bernstei@hpuxa.ircc.ohio-state.edu (Dan Bernstein) (10/03/89)
As a pilot project, we are making available to the Internet a list of user names and electronic addresses. Please note that this project is not an official project of The Ohio State University. The list is compiled from public information only, by automatic methods. Do not mail requests to be added to the list; at this time we consider Internet security too low for an explicit add method. As of October 1, the list contains approximately ten thousand Internet names and addresses; it contains a few hundred non-Internet names and addresses, because our software isn't perfect. It uses about 450K of disk space, half that when compressed. We expect the list to double in size by December 1. We are investigating methods of expanding the list, verifying its accuracy, and removing outdated entries; for now, it is an unformatted, unreliable list with no guarantees of accuracy, suitable for manual searches. If this project proves useful and we are able to continue it, it should serve as a partial solution to the white pages problem while long-term solutions are designed. You need BSD UNIX telnet or its equivalent to obtain a copy of the list; hpuxa does not provide anonymous ftp access. Type telnet 128.146.1.5 4666 | tail +4 | compress > userlist.Z followed by a line of anything, terminated by a line feed (not carriage return). After a few minutes, depending on your network speed, telnet will finish and the compressed list will be in userlist.Z. If you interrupt telnet during this type (e.g., by typing ^]) the list will be mangled. Also, BSD telnet does not work in the background. The ``line of anything'' will be recorded here at hpuxa, along with your Internet address, for administration and to determine the popularity of the user list. You can leave no information at all, your username@host.domain and name if you want, or random garbage. This provides a convenient comment mechanism; precede your input by *** to ensure that human operators notice it. If this mechanism is abused, we will disable it. If you don't have tail or compress, just redirect the telnet output into a file. If you don't have telnet, UNIX, or an Internet connection, you cannot obtain the list from us at this time. Mail any lengthy comments to this address. If you complain about the operation of the list, make sure to suggest something better. ---Dan Bernstein, brnstnd@acf10.nyu.edu, bernstei@hpuxa.ircc.ohio-state.edu