A Beginner's Guide to the Internet/INTERNET.ISO/text/guides/help/newuser.hlb

Text File | 1996-05-06 | 26.8 KB | 549 lines

HELP! I'm drowning! Information Superhighway Pileup!
    It's a rough world out there.  The Internet is INFAMOUS for
lacking user-friendliness.  If you feel that you're just plain LOST
when it comes to this "Window to the World", then you're in the right
place!  We've put together this little tutorial especially for those
who just don't know where to start.  So, sit back, relax, and prepare
yourself for a tour of what the Internet has to offer.

The Internet - A Whole Lotta Computers Talkin'
    For starters, what exactly is the "Internet"?  It helps to
break the word up a bit.  The term "Internet" could be seen as a
nickname for "INTERnational NETwork".  The Internet is basically a
HUGE network of computers all over the world that are all connected to
each other.  This allows all these computers to share data, exchange
messages, and generally help each other out.
    Now, it isn't really true that every computer on the Internet
is directly connected to every other one.  In reality, data gets
passed from computer to computer until it gets to the computer for
which it is destined.  But because of the way the Internet is setup,
all you have to know is which computer you're sending data to, and the
path to it will be figured out for you!

    When you're dealing with the Internet, you're most often
dealing with one (or more) of five things: systems, users, messages,
files, and programs.

Systems
    A "system" is a computer or set of computers which are
connected to the Internet.  These systems often act as "stepping
stones" to the Internet.  Without this system, your computer would
need a LOT of special hardware and software to access the Internet.
Instead, you are given access to a computer that is designed to handle
the Internet needs of multiple users, and has all the tools needed to
make good use of the Internet.
    Every system on the Internet has an "address" that identifies
it.  These addresses are usually descriptive names that help identify
the machine.  For example, in the following address:
    earth.execpc.com
we can see that the machine called "earth" is part of a DOMAIN
belonging to "execpc", a "com"mercial organization.  Sometimes you
will see an address that is just four numbers separated by periods.
This is known as an "IP address".  For instance, the following is the
IP address for the system on which you're working right now:
    204.29.202.50
All systems on the Internet have an IP address.  In fact, the "word"
addresses that we just described are really just aliases for the IP
addresses, because the word addresses are easier to remember.

Users
    Users are people, like yourself, who have accounts on systems
that provide them with access to the Internet.  Every user on the
Internet has an address.  Most addresses look pretty much the same.
The most common type of address looks like the following (the address
of the author of this tutorial):
    [e-mail]
This address has two parts, which are separated by the "@" symbol.
The first part of the address is the "login" of this user.  A login is
a sort of "nickname" for a user.  You enter your login along with your
password when you connect with the system through which you access the
Internet, and it is the name by which the system knows you.  The
second part of the address is the address of the system on which the
user has their accout, as described above.

Messages
    Messages on the Internet come in many forms: electronic mail,
usenet newsgroups, and others.  Electronic mail, or Email (pronounced
Eee-Mail), usually refers to the private mail delivery service on the
Internet.  Thus, an Email message on the Internet is always from one
person to one person (although it is possible for the sender to send
copies of one message to several people, each copy is considered a
separate message).  Your Email is private.  Only you can read it.
    The other major type of message is a newsgroup message.
Newsgroups, or Usenet News, are public forums for the exchange of
messages on specific topics.  There are currently over 8000
newsgroups, each with a very specific topic of discussion.

Files
    The Internet also has files everywhere.  Most all information
on the Internet is stored in a file of some sort.  Even messages, like
your Email, are stored in files until you're ready to read them.  Many
of the files you'll be working with will be stored on this system
(earth).  Many others, however, will be on a remote system, somewhere
else on the Internet.  You will use various utilities to access these
files, which we will discuss later.

Programs
    The last type of thing you will deal with on the Internet
system is programs.  There are LOTS of different programs available on
Internet systems.  Some of the ones you will use the most will be
programs that are designed to help you access files and other
information on the Internet.  Other programs help you manage the
information you will work with on the Internet.  Some of the more
important programs you will use are:
    elm & pine    - These programs let you send and receive
              Email
    trn,tin, & nn    - These programs let you read newsgroups, and
              even post your own messages to the groups
    ftp        - This program is used to retreive files from
              remote systems on the Internet
    archie        - This program helps you find files and
              programs on the Internet
    file system    - The file system is a collection of programs
              that you use to create, delete, modify, and
              otherwise manage files
    telnet        - These programs allow you to login to other
              systems over the Internet
    gopher        - This program presents a menu-driven
              interface to a wealth of information
              available on the Internet
    lynx        - This program allows you to peruse the highly
              touted World Wide Web hypertext interface to
              information on the Internet
    irc        - This program allows you to chat in real-time
              with thousands of other people around the world

    Okay!  Now that we have a bit of understanding of the
Internet, let's look at some of the tools you'll be using to access
it.  For each tool, we'll describe what it does, and how you use it.
We'll also give some actual examples of how each tool might be used.

The Unix Operating System - Running it all!
    Every computer, no matter what kind, runs some sort of
"Operating System".  This is a special type of program that keeps
control of the computer, and is responsible for managing the resources
of the system, including running other programs.
    A majority of the systems on the Internet these days run an
Operating System called "Unix".  (Nope, it really doesn't stand for
anything...)  Unix is a powerful system designed for use on
multiple-user computers.  It includes facilities for controlling
access to the information it stores, as well as excellent support for
networking, including dealing with the Internet.  When you ask our
system to do something for you, it is Unix that runs the show.

Elm and Pine - Mr. Postman, look and see...
    Elm and Pine were both designed with for the same purpose: to
read, send, and manage Electronic Mail, or Email.  Elm was designed
first, and is the choice of many experienced Internet users.  Pine was
designed as an easier-to-use version of Elm, and is a good choice for
those just getting started on the Internet, or those who are unfamilar
with Internet Email.  Pine even makes use of it's own editor, called
Pico, which you may use in other areas on this system.
    Let's start with Pine.  When you first load up Pine, you will
be presented with a menu.  The options on the menu are:
    ? - Hit the "?" for help at almost any time in Pine.
    C - Compose a message to send to someone.
    I - List the messages in the current folder.  A folder, in
        Pine, is a storage place for messages.  There is a special
        folder called "INBOX" that contains your incoming
        messages.
    L - List all the folders, and allow you to select one.
    A - Add, delete, or change address book entries.  The Address
        Book lets you set up short nicknames for a person or list
        of people.
    Q - Quit the Pine mailreader

    At any point in Pine, there will always be a template of
key-commands at the bottom of the screen.  Pay attention to this area
of the screen, as it will often tell you how to do something.  If the
key is listed as "^C", it means to hold down your control key and hit
the "C" key.  There is almost always a key to bring up a help screen
in Pine.  If you are having trouble with something, feel free to hit
the help key for furthur information.
    To send a message to someone, hit "C" from the Main Menu.
Enter the recipient's address at the "To:" field.  Enter the addresses
of anyone else you want to receive the message at the "Cc:" (Carbon
Copy) field.  Enter a description of the message in the "Subject:"
field.  The "Attchmnt:" field is an advanced feature for including a
file with your message.  If you wish to learn more about this,
position your cursor on the "Attchmnt:" field and hit "^G" for furthur
help.  When you've finished filling in the header information, move
down to the "Message Text" area and type in your message.  You may
want to experiment with the editing features noted on the bottom of
your screen.  When you are finished, hit "^X" to send the message.
    To read your mail, hit "L" from the Main Menu, then move to
"INBOX" and select it with the ENTER key.  You will be presented with
a list of messages in your INBOX.  Move to the one you want to read,
and press ENTER.  Most of the commands are the same whether you are
reading a message, or looking at the list of messages in a folder (the
"Index").  Some of these commands are:
    M - Return to Pine's Main Menu.
    P - Jump to previous message in folder.
    N - Jump to next message in folder.
    D - Delete a message.
    U - Undelete a message.  This only works if you haven't left
        the folder since deleting the message.
    F - Forward a message to another person.
    R - Reply to the message sender.
    C - Compose and send a message to someone.
    L - Goto folder list screen.
    Y - Print a message.  This command is designed to print the
        current message to your local printer.  However, this
        doesn't always work right.  If you want to print messages
        this way, but can't get it to work, send mail to "help",
        and we'll try to help you fix it.
    T - Make an entry for the sender of this message in your
        Address Book.
    S - Copy this message to another folder and delete it from
        this folder.
    E - Save this message to a file.  This file will be located in
        the "mail" subdirectory under your home directory.

    That about covers it for Pine.  If you have other questions
about Pine, look at the help files provided.  If you still can't
figure it out, send mail to "help".

    While Elm is not generally as easy to use for beginners as
Pine is, it is somewhat more straitforward than Pine.  When using Elm,
you will always be in one of two places: the message list screen or
the message view screen.
    The message list screen lists the messages in the current
folder, and allows you to manipulate them.  Some of the more important
commands on the message list screen are:
    ? - Help with Elm key-commands.
    - - Display previous page of messages.
    + - Display next page of messages.
    k - Move to previous message.
    j - Move to next message.
    <ENTER> - Display message.
    d - Delete current message.
    r - Replay to current message.
    s - Save current message to file or folder.
    f - Forward current message.
    c - Change to a different folder.
    a - Enter "alias" editor.
    o - Set options.  Be careful with this one!
    m - Mail a message to someone.
    q - Quit Elm.

    When viewing a message, most of the above options relating to
messages are also available, as well as:
    <SPACE> - Scroll one page through message.
    <ENTER> - Scroll one line through message.
    i - Return to message list.
    q - Return to message list.

    Aliases in Elm are similar to the Address Book function of
Pine, and provide short nicknames for hard-to-remember addresses and
lists of addresses.  Upon entering alias mode, press "?" twice for
help.

Trn, NN, and Tin - The News was brought to you by...
    Trn, NN, and Tin all serve the purpose of providing an
interface to the Usenet Newsgroup Forums.  Trn, or ThReaded
Newsreader, is the choice of many experienced Internet users.  Trn
allows you to read news articles sequentially, as they occur in the
newsgroup, or by "threads", which trace the evolution of messages with
similar topics.  NN doesn't allow you to read by "threads", but it
does have a nice, full-screen, smooth interface.  Tin provides the
best of both: threaded news and a nice interface.  However, Tin's
interface is not quite a smooth as NN's.  Which you like is really
just a matter of taste.
    Tin has three modes: newsgroup selection, message selection,
and message reading.  At any point in the program, you can press "h"
for brief help on the currently available operations.  When you are in
newsgroup selection mode, the following commands are useful:
    g news.group    Goto newsgroup "news.group", and subscribe to
            it if you aren't yet subscribed.
    c        Push the message counter high.  This tells the
            newsreader to consider all the messages to
            have been read by you.
    u        Unsubscribe from the current newsgroup.

    When reading messages, you can use the following useful
commands:
    w        Post an article.
    s        Save an article to a file.

    Trn has just two levels: newsgroup and message.  As in tin,
you can obtain help at any point in trn by pressing "h".  When you are
in newsgroup level, the following commands are useful:
    n or p        Next or previous group, respectively.
    +        Enter thread mode for a group.
    u        Unsubscribe from the current newsgroup.

    When reading articles, the following commands are useful:
    F        Post a follow-up reply to the article.
    c        Push message counter high.
    w        Save article to a file.

    The NN newsreader, while lacking thread capabilities, also has
some useful features not found in the other newsreaders.  Like tin, NN
has three modes: newsgroup selection, message selection, and message
reading.  The following are useful commands for use in NN:
    ?        Help at any point.
    N or P        Next or previous group, respectively.
    F        Post a followup article.
    U        Subscribe/Unsubscribe to a group.
    S        Save an article to a file.

FTP and Archie - Miss Moneypenny, fetch me the file on...
    When you want a file from the Internet, you can search for it
by using Archie.  The Internet has a LOT of files available, but they
are located on many different machines throughout the Internet.
Archie is a good way to locate a file.  Once you have determined which
file you want, and where it is located, you can retrieve the file with
the FTP, or File Transfer Protocol, utility.
    The Archie system is an effort by the administrators of some
of the larger file archives on the Internet to keep a central database
of the files available on their systems.  While this system is not as
easy to use as Exec's search function, it is helpful for finding a
specific file or software package.  Bear in mind that Archie searches
file NAMES, not descriptions.
    To have Archie search for something, you can give it either an
exact filename to search for, or a "substring", which will match any
filename that contains that string somewhere within it.  Both of these
types of searches are on the menu.
    Archie will then come back with a, often big, list of matches.
The matches should be presented one screenful at a time.  Press the
spacebar to advance to the next screenful, or press "q" to exit.  Be
sure to note down the address of the system which has the file, as
well as the full pathname (all the directory names separated by
forward slashes) of the file.
    Now you're ready to retrieve the file using FTP.  Launch FTP
from the menu or from the command line, giving the address of the
system which has the file.  If you are prompted for a login name,
enter "ftp", then for the password, type your login name and append a
"@" character.  This will send your full address without you having to
type the whole thing.
    At the FTP prompt, the following commands are useful:

    bin    Short for "binary", this tells the FTP program to
        transfer files in binary mode, which is needed for
        transfering anything other than text.  It's usually a
        good idea to use this command as soon as you login.
    cd    Change Directory.  Include a directory to change to,
        or ".." to move to the direcotry above the current
        one.
    ls    List files in current directory.  This lists just the
        names of the files.
    dir    List files in current directory.  This lists the names
        of the files, as well as stats like file size, the
        date of the file, etc.
    prompt    This toggles prompting on and off.  This comes into
        play when transfering multiple files (see mget and
        mput).
    get    Transfers a file from the remote system to your local
        account.  Simply specify the name of the file on the
        command line after "get".  Also, to just view a short
        text file, without downloading it, append " |more" to
        the command.
    put    Transfers a file from your local account to the remote
        system.
    mget    Multiple get.  Works the same as the "get" command,
        but allows you to specify several files, separated by
        spaces.  Also lets you use wildcard specifications.
        Unless prompting is turned off (see prompt), it will
        prompt you to verify that you want each file.
    mput    Multiple put.  Put several files at once, similar to
        mget.
    quit    Close connection and exit.

    The process just described is known as "anonymous FTP",
because you are logging in to the remote system without an actual
account there.  You can also login as a specific user, so long as that
user has an account there and you know the password.  So, if you have
accounts on several systems, you could FTP into an account on one
system from an account on another and transfer files.

File System - Organized by Name, Date, Color...
    The file system is the mechanism that keeps tabs on all of the
data stored on disks in the system.  Using the command line, you can
copy, move, delete, and otherwise manipulate files.  Following are
descriptions and examples of common file-manipulation commands:
    ls - List files in current directory
       ls is the Unix equivalent of the DOS DIR command.  It lists
       out all the files in the current direcotry in one of
       several forms.  By itself, it lists just the names of the
       files in rows and columns.  With the -l option (ls -l), it
       lists the files, one per line, with additional information
       such as size, owner, permissions, etc.  For more
       information on the many options available, check out the
       manual page for ls.
    rm - Remove (delete) a file
       rm is the Unix equivalent of the DOS ERASE command.  It
       will remove the specified files from the current directory.
       Simply include the name(s) of the file(s) you wish to
       delete on the command line, and gone they will be.
    cp - Copy a file
       As you may have guessed, this is the Unix equivalent of the
       DOS COPY command.  It will copy the contents of one file
       into another, which can be in the current directory or
       another one.  Simply type "cp source dest", where source is
       the file you want to copy, and dest is the name of the file
       you want it copied to.
    mv - Move or rename a file
       This command performs the same function as the DOS RENAME
       command, and more.  You can simply rename a file using this
       command, or you can move it to a different directory.  The
       syntax of this command is very similar to that of the cp
       command.  The current name of the file is given first, and
       the second argument can be either a file name, which will
       cause the file to be renamed, or a directory, which will
       cause it to be moved.
    cat - Dump a file to the screen
       cat is the Unix version of the DOS TYPE command.  It takes
       one or more file names as arguments and dumps the file
       contents to the screen.  Unfortunately, this is not very
       useful for viewing files, as it does not pause every
       screenful.
    more - Display a file one screenful at a time
       more is another way to display a file onscreen.  It is more
       useful than cat, however, because it automatically pauses
       after every screenful.  When it pauses, press the ENTER key
       to advance one line, or press the spacebar to advance one
       full screen.  Also, press "h" for more help on other
       functions, such as moving backwards through the file.
    man and apropos - Lookup manual pages for commands
       Although they don't really relate to the file system, the
       man and apropos commands are so useful, we decided to talk
       about them here anyway.  On most Unix systems, there are
       on-line versions of the manual which describes the commands
       in the Unix system.  There are separate "pages" for each
       command in the system.  To list all the commands whose
       names or descriptions contain a certain keyword, type
       "apropos keyword", where keyword is the word you wish to
       search for.  Then, to look up the manual page for a
       specific command, type "man command", where command is the
       command you want the manual page for.

Telnet - Around the World in 80 microseconds...
    Telnet is used to login to other systems on the Internet, as
if you were sitting right in front of a terminal connected to that
system.
    Telnet takes just two arguments: the address of the system you
wish to login to, and an optional port number.  Normally, you will
only need the remote system's address.  Some applications, such as
MUDs, which are a type of game that can be played with multiple other
people on the network, require that you specify a port number when you
login.  This is specified after the address on the command line.  For
example, to login normally at alpha2.csd.uwm.edu, a system at UWM:
    telnet alpha2.csd.uwm.edu
To login to LambdaMOO, an interactive virtual world, type:
    telnet lambda.parc.xerox.com 8888

Gopher - Yes, Cap'n!  I'll fetch it immediately...
    Some people look at the Internet, and just say to themselves:
"Why can't it all be on a nice menu?"  Well, that's what Gopher is all
about.  Individual systems on the Internet can set up their own set of
menus containing useful references to resources available on that
system, as well as others.
    There isn't much to learn about Gopher.  Here is a short
summary of key-commands that will help you out in Gopher:
    ?    - Diplay help at any time.
    <Enter>    - Hit the <Enter> key to display the current item.
    u    - Return to the previous menu.
    k    - Move up one line in the menu.
    j    - Move down one line in the menu.
    -    - Display previous page of menu.
    +    - Display next page of menu.
    0-9    - Enter an item's number to jump right to it.
    m    - Return to the "Main" menu, where you started.
    A    - Add current menu to bookmark list.
    a    - Add current item in current menu to bookmark list.
    v    - View bookmark list.
    s    - Save current item to a file.
    D    - Download a file.
    ^L    - Hold down Ctrl and press "L" to redraw the screen.
    q    - Quit.

Lynx - Tied together every which way but Sunday...
    Lynx is somewhat like Gopher, in that it puts a pretty face on
some of the less beautiful aspects of information retreival on the
Internet.  Lynx is a "World Wide Web", or WWW, viewer.  The WWW is a
system of interconnected "hypertext" documents.  Hypertext, in this
context, means a number of things.  First, it means that the documents
contain several types of media, including text, and occasionally
pictures, although Lynx is unable to display these pictures.  Second,
hypertext documents contain links to other documents with related
information.  Thus, you can simply browse through the Internet,
hopping from one place to another.
    In operation, Lynx is actually very similar to Gopher.  You
simply read the text that appears on the screen, and follow the links
that look interesting to you.  Links are imbedded right in the text,
and should appear in a different color than the rest of the text.  For
those pages that include images (picture files), Lynx just displays
"[IMAGE]" where the picture would be shown.  Here are some of the more
important keys in Lynx:
    <Down>    - The down arrow key moves to the next link.
    <Up>    - The up arrow key moves to the previous link.
    <Left>    - The left arrow key returns to the previous link.
    <Right> - The right arrow key follows the current link.
    <Enter>    - The Enter (Return) key follows the highlighted link.
    +    - Scroll down to the next page of this link.
    -    - Scroll up to the previous page of this link.
    ?    - Help at any time.
    a    - Add this link to your bookmark file.
    d    - Download this link.
    g    - Goto a specific URL.
    m    - Return to initial link.
    q    - Quit.
    v    - View your bookmark file.
    z    - Cancel current transfer.
    ^W    - Hold down Ctrl and press "W" to redraw the screen.

    One more thing...  Every once in a while, you will see
something telling you to go to a particular URL.  A URL (Uniform
Resource Locator) is a sort of address for a World Wide Web link.
Thus, you can immediately jump to any link without having to jump all
over the place, so long as you know its address.

IRC - Return of the party line...
    If you enjoy sitting around, talking about your favorite
subjects with a group of people who share your interests, then IRC is
something you'll enjoy.  IRC lets you connect to a server which puts
you in contact with literally thousands of other people around the
world.
    IRC is divided into "channels", which have specific topics.
At any given point when you are in IRC, you are either in a specific
channel, or you are in the "void" between channels.  If you are in a
channel, anything you type will be sent to everyone in the channel
when you hit <Return>.
    Everyone on IRC has a nickname which can be used for sending
messages and whatnot.  By default, your nickname is the same as your
login name on this system.  However, you can change it to just about
anything, as described below.
    You can also issue special IRC commands by preceding them with
a forward slash (/).  Here are some of the more common and useful
commands in IRC:
    /LIST        Lists all current irc channels, number of
            users on each, and the topic of each.  Beware,
            this can produce a LOT of output, as there are
            usually a LOT of channels.
    /NAMES        Shows the nicknames of all users on each
            channel.  This can also produce a LOT of
            output.
    /JOIN <channel>    Join the named channel.
    /MSG <nick> <msg> Sends a private message to the specified
            person only.
    /NICK <newnick>    Change your nickname.
    /HELP <topic>    Get help on the given topic.  Omit the topic
            to get a list of available topics.  Sometimes
            you need to do this command again, because the
            first time you type it, it will just load the
            help files, without displaying anything.

    The help facility on IRC is pretty thourough, so if you have a
question about IRC, you can probably find the answer there.
Otherwise, just ask someone online, and (if they're in a good mood)
they can probably help you.

Wow!  There's a LOT to this... now what?
    Well, we've always found that the best way to master something
is to try it out.  Experiment!  If it doesn't always work they way you
thought it would, that's okay.  You'll know better the next time.  One
other help file you'll probably want to read is the "Frequently Asked
Questions" list, or "FAQ", which lists some commonly asked questions
and their answers.  Good luck, and happy netting!