rs@mirror.TMC.COM (Rich Salz) (12/04/86)
This is an experiment. I will now be posting information about the
mod.sources archives regularly in the newsgroups comp.sources.d and
comp.sources.wanted. This is the first of three articles. This
article contains general information, particulary about how to access
the archives. The second article lists all articles published to date
in the current volume. The third article list all articles published
in all previous volumes.
I will repost the articles every two months. Sites with "uncertain"
feeds who want to stay current with mod.sources need only skim the
first article, keep the second, and can usually ignore the third. New
sites or users will benefit by reading all the articles in order; often
newer software in the archives obsoletes information already there.
THE STRUCTURE OF MOD.SOURCES ARTICLES
-------------------------------------
Each posting in mod.sources is called an "issue"; there are 100 issues
to a volume. The division is arbitrary, and has varied greatly in the
past. There are two types of articles in mod.sources; sources and
"information postings." They can be distinguished by the subject
line:
Subject: v07INF8: Index for Volume 7 and other info
This first word in the title identifies this as the eight info posting
in volume seven. Similarly, the subject line shown below:
Subject: v07i071: Public-domain MAKE
identifies this as the 71st source article in Volume 7. Large sources
are broken up into smaller pieces, and have subject lines that look like
this:
Subject: v07i043: 2.11 News Documentation and Conversion, Part03/08
The first few lines in an article are auxiliary headers that look like this:
Submitted by: caret@fairlight.oz
Mod.sources: Volume 7, Issue 71
Archive-name: make
The "Submitted by" is the author of the program. If you have comments about
the sources published in mod.sources, this is the person to contact.
When possible, this address will be in domain form, otherwise it will be
a UUCP path relative to host mirror (my machine).
The second line repeats the volume/issue information for the aide of NOTES
sites and automatic archiving programs.
The Archive-name is the "official" name of this source in the archive. Large
postings will have names that look like this:
Archive-name: patch2/Part01
Please note try to use this name when requesting that sources be mailed
to you. Also, note that the "part number" given in the title, and the
archive name given in the auxiliary header need not be identical.
SENDING MATERIAL TO THE MODERATOR
---------------------------------
Items intended for posting should be sent to mirror!sources; requests
for missing copies or other queries should be sent to
mirror!sources-request. In Australia, Robert Elz is a "sub-moderator";
people there can work with him (kre@munnari.OZ) to get postings out
more easily.
When sources are sent to me, I try to verify that they work. In cases
where this is not possible, I at least verify that they unpack OK on my
machine. If neither is possible, I try to contact the author right
away. For this reason, MAKE SURE to include a return address relative
to some well-known site(s).
Two things to note: First, I often have to repack submissions so they
fit in small enough pieces. Second, except in rare cases, source
without documentation and a Makefile will not be published.
I am always looking for suggestions on how to improve the usefulness
of mod.sources. When all else fails, my conventional address and
phone number are:
Rich $alz
Mirror Systems
2067 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02140
617-661-0777
To contact me electronically, look at my .signature, below.
ABOUT THE ARCHIVES
------------------
There are several active archive sites around the net, including sites
that provide anonymous FTP access for Internet sites, and one that
provides anonymous UUCP access for UUCP-only sites. The European
archive is not well set-up yet; look for an announcement soon. Archive
access is provided on a volunteer basis; please try to avoid obnoxious
request like "mail me all the March 1985 sources."
The complete mod.sources archives are fairly large:
Volume Size (Kbytes)
1 4118
2 1220
3 3459
4 4692
5 406
6 4359
When you request something before Volume 6, please make sure to be as
descriptive as possible because there were no official names before then.
Several people below will send tapes through the mail. For those sites,
send a 1/2" mag tape WITH RETURN POSTAGE and RETURN MAILER. Tapes
without postage or mailer will not be returned. No other methods (COD,
etc.) are available; please don't ask.
1. Ron Heiby has an archive on-line; contact usenet@cuae2.ATT.COM for more
info. He has also set up an off-hours UUCP login providing anonymous
UUCP access to the archives. The Systems file (L.sys) entry looks like:
(for HoneyDanBer UUCP users)
cuaepd Wk1830-0530,Sa,Su ACU 1200 3129643773 in:--in: pduucp
(for Old UUCP users)
cuaepd Any1830-0530 ACU 1200 3129643773 in:--in: pduucp
Retrieve the file cuaepd!~/netnews/mod.sources/howto.snarf and follow the
directions therein.
2. Pyramid Technology has an archive arranged topically, and in compressed
tar files. They are happy to take new UUCP connections. They are also
somewhat willing to make tapes for people to come by and pick up,
provided you call WELL in advance and bring lunch money. This is being
managed by Claudia Dimmers and/or Carl Gutekunst. Contact
pyramid!usenet for more info.
3. Robert Elz (kre@munnari.OZ) keeps mod.sources in different ways
depending on his available disk space; contact him for more info.
4. Thos Sumner at UCSF will respond to requests for material, but cannot
promise an ongoing commitment. Anyone requesting material via mail
should supply a path from ucbvax. Anyone requesting tape should
contact me first. Contact him at thos@cca.ucsf.edu, or
ucbvax!ucsfcgl!cca.UCSF!thos
5. Tom Patterson at Washington University can make 800/1600/6250 BPI
tar tapes. If you give him a "real good reason," he can also make
1600 BPI VMS BACKUP or ANSI tapes. Send your tape, mailer, and postage
to Tom at:
Engineering Computer Lab, Bryan 509
Lindell & Skinker Blvd
Washington University
St. Louis, MO 63130
For best results, first send mail to wucs!archive (you stand a better
chance of getting processed quickly that way).
6. Jim Thompson (otto!jim) can make 1600 and 6250 tar and cpio tapes,
as well as VMS backup in a real pinch. He will also provide a
temporary UUCP login for interested parties (2400 baud expected soon).
His postal address is:
Jim Thompson
2551 Green Valley Pkwy
Henderson, Nv. 89015
(702) 454-4636
7. Of course, I have a complete set of archives. I can mail individual
postings, make files available for UUCP, and will send tapes (1600
BPI tar; 6250 or cpio in a crunch). Last time I checked, it cost
about $3 to send a 2400' tape across the country in a padded envelope
via first-class mail.
8. Rick Adams (rick@seismo.CSS.GOV) provides archive access to those on the
Internet. Access is available directly via anonymous FTP (Outside of
9am-7pm EST M-F.) The files are in a directory mod.sources, then a
sub-directory Volume[1-7]. They are named as closely as possible to the
names in the Index. Files that have not been assigned a "short name"
reside in the directory sources/mod temporarily. Send tape, mailer,
and postage to Rick at:
Center for Seismic Studies
1300 North 17th Street, Suite 1450
Arlington, VA 22209-3871
9. Internet sites may also retrieve archives from j.cc.purdue.edu via
anonymous FTP (1800-0800 EST only, please). The archive is in the
directory mod.sources, subdivided into Volume1, etc. Each
directory will have a file named Index detailing its contents.
Chances are that the archive size will grow beyond the available
disk space; if it does, they will keep the most recent volume(s)
in the FTP directory, while storing older volumes elsewhere. A
README file will be created in the directories of misplaced volumes
with instructions on how to get at sources from those volumes.
This is being managed by Rich Kulawiec (Wombat), pucc-j!rsk,
rsk@asc.purdue.edu. People having trouble may want to try FTP'ing
to purdue-asc.arpa.
10. The CSNET CIC has been doing a fair amount of work to bring their
automated retrieval up-to-speed. They now have a complete archive,
and are making things available as quickly as possible (they have
special legal restrictions on what they can distribute, so everything
may not be available). Look in the latest issue of the CSNET Forum,
or contact postmaster@sh.cs.net.
--
--
Rich $alz "Drug test p**s me off"
Mirror Systems, Cambridge Massachusetts rs@mirror.TMC.COM
{mit-eddie, ihnp4, wjh12, cca, cbosgd, seismo}!mirror!rs