 48236 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 11 of it, 48236 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 12 of it, 48236 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 13 of it, 48236 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 14 of it, 48236 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 15 of it, 48236 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 16 of it, 48236 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 17 of it, 48236 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 18 of it, 48236 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 19 of it, 48236 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 20 of it, 48236 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 21 of it, 48236 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 22 of it, 48236 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 23 of it, 48236 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 24 of it, 48236 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 25 of it, 48236 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 26 of it, 48236 bytes/778 lines of contents
* skipped piece nbr 27 of it, 46330 bytes/750 lines of contents
* Mailed out 1 piece(s) of results.

Count of input lines: 7
Did 6 command(s)
Resource usages:
  Self:     Utime:   0.018,  Stime:   0.065
  Children: Utime:   0.727,  Stime:   0.357
=======================================================================

You will also be returned with the first part (part 1) uuencoded.

I know that there are only 27 parts to retrieve for this file. So my next request would look like:

Body:
chdir pub/mirrors/ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/win95/compress/
mailquota 2M
encoder uuencode
partsize 50K
parts 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
send wz32v701.exe

Body:
chdir pub/mirrors/ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/win95/compress/
mailquota 2M
encoder uuencode
partsize 50K
parts 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
send wz32v701.exe

parts ... up to 27 getting 10 or so at a time.

EXAMPLE FTPMAIL - RESEND

Let's say part 4 of 6 was received corrupted or maybe you didn't receive it at all. How do you get the missing part? Use the parts command to receive missing part(s). This also will work on files that you tried to receive that were too large for your mailbox. You just resend for the missing parts.

Let's get the "wz32v701.exe" file part 4 and 6 with the following request:

To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 

Subject: [leave blank]
Body:
chdir pub/mirrors/ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/win95/compress/
mailquota 2M
encoder uuencode
partsize 50K
parts 4 6
send wz32v701.exe

OTHER FTPMAIL SERVERS THAT ALLOW RESEND CAPABILITIES

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it works in a manner exactly similar to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Gopher by e-mail

Before the advent of the World Wide Web, Gopher was the document access protocol of choice. Gopher sites are now few and far between. Gopher provides menu access to mainly text-based documents on the Internet. Gopher screens consist of numbered menu items. All you need to do is highlight the desired item with the cursor keys and press Enter. When you select a menu item, Gopher burrows through Internet pathways to find the information you requested and retrieves it to your screen. In effect, Gopher presents the Internet as if it were a part of a single directory system.

NOTE: Over the past few years, Gopher has nearly disappeared from the Internet as the World Wide Web has become the interface of choice. But still there is quite a bit of information available on gopher servers, and a few working gopher servers.

The gopher protocol is designed primarily to act as a distributed document delivery system. While documents (and services) reside on many servers, Gopher client software presents users with a hierarchy of items and directories much like a file system. In fact, the Gopher interface is designed to resemble a file system since a file system is a good model for locating documents and services.

When using a gopher client program via the Internet, you specify the name of the site and the servers return either directory lists or documents. Each item in a directory is identified by a type (the kind of object the item is), user-visible name (used to browse and select from menu listings), an opaque selector string (typically containing a pathname used by the destination host to locate the desired object), a host name (which host to contact to obtain this item), and an IP port number (the port at which the server process listens for connections.) The user only sees the user-visible name. The client software can locate and retrieve any item by the trio of selector, hostname, and port.

ABOUT GOPHERMAIL

GopherMail is a gopher client that uses electronic mail to interact with the user. Messages containing menus and gopher link information are mailed to users in response to their requests. Users reply to these messages and indicate which menu items they want. It lets people use Gopher without requiring them to have an account directly on the Internet, because it communicates through e-mail messages instead of direct "live" network connections.

Until now, Gopher could only be used by people with Mac's, PC's, NeXTs and Suns, etc. which are "live" on the Internet, or through shell accounts on Internet machines. Gopher client programs would make a direct network connection to the Gopher server on the host with the desired information, anywhere on the Internet, anywhere in the world.

Thanks to the GopherMail program, most of the resources of Gopher are now available to everyone with e-mail-only access to the Internet.

The commands are the same on every server - send the "help" command to find out how gophermail works on the server you are using or may wish to take a look at Gophermail help files.

GETTING STARTED

You can get started by sending mail to a gophermail server with any or no subject and any or no message body. GopherMail will reply by sending you it's main gopher menu. You then use your e-mail program to reply to that message, including it in the text of your reply. Mark which menu options you want to follow-up by putting an X (or x) anywhere near the beginning of the line, before the menu numbers for those options.

From there you can just keep repeating the process, sending replies back to gopher with the desired items marked with an X. To make it more efficient, you could edit your replies so they contain just the gopher link information for the items that you want. You'll find all the link information after the menu, at the bottom of the menu messages that GopherMail sends to you. Some items on gopher menus are database searches and college phone books. To search for a particular name or keyword(s), you simply send them on the Subject: line of the message in which you've Xed the phonebook or WAIS database menu option.

There are really just four basic steps to using GopherMail:

1. You send an e-mail message to a GopherMail server. In your message to the GopherMail server you either use a special subject line or enter commands in the body of your message.

    

2. Gophermail responds to your message by sending you its main Gopher menu in the body of an e-mail message.

    

3. You respond to this Gopher menu message by forwarding it back to the GopherMail server after you have marked which menu options you want the GopherMail server to send you.

    

4. Gophermail responds to your response by sending the information that you requested. If what you have requested is another menu, Gophermail sends you the menu in the body of another e-mail message, and the cycle keeps repeating itself.

OPTIONS

GopherMail's options include:

• Menu splitting after a certain number of menu items
• Re-using links saved in a "Bookmarks" file
• Requesting the Gopher menu for a specific hostname
• Requesting this help file
• Selecting menu items using fewer keystrokes
• Requesting items from the Info-Mac Archive
• Requesting gopher items with their raw link information

Since many e-mail gateways have size limits on e-mail messages, it's possible to split GopherMail output into several messages when it exceeds a certain size. This can be done by specifying a maximum number of menu items to send in one message, or by specifying a maximum size in bytes for text, HQX, binary and sound files. There are a couple of ways to do this. The first way is to put Menu=50 and/or Split=30000 (for example) in the Subject: of your message when requesting gopher menus and/or files. This would limit the output to 50 menu items per message, and would send files in messages of approximately 30,000 bytes each, maximum.

The other way is to include these same instructions in the body of the message, on separate lines. For example:

Split=25K You may have text after the "25K". The "K" or "k" becomes "000". (Yes, I know 1K = 1024, but it was easier to write this way).
Menu=75

Lines like these already appear in menu messages, you can find them after the menu items and before the link information. They contain the default values. You should edit these lines to contain the values that you want. All subsequent menus will contain your preferred Menu= and Split= values. Setting these values to 0 (zero) has the effect of not splitting messages at all. The default is to split menus after 100 items, and files after 27,000 bytes. If Split= or Menu= appear in the Subject: of the message, these will override the values set in the message body.

You can specify a different host when requesting a top level gopher menu by placing a fully qualified domain name as the Subject: of your message (such as gopher.micro.umn.edu). You can also specify a port other than the default of 70 by placing it after a fully qualified domain name in the subject (e.g. darth.sdsc.edu 800).

The most efficient way to use GopherMail is to mail just the link information for one or several gopher items. You can build a type of "bookmarks" file by saving the links that you want to use again. If you mail just the link information for a gopher connection, GopherMail will follow the link and mail you the output. Here's what you need:

Name=About GopherMail   -- This is optional, it returns in the Subject:
Type=0                  -- This is required, see below for a list of types.
Port=70                 -- Port 70 is assumed, required only if different.
Path=0/INFO/gophermail  -- This is usually required, depends on the link.
Host=gopher.ncc.go.jp   -- Required. This MUST be the last line of the link.

Supported Types are:

        0  -- Text File
        1  -- Directory
        2  -- CSO name server
        4  -- Mac HQX file.
        7  -- Full Text Index (these are often WAIS database searches)
        9  -- Binary File
        s  -- Sound

NOTE: Binary and Sound Files are sent as uuencoded files.

If you send the word help as the subject, GopherMail will send you the help file.

To save a few keystrokes, instead of putting X's in front of the menu lines, you could also just insert lines at the top of the reply which contain an "X" followed by the menu number that you want, such as:

x3
X15

GopherMail also recognizes gopher link information in "raw" form, which means tab-delimited on one line. A typical link might look like:

0About GopherMail#0/INFO/gophermail#gopher.ncc.go.jp#70

The "#" marks represent tab characters. This may not seem very useful, but it allows you to copy a link from a program like GopherApp and paste it into a message to gopher for processing by GopherMail.

Although not every item on every menu will be accessible by "gophermail", you'll still find plenty of interesting things using this technique.

EXAMPLE GOPHERMAIL SEARCHES

You can optionally specify the address of a known gopher site on the Subject line to get the main menu for that site instead. Here are some interesting gopher sites you may like to explore at your leisure.

   cwis.usc.edu (NO longer current 01Jan99 but can be used)
   gopher.micro.umn.edu
   english-server.hss.cmu.edu

Subject: cwis.usc.edu

=======================================================================
Date: Mon, 31 May 1999 11:59:34 +0900 (JST)
From: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  ("Gerald E. Boyd" )
Subject: Gopher Server at cwis.usc.edu
X-Menu: Max. 100 items/message
X-Sorted: Default

Due to the heavy load of the server, please restrict your request to
research and academic sites only. This helps the server live longer.

Mail this file back to gopher with an X before the menu items that you want.
If you don't mark any items, gopher will send all of them.


      1.  USCgopher is no longer current./
      2.  -------------------------------/
      3.  Please access current USC Information/
      4.  on USCweb./
      5.  Point your web browser at http://www.usc.edu/
      6.  If you don't have access to a graphical web browser,/
      7.  you can use the Lynx text browser with the command/
      8.  lynx http://www.usc.edu/
      9.  -----------------------------------------/


You may edit the following two numbers to set the maximum sizes after which
GopherMail should send output as multiple e-mail messages:

Split=27K bytes/message <- For text, bin, HQX messages (0 = No split)
Menu=100 items/message <- For menus and query responses (0 = No split)

#
Name=USCgopher is no longer current.
Numb=1
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/About_USCgopher
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=-------------------------------
Numb=2
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Indexes
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=Please access current USC Information
Numb=3
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/University_Information
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=on USCweb.
Numb=4
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Campus_Life
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=Point your web browser at http://www.usc.edu
Numb=5
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Computing_Information
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=If you don't have access to a graphical web browser,
Numb=6
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/LibraryResearch
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=you can use the Lynx text browser with the command
Numb=7
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/The_Health_Sciences_Campus
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=lynx http://www.usc.edu
Numb=8
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Research_and_Technology_Centers
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=-----------------------------------------
Numb=9
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources
Host=cwis.usc.edu
=======================================================================

   x 9. Other Gophers & Info Resources

Note: You don't have to forward the whole e-mail message and all the routing info that follows it each time you reply to the gophermail server. If you want to minimize the size of your query, you can strip out the "menu" portion at the top and include only the portion below (the "bookmark") that pertains to the menu selection you want.

Send e-mail to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (Japan) with the following:

Split=0K bytes/message
Menu=0 items/message
#
Name=Other Gophers and Information Resources
Numb=9
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources
Host=cwis.usc.edu

If this looks like nonsense to you, here's a translation:

Split= -- don't split the mail message at 27K, send one large e-mail
Menu= -- don't split menu items, send all of them, if any
# -- separator character, only required if more than one bookmark item
Name= -- is the name of the menu item
Numb= -- tells the host that it's menu item 9
Type= -- defines it as a directory
Port= -- refers to the TCP port (70 is the default for gopher connections),
Path= -- is the path on the local host where the file exists
Host= -- states the fully qualified domain name of the host

Either way you should then receive the following:

=======================================================================
Date: Mon, 31 May 1999 11:59:39 +0900 (JST)
From: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  ("NAme" )
Subject: Other Gophers and Information Resources
X-Sorted: Default

Due to the heavy load of the server, please restrict your request to
research and academic sites only. This helps the server live longer.

Mail this file back to gopher with an X before the menu items that you want.
If you don't mark any items, gopher will send all of them.


      1.  How to use Gopher (free course)/
      2.  Guides to Internet Resources/
      3.  Gophers by Subject/
      4.  Gophers by Location/
      5.  Gophers by Keyword Search (Veronica)/
      6.  The Mother Gopher at Minnesota/
      7.  Internet File Server (FTP) Sites/
      8.  Directories (names, phones, addresses)/
      9.  Commercial Services/
      10. Clearinghouse for Subject-Oriented Internet Resource Guides (UMich)/
      11. Gopher-Jewels/
      12. Miscellaneous/


You may edit the following two numbers to set the maximum sizes after which
GopherMail should send output as multiple e-mail messages:

Split=0 bytes/message <- For text, bin, HQX messages (0 = No split)
Menu=0 items/message <- For menus and query responses (0 = No split)

#
Name=How to use Gopher (free course)
Numb=1
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources/Gopherin
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=Guides to Internet Resources
Numb=2
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources/Guides_to_Internet_Resources
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=Gophers by Subject
Numb=3
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources/Gophers_by_Subject
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=Gophers by Location
Numb=4
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Other Gopher and Information Servers
Host=gopher.micro.umn.edu
#
Name=Gophers by Keyword Search (Veronica)
Numb=5
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/veronica
Host=gopher.unr.edu
#
Name=The Mother Gopher at Minnesota
Numb=6
Type=1
Port=70
Path=
Host=gopher.micro.umn.edu
#
Name=Internet File Server (FTP) Sites
Numb=7
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/FTP Searches
Host=gopher.tc.umn.edu
#
Name=Directories (names, phones, addresses)
Numb=8
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources/Directories
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=Commercial Services
Numb=9
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources/Commercial
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=Clearinghouse for Subject-Oriented Internet Resource Guides (UMich)
Numb=10
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/inetdirs
Host=una.hh.lib.umich.edu
#
Name=Gopher-Jewels
Numb=11
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources/Gopher-Jewels
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=Miscellaneous
Numb=12
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources/Miscellaneous
Host=cwis.usc.edu
=======================================================================

Let's get the listing anyway. Here is how to do it:

Send e-mail to:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (japan) with the following:

Split=0K
Menu=0
#
Name=Gopher-Jewels
Numb=11
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources/Gopher-Jewels
Host=cwis.usc.edu

You will then receive the following:

=======================================================================
Date: Mon, 31 May 1999 11:59:45 +0900 (JST)
From: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  ("name" )
Subject: Gopher-Jewels
X-Sorted: Default

Due to the heavy load of the server, please restrict your request to
research and academic sites only. This helps the server live longer.

Mail this file back to gopher with an X before the menu items that you want.
If you don't mark any items, gopher will send all of them.


      1.  GOPHER JEWELS Information and Help/
      2.  Community, Global and Environmental/
      3.  Education, Social Sciences, Arts & Humanities/
      4.  Economics, Business and Store Fronts/
      5.  Engineering and Industrial Applications/
      6.  Government/
      7.  Health, Medical, and Disability/
      8.  Internet and Computer Related Resources/
      9.  Law/
      10. Library, Reference, and News/
      11. Miscellaneous Items/
      12. Natural Sciences including Mathematics/
      13. Personal Development and Recreation/
      14. Research, Technology Transfer and Grants Opportunities/
      15. Search Gopher Jewels Menus by Key Word(s) <?> (Send keywords in Subject:)


You may edit the following two numbers to set the maximum sizes after which
GopherMail should send output as multiple e-mail messages:

Split=0 bytes/message <- For text, bin, HQX messages (0 = No split)
Menu=0 items/message <- For menus and query responses (0 = No split)

#
Name=GOPHER JEWELS Information and Help
Numb=1
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources/Gopher-Jewels/GJstuff
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=Community, Global and Environmental
Numb=2
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources/Gopher-Jewels/community
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=Education, Social Sciences, Arts & Humanities
Numb=3
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources/Gopher-Jewels/academic
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=Economics, Business and Store Fronts
Numb=4
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources/Gopher-Jewels/biz
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=Engineering and Industrial Applications
Numb=5
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources/Gopher-Jewels/engineering
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=Government
Numb=6
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources/Gopher-Jewels/government
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=Health, Medical, and Disability
Numb=7
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources/Gopher-Jewels/medical
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=Internet and Computer Related Resources
Numb=8
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources/Gopher-Jewels/internet
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=Law
Numb=9
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources/Gopher-Jewels/law
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=Library, Reference, and News
Numb=10
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources/Gopher-Jewels/general
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=Miscellaneous Items
Numb=11
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources/Gopher-Jewels/misc
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=Natural Sciences including Mathematics
Numb=12
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources/Gopher-Jewels/science
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=Personal Development and Recreation
Numb=13
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources/Gopher-Jewels/Istuff
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=Research, Technology Transfer and Grants Opportunities
Numb=14
Type=1
Port=70
Path=1/Other_Gophers_and_Information_Resources/Gopher-Jewels/research
Host=cwis.usc.edu
#
Name=Search Gopher Jewels Menus by Key Word(s)
Numb=15
Type=7
Port=3456
Path=
Host=cwis.usc.edu
=======================================================================

If a menu item is labeled "Search" (like Numb=15 above) you can select that item with an x and supply your search words in the Subject: of your reply. Note that your search criteria can be a single word or a boolean expression such as:

   document and (historic or government)

Note: Sometimes gophermail requests return a blank menu or message. This is most likely because the server failed to connect to the host from which you were trying to get your information. Send your request again later and it'll probably work.

WWW Files By Gophermail

Suppose you want to get a large file, say 600K, from a WWW page. You know that Agora servers only allow you to get a maximum of 5000 lines (about 300K). What should you do?

Use a gophermail server, especially if it is a large binary or text file you are trying to download.

The format for the body of the message is as follows:

#        [use as separator if you want more that one file retrieval]
Split=0  [use 0 if you want to receive one large file - default is 27Kb]
Name=    [Subject title that you want returned in your e-mail message]
Type=9   [9 for binary, 0 for text file]
Port=80  [default port for WWW pages]
Path=GET [path and name of binary or large text file]
Host=    [www site name without the http://]

=======================================================================
To: gophermail server

Subject: [leave blank]
Split=0
Name=G.E.Boyd's e-mail Server Listing
Type=0
Port=80
Path=GET /servers.html
Host=www.expita.com
=======================================================================

Another example, you want to retrieve a large zip file that is accessed via a web page (and it doesn't refer to an FTP site because if it did, we should use ftpmail).

Let's presume that we wish to retrieve an IBM product offering concerning Firewall for AIX. I find the PDF document on IBM's web page at: http://www-1.ibm.com/services/its/us/mus04b1.html titled "Installation Service for Firewall for AIX" with a product offering PDF file in the directory "services/its/us/source/mus04b1.pdf". What do you do to retrieve this file?

To: gophermail server

Subject: [leave blank]
Split=0
Name=Installation Service for Firewall for AIX
Type=9
Port=80
Path=GET /services/its/us/source/mus04b1.pdf
Host=www-1.ibm.com

This file will come back to you as a uuencoded file in one large e-mail message. (Binary, Sound and Image Files are sent as uuencoded files.)

What do you do if your e-mail program doesn't support more than 60Kb e-mail messages?

Change the Split command to reflect 60K parts to be returned.

=======================================================================
To:gophermail server

Subject: [leave blank]
Split=60K
Name=Installation Service for Firewall for AIX
Type=9
Port=80
Path=GET /services/its/us/source/mus04b1.pdf
Host=www-1.ibm.com
=======================================================================

Another example. You find some MPEG (mp3) files on a web page located in Sweden (http://hem.passagen.se/jlo/anorex.mp3 -- 970Kb)
and
(http://hem.passagen.see/jlo/injis.mp3 -- 1.3MB)
that are just to large to retrieve using an Agora or other w3mail type server. What do you do?

Let's use the Czech server as it's closer to the Swedish site. Here is what the mail message should look like:

=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 

Subject: [leave blank]
Body:
#
Split=0
Name=970K MP3 File from Swedish Site
Type=9
Port=80
Path=GET /jlo/anorex.mp3
Host=hem.passagen.se
#
Split=500K
Name=1.3Mb MP3 File from Swedish Site
Type=9
Port=80
Path=GET /jlo/inhis.mp3
Host=hem.passagen.se
=======================================================================

Well, for the first file, I am going to retrieve it in one verrrry large uuencoded message so I use "Split=0" which tells the gophermail server to *NOT* split the file into pieces. My mail program and mailserver both will handle large files.

If you don't use the "split" command, the gophermail servers will "automagically" split them into 27K pieces.

I use "Name=970K MP3 File from Swedish Site" as this will uniquely identify the file to me when it is returned by the server. Remember, the "Name=" field is returned as the "Subject:" of the returned mail message.

"Type=9" identifies this as a binary file.

The "Path=" statement must include the word "GET" and the directory in which the file is located.

Lastly, the "Host=" is the name of the WWW site without the "http://".

The "#" is used as the separator character between sites. Only 1 "GET" command is allowed per request, so even if it is the same site you must use this format to request multiple files.

The second request is formatted like the first one except in this case I'm going to retrieve the 1.3MB file in 500K pieces. I could retrieve this file all in one piece if I wanted but I usually try to restrain myself and don't retrieve files in e-mail messages larger than 1MB. I'm luckier than most (:>)...

The first request sends me 2 uuencoded files, The first part of which looks this:

=======================================================================
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1999 16:26:32 +0200 (CEST)
From: The devil himself <
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 >
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  ("Gerald E. Boyd" )
Subject: 970K MP3 File from Swedish Site
Reply-To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 

begin 644 anorex.mp3

...skip 8066 lines for brevity...

=======================================================================

NOTE: Even though I requested one large file, this server will still split uuencoded files at about halfway if they exceed 1.0Mb.

Notice how the Subject: line uses the "Name=" that I supplied on my original request.

The second request sends me 4 uuencoded files, The first part of which looks this:

=======================================================================
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1999 16:27:08 +0200 (CEST)
From: The devil himself <
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 >
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  ("Gerald E. Boyd" )
Subject: 1.3Mb MP3 File from Swedish Site
Reply-To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
X-Split: After 500K bytes/message

begin 644 inhis.mp3

...skip 8066 lines for brevity...

=======================================================================

Notice how the Subject: line uses the "Name=" that I supplied on my original request. Also notice the "X-Split" directive that indicates the size of the "Split=" command I used, that is 500K. The next 2 parts returned to me look like:

=======================================================================
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1999 16:27:09 +0200 (CEST)
From: The devil himself <
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 >
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  ("Gerald E. Boyd" )
Subject: 1.3Mb MP3 File from Swedish Site Part 2
Subject: 1.3Mb MP3 File from Swedish Site Part 3
Reply-To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
X-Split: After 500K bytes/message

...skip 8066 uuencoded lines for brevity...

=======================================================================

Notice how the Subject: line uses the "Name=" that I supplied on my original request as well as the "Part" that is being returned. Also notice the "X-Split" directive that indicates the size of the "Split=" command I used, that is 500K.

NOTE: The "Part xx" is only returned on the second and subsequent uuencoded messages. It doesn't appear on the first one.

The last part returned to me looks like:

=======================================================================
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1999 16:27:11 +0200 (CEST)
From: The devil himself <
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 >
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  ("Gerald E. Boyd" )
Subject: 1.3Mb MP3 File from Swedish Site Part 4
Reply-To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
X-Split: After 500K bytes/message

...skip 5185 uuencoded lines for brevity...

`
end
=======================================================================

13MP3-1  TXT                 508377  06/11/99    8:02a
13MP3-2  TXT                 508363  06/11/99    8:03a
13MP3-3  TXT                 508363  06/11/99    8:03a
13MP3-4  TXT                 326875  06/11/99    8:04a
970MP3-1 TXT                 693875  06/11/99    8:06a
970MP3-2 TXT                 693647  06/11/99    8:08a
FTP Files By Gophermail

Suppose you want to get a large file, say 600K, from an FTP site. You know that Agora servers only allow you to get a maximum of 5000 lines (about 300K). What should you do?

Use an FTPmail server. But you can also use a gophermail server, especially if it is a large binary you are trying to download.

The format for the body of the message is as follows:

#        [use as separator if you want more that one file retrieval]
Split=0  [use 0 if you want to receive one large file - default is 27Kb]
Name=    [Subject title that you want returned in your e-mail message]
Type=    [9 for binary, 0 for text file, 1 for directory listing]
Port=70  [default gopher port]
Path=ftp:[Name]@/[Path]/[File]  [where Name is ftp site name,
         Path is file path, File is the filename you wish to retrieve]
Host=    [gopher site that supports file transfers]

Let's get a directory listing at an FTP site. Suppose we would like to know all the files in the public directory at the freebsd site. How would we format the message? And what results would we receive?

=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Subject: [leave blank]
#
Split=0
Name=Directory Listing
Type=1
Port=70
Path=ftp:ftp.freebsd.org@/pub/
Host=gopher.eunet.cz
=======================================================================

Here is what I received:

=======================================================================
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1999 17:27:05 +0200 (CEST)
From: The devil himself <
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 >
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  ("Gerald E. Boyd" )
Subject: Directory Listing
Reply-To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
X-Sorted: Admin

This is response to your request with Subject:
Mail this file back to gopher with an X before the menu items that you want.
If you don't mark any items, gopher will send all of them.


  Dear gophermail user,
we are going to keep this service running and free of charge.
But we've decided to put an advertising field into all replies.
The field won't be so long, more less like this notice, and
will include only plain text data. If you don't like this,
please don't use our service.
  Regards,

Jan Hrdonka <
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 >
EUnet Czechia <
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 >

      1.  3dfiles/
      2.  3drealms/
      3.  4.4BSD-Lite/
      4.  4cust/
      5.  FreeBSD/
      6.  MacSciTech/
      7.  NetBSD/
      8.  README.
      9.  UPLOADS.TXT/
      10. X11/
      11. XFree86/
      12. abuse/
      13. ada/
      14. algorithms/
      15. artpacks/
      16. ase/
      17. asme/
      18. audio/
      19. avalon/
      20. beos/
      21. bluesnews/
      22. bsd-sources/
      23. cdrom/
      24. cheats/
      25. cnet/
      26. delphi/
      27. delphi_www/
      28. delphideli/
      29. demos/
      30. doom/
      31. doom2/
      32. epic/
      33. forth/
      34. games/
      35. games_patches/
      36. gamesdomain/
      37. garbo/
      38. ghostscript/
      39. gnu/
      40. gt/
      41. gus/
      42. gutenberg/
      43. hamradio/
      44. hexen2/
      45. hobbes/
      46. idgames/
      47. idgames2/
      48. idgames3/
      49. imm/
      50. infozip/
      51. internet/
      52. irc/
      53. japanese/
      54. java/
      55. jn4/
      56. languages/
      57. linux/
      58. lisp/
      59. mac/
      60. math/
      61. mng/
      62. mozilla/
      63. mutt/
      64. netlib/
      65. novell/
      66. obi/
      67. os2/
      68. perl/
      69. planetquake/
      70. png/
      71. povray/
      72. python/
      73. quake/
      74. quake2/
      75. quake3/
      76. sac/
      77. sde/
      78. security/
      79. setiathome/
      80. simtelnet/
      81. slow.txt/
      82. tcl/
      83. tex/
      84. tomahawk/
      85. unix-c/
      86. unixfreeware/
      87. unreal/
      88. vim/
      89. viseng/
      90. win3/
      91. win95/
      92. x2ftp/


You may edit the following two numbers to set the maximum sizes after which
GopherMail should send output as multiple e-mail messages:

Split= bytes/message <- For text, bin, HQX messages (0 = No split)
Menu= items/message <- For menus and query responses (0 = No split)

#
Name=3dfiles
Numb=1
Type=1
Port=70
Path=ftp:ftp.freebsd.org@/pub/3dfiles/
Host=gopher.eunet.cz
#
Name=3drealms
Numb=2
Type=1
Port=70
Path=ftp:ftp.freebsd.org@/pub/3drealms/
Host=gopher.eunet.cz
#
Name=4.4BSD-Lite
Numb=3
Type=1
Port=70
Path=ftp:ftp.freebsd.org@/pub/4.4BSD-Lite/
Host=gopher.eunet.cz
#
Name=4cust
Numb=4
Type=1
Port=70
Path=ftp:ftp.freebsd.org@/pub/4cust/
Host=gopher.eunet.cz
#
Name=FreeBSD
Numb=5
Type=1
Port=70
Path=ftp:ftp.freebsd.org@/pub/FreeBSD/
Host=gopher.eunet.cz
#
Name=MacSciTech
Numb=6
Type=1
Port=70
Path=ftp:ftp.freebsd.org@/pub/MacSciTech/
Host=gopher.eunet.cz
#
Name=NetBSD
Numb=7
Type=1
Port=70
Path=ftp:ftp.freebsd.org@/pub/NetBSD/
Host=gopher.eunet.cz
#
Name=README
Numb=8
Type=0
Port=70
Path=ftp:ftp.freebsd.org@/pub/README
Host=gopher.eunet.cz
#
Name=UPLOADS.TXT
Numb=9
Type=1
Port=70
Path=ftp:ftp.freebsd.org@/pub/UPLOADS.TXT/
Host=gopher.eunet.cz
#
Name=X11
Numb=10
Type=1
Port=70
Path=ftp:ftp.freebsd.org@/pub/X11/
Host=gopher.eunet.cz
#
...skip menu items 11 through 86 for brevity...
#
Name=unreal
Numb=87
Type=1
Port=70
Path=ftp:ftp.freebsd.org@/pub/unreal/
Host=gopher.eunet.cz
#
Name=vim
Numb=88
Type=1
Port=70
Path=ftp:ftp.freebsd.org@/pub/vim/
Host=gopher.eunet.cz
#
Name=viseng
Numb=89
Type=1
Port=70
Path=ftp:ftp.freebsd.org@/pub/viseng/
Host=gopher.eunet.cz
#
Name=win3
Numb=90
Type=1
Port=70
Path=ftp:ftp.freebsd.org@/pub/win3/
Host=gopher.eunet.cz
#
Name=win95
Numb=91
Type=1
Port=70
Path=ftp:ftp.freebsd.org@/pub/win95/
Host=gopher.eunet.cz
#
Name=x2ftp
Numb=92
Type=1
Port=70
Path=ftp:ftp.freebsd.org@/pub/x2ftp/
Host=gopher.eunet.cz
=======================================================================

=======================================================================
To: 
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
Subject: [leave blank]
#
Split=0
Name=C++ Directory
Type=1
Port=70
Path=ftp:ftp.freebsd.org@/pub/
Host=gopher.eunet.cz
=======================================================================

Veronica by e-mail

Veronica was a resource-discovery system providing access to information resources held on most of the world's gopher servers. As best as I can determine the last Veronica server at Host=veronica.man.lodz.pl quit working sometime after 17Sep99.

Jughead by e-mail

Jughead is an acronym for: Jonzy's Universal Gopher Hierarchy Excavation And Display jughead head can act as a search engine on a prebuilt table that allows searching through menus, or can create a linear view of menu space. When running jughead you can specify what part of gopherspace you want search tables built or a linear view thereof.

When running as a search engine, jughead listens out a port for a connection and a search string. The search string can contain the boolean operations "AND", "OR", and "NOT" between words. If no operator is specified between words, it is an implied "AND" operation. For example either:

   "University of utah" or "University AND of AND Utah"

Jughead like Veronica and Gopher is almost entirely non-existant. Many of the results from Jughead searches will point to non-existant gopher sites or to sources that have not been updated since 1998.

You can send these lines to any gophermail server to run a Jughead search at these 6 servers. Specify the search words or phrase in the Subject line.

   Split=64K bytes/message -- For text, bin, HQX messages (0 = No split)
   Menu=100 items/message -- For menus and query responses (0 = No split)
   #
   Name=Jughead (gopher.ic.ac.uk:3000)
   Type=7
   Port=3000
   Path=
   Host=gopher.ic.ac.uk
   #
   Name=Jughead (gopher.utah.edu:3000)
   Type=7
   Port=3000
   Path=
   Host=gopher.utah.edu
   #
   Name=Jughead (gort.canisius.edu:3000)
   Type=7
   Port=3000
   Path=
   Host=gort.canisius.edu
   #
   Name=Jughead (marvel.loc.gov:2069)
   Type=7
   Port=2069
   Path=
   Host=marvel.loc.gov
   #
   Name=Jughead (sunny.csd.mu.edu:3000)
   Type=7
   Port=3000
   Path=
   Host=sunny.csd.mu.edu
   #
   Name=Jughead (dewey.lib.ncsu.edu:3000)
   Type=7
   Port=3000
   Path=
   Host=dewey.lib.ncsu.edu