       ********    **************************************************
             *    *                                                  *
            *     *                 The independent guide to BITNET  *
           *      *                                                  *
          *       *                                  November, 1988  *
         *        *                                                  *
        *         *                              Volume 3, Number 5  *
       ********   *                                                  *
                  *                                                  *
        ***       *                                                  *
       * * *      *                                                  *
       * * *      *                                                  *
       * * *      *   Es brillig war.  Die schlichte Toven           *
       * **       *   Wirrten und wimmelten in Waben;                *
                  *   Und aller-muemsige Burggoven                   *
           *      *   Die Mohmen Raeth' ausgraben.                   *
           *      *                                                  *
       ******     *   Bewahre doch vor Jammerwoch!                   *
           *      *   Die Zaehne knirschen,Krallen-Kratzen!          *
           *      *   Bewahr' vor Jubjub-Vogel vor                   *
                  *   Frumioesen Banderschnaetzchen!                 *
       ********   *                                                  *
             *    *   Er griff sein vorpals Schwertchen zu,          *
            *     *   Er suchte lang das manchsam' Ding;             *
           *      *   Dann, stehend unten Tumtum Baum,               *
            *     *   Er an-zu-denken-fing.                          *
             *    *                                                  *
       ********   *   Als stand er tief in Andacht auf,              *
                  *   Des Jammerwochen's Augen-feuer                 *
        ***       *   Durch tulgen Wald mit wiffek kam               *
       *   *      *   Ein burbelnd ungeheuer!                        *
       *   *      *                                                  *
       *   *      *   Eins Zwei! Eins Zwei! Und durch und durch      *
        ***       *   Sein vorpals Schwert zerschnifer-schnueck      *
                  *   Da blieb es todt!  Er, Kopf in Hand,           *
       ******     *   Gelaeunfig zog zurueck.                        *
           *      *                                                  *
           *      *   Und schlugst Du ja den Jammerwoch?             *
           *      *   Umarme mich, mein Boehm'sches Kind!            *
       ****       *   O Freuden-Tag! O Halloo-Schlag!                *
                  *   Er chortelt froh-gesinnt.                      *
           *      *                                                  *
           *      *   Es brillig war.  Die schlichte Toven           *
       ******     *   Wirrten und wimmelten in Waben;                *
           *      *   Und aller muemsige Burggoven                   *
           *      *   Die mohmen Raeth' ausgraben.                   *
                  *                                                  *
       ********   *                                                  *
           *      *                                                  *
           *      *                                                  *
           *      *                                                  *
       ****        **************************************************

1


             *     *              *     *                   *
             **    *         *    **   **       *       *   *
             * *   *  ***  *****  * * * *  ***  ****  ***** ****
             *  *  * *   *   *    *  *  * *   * *   *   *   *   *
             *   * * *****   *    *     * *   * *   *   *   *   *
             *    ** *       *    *     * *   * *   *   *   *   *
             *     *  ****   *    *     *  ***  *   *   *   *   *
       ******                                                    ******


       Christopher Condon    Editor                   CONDON @ YALEVM
       Timothy Stephen       Associate Editor        STEPHEN @ RPICICGE
       Craig White           Associate Editor         CWHITE @ UA1VM
       June Genis            Contributing Editor      GA.JRG @ STANFORD
       David Hibler          Contributing Editor    ENGL0333 @ UNLVM
       Henry Mensch          Contributing Editor       HENRY @ MITVMA
       Deba Patnaik          Contributing Editor        DEBA @ UMDC
       Gerry Santoro         Contributing Editor         GMS @ PSUVM
       Marc Shannon          Helpdesk Editor        HELPDESK @ DRYCAS
       Glen Overby           Technical Assistant    NCOVERBY @ NDSUVAX
       Gary Moss             Point of View              MOSS @ YALEVM


       ********************* Contents - Issue 27 *********************


       EDITORIAL PAGE_________________________________________________

       Bitnotes .................................................... 1
       The BITNET/CSNET Merger ..................................... 4

       FEATURES_______________________________________________________

       The National Science Foundation Server ...................... 5
       DargonZine .................................................. 7
       Finger ...................................................... 8

       DEPARTMENTS____________________________________________________

       Headlines ................................................... 9
       Helpdesk ................................................... 12
       Policies ................................................... 16


       *  For information on  subscribing to  NetMonth,  submitting  *
       *  articles, sending  letters, and  printing this  file, see  *
       *  the "Policies" section on the last pages of this issue.    *


       -----------------------------------------
1

                                                                Page 1


        *********
       *         *  Bitnotes
       *         *
       *         *  by Christopher Condon
       *         *
       *         *  Yale University
       *         *
       *         *  BITLIB@YALEVM
        *********


                        "The End Becomes the Means"
                                 -------


       Often when I  am faced with a  problem it helps to  take a step
       back and look at it from the outside.    Sometimes the annoying
       little  glitch I  am  focusing  on is  merely  a  symptom of  a
       serious,  gigantic glitch.    While it is no  fun finding these
       things out,   I would rather  use my resources  fixing problems
       instead of symptoms.

       I've started to  wonder if the latest ruckus  about BITNET user
       directories doesn't  fall into  the "annoying"  category.   Our
       problem (or so it appears)  is that there are too many diverse,
       overlapping,  and inconsistent servers filling this function in
       the network.    While there have  been a number  of discussions
       about what  could be done to  rectify this situation,   no real
       progress has been made.   There  remain obstacles and arguments
       about privacy, data formats, user interfaces...   the list goes
       on.

       Now,  take a step back.   Remove yourself from the thick of the
       situation and your own preferences on how the problem should be
       solved.    To  the  impartial observer,   this  user  directory
       discussion  provides   a  unique   opportunity  to   watch  how
       weaknesses are uncovered, defined,  and eventually addressed in
       BITNET.

       If you recall,  our network is  (in spirit)  a cooperative one.
       While  each  node  pays  dues in  order  to  receive  technical
       services (routing tables,  etc.)  from the BITNIC,  information
       services (LISTSERV,   COMSERVE,  NetMonth)   are provided  on a
       voluntary basis.    Most change  is brought  about not  by work
       groups or committees, but by individuals (for whatever reason).
       Eric Thomas took it upon himself to improve the original BITNIC
       LISTSERV  and propagate  his  version  throughout the  network.
       Jeff Kell wrote RELAY and did much the same thing.  While these
       people received (and are receiving)   assistance from others in
       the network to continue their  efforts,  the impetus for change
1

                                                                Page 2


       an individual one.  Or rather, the effort in BITNET change is a
       group  one,   where  the  momentum  behind  that  change,   the
       groundwork, often comes from a single person.

       BITNET began  as an  experiment in  academic networking.    Its
       purpose was not so much  to provide academic computing services
       as to PROVE that they could be proviced.   BITNET was an end in
       itself.   As the network has  grown,  this emphasis has changed
       (and  rightly  so).    The  End  is  now  to  provide  academic
       communications services, and BITNET has become the Means.

       My question is this: Is the current organizational structure of
       BITNET  adequate   for  providing  technical   and  information
       services in a timely and consistent manner?

       Put a different way: Has BITNET outgrown its volunteer ethic?

       Most BITNET  information standards are,   in fact,   "de facto"
       standards.  They become accepted because they are so widespread
       or because the  "competition" is nonexistent,  or  because that
       individual behind the  service has a heck of a  lot of impetus.
       There  is nothing  that  says that  you  must  use LISTSERV  to
       maintain your mailing list.   You can  write your own server or
       devise your  own method  if you  like.   But  if the  tools are
       there, and they are widespread,  and the people know how to use
       them, why bother? Hence, the "standard".

       Somewhere in  my resume  it states that  BITNET SERVERS  is the
       "official" list  of servers and  services in the  network.   Of
       course, there isn't any other list, there hasn't been any other
       list, so it must be the "standard".

       Where does the  Network Information Center fit in  all of this?
       The BITNIC  staff provides  a fine level  of support  given its
       overworked  and  understaffed  state.    Their  mandate  (as  I
       interpret it)  it  to provide bare-bones basic  information and
       technical services  to keep the  network running.    The people
       there  *can't*  do much  more  than  that given  their  current
       funding.   The  bells and  whistles (LISTSERV,   NetMonth)  are
       provided, run, and supported by outside sources.

       Our  current dilemma  is user  directory servers.    I have  no
       illusions that the committees or discussion groups are going to
       design and implement a solution to this problem.   Rather, some
       ambitious soul is going to sit down, think the problem through,
       write a server or a system,  and start spreading it through the
       network.    Whether or  not his  or  her solution  is the  best
       possible  one  is  irrelevant.   It  will  become  popular  and
       therefore "standard".
1

                                                                Page 3


       Question:  Is this method of  providing services adequate for a
       network of BITNET's size?

       I think not.

       As always,   I welcome  your thoughts on  this topic.    Is the
       BITNET  organization  basicly  inadequate   for  providing  the
       services it should? Are we just getting what we pay for?  Or is
       Chris just in a bad mood today?


              Virtually,

               Chris Condon@YALEVM
1

                                                                Page 4


        *********
       *         *  The Proosed BITNET/CSNET Merger
       *         *
       *         *  by Jim Conklin
       *         *
       *         *  BITNET Network Information Center
       *         *
       *         *  CONKLIN@BITNIC
        *********


       I  notice that  some discussion  of  the proposed  BITNET/CSnet
       merger  has  transpired  while  I've  been  conference-hopping.
       Without trying to familiarize myself with all that's been said,
       let me  confirm that the  BITNET Board of  Trustees unanimously
       agreed in  principle to  the merger  of BITNET  with CSnet  and
       voted to RECOMMEND  to the BITNET membership that  the Board be
       authorized to  proceed with the  merger.   The  CSnet Executive
       Committee has  made a  similar recommendation  to UCAR,   which
       manages CSnet.

       The  BITNET  Board  will  prepare  a  statement  outlining  its
       understanding of  the issues involved  in the  proposed merger,
       together with its  recommendation,  and will conduct  a VOTE of
       the  BITNET members,   with the  members' BITNET  Institutional
       Representatives  casting   the  votes   for  their   respective
       institutions.   Only  if that vote  is favorable to  the merger
       will the BITNET Board continue to pursue it.  (Favorable action
       by UCAR is,  of course,  also  necessary.)   The Board hopes to
       conduct this vote within the next few weeks.

       Since the report by Gillespie,   Faulkner,  and Associates (the
       consultants  hired by  BITNET  and CSnet  to  study the  issues
       involved)  is more  than a hundred pages long,  it  will not be
       practical to  distribute it  in full  to the  membership.   The
       intent of the Board is to capture  the essence of the report in
       the material  it distributes  to the  membership in  connection
       with the vote on the merger.

       My present understanding of  the consultants' recommendation is
       that the combined  network is expected to  provide all services
       now included  in the  BITNET and in  the CSnet  offerings,  for
       several years.    The proposed  costs to  universities for  the
       various services replicate the present costs, with some changes
       for the  industrial members proposed,   to make  the industrial
       memberships closely resemble  those for the present  CSnet.   A
       transition team  chosen by the  two networks will  generate new
       bylaws and  a more detailed  plan for  the merger,  if  the two
       networks approve the recommendation to merge.

       * Note:  Jim Conklin is Director of the BITNIC
1

                                                                Page 5


        *********
       *         *  The National Science Foundation Server
       *         *
       *         *  from the documentation
       *         *
       *         *  The National Science Foundation
       *         *
       *         *  INFO@NSF
        *********


       The National  Science Foundation information  server (INFO@NSF)
       is a  mail-based service.   That  is,  it accepts  commands and
       sends information to you via electronic mail.

       To send  a request,  your mail  does not need a  subject field.
       The text of your message must be in a special format,  however,
       such as:

            REQUEST: INFO
            TOPIC: HELP
            REQUEST: END

       This request  asks for the  document "HELP" from  the "request"
       collection "INFO".  Your message must have a "REQUEST" line, to
       specify the request collection,  and one or more "TOPIC:" lines
       to  specify  documents  from  the  collection.    The  optional
       statement "REQUEST:   END" terminates your  specification.  Any
       subsequent text in the message is ignored by the Info Server.

       You may specify a limit, in lines or bytes, to the maximum size
       of document  that you wish  to have  sent in a  single message.
       For example:

                 LINE-LIMIT: 1000   or    BYTE-LIMIT: 75K

       The  Info  Server  will  break the  documents  at  exactly  the
       specified  number of  lines,   or at  the  line preceeding  the
       specified number of bytes.   The minimum limit is 2000 lines or
       12000 bytes.   You may use the  form "75000" or "75K" in either
       limit,  but NOT "75,000".   The limit  affects only lines up to
       the next REQUEST: line.

       You may combine different requests in the same message, and use
       any combination of upper- and  lower-case letters in your text.
       You may also include or omit spaces and tabs, use any number of
       REQUEST and TOPIC lines, and omit "REQUEST: END".  For example:
1

                                                                Page 6


            REQUEST: INFO
            BYTE-LIMIT: 22000
            TOPIC: HELP             (byte limit in effect)
            REQUEST: FORMS
            TOPIC:  REVIEWS         (byte limit not in effect)

       If you  include "REQUEST:  END",   the INFO SERVER  will ignore
       whatever follows  in your message.    If you  include "REQUEST:
       ATTENTION",  the INFO  SERVER will ignore whatever  follows and
       deliver your entire message to POSTMAST@NSF.

       You are  encouraged to suggest  additional documents  you would
       like  to  have  available  from the  NSF  Info  Server.    Mail
       suggestions to POSTMANST@NSF.

       REQUEST collections currently available:

       REQUEST: INFO          Information on using the Info-Server.
       REQUEST: FORMS         Templates and forms.
       REQUEST: GRAD-FEL      Graduate Fellowship Program files.
       REQUEST: INT-SCIENG    International Science and Engineering
1

                                                                Page 7


        *********
       *         *  DargonZine
       *         *
       *         *  by John L. White
       *         *
       *         *  Drexel University
       *         *
       *         *  WHITE@DUVM
        *********


       * Editor's note:  As many of  you know,  FSFNet magazine ceaced
       publication a few months back.   However, its continuing Dargon
       writing project survives in the  form of DargonZine,  edited by
       John L.   White.   To  subscribe,  send  a reqeuest  to him  at
       WHITE@DUVM.

       The following is from the introduction to the first issue:

       Hello,   readers!   Here  it  is,    the  first  issue  of  the
       "replacement" - or rather,  continuation  - of FSFNet.   As the
       new Editor, I hope that DargonZine serves you all as well as my
       predecesor's magazine did.

       DargonZine is not really a replacement for FSFNet, but rather a
       vehicle for the continuation of the Dargon Project,  which made
       up a substantial  part of the material  in FSFNet.   DargonZine
       will not  be publishing  anything non-Dargon,   but R.    Allen
       Jervis (C78KCK@IRISHMVS) has consented to take up the slack and
       publish  any non-Dargon  SF or  Fantasy that  anyone out  there
       would like to write and/or read.

       This first issue contains five stories,  three from authors new
       to the project.   The first is from Max Khaytsus, and continues
       his "Unlikely Partners"  story,  Part 1 of which  was in FSFNET
       Vol11N2.   The second  story,  "Runaway",  is by  our first new
       author Michelle Brothers.  The first part of the story provides
       some background to the rest of the story,  and the second part,
       which happens some 9 months later,  happens shortly after Max's
       story ends - in fact, they cross to a minor extent.

       The third  story is  from another  new author,   John Sullivan.
       "Steel Souls" gives  us a little insight into  the character of
       Ittosai.   It takes place between "Worthy  of the Title" and "A
       Visit to Connall", which appeared in FSFNet Vol10N5 and Vol11N3
       respectively,   before  Ittosai  has become  the  Castellan  of
       Connall.
1

                                                                Page 8


        *********
       *         *  Finger
       *         *
       *         *  by Marty Hoag
       *         *
       *         *  North Dakota State University
       *         *
       *         *  INFO@NDSUVM1
        *********


       FINGER@NDSUVM1 is a user directory  server for people trying to
       locate  individuals  at  North Dakota  State  University.    It
       accepts commands via interactive messages.

       Actually,  it  doesn't accept commands  at all.   There  are no
       commands.   All  you do is send  the server a message  with the
       name (or part of the name)  of  the person you are looking for.
       One interesting feature is that the  server also tells you when
       the person last logged on.    In  this example,  I am searching
       for all the people with the name "Jones":

            VM/CMS:   TELL FINGER AT NDSUVM Jones
            VAX/VMS:  SEND FINGER@NDSUVM "Jones"

       The response would look like this:

            * Searching for Jones
            * on ND HECN Host VM1.NoDak.EDU (NDSUVM1 on BITNET)
            * --- Userid = MN034881    (Note 0=ZERO!) ---
            * SCOTT JONES MISC COMP.SCI. 839-1898 student
            * Last on  02:54 CST Sat 12/03/88 from U21LC785
            *
            * --- Userid = MV008981    (Note 0=ZERO!) ---
            * Kimberly Jones MASC MACS 786-2301 student
            * Last on  20:16 CDT Thu 05/19/88 from N12LC54B
            *
            * Last logon information is checked for
            * the first 2 hits only.
            *
            * --- Userid = UD130919    (Note 0=ZERO!) ---
            * Kelly Jones UND Aviation 775-6221 student
            *
            * --- Userid = UD148677                   ---
            * Scott E. Jones UND Mech. Engr. 777-8662 student
            *
            * Finger Command Complete.

       You do not need to specify wildcards.  A search for "Hoa" would
       turn up both "Marty Hoag" and "Mary Whoah".
1

                                                                Page 9


        *********
       *         *  Headlines
       *         *
       *         *  from Various Sources
       *         *
       *         *  from Precarious Places
       *         *
       *         *  Send them to BITLIB@YALEVM
        *********


       * From  Hank  Nussbacher:    At  the 7th  annual  International
       Network workshop that was held in Jerusalem this past week, the
       representative from  China announced that  as of  September 15,
       1988,  the United  States had removed the  Cocom restriction on
       computer equipment exports  to China.   This paves  the way for
       connecting China to Bitnet (which had applied previously).

       * Announcing EARN Appointments (from Bitnews):  David Jennings,
       EARN President,  has announced the appointment of Frode Greisen
       as  President and  Michael  Hebegen as  Vice  President of  the
       European Academic  and Research Network,   officially effective
       February 1989.

       President-Elect Greisen  (NEUFRODE@NEUVM1)  is  from the  UNI-C
       Danish  Computing  Center  for Reseach  and  Education.    Vice
       President-Elect Hebgen  ($02@DHDURZ1)  is  associated with  the
       Universitaet Heidelberg.

       As Ex  Officio Members of the  BITNET Board of  Trustees,  both
       Greisen and Hebgen will also be  accessed via the LISTSERV List
       BOARD-L@BITNIC.

       EARN, the European Academic and Research Network, is a computer
       network  for  academic  and research  institutions  located  in
       Europe,  Middle East,  and Africa.    Founded in 1984,  EARN is
       linked to BITNET (USA) and NetNorth (CANADA)  in North America,
       forming one topologically interconnected network.

       * BIOCSI Corrections:    In out October issue  we truncated the
       information about BIOSCI mailing lists for space reasons.  As a
       result the  information provided was somewhat  inaccurate.   We
       apologize for any inconvenience this  may have caused.   In the
       following list you would subscribe  using the Distribution List
       name to LISTSERV@IRLEARN:

       IRLEARN   Dist.     Long Address (for reference only)
       Address   List      and Topic

       BIONEWS   $BIONEWS  BIONEWS
                           General announcements
1

                                                               Page 10


       BIOMATRX  $BIOMATR  BIO-MATRIX
                           Applications of computers to biological
                           databases
       BIOTECH   $BIOTECH  BIOTECH
                           Biotechnology Issues
       SOFT-CON  SOFT$CON  CONTRIBUTED-SOFTWARE
                           Information on molecular biology programs
                           contributed to the public domain
       EMBL-DB   EMBL$DB   EMBL-DATABANK
                           Messages to and from the EMBL database
                           staff
       BIOJOBS   $BIOJOBS  EMPLOYMENT
                           Job opportunities
       GENBANKB  $GENBANK  GENBANK-BB
                           Messages to and from the GenBank
                           database staff
       GENE-EXP  GENE$EXP  GENE-EXPRESSION
                           Scientific Interest Group
       GENE-ORG  GENE$ORG  GENOMIC-ORGANIZATION
                           Scientific Interest Group
       METHODS   $METHODS  METHODS-AND-REAGENTS
                           Requests for information and lab reagents
       MOL-EVOL  MOL$EVOL  MOLECULAR-EVOLUTION
                           Scientific Interest Group
       ONCOGENE  $ONCOGEN  ONCOGENES
                           Scientific Interest Group
       SOFT-COM  SOFT$COM  PC-COMMUNICATIONS
                           Information on communications software
       SOFT-PC   SOFT$PC   PC-SOFTWARE
                           Information on PC-software for scientists
       PIR-BB    PIR$BB    PIR
                           Messages to and from the PIR
                           database staff
       PLANT     $PLANT    PLANT-MOLECULAR-BIOLOGY
                           Scientific Interest Group
       PROTEINS  $PROTEIN  PROTEIN-ANALYSIS
                           Scientific Interest Group
       RESEARCH  $RESEARC  RESEARCH-NEWS
                           Research news of interest to the community
       SCI-RES   SCI$RES   SCIENCE-RESOURCES
                           Information about funding agencies, etc.
       SWISSPRT  $SWISSPR  SWISS-PROT
                           Messages to and from the SWISS-PROT
                           database staff
       YEAST     $YEAST    YEAST-GENETICS
                           Scientific Interest Group
1

                                                               Page 11


       * Internet address changes:  The following servers have changed
       their network addresses:

            NBSLIB@ICST-CMR.ARPA is now NBSLIB@CMR.ICST.NBS.GOV

            NETLIB@ANL-MCS.ARPA is now NETLIB@RESEARCH.ATT.COM

       * BITNIC Plans Move to Washington, D.C. (from Bitnews):

       The  BITNIC  will  be  moving to  the  new  EDUCOM  offices  in
       Washington,  D.C.,   over a period  of several  months starting
       January, 1989.

       The  present BITNIC  computer will  remain  in Princeton  until
       arrangements  are   complete  for   a  replacement   system  in
       Washington.   Some staff members will remain in Princeton until
       at least April 1989, possibly longer, with other staff locating
       in  Washington  in early  January  --  all  new staff  will  be
       established in the Washington office.

       Every effort  will be  made to  ensure constant  and continuous
       service to the BITNET and its membership.

       * Ozone Newsletter:   The Ozone newsletter has been expanded to
       cover  any subject  about the  environment.   The  name of  the
       newsletter has also been changed to reflect this, and it is now
       called:  BioSphere Newsletter.   To  subscribe,  you must still
       send the  following command  to LISTSERV@ICNUCEVM:    SUB OZONE
       your_full_name.    The OZONE  mailing list  is  known as  "Save
       Nature",  and  subscribers to that  mailing list  also  receive
       BioSphere Newsletter.
1

                                                               Page 12


        *********
       *         *  Helpdesk - a Question and Answer column
       *         *
       *         *  by Marc Shannon
       *         *
       *         *  Carnegie-Mellon University
       *         *
       *         *  Send your questions to HELPDESK@DRYCAS
        *********


       "Hello? This is the United States calling? Are we reaching?"

       

       That's the  way it has seemed  to be for poor,   lil' Carnegie-
       Mellon University,  here at the almost-end of Bitnet as we know
       it.   There have been more  than many networking problems among
       any of the connecting nodes  between CMU,  West Virginia,  Ohio
       State, Penn State, and CUNY.   The irony of it all is that most
       of  these problems  seem to  have  been caused  by those  sites
       trying to  improve their  service,  either  by upgrading  their
       networking software or their entire system to handle their user
       (and networking) load more efficiently.   Maybe this is why I'm
       a VAX programmer and not much of a Big Blue enthusiast! :-)

       In the August column of Helpdesk, I gave a rough summary of the
       difference states  of "connection"  between BITNET  links.   It
       turns out that  there are many more  reasons why a link  may be
       "ACTIVE"  or "INACTIVE".    Thanks  to  Eric Thomas  for  these
       explanations of possible connection difficulties...

       "With RSCS V1 and a DMTNJI line,  there is no way the line will
       stay ACTIVE  for more  than five or  six seconds.    Either the
       other side is  INACTIVE,  in which case the line  falls back to
       INACTIVE  after about  six seconds,   or  it is  ACTIVE and  it
       becomes CONNECT within  some time.   For example,   the FRMOP22
       line is  often INACTIVE on  the CEARN  side,  and it's  not our
       fault.   We restart it every 5 minutes,  and it falls back back
       because their side is down.

       "Also,  even when there is no data being transferred on a line,
       there is a constant polling  (every two seconds).   These ENQ's
       must be answered within three seconds  or a timeout will occur.
       DMTVMB disconnects the line (placing the line state to INACTIVE
       and possibly restarting the line by the restart exec)  after 10
       such timeouts; DMTNJI is much more sensitive.

       "When a line  stays CONNECT although it is in  fact down,  it's
       because of a  protocol bug.   Side A expects a  file packet ACK
1

                                                               Page 13


       from side B.    Side B doesn't "know"  it has to send  the ACK.
       After some time, side A sends an ENQ.   Side B thinks,  "what's
       going on?" and  replies to the ENQ.   Side A  won't do anything
       useful  until  its  packet is  acknowledged,   side  B  doesn't
       understand what side A is waiting for, and you need to call the
       local Rambo to solve the problem the hard way.  :-)"

       Thanks, again,  Eric,  for helping unravel the great mystery of
       BITNET's RSCS  networking.   Does  anyone want  to step  up and
       volunteer to explain "BITNET II"? :-)

       And now, onto today's questions...

       *Q* I'm  searching for information  for a colleague  in another
       community  college in  the area  who  uses IBM  Series 1's  for
       computer support.

       Is  there  some  form  of   RSCS  emulator  support  to  enable
       connection to BITNET?  Are any other BITNET users connected via
       Series 1's?  Is  there some method of connecting  that does not
       require RSCS?

       *A* I  checked the file  EMULATOR INFO1  (from LISTSERV@BITNIC)
       and wasn't able to find anything for IBM Series 1's (although I
       did find  references to  software for  VAX/VMS (Jnet),   Primos
       (RNET), Unix (UREP),  Sperry 1100 (RTP/1100)).   If anyone does
       know of such software,  please send mail to HELPDESK@DRYCAS and
       I will  forward the answer on  to the person searching  for the
       answer as well as put the answer here in NetMonth.

       I looked,  also,  in IBM's Systems  and Product Guide and found
       some references to "Communications Manager" software,  although
       it did  not provide  much information  which I  could decipher.
       Your  colleague  might  want  to get  in  touch  with  his  IBM
       Representative and find what they have to offer.

       *Q* I've  received several  times the  following answer  from a
       node where my message was passed through:

       FROM node1: 16.03.01 $HASP243 PATH LOST TO node2

       What is the meaning of this  message?  In some cases,  it takes
       hours for it to work again.

       *A* Ahh, my friend HASP! Sigh.  HASP is the spooling program (I
       don't know the exact acronym)  which runs on JES2 and JES3 (MVS
       systems).

       The error you  got would be translated best as  "LINK node2 NOT
       CONNECTED" or "LINK node2 INACTIVE".    It basically means that
1

                                                               Page 14


       the connection between  'node1' and 'node2' is  down.   In some
       cases,  you  would have  to wait  for Operator  intervention to
       restart the link or perhaps for  service to be performed on the
       physical line.   Contacting the appropriate Data Communications
       person at one  of the two sites  would be the best  way to find
       out exactly what is wrong.

       *Q* I am wondering why I am only getting the first two pages of
       your magazine.  At least, I get two pages consistently.   Could
       you help me to get the rest?

       *A* When  I received  your mail,  it  appeared to  be truncated
       itself.    There may  be a  problem with  your electronic  mail
       system which causes it not to properly send (or receive?)  mail
       messages for BITNET.

       Another suggestion would  depend on how you are  looking at the
       magazine  when you  receive it.    If  you are  using the  PEEK
       command on  your system (assuming  that you are  using VM/CMS),
       the default for PEEK is only to show you the first 200 lines of
       the file which you are peeking in your virtual reader.  This is
       an option which can be changed  by specifying FOR n,  where 'n'
       is the number  of lines you wish  to view (or *  for the entire
       spool file).    For example,  to  peek at  all of file  in your
       reader, you would use "PEEK spool-id (FOR *".  (This option can
       be changed through the DEFAULTS command.  For more information,
       see HELP DEFAULTS.)

       If this doesn't seem to be  the problem,  you should check what
       QUERY RDR says the size of the file is.   (Note that if you are
       a privileged user on your VM system, you will need to say QUERY
       RDR * in order to avoid seeing everyone's reader files.   :-) )
       When you do  the QUERY RDR,  you should get  output which looks
       something like:

            .QUERY RDR
            ORIGINID FILE CLASS RECORDS CPY HOLD FORM
            LISTSERV 6258 F PUN 00000789 001 NONE QULISTSV

       (You can use  the ALL option to  QUERY RDR,  you will  get more
       information about  the file,   such as the  file name  and file
       type.)   In this  example,  the  size  of the  file (which  was
       NETMONTH 1988OCT)  is 789 records.   This turns out to be about
       24 pages (after NETDATA decoding).

       If you continue to have problems receiving (and viewing)  large
       files,  you should  contact a consultant or  programmer at your
       site who will  most likely be better  able to help you  in your
       own environment without making assumptions.
1

                                                               Page 15


       *Q* A  few weeks ago,  I  ordered the file BITNET  SERVERS from
       your LISTSERV.  I saw the userid LOTTERY at DRYCAS and tried to
       get some information  about the game.   Every time  I tried,  I
       failed!  The only thing I did  get was the message "LOTTERY not
       logged in."  So I  tried to  send mail  to Lottery  to get  the
       information I wanted.    My mail could not  be delivered saying
       "no such user LOTTERY at node JUPITR".   (Ed.   note: Sometimes
       when  sending mail  to  a VAX  on  BITNET which  is  part of  a
       VAXCluster,  your mail may be passed off to another node in the
       cluster which  may not be on  BITNET.   JUPITR is another  in a
       three-node cluster  with DRYCAS and often  gets to do  the mail
       processing.)

       I don't know how to go on to get information about Lottery.   I
       hope you can explain all that  to me.   I'm still interested in
       the game and would like to get some details.

       *A* Let me start with a bit  of history about Lottery.   It was
       originally created as  a small project to  satisfy my curiosity
       about some statistical  analysis of gambling.   I  had intended
       only to run it  for about one month,  but it  got VERY popular.
       (I was quite amazed by its popularity, in fact.)

       After trying to improve Lottery and add new "games", I ended up
       introducing some rather  nasty bugs which made  the game unfair
       to the players.   Eventually,  DRYCAS  was upgraded to VMS V5.0
       and Lottery stopped working.

       The good news to all of this, though, is that Lottery IS COMING
       BACK!  I've  had many  requests about  it and  it seems  like a
       worthwhile effort to get it working again.   If I'm lucky, I'll
       be  able to  provide  facilities for  people  to  send mail  to
       Lottery and  participate,  although that's  not going to  be an
       easy task to say the least.

       Look for LOTTERY@DRYCAS to return to  life on January 1,  1989,
       ready to start a new year!
1

                                                               Page 16


        *********
       *         *  NetMonth Policies
       *         *
       *         *  Everything you ever wanted to know...
       *         *
       *         *  ...but were afraid to ask.
       *         *
       *         *  BITLIB@YALEVM
        *********


       NetMonth is a  network service publication distributed free  of
       charge to  students  and  professionals  in  BITNET  and  other
       networks. This magazine and its companion file, BITNET SERVERS,
       are the  work  of the  BITNET Services Library (BSL) staff  and
       contributors from around the network.

       BITNET SERVERS is BITNETs list of servers and services.  If you
       know of servers not listed in BITNET SERVERS, or if some listed
       are no longer available, please contact the NetMonth Editor.

       * Subscribing to NetMonth and BITNET SERVERS:

       Send  the  following  command  to  LISTSERV@MARIST  by  mail or
       messgage:

            SUBSCRIBE NETMONTH Your_full_name

       A subscriber  can delete  him/herself from  the mailing list by
       sending LISTSERV@MARIST the command:

            UNSUB NETMONTH

       Internet users may use these methods, but must address the mail
       to LISTSERV@MARIST.BITNET

       * Back issues:

       BITNET users  may get NetMonth back issues from the file server
       LISTSERV@CMUCCVMA.  For a list of  files,  send the  server the
       the command:

            INDEX NETMONTH

       * Letters to the Editor:  If  you  have  questions  or comments
       about BITNET or  NetMonth that you would like  to  see  printed
       here, mail  your letter  to BITLIB@YALEVM.  Make  sure that you
       specify in the "Subject:"  header or  somewhere  in  the letter
       that it is for the NetMonth letters column.
1

                                                               Page 17


       * Article Submissions:  The  only  requirements  for   NetMonth
       articles and columns are that they be informative, interesting,
       and concern some BITNET-related topic.  Send your articles  and
       to BITLIB@YALEVM.

       * Printing this file:  VM  users can print  this file  by using
       the "( CC" option of  the PRINT command.   VAX/VMS users should
       RECEIVE NetMonth  with a  format of  FORTRAN.  This  will allow
       page-breaks to be accepted by your printer.


            _
           __-
          __---    The
         __-----   BITNET
        __-------  Services
       ___________ Library                       "Because We're Here."

       ***************************************************************