Last-Modified: 1993/04/29
Version: 2.4.2


                           Anonymous FTP List
                    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)


This FAQ is posted monthly, to Usenet:

	comp.archives.admin
	comp.misc
	comp.sources.wanted
	alt.sources.wanted
	news.answers

Suggestions for changes and comments are always welcome. 

** Updated News:
---> The address for information requests and listing changes has 
changed. The old address will function until 31 Dec 1993. To make
things more coherent the new address will be ftp-list@netcom.com.

---> An automated mail server has been setup that will take entry
changes, send back listings, and query the database about known site
information: ftp-serv@netcom.com (leave the Subject field blank).

---> IP addresses are no longer being listed; they are too unstable.
ISO region codes have been replaced with full country names or an
appropriate abbreviation (ie. USA, UK).

	Anonymous FTP mail: 	ftp-list@netcom.com
	AnonFTP Request Server: ftp-serv@netcom.com

Copyright 1993, Tom Czarnik -- Text may be quoted without permission, 
however please advise me of the target publication. Free distribution.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I keep a directory of Internet sites accepting anonymous FTP and mail 
retrieval of their files. Two listings are posted to the Usenet, on a
monthly basis. You can find them in the following Usenet newsgroups:

	comp.sources.wanted 	alt.sources.wanted
	news.answers		comp.misc

Topics are shown below and with their respective answers.
Format: (#Q) for a question and (#A) for the answer.

	(1)  What types of lists are available?
	(2)  What is the most current version?
	(3)  How do I read the ISO date? 
	(4)  Retrieving the listings via email.
	(5)  Retrieving the raw database.
	(6)  Using FTP without direct Internet access.
	(7)  Getting help when you have problems with a site.
	(8)  Getting a site listed or changes made.
	(9)  What is Archie and how does it relate to the list?
	(10) Using Gopher to access archives. **(Under Construction)
	(11) What is and how do I use the FTP program?



(1Q) What types of lists are available?

(1A) SITES - comphrensive information

	o Site name			o Date of last modification
	o Country			o GMT/UT difference
	o Admin address			o Organization
	o Email Server			o Comments
	o Types of Files

     FILES - grepable

	o Site name			o Date of last modifocation
	o Country			o UT/GMT difference
	o Types of files


(2Q) What is the most current version?

(2A)	1) Finger profile@netcom.com.
	2) Send mail to ftp-serv@netcom.com, put VER in Subject field.
	3) FTP to ftp.netcom.com and list the directory. You will find
	   a version file: v????_??-??-?? (version_date).


(3Q) How do I read the ISO date?

(3A) The format is Year/Month/Day (1991/12/30 is 30 December 1991) and 
a leading zero is required if the month or day is a single digit. Our
dates only use the most significant 2-digits for the year.


(4Q) Retrieving the list from alternate sources.

(4A) 
	1) Send mail to ftp-serv@netcom.com and in the Subject field
	   put 'SEND <listing>'. Replace the '<listing>' with either
	   FAQ, FILES or SITES. The Files and Sites listings are
	   compressed/UUencoded files up to 65k in size.

	2) If you need the listings in another format, I will mail them.
	   Send me mail: ftp-list@netcom.com. State how you need it sent
	   and I'll get to it ASAP.

	3) It is available from various FTP sites which archive the
	   Usenet group NEWS.ANSWERS, in the directory 'ftp-list'.

	4) Pick it up from anonymous FTP archives; look for 'ftp-list'
	   in either the Sites or Files list. Be warned, many sites
	   carry John Granrose's old FTP listing (pre-Jan 1992) and this
	   file is outdated.

	* N. America - ftp.netcom.com	/pub/profile/ftp-list [HOME]
	* N. America - ftp.uwp.edu  	/pub/ftp.list/ftp-list
	  Europe - nic.switch.ch	/mirror/ftp-list
	  Europe - ftp.denet.dk		/pub/misc/ftp-list
	  Europe - garbo.uwasa.fi	as /pc/doc-net/ftp-list.zip
	    [ contains FAQ, Files, & Sites in PKZip 2.x archive ]


(5Q) Retrieving the raw database.

(5A) A raw database is available for importing into your own database
programs or anything else you want to do with it. It uses tab-seperated
records. This file can be found at any of the above archives denoted with
an asterik.


(6Q) Using FTP without direct Internet access.

(6A) It is possible to get files from a site by using a general mail
server; many sites have their own servers. If you're on BITNET, ask
your sysadmin or technical support group about PUCC.

For non-BITNET sites, try using DEC's mail server. Send mail to
ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com  with 'help' in the body of the letter. You
CANNOT send a blank letter, commands are not optional.

NOTE:	Please make sure your system admin has approved the the use of
 	a mail server, as files can take system resources of not only 
	your site, but several sites up the stream.


(7Q) Problems with a site.

(7A) Mail the problems to the admin address shown in the Sites list.
If an address is not shown, attempt to use 'ftp@site_name'; replace
'site_name' with the name of the troublesome site. If that fails, post
a note to comp.archives.admin (the newsgroup for archive administrators).


(8Q) Getting a site listed or changes made.

(8A) Send mail to ftp-serv@netcom.com with ADD, DEL, or UPDATE in the
Subject field. Include the information stated below, in the body of the
letter. It doesn't have to be in a certain format. Or you can send it to
ftp-list@netcom.com.

You can query the server to fetch the known site information. Managers can
use this to make sure updates are recorded correctly. In the Subject field
of the letter, put the site name (only 1 allowed per query).

	o Site name (and aliases you wanted listed).
	o Manager(s) full name & email address(es); this is NOT made
	  public and used for confirmations only.
 	o Administrative address used for FTP related issues by the
	  general public.
	o Site's country of operations.
	o Organization operating site.
	o UT/GMT difference (include DST if appropriate).
	o Comments (if any)
	o Is an E-mail server available and how can help be retrieved?
	o General description of the types of files available.


(9Q) What is Archie and how does it relate to the list?

(9A) Archie is a special server that keeps file listings from different
FTP sites. You can Telnet to a server or use a client program to search
for specific files.
      
Here are some sites; send mail to 'archie@site_name' for a help file.

	archie.ans.net		(North America)
	archie.sura.net		(North America)
	archie.unl.edu		(North America)
	archie.rutgers.edu	(North America)
	archie.funet.fi		(Finland/Mainland Europe)
	archie.au		(Australia/New Zealand)
	archie.doc.ic.ac.uk	(Great Britain/Ireland)
	archie.ncu.edu.tw	(Taiwan)
	archie.cs.huji.ac.il	(Israel) - OFFLINE
	archie.wide.ad.jp	(Japan) - accepts client requests only


(10Q) Using Gopher to access archives.

(10A) ** Under Construction **


(11Q) What is and how do I use the FTP program?

(11A) For novices to the Internet, I highly recommend a recent book,
'The Whole Internet User's Guide and Catalog' by Ed Krol. It is wriiten
clearly and contains an enormous amount of information. Read it cover to
cover, and keep it close at hand. Published by O'Reilly & Asscociates, it
is available from many computer bookstores or O'Reilly's worldwide
distributors. Contact the publisher at +1 707-829-0515 (USA).


The information below was originally maintained by John Granrose (the 
old maintainer of the listings). Mike Jones added the info about the 
existence and location of the compression data chart maintained by David 
Lemson. I added some, too little to be thanked or hated for its content.

                                  By:
      
                  	    John  Granrose
			      Mike Jones
			     Tom  Czarnik


      This is not a definitive guide to FTP, but will give a novice a
      general idea of what it is and how to do it.


                              What is FTP?

      FTP (File Transfer Protocol) allows a person to transfer files  
      between two computers, generally connected via the Internet. If 
      your system has FTP and is connected to  the Internet, you can 
      access very large amounts of archives available on a number of 
      systems. If you are on Bitnet or a UUCP host, you should look for
      servers that work through the mail. A good source of information
      on archives in general, is the Usenet newsgroup comp.archives.


                         What is Anonymous FTP?

      Many systems throughout the Internet offer files through anonymous   
      FTP. These include software, documents of various sorts, and files  
      for configuring networks. Archives for electronic mailing lists are
      often stored on and available through anonymous FTP. Note that all 
      this is subject to change.


                                Commands

      All the normal FTP commands may be used to retrieve files. Some FTP
      commands are the same on different computers, but others are not.
      Usually, FTP will list the commands if you type 'help' or type a
      question mark (?). Also, your computer's help command may have
      information about FTP. Try 'man ftp'  or   'man ftpd'.

      Some useful commands available on most systems include:

        get     copy a file from the remote computer to yours
        ls/dir  list the files in the current directory
        cd      Change directory
        binary  Switch to binary mode. For transferring binary files
        ascii   Switch to ascii mode. Ascii mode is the default mode


                               Procedure

      Anonymous FTP is a facility offered by many machines on the Internet.
      This permits you to log in with the user name 'anonymous' or the
      user name 'ftp'. When prompted for a password, type your e-mail
      address -- it's not necessary, but it's a courtesy for those sites
      that like to know who is making use of their facility. Be courteous.

      You can then look around and retrieve files. (Most anonymous ftp
      sites do not permit people to store files)

      Typically, a directory called 'pub' is where the interesting things
      are stored. Some sites will have a file with a name like ls-lR,
      that contains a complete list of the files on that site. Otherwise,
      you can type ls -lR and get such a listing -- for some sites, this
      can take a LONG time.

      Usually, files are grouped in archive files, so you don't have to
      get many small files separately. The most common archival file format
      for the Internet is tar. Occasionally, people use shell archives
      (shar) instead. Tar archives can be unpacked by running the 'tar'
      command -- you may want to first do a 'tar t' on the file to see what
      it contains before unpacking it. Be careful when unpacking shell
      archives since they have to be run through the Bourne shell to unpack
      them. (The simplest way is to use the unshar command)

      Files are often stored compressed -- for Unix, the most common scheme
      is the compress program, indicated by a .Z suffix on the file name.
      Sometimes, people use programs like Arc or Zoo, which are combined
      archival and compression formats. (There are probably other archival
      formats as well - talk to the systems staff if you encounter them and
      don't know how to deal with them)

      When retrieving non-text files, you must use binary mode, otherwise
      the file gets messed up. To do this, use the 'binary' command. (It's
      safe to set this for text files. If the site at the other end is
      non-Unix, you may need to use some other mode -- see the documents
      for that site and for FTP)

      The simplest way to initiate FTP would be to give the command 'ftp
      <system-name>'. The  <system-name>  is the remote system you are
      connecting to, either a name (wsmr-simtel20.army.mil, if you have
      an entry in /etc/hosts or are accessing a Domain Name Server) or 
      the Internet address (192.88.110.20  for Simtel20). After a short
      wait, you will be prompted for your username. If you do not have
      an account on the remote system, some systems allow you to use
      'anonymous'. This gives you a restricted access path.

      You would then be prompted for a password. Some systems will tell
      you to send your real identity as the password. What you type doesn't
      matter, but it is suggested to give your mail address. Other systems
      need a password of 'guest', or something similar.

      After that, you should receive the FTP prompt ( usually ftp> ) and
      have access. You can get a directory of files be giving a 'dir'
      command or if the remote system is Unix-based, 'ls -l' will give
      the familiar output. On Simtel20, there is a file available in the
      default anonymous ftp directory that explains what Simtel20 is and
      where files are located. The name is 'SIMTEL-ARCHIVES.INFO.nn, where
      ".nn" is a file generation number. You don't need to specify the file
      generation number when requesting the file. In fact, it's better not
      to because you will always get the latest generation that way.

      Unix systems will all have the familiar directory structure, and
      moving around is done with the familiar 'cd' or  'cwd' command.
      TOPS-20 systems have a different structure, but movement is still
      accomplished with the 'cd' command.

      Different systems have different organizations for their files, and
      the above example is the way most archives have it set up. By looking
      around other systems, you can learn how their files are arranged and 
      move around much faster. Note, however, that FTP will not allow you 
      outside the FTP 'root' directory. Moving about the entire system is 
      not permitted.

      These are the common Unix file types:

	SUFFIX      FTP TYPE
	------      --------
	.Z           bin     compress
        .arc         bin     ARChive
        .shar        ascii   SHell ARchive
        .tar         bin     Tape ARchive
        .uu          ascii   uuencode/uudecode
        .zip         bin     Zip
        .zoo         bin     Zoo
	.z	     bin     GNU Zip (not compatible with Zip)

      To get a list of all file compression/archiving methods and the
      programs to uncompress/unarchive (on the PC, Mac, Unix, VM/CMS, 
      AtariST and Amiga systems), FTP to the following sites and 
      retrieve the listed file:

          ftp.cso.uiuc.edu	/doc/pcnet/compression
          ftp.netcom.com 	/pub/profile/compression.Z
	  nic.switch.ch		/mirror/ftp-list/compression.Z
	    (make sure to set the binary mode with 'bin')

      This could be helpful to people new to FTP that don't know how 
      to unpackage the file they have just transferred. 
      
