Most Wanted 2/MostWantedII.iso/windows/access/access_l.exe/ACCESS-L.FAQ

Text File | 1993-12-28 | 10.8 KB | 232 lines

PLEASE READ AND KEEP A COPY OF THIS POSTING.
THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THIS VERSION BASED ON THE EXPERIENCE
OF THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS.

ACCESS-L Administrative Posting
For ACCESS-L@INDYCMS, Microsoft Access Database Discussion List
Version 1.2, 12/28/93
============================================================
This file will be posted to the list at large on a quarterly basis.
It can be retrieved at any time from LISTSERV@INDYCMS with the command
GET ACCESS-L ADMIN.
============================================================

NOTE:  Addresses ending in @INDYCMS are BITNET addresses and are
       equivalent to an Internet address ending in @INDYCMS.IUPUI.EDU.

Q. What is ACCESS-L?

A. ACCESS-L@INDYCMS is a BITNET distribution list running under LISTSERV
1.7f at INDYCMS, the VM computer at Indiana University Purdue University
Indianapolis.  ACCESS-L is provided for the discussion of Microsoft
Access, a relational database product for Microsoft Windows 3.x, and
discussion of the Access 1.1 Engine provided with Microsoft Visual Basic
3.0 for Windows.

   DISCLAIMER:  Indiana University is <not responsible> for either the
content or the management of the list.  The list administrator's
responsibilities are limited to keeping the list focused and tending to
various administrative duties related to the list.  Those who post to
ACCESS-L are solely responsible for the content of their posts.  Any and
all software, either posted across ACCESS-L or residing in the list
archives is downloaded and used at the downloader's own risk.

   Note that there are THREE ACCESS-L lists on BITNET.  One is ACCESS-
L@INDYCMS, this list; one is ACCESS-L@BRUFPB, a Brazilian Microsoft
Access list (one assumes without supporting data that it is in
Portugese); and the last is ACCESS-L@UNBVM1, which has nothing to do
with Microsoft Access at all.

============================================================
Q. Does Microsoft Corporation sponsor ACCESS-L?

A. No.  The list is not sponsored in any way by Microsoft, although
Microsoft employees and particularly Access design staff are welcome and
encouraged to subscribe.

============================================================
Q. What is the format for sending commands to LISTSERV?

A. First of all, be sure you send them to LISTSERV and not to the list.
Second, there are two ways to send the commands:  Interactively and via
Mail.

   Interactive commands differ between systems (and are not available on
all systems anyway--e.g., AOL and CompuServe--at least not until the
fabled Internet TELL is available).  They would be of the general format:

    (For VM/CMS:)  TELL LISTSERV AT INDYCMS <command>

    (For VAX/VMS:) SEND LISTSERV@INDYCMS <command>

    For other systems, see your consultants.  For specifics on LISTSERV
commands, send the command GET LISTSERV REFCARD to LISTSERV@INDYCMS.

    Mail commands can be more efficient if the network is experiencing
its usual glitches--at least the command will eventually be processed by
LISTSERV.  To send commands by mail, simply address a message to
LISTSERV@INDYCMS (or [e-mail]) with a blank subject
line and the command you want to send as the body of the message.  You
can send up to five commands at a time in this way, but be forewarned--
if one of the commands triggers an error, all subsequent commands in the
message will be flushed without being processed.  (LISTSERV will count
your signature line (if any) as an error but this should not cause a
problem since it comes last.)

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Q. How do I subscribe to or unsubscribe from ACCESS-L?

A. To subscribe to ACCESS-L, send the command

   SUB ACCESS-L <Your_Name>

   to [e-mail].

   To unsubscribe from ACCESS-L, send the command

   UNSUB ACCESS-L

   to [e-mail].

============================================================
Q. What if I try to unsubscribe (or am asked to confirm my subscription
after 6 months) and am told I do not appear in the list?

A. You are either a) subscribed via a redistribution list (such as MS-
ACCESS) or b) your Internet address has changed slightly and LISTSERV
does not recognize your ID.  You can get a copy of the subscriber list
by sending the command REV ACCESS-L to LISTSERV@INDYCMS.

   Also note that if you used SEND or TELL to interactively subscribe
and subsequently send mail to [e-mail] to set
commands, the listserver may not recognize you because you are
subscribed under a BITNET address and are sending commands from an
Internet address.  One possible solution to this problem would be to
mail your commands to LISTSERV@INDYCMS rather than to the Internet
address.  If your BITNET node's record in the file BITEARN NODES (which
is LISTSERV's primary lookup file for such things) does not include an
ALIAS or INTERNET entry, LISTSERV will assume that your Interet node
does not map to any known BITNET node and will let you know accordingly.
If this is the case, there is NOTHING the list owner can do for you.

   If you can't figure the problem out, do <NOT> post a message to the
list at large to unsubscribe you or to confirm you.  Send all such mail
directly to the list administrator.  See below.

============================================================
Q. Somehow I got my hands on this file but I can't seem to get a reaction
from the listserver when I try to subscribe.  Why is that?

A. ACCESS-L is set up to confirm a mailing path back to all new
subscribers.  This is done by sending a message back to the address on
the subscription request which has a unique confirmation code.  The
subscriber is asked to send that confirmation code back to LISTSERV.
   Because some Internet gateways aren't always two-way, your
confirmation message probably did not get back to you, meaning that
LISTSERV could not send you mail even if the list administrator added
you manually.  This is a network problem and isn't currently solvable
unless you can provide a substitute (i.e., BITNET) address.  You might
try subscribing from another account or subscribing to a redistribution
list.  You might also try again later--a gateway might be down
temporarily.

============================================================
Q.  I sent back my confirmation code for subscription but I keep getting
error messages from the listserver that say my confirmation code doesn't
apply to any existing job.  Why is that?

A.  LISTSERV expects the confirmation codes to be sent in a specific way
because some mail gateways add lines to the header of the message that
LISTSERV doesn't understand.  The subscription sequence should be as
follows:

1.  SEND Subscription request
2.  REPLY to the confirmation request ('ok')
3.  SEND the confirmation code (if necessary) ('ok 23CBD8', for
instance)
4.  Send mail to the LIST ADMINISTRATOR, not to the list, if your
subscription request fails after step 3.  (See below)

============================================================
Q. Who is the list administrator and how do I contact him?

A. The list administrator is Nathan Brindle, NBRINDLE@INDYCMS.  His
Internet address is [e-mail].

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Q. How do I get a copy of old postings (list archives)?

A. Send the command GET ACCESS-L LOGYYMM to LISTSERV@INDYCMS, where YYMM
is the year and month of the archive you want (i.e., LOG9302 is for
February 1993).  Or check CICA or Compuserve's Access forum for zipped
compilations of the logs.

============================================================
Q. How do I get an index of list archives and other files
   related to the list?

A. Send the command IND ACCESS-L to LISTSERV@INDYCMS.
   HOWEVER, if you are on a service that does not allow you to receive
files via the Internet, it is safest to append the switch F=MAIL to
any text file archive request.  This will cause LISTSERV to send
what would normally be a NetData file as a mail message.  America
Online is one example of a service that (so far) requires this switch.
   Binary files in the archives can be retrieved in uuencoded format
by appending the switch F=UUENCODE.  (Unfortunately you can't get these
uuencoded files mailed to you in the bargain.  Contact the list owner
if you need binary files mailed to you.)
   The switched commands would look like this:

   IND ACCESS-L F=MAIL
   GET ACCESS-L LOG9312 F=MAIL
   GET ACC-KB EXE F=UUENCODE
   etc.

============================================================
Q. If I want to FTP files associated with ACCESS-L rather than request
them through the listserver, how do I do that?

A. At the moment, the list administrator is "mirroring" all files from
the list archives to FTP.CICA.INDIANA.EDU.  This may change, but for the
moment it's all we can do.  Newer files are located in the
pub/pc/win3/uploads directory there; older ones will be relocated at some
point by CICA into pub/pc/win3/access.  Naturally you should feel free to
use CICA's mirror sites as well (i.e., WUARCHIVE).

============================================================
Q. I have a GREAT .MDB to share with everyone on the list.  If I
uuencode it, should I send it to the list?

A. Those conversant with netiquette would probably reply in the
negative.  Even the smallest .MDB is going to be larger than most people
want to find in their mailbox, particularly since the file is going to
be somewhat larger than it would be in binary format anyway.  Also
remember that some people are paying for their messages and may not be
particularly appreciative of receiving a long file they didn't ask for;
and not everyone has UUdecoding software, either.

   If you wish to share a file with the rest of the list, you are
encouraged to upload it to CICA or to send it to the list administrator
in private mail with a request that he include it in the list archives.
(Such requests should include an abstract of what the file does and/or
what it includes.)

   Also, because the list is "digestified" and digests typically
truncate at 1000 or 1500 lines, you may crowd some posts out with a long
UUencoded message.  America Online subscribers should rejoice that AOL
has finally implemented a message splitter for long messages.  :)

============================================================
Q. I've found a review or article in a computer magazine that relates to
a discussion taking place.  May I post the review or article to the
list?

A. If you can summarize the review or article in your own words, feel
free to do so.  Otherwise, please refrain from posting copyrighted
materials to the list.  (You can always cite the article in question so
others can look it up.)  COPYRIGHTED ARTICLES POSTED VIA ACCESS-L WILL
BE DELETED FROM THE LIST ARCHIVES.

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