I found info on how to do FTP-by-email from another source, which I will add at the end of this message. My next question is how do you do email on a GS? Steve {`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`} : : In a world without walls or fences, : Who needs Windows or Gates? : : * stingray@webzone.net * : {`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`}{`} FTP BY EMAIL ------------- FTP stands for "file transfer protocol", and is a means of accessing files that are stored on remote computer systems (sites). Files at FTP sites are typically stored in a tree-like set of directories (or nested folders for Mac fans), each of which pertains to a different subject. When visiting an FTP site using a "live" internet connection, one would specify the name of the site, login with a userid & password, navigate to the desired directory and select one or more files to be transferred back to their local system. Using FTP by email is very similar, except that the desired site is reached through a special "ftpmail server" which logs in to the remote site and returns the requested files to you in response to a set of commands in an email message. Using FTP by email can be nice even for those with full Internet access, because some popular FTP sites are heavily loaded and interactive response can be very sluggish. So it makes sense not to waste time and connect charges in these cases. To use FTP by email, you first need a list of FTP "sites" which are the addresses of the remote computer systems that allow you to retrieve files anonymously (without having a userid and password on that system). There are some popular sites listed later in this guide, but you can get a comprehensive list of hundreds of anonymous FTP sites by sending an email message to the internet address: mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu and include these lines in the BODY of the note. send usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/sitelist/part1 ... (21 lines omitted for brevity) ... send usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/sitelist/part23 You will then receive (by email) 23 files which comprise the "FTP Site List". Note that these files are each about 60K, so the whole lot will total over a megabyte! This could place a strain on your system, so first check around to see if the list is already available locally. Another file you might want to get is "FTP Frequently Asked Questions" which contains lots more info on using FTP services, so add this line to your note as well: send usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/faq After you receive the site list you'll see dozens of entries like this, which tell you the site name, location and the kind of files that are stored there. Site : oak.oakland.edu Country: USA GMT : -5 Date : 23-Jul-95 Source : old ftp-list Alias : oak; rigel.acs.oakland.edu Admin : admin@vela.acs.oakland.edu Organ : Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, Academic Computing Services Server : gopher://gopher.oakland.edu/ http://www.acs.oakland.edu/ System : Unix URL : ftp://oak.oakland.edu/ Comment: simtel mirror (of ftp.simtel.net); max. 400 users Files : BBS lists; ham radio; ka9q TCP/IP; Mac; modem protocol info; MS-DOS; MS-Windows; PC Blue; PostScript; simtel; Unix If you find an interesting FTP site in the list, send email to one of these ftpmail servers: bitftp@plearn.edu.pl (Poland) - No UUCP gateways bitftp@pucc.princeton.edu (United States) - OK UUCP gateways ftpmail@academ.com (United States) added 16Aug99 ftpmail@btoy1.rochester.ny.us (United States) ftpmail@cnd.caravan.ru (Russia - added 11Apr99) - SLOW ftpmail@dna.affrc.go.jp (Japan) ftpmail@ftp.sunet.se (Sweden) ftpmail@ftp.uni-stuttgart.de (Germany) ftpmail@garbo.uwasa.fi (Finland) NO ANSWER 04, 07Jun99 ftpmail@giswitch.sggw.waw.pl (Poland) ftpmail@mail.iif.hu (Hungary) ftpmail@mercure.umh.ac.be (Belgium) ftpmail@uar.net (Ukraine) Note: There are other restricted-use FTPMAIL servers listed at http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1236/servers.html See the "WWW By Email" section for help retrieving this file. It doesn't really matter which one you choose, but a server that is geographically close may respond quicker. (Please DON'T use the first one in the list just because it's there!) In the body of the note, include these lines: open dir quit This will return to you a list of the files stored in the root directory at that site. See the figure below for an example of the output when using "oak.oakland.edu" for the site name. +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ -rw-r--r-- 1 ftpuser ftpusers 1498680 Jun 2 03:19 Index-byname -r--r--r-- 1 ftpuser ftpusers 1386 Mar 22 1996 README -rw-r--r-- 1 ftpuser ftpusers 91042651 Feb 6 03:13 access -rw-r--r-- 1 ftpuser ftpusers 61464576 Feb 6 03:12 errors drwx--x--x 4 ftpuser ftpusers 8192 Apr 6 1998 etc lrwxrwxrwx 1 ftpuser ftpusers 7 Apr 6 1998 irc -> pub/irc drwxr-xr-x 23 ftpuser ftpusers 8192 Apr 6 1998 pub -rw-r----- 1 ftpuser ftpusers 327680 Apr 6 1998 quota.group -rw-r----- 1 ftpuser ftpusers 835584 Apr 6 1998 quota.user drwx------ 50 ftpuser ftpusers 8192 May 27 03:30 w8sdz +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ In your next email message you can navigate to other directories by inserting (for example) chdir pub (use "cd" if "chdir" doesn't work) before the "dir" command. (The "chdir" means "change directory" and "pub" is a common directory name, usually a good place to start.) Once you determine the name of a file you want to retrieve, use: get in the following note instead of the "dir" command. If the file you want to retrieve is plain text, this will suffice. If it's a binary file (an executable program, compressed file, etc.) you'll need to insert the command: binary in your note before the "get" command. Tip: Many directories at FTP sites contain a file called 00-index.txt, README, or something similarly named which gives a description of the files found there. If you're just exploring and your "dir" reveals one of these filenames, do a "get" on the file and save yourself some time. OK, let's grab the text of The Magna Carta. Here's the message you send to an ftpmail server: open ftp.cs.strath.ac.uk (The name of the FTP site) chdir local/gw (The directory where the file lives) get magna.txt (Sign here please, John) quit (Bring it on home) Here are the commands you would send to to get a file from the Simtel Software Repository that was mentioned earlier. open oak.oakland.edu (mirrored at ftp.simtel.net) cd pub/simtelnet/msdos/disasm/ binary (Because we're getting a ZIP file) get bubble.zip quit Some other interesting FTP sites you may want to "visit" are listed below. (Use these site names on the "open" command and the suggested directory name on your "chdir" command, as in the previous examples.) rtfm.mit.edu Try: pub/usenet/news.answers for USENET info ftp.simtel.net Try: pub/simtelnet a huge DOS/WIN software library gatekeeper.dec.com Try: pub/recipes for a cooking & recipe archive Remember that you can't just send email to ftpmail@, rather you send the "open " command to one of the known ftpmail servers. Notes: - The ftpmail servers tend to be quite busy. Your reply may not arrive for several minutes, hours, or days. - Some large files may be split into smaller pieces and returned to you as multiple messages. You can control this (and also override the return email address) using special ftpmail commands. - The commands are not the same on every server - send the "help" command to find out how FTPMAIL works on the server you are using! - Often the ftpmail servers keep local archives. Open the local archives by not specifying a site on the "open" line. Using the local archives gives your request priority so it will be processed before all outside requests. If the file that is returned to you ends up looking something like what you see below, (the word "begin" with a number and the filename on one line, followed by a bunch of 61-character lines) it most likely is a binary file that has been "uuencoded" by the sender. (This is required in order to reliably transmit binary files by email.) begin 666 answer2.zip M4$L#!`H`!@`.`/6H?18.$-Z$F@P```@?```,````5$5,25@S,34N5%A480I[ M!P8;!KL,2P,)!PL).PD'%@.(!@4.!P8%-@.6%PL*!@@*.P4.%00.%P4*.`4. You'll need to scrounge up a version of the "uudecode" program for your operating system (DOS, OS/2, Unix, Mac, etc.) in order to reconstruct the file. Most likely you'll find a copy already at your site or in your service provider's download library, but if not you can use the instructions in the next section to find out how to search FTP sites for a copy.