rrobbins@NOTE.NSF.GOV ("Robert J. Robbins") (08/24/90)
------- Forwarded Message
Date: Fri, 24 Aug 90 8:22:06 EDT
Subject: Help for InfoServer
Reply-To: info@note.nsf.gov
From: NSF Info Server<info@note.nsf.gov>
To: Robert J. Robbins <rrobbins@note.nsf.gov>
Message-ID: <9008240822.ab01907@Note.NSF.GOV>
"HELP" FOR "INFO" IN THE NSF INFO SERVER
The NSF Info Server is a program that delivers information by
electronic mail. If you are on the Internet, or can send mail to
Internet sites, you access the Info Server by sending mail to:
info@note.nsf.gov
If you are on BITNET, you may address your requests to:
INFO@NSF
You do not need a subject field. The text of your message must be in a
special format, 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.
The document you are now reading can be requested by:
REQUEST: INFO
TOPIC: HELP
It is also sent automatically if there are no "request:" lines in your
message.
At the end of this file you will find a list of the REQUEST collections
currently available. For each REQUEST collection, topic "INDEX"
contains a list of the available documents.
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:
REQUEST : info
byte-limit: 22000
topic: help (Byte-limit in effect)
Request : forms
TOPIC : review (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 "postmaster@note.nsf.gov".
You are encouraged to suggest additional documents you would like
to have available from the NSF Info Server. Mail suggestions to
"postmaster@note.nsf.gov" (Internet sites), or "POSTMAST@NSF" (BITNET
sites).
NOTE to BITNET users: The info-server mails documents to the
address it finds in the "From:" field of requests. If your system
does not prepare the "From:" field in a format that the NSF
computer recognizes, you may not be able to use the info-server.
The following are valid BITNET formats that we accept:
From: user@host
From: user@host.BITNET
If your system generates other types of addresses (e.g. "user AT
host", or addresses with BITNET DOMAINS that are not registered
with the Internet nameservers), or can't send mail at all (just
files), the chances are that the info-server will not be able to
respond to your requests. If you have the ability to send to the
info-server's Internet address (info@note.nsf.gov) that may work.
====================================================================
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 Reports on Foreign Science and Technology.
Notice to INT-SCIENG Requestors
-------------------------------
Thank you for your interest in "int-scieng," the National Science
Foundation's on-line service for reports on foreign science and
technology. At this time, the service--which is administered by
NSF's Division of International Programs--is unavailable to
outside users. It is being revamped for use in an upgraded
system being developed specifically to provide outside users with
direct access to these reports. This new system, which will
incorporate many enhancements that we hope will be valuable to
our future users, will begin operation later this year. Its
availability will be widely announced in the U.S. scientific and
engineering community. Thank you for your patience.
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