[comp.lang.forth] Forth OnLine Resource/Technical Help Letter

FNIA@willett.pgh.pa.us (ForthNet Information Account) (03/10/91)

 F O R T H   O N - L I N E   R E S O U R C E  /  T E C H N I C A L   H E L P
                               L E T T E R

		    Last updated on 09 March 1991.

	If you have corrections, clarifications, comments or updates,
	please send them to one or more of the addresses at the end of
	this note.


Hello,

	This post is to introduce you to the resources available to
those who read comp.lang.forth and can also send UseNet/Internet mail
or do anonynmous FTP.

    This message answers the questions:
	    What is ForthNet?
	    Where do I find Forth Libraries on-line?

    Answers to other frequently asked questions, such as "Where do
I find a PD/Shareware/any Forth for the FrobNitz-103?" are in a separate
article which is regularly posted to comp.lang.forth.




FORTHNET
--------

    ForthNet is a virtual Forth network that links designated message
bases of several Bulletin Boards and Information Services in an
attempt to provide greater distribution of Forth related information.

    ForthNet is provided courtesy of the SysOps of its various links
who shunt appropriate messages in a manual or semi-manual manner.  The
current branches of ForthNet include: UseNet's comp.lang.forth,
BitNet's FIGI-L, the BBoard systems RCFB, ACFB, LMI BBS, Grapevine,
and FIG's RoundTable on GEnie.  (Info on modem-accessible systems is
included below).

    The various branches of ForthNet do not have the same rules of
appropriate postings or ettiquette.  Many BBoard posts are very chatty
and contain some personal information, and some also contain blatant
commercial advertising.  Most comp.lang.forth posts are not like that.
ForthNet messages that are ported into comp.lang.forth from the rest
of the ForthNet all originate on GEnie, which is a kind of defacto
ForthNet message hub.  All such messages are ported into
comp.lang.forth with a from line of the form:
		From:  ForthNet@willett.pgh.pa.us ...
Most messages ported to comp.lang.forth also contain some trailer
information as to where they actually originated, if it was not on
GEnie.

    			   ****	NOTE: ****
	    There is NO email link between the various
	    branches of ForthNet.  If you need to get a
	    message through to someone on another branch,
	    please either make your message general enough
	    to be of interest to the whole net, or contact
	    said person by phone, USMail, or some other
	    means.  Thoughtful message authors place *a few*
	    lines at the end of their messages describing
	    how to contact them (electronicly or otherwise).


  Phone information for the dial-in services mentioned above:

    RCFB (Real-Time Control Forth Board)	303-278-0364
	SysOp:		Jack Woehr
	Location:	Denver, Colorado -USA-

    ACFB (Australia Connection Forth Board)	03-809-1787 in Australia
						61-3-809-1787 International
	SysOp:		Lance Collins
	Location:	Melbourne, Victoria -AUSTRALIA-

    LMI BBS (Laboratory Microsystems, Inc.)	213-306-3530
	SysOp:		Ray Duncan
	Location:	Marina del Ray, California -USA-

    Grapevine (Grapevine RIME hub)		501-753-8121 to register
						501-753-6859 thereafter
	SysOp:		Jim Wenzel
	Location:	Little Rock, Arkansas -USA-

    GEnie					800-638-9636 for information
    (General Electric Network for Information Service)
	SysOps:		Dennis Ruffer(D.RUFFER)
			Leonard Morgenstern(NMORGENSTER)
			Gary Smith(GARY-S)
	Location:	Forth RoundTable - type M710 or FORTH





FORTH LIBRARIES
---------------

    There are several repositories of Forth programs, sources,
executables, and so on.  These various repositories are NOT indentical
copies of the same things.  Material is available on an AS-IS basis
due to the charity of the people involved in maintaining the
libraries.  There are several ways to access Forth Libraries:


				FTP
				---

    			   ****	NOTE: ****
	    You can only use FTP if you are on an Internet
	    site which supports FTP (some sites may restrict
	    certain classes of users).  If you have any
	    questions about this, contact your system
	    administrator for information.  Your system
	    administrator should always be your first line
	    of resort if you have any difficulties or
	    questions about using FTP.


    For MSDOS related files there are currently two sites from which
you can anonymously FTP Forth related materials:
	    WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL	(Simtel20 for short)
	    WUARCHIVE.WUSTL.EDU		(Wuarchive for short)
Wuarchive maintains a "mirror" of the material available on Simtel20.
Simtel20 has a limited amount of material, most of it binaries for
MSDOS computers.  The Forth files on Simtel20 are in directory
'PD1:<MSDOS.FORTH>'.  The Forth files on Wuarchive are in directory
'/mirror/msdos/forth'.  For detailed information on how use FTP and
the Simtel20 archive see the text files in:  (it is too much to include here)
	    PD1:<MSDOS.STARTER>SIMTEL20.INF	or
	    /mirrors/starter/simtel20.inf



				MODEM
				-----

    For those desiring (or stuck with?) to use modems, the dial-in
systems listed above also have Forth libraries.

			   ****	NOTE: ****
	    GEnie is the repository of the Forth Interest
	    Group's official Forth Library.

			   ****	NOTE: ****
	    If you are unable to access SIMTEL20 via
	    Internet FTP or through one of the BITNET/EARN
	    file servers, most SIMTEL20 MSDOS files,
	    including the PC-Blue collection, are available
	    for downloading on the Detroit Download Central
	    network at 313-885-3956.  DDC has multiple lines
	    which support 300/1200/2400/9600/14400 bps
	    (HST/V.32/V.42/V.42bis/MNP5).  This is a
	    subscription system with an average hourly cost
	    of 17 cents.  It is also accessable on Telenet
	    via PC Pursuit and on Tymnet via StarLink
	    outdial.  New files uploaded to SIMTEL20 are
	    usually available on DDC within 24 hours.

	    Information provided by:
		Keith Petersen Maintainer of SIMTEL20's MSDOS,
		    MISC & CP/M archives [IP address 26.2.0.74]
		Internet: w8sdz@WSMR-SIMTEL20.Army.Mil or
			  w8sdz@vela.acs.oakland.edu
		Uucp: uunet!wsmr-simtel20.army.mil!w8sdz
		BITNET: w8sdz@OAKLAND




				EMAIL
				-----

    For those with email only access there is not much.  For now,
posts from ForthNet ported into comp.lang.forth sometimes advertise
files being available on GEnie.  Those messages also contain
information on how to get UUencoded EMail copies of the same files.
There is an automated email service being developed.  When it is
functional an article will be posted to comp.lang.forth with details
on who/what/how, etc. and this paragraph will be replaced by the
appropriate instructions.  As many of you who have written me (Doug
Philips) know, this is nearly finished.  Expect word soon!







If you have any questions about ForthNet/comp.lang.forth or any
information to add/delete or correct in this message or any
suggestions on formatting or presentation, please contact either Doug
Philips or Gary Smith (preferably both, but one is OK) via the
following addresses:

  o   Internet: dwp@willett.pgh.pa.us
          -or-  ddi1!lrark!gars@uunet.uu.net

  o   Usenet:   ...!uunet!ddi1!lrark!gars
          -or-  ...!uunet!willett.pgh.pa.us!dwp

  o   GEnie:    GARY-S or D.PHILIPS3

  o   ForthNet: Grapevine, Gary Smith - leave mail in Main Conference (0)

fnia@willett.pgh.pa.us (ForthNet Information Account) (04/01/91)

 F O R T H   O N - L I N E   R E S O U R C E  /  T E C H N I C A L   H E L P
                               L E T T E R

		    Last updated on 19 March 1991.

	If you have corrections, clarifications, comments or updates,
	please send them to one or more of the addresses at the end of
	this note.


Hello,

	This post is to introduce you to the resources available to
those who read comp.lang.forth and can also send UseNet/Internet mail
or do anonynmous FTP.

    This message answers the questions:
	    What is ForthNet?
	    Where do I find Forth Libraries on-line?

    Answers to other frequently asked questions, such as "Where do
I find a PD/Shareware/any Forth for the FrobNitz-103?" are in a separate
article which is regularly posted to comp.lang.forth.




FORTHNET
--------

    ForthNet is a virtual Forth network that links designated message
bases of several Bulletin Boards and Information Services in an
attempt to provide greater distribution of Forth related information.

    ForthNet is provided courtesy of the SysOps of its various links
who shunt appropriate messages in a manual or semi-manual manner.  The
current branches of ForthNet include: UseNet's comp.lang.forth,
BitNet's FIGI-L, the BBoard systems RCFB, ACFB, LMI BBS, Grapevine,
and FIG's RoundTable on GEnie.  (Info on modem-accessible systems is
included below).

    The various branches of ForthNet do not have the same rules of
appropriate postings or ettiquette.  Many BBoard posts are very chatty
and contain some personal information, and some also contain blatant
commercial advertising.  Most comp.lang.forth posts are not like that.
ForthNet messages that are ported into comp.lang.forth from the rest
of the ForthNet all originate on GEnie, which is a kind of defacto
ForthNet message hub.  All such messages are ported into
comp.lang.forth with a from line of the form:
		From:  ForthNet@willett.pgh.pa.us ...
Most messages ported to comp.lang.forth also contain some trailer
information as to where they actually originated, if it was not on
GEnie.

    			   ****	NOTE: ****
	    There is NO email link between the various
	    branches of ForthNet.  If you need to get a
	    message through to someone on another branch,
	    please either make your message general enough
	    to be of interest to the whole net, or contact
	    said person by phone, USMail, or some other
	    means.  Thoughtful message authors place *a few*
	    lines at the end of their messages describing
	    how to contact them (electronicly or otherwise).


  Phone information for the dial-in services mentioned above:

    RCFB (Real-Time Control Forth Board)	303-278-0364
	SysOp:		Jack Woehr
	Location:	Denver, Colorado -USA-

    ACFB (Australia Connection Forth Board)	03-809-1787 in Australia
						61-3-809-1787 International
	SysOp:		Lance Collins
	Location:	Melbourne, Victoria -AUSTRALIA-

    LMI BBS (Laboratory Microsystems, Inc.)	213-306-3530
	SysOp:		Ray Duncan
	Location:	Marina del Ray, California -USA-

    Grapevine (Grapevine RIME hub)		501-753-8121 to register
						501-753-6859 thereafter
	SysOp:		Jim Wenzel
	Location:	Little Rock, Arkansas -USA-

    GEnie					800-638-9636 for information
    (General Electric Network for Information Service)
	SysOps:		Dennis Ruffer(D.RUFFER)
			Leonard Morgenstern(NMORGENSTER)
			Gary Smith(GARY-S)
	Location:	Forth RoundTable - type M710 or FORTH





FORTH LIBRARIES
---------------

    There are several repositories of Forth programs, sources,
executables, and so on.  These various repositories are NOT indentical
copies of the same things.  Material is available on an AS-IS basis
due to the charity of the people involved in maintaining the
libraries.  There are several ways to access Forth Libraries:


				FTP
				---

    			   ****	NOTE: ****
	    You can only use FTP if you are on an Internet
	    site which supports FTP (some sites may restrict
	    certain classes of users).  If you have any
	    questions about this, contact your system
	    administrator for information.  Your system
	    administrator should always be your first line
	    of resort if you have any difficulties or
	    questions about using FTP.


    For MSDOS related files there are currently two sites from which
you can anonymously FTP Forth related materials:
	    WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL	(Simtel20 for short)
	    WUARCHIVE.WUSTL.EDU		(Wuarchive for short)
Wuarchive maintains a "mirror" of the material available on Simtel20.
Simtel20 has a limited amount of material, most of it binaries for
MSDOS computers.  The Forth files on Simtel20 are in directory
'PD1:<MSDOS.FORTH>'.  The Forth files on Wuarchive are in directory
'/mirror/msdos/forth'.  For detailed information on how use FTP and
the Simtel20 archive see the text files in:  (it is too much to include here)
	    PD1:<MSDOS.STARTER>SIMTEL20.INF	or
	    /mirrors/starter/simtel20.inf



				MODEM
				-----

    For those desiring (or stuck with?) to use modems, the dial-in
systems listed above also have Forth libraries.

			   ****	NOTE: ****
	    GEnie is the repository of the Forth Interest
	    Group's official Forth Library.

			   ****	NOTE: ****
	    If you are unable to access SIMTEL20 via
	    Internet FTP or through one of the BITNET/EARN
	    file servers, most SIMTEL20 MSDOS files,
	    including the PC-Blue collection, are available
	    for downloading on the Detroit Download Central
	    network at 313-885-3956.  DDC has multiple lines
	    which support 300/1200/2400/9600/14400 bps
	    (HST/V.32/V.42/V.42bis/MNP5).  This is a
	    subscription system with an average hourly cost
	    of 17 cents.  It is also accessable on Telenet
	    via PC Pursuit and on Tymnet via StarLink
	    outdial.  New files uploaded to SIMTEL20 are
	    usually available on DDC within 24 hours.

	    Information provided by:
		Keith Petersen Maintainer of SIMTEL20's MSDOS,
		    MISC & CP/M archives [IP address 26.2.0.74]
		Internet: w8sdz@WSMR-SIMTEL20.Army.Mil or
			  w8sdz@vela.acs.oakland.edu
		Uucp: uunet!wsmr-simtel20.army.mil!w8sdz
		BITNET: w8sdz@OAKLAND




				EMAIL
				-----

    For those with email only access there is not much.  For now,
posts from ForthNet ported into comp.lang.forth sometimes advertise
files being available on GEnie.  Those messages also contain
information on how to get UUencoded EMail copies of the same files.
There is an automated email service being developed.  When it is
functional an article will be posted to comp.lang.forth with details
on who/what/how, etc. and this paragraph will be replaced by the
appropriate instructions.  As many of you who have written me (Doug
Philips) know, this is nearly finished.  Expect word soon!
---
If you have any questions about ForthNet/comp.lang.forth or any information
to add/delete or correct in this message or any suggestions on formatting or
presentation, please contact either Doug Philips or Gary Smith (preferably
both, but one is OK) via the following addresses:

  o   Internet: dwp@willett.pgh.pa.us
          -or-  ddi1!lrark!gars@uunet.uu.net

  o   Usenet:   ...!uunet!ddi1!lrark!gars
          -or-  ...!uunet!willett.pgh.pa.us!dwp

  o   GEnie:    GARY-S or D.PHILIPS3

  o   ForthNet: Grapevine, Gary Smith - leave mail in Main Conference (0)