Internet Email & Lists: Resources and Addresses

This is an updated copy of the handout from Felix Kramer's presentation at the NY Macintosh User Group's MacFair, 18 February, 1995. (Felix chairs NYMUG's Internet Special Interest Group.)
It needs a complete updating; in themeantime, figure that most of the books have new editions. And finally -- a way to get web pages delivered to you by email.

Useful resources to get by email

To get a World Wide Web page if you don't have Web access: for any Uniform Resource Locator (URL) write to agora@kamakura.mss.co.jp with "send URL" in the body of the message. (Unlike previous automatic web repliers, you don't need a Web browser to read the file you get back.)

To learn how to send a fax automatically to most parts of the world, for free (with a standard cover page you can't control and delivery within a few minutes to 48 hours): write to tpc-faq@town.hall.org; to get a list of areas served write to tpc-coverage@town.hall.org. Or just try it, for example, write to "remote-printer.Felix@7.6.5.4.3.2.1.0.0.8.1.tpc.int" to send a fax to a person named Felix with a fax # of 1-(800) 123-4567

AOL name search: write to namesearch@aol.com with the person's name as subject

Find out email addresses of Members of House of Representatives: write to congress@hr.house.gov with "help" in body

Wired magazine: write to info@wired.com

Knowbot Info Service: searches multiple databases for names automatically: write to kis@cnri.reston.va.us with "query " in body

Official list of mailing lists: write to mail-server@nisc.sri.com with "send netinfo/interest-groups" in the body (I haven't tried this in a while) -- better to get it from NYMUG where it's called interest-groups.txt (360K compressed)

Semi-official list of mailing lists: Stephanie da Silva's List of Publicly Accessible Mailing Lists: write to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with the following in the body:
"send usenet/news.answers/mail/mailing-lists/part01" on a new line, the next part, through
"send usenet/news.answers/mail/mailing-lists/part10"

For an online definition of a word from a dictionary: write to Jfesler@netcom.com with blank body, subject line: #webster <word to be defined>

The famous Yanoff's list of free Internet resources: write to bbslist@aug3.augsburg.edu

Electronic Frontier Foundation (national advocacy group): write to info@eff.org

Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (national advocacy group): write to cpsr@cpsr.org or get list of mailing lists by sending FIX THISwrite to listserv@cpsr.org with "list" in body.

Society for Electronic Access (NYC advocacy group): write to sea-info@sea.org

Some popular mailing lists

(sample the Mac ones first -- and get detailed subscription info -- in the New Uploads conference on the NYMUG BBS)

Tidbits: write to listserv@ricevm1.rice.edu body says "subscribe tidbits

Also posted regularly on NYMUG: Info-Mac Digest, Computer Underground, MacChat, In, Around and Online, eZine (MacWeek excerpts), Netsurfer Digest

MAC-MGRS (mailing list for people in charge of administering Macintosh systems: write to majordomo@world.std.com with body: subscribe MAC-MANAGERS

FringeWare -- offbeat weekly about the net world: write to fringeware-request@io.com with body: "subscribe digest"

Edupage (three times weekly news of technology, media and education from diverse national media sources): write to listproc@educom.edu with body: "subscribe edupage "

For general information about the Internet

Internet Starter Kit by Adam Engst (Hayden, 1994, $29.95) -- if you get just one book, get this

The Internet by E-mail, by Clay Shirky (Ziff-Davis, 1994, $19.95) -- from simple stuff to getting files (usually done by ftp) or posting to & receiving from newsgroups, anonymous re-mailers, encryption

The Internet Unleashed (Sams Publishing, 1994, $44.95) -- very complete, advanced, cross-platform reference, with articles by top experts

On Internet '94 (Mecklermedia, 1994, $45.00) -- information as of end of 1993 -- annotated lists of mailing lists, electronic publications, other resources -- watch for the '95 edition -- of course, all this is also available, and more up--too-date, online)

Reaching people @ online services

America OnLine   <subscriberID>@aol.com
AppleLink        <subscriberID>@applelink.apple.com
AT&T Mail        <subscriberID>@attmail.com
BostonCompSoc    <subscriberID>@bcsmac.org
CompuServe*      <subscriberID>@compuserve.com
Delphi           <subscriberID>@delphi.com
Genie            <subscriberID>@genie.geis.com
eWorld           <subscriberID>@eworld.com
MCI Mail**       <subscriberID>@mcimail.com
Prodigy          <subscriberID>@prodigy.com

*replace comma with period
**MCI uses names or numbers

Confusingly, AOL allows you to send to some abbreviated domains like name@cis or @genie or @applelink -- you're probably best off skipping the shortcuts

Some local and national bulletin boards using "First Class" software

NYMUG BBS: dial in to 212/473-1967; get First Class Software on $3 disk from NYMUG (473-1600); once you're on, check out "About the Internet" and "BBS" areas; The New York Macintosh Users' Group is now on theWeb.

Boston Computer Society: dial-in to 617/356-6636

Berkeley Mac User Group: dial in to 510/849-2684

Please send corrections, additions, and comments to me at: felixk@panix.com

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This page (http://www.nlightning.com/emailspch.html) was last updated 5 December 1995/ADDRESS>