MaasInfo net-indexes&documents, what they are, where to find them
Robert E. Maas, author of the MaasInfo toplevel-indexes
The files described later can be found at these two anonymous-FTP sites:
Taiwan (host problems to h...@NCTUCCCA.edu.tw, file problems to r...@BTR.Com):
ftp NCTUCCCA.edu.tw Documents/Internet/MaasInfo/MaasInfo.*
Europe - Continental (problems to postm...@leon.nrcps.ariadne-t.gr or
X.400: c=gr;prmd=ariadne-t;o=ariadne-t;ou=isosun;s=postmaster):
ftp leon.nrcps.ariadne-t.gr pub/maas_info/MaasInfo.*
(MaasInfo sites in USA & Australia & UK don't have the latest version
of MaasInfo files yet, so please use only the above two sites. Use
FTPMAIL or BITFTP if you don't have direct FTP service.)
MaasInfo.Files = annotated directory of most recent public versions of
MaasInfo.* files, last edited 1994.Jan.30 -- Contact the author, Robert
Elton Maas <r...@BTR.Com>, if you're curious about newer in-edit draft
versions that might be specially available) -- Note that most of these
files are published as "trivial shareware". If they are worth more than
a dollar to you, please do some nice favor of comparable value in
return, such as supplying answers to SQWAs (see below), or helping the
author find paying employment. See MaasInfo.TopIndex for details of
"trivial shareware" policy.
%% Files directly relating to InterNet and the connected networks
MaasInfo.TopIndex is the "Index of Indexes", also called the "Toplevel
meta-index to the Internet", an InterNet-online file pointing at all
the major generally-useful net-related indexes that are available by
anonymous FTP or by e-mail fileserver on InterNet or BitNet. These
indexes then point at all the known interest groups, archive sites,
special services such as library catalogs file-finding and
FTP-via-email, and some major tutorial documentation that are located
on InterNet BitNet or UseNet. MaasInfo.TopIndex also points at the
other attempts at meta-indexes, namely the InterNet Resource Guide, the
"Catalog of Catalogs" (TopNode), and the AARNET Resource guide.
MaasInfo.TopIndex does NOT point directly at any hardcopy-only
documents such as published books, even of those books are in fact
indexes, but it points to some online bibliographies that in turn point
to such hardcopy-only documents. (The current "pre-penultimate" public
version is 0.21, dated 1993.Dec.31, 87k bytes. I'm currently working on
it further, towards a "penultimate" version soon. Contact me if you
want to view the in-edit "penultimate" version before public release.)
MaasInfo.DocIndex is one of those indexes. It points at various
important documents and tutorials that are helpful when trying to use
the InterNet (including BitNet and UseNet). (The current
"pre-penultimate" public version is dated 1994.Jan.15, 67k bytes. I'm
currently working on it further, towards a "penultimate" version soon.
Contact me if you want to view the in-edit "penultimate" version before
public release.)
MaasInfo.HowNet is one of those documents, consisting of brief
tutorials on using various network services that don't seem to be
documented anywhere else readily accessible or don't warrant more than
a paragraph each for just getting started. (The current
"pre-penultimate" version is dated 1994.Jan.30, 32k bytes.)
MaasInfo.NNTP tells how to Telnet to NNTP servers and issue commands
manually if you don't have regular UseNet newsgroup service and can't
install it on your host. (The current version is dated 1993.Dec.11, 23k
bytes)
MaasInfo.Archie tells how to get started using Archie to find files if
you know their names and suspect they are available somewhere on the
InterNet. There are several other Archie documents but this one may be
best for just quickly getting started efficiently. (The current version
is dated 1994.Jan.16, 12k bytes.) See MaasInfo.DocIndex for pointers to
other tutorials and documents about how to use Archie.
MaasInfo.FailNet (new file in 1993) shows case histories of tracking
down valid e-mail addresses after the e-mail to the posted return
address (from a UseNet/NetNews article usually) bounced. No personal
information about the intended recipient is assumed, other than the
topic of conversation or name of interest group posted to. (The current
version is dated 1993.Dec.15, 56k bytes) See MaasInfo.DocIndex for
pointers to other tutorials about finding e-mail address from different
starting points, such as having personal information about the intended
recipient.
%% Special file, information I seek in return for using above files
MaasInfo.SQWA (Specific Questions Waiting for Answers) is a list of
questions to which Robert Maas has been wanting answers for nearly 20
years, plus some newer questions. (The current version is dated
1993.Apr.02, 22k bytes.) Special request, last updated 1993.Dec.13:
I've been unemployed 2.2 years, have wife & two little children (ages
3.7 and 1.9) to support, am deep in debt already and urgently need
employment. Please help me find employment near Mountain View,
California. I have a possible job lined up but it's not yet definite.
My general resume and several specialized resumes are available by
e-mail. Update 1994.Jan.29: Even though I've been paying the rent (on
AFDC plus borrowed money), we're being evicted 30 days from now. HELP!!
%% File telling where to find the MaasInfo files via FTP and fileserver
MaasInfo.FetchPub (formerly part of MaasInfo.TopIndex, then pulled out
1993.Oct.09) tells where to find the latest public edition of the
MaasInfo files.
%% Other files I have available not directly related to the networks
MaasInfo.MacTexEd is a report on various ASCII-text editors that are
available for the Macintosh, mostly freeware and shareware, evaluating
them and comparing their features. (Version of 1992.Jun.22, 10k bytes,
available from author by e-mail, not posted on any public archive yet.)
%% End of MaasInfo.Files