File mailbase user-card

[[e-mail]]

 
                    User Commands Reference Card      January 1993
                    ****************************

Copyright the UK Networked Information Services Project, 1993
The Computing Service, University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

This is the on-line version of the reference card - a formatted copy may be 
obtained from NISP: send your e-mail request to
                [e-mail] 

If you are not the type of person to plough through a lengthy document 
and just want to get started, this card may provide you with all the
information you need. If you require a comprehensive introduction to 
Mailbase you may retrieve the User's Guide by sending the following 
command in an e-mail message to [e-mail]

                 send mailbase user-guide

  

                      Welcome to Mailbase (TM)
                      *******************

Mailbase  is an electronic information service which allows UK 
groups to manage their own discussion topics (Mailbase lists) and 
associated files.

The Mailbase service is run as part of the JANET Networked 
Information Services Project (NISP) based at Newcastle University. 
If you are new to Mailbase you may find it useful to read through 
some other Mailbase documents. 

 
Other documents

For a list of on-line documentation about Mailbase, send  the 
following command in an e-mail message to: 
		[e-mail]

		   index mailbase

You can then use the "send" command to retrieve those documents that
interest you.


Support from Mailbase
  
"help" returns a summary of the Mailbase commands. If the "command" option
is used then a more detailed description of a particular command is given.

Example:	help review
Will return information on the command review.

If you have problems with Mailbase first look at the file of "frequently asked 
questions". To retrieve this file send the following command to
[e-mail]

		send mailbase user-faq

If you still have a problem  contact your List Owner, the address is:
 
               [e-mail]
where listname is the name of your chosen list.
 
For example to contact the List Owner for the list chest-dtp, the 
address would be: 
	       [e-mail]

If you are still need help send an e-mail message to: 
               [e-mail] 

explaining the problem - we will do our best to help.

	
                      Sending Mailbase Commands
                      *************************

This card provides a summary of the commands needed to use a 
Mailbase discussion list.

Commands should be sent as an electronic mail message to:
        	[e-mail] 

More than one command may appear in a message to Mailbase; 
They may be in any order, in UPPER, lower, or MiXeD case. 
If you normally terminate your e-mail messages with a signature, 
please use stop after the final command sent to mailbase. 
As an example, if you wish to join an open list, then depending 
upon the type of mail system your mail message should look 
similar to the following.

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|    mail message                                                            | 
|                                                                            |
|  To: 			[e-mail]                              |
|                                                                            |
|  Subject:	        test    (you may leave this blank)                   |
|      	                                                                     | 
|  Text of message:     join eng-lit Cliff Spencer			     | 
|                                                                            |
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

To check if there are any files associated with a particular list send 
an index command.

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|   mail message                                                             |
|                                                                            |
|  To: 			[e-mail]                              |
|                                                                            | 
|  Subject:	        test    (you may leave this blank)                   |
|                                                                            |
|  Text of message:	index eng-lit                                        |
|                                                                            |
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------


To contribute to a list, for example English Literature.

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
|   mail message                                                            |
|                                                                           |
|  To:		        [e-mail]                              | 
|                                                                           |
|  Subject:	        romantic poetry                                     |
|                                                                           |
|  Text of message:	A recent study has shown that...                    |
|                                                                           | 
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------


                      Quick Reference
                      ***************
Notation

Braces { and } enclose alternative items, one of which must be given.
Square brackets [ and ] enclose optional items.
A vertical bar | means or.
Items in angle brackets <> are to be replaced appropriately.

Please note that lists quoted in the examples on this card are fictitious.


                      COMMANDS
                      ******** 

find lists <word>

help   [command]
 
index  [listname]

join  <listname> <firstname> <lastname>

leave {<listname> | all}

line limit <number>
 
list me

lists [full]

resume mail  {<listname> | all }

review  <listname>
 
send  <listname> <filename>
  
statistics  [commands | lists | <listname>]

stop

suspend mail  {<listname> | all }


		USER COMMANDS
		*************

Joining and leaving a list

Use the "join" command to add your name to a Mailbase list
 
Example:		join fluid-dynamics George Stevens
Synonym:        	subscribe

You will begin to receive messages from the list(s) you have joined - if
you wish to make a contribution send your message(s) to the 
list address. You can see an example in the section Sending 
Mailbase Commands.

"Leave" will remove your name from a specified Mailbase list, or, if 
the all option is used, from all those lists where your membership 
address corresponds to your current mail address.

Example:		leave read-digest
Synonym:		unsubscribe

Use "suspend mail" to temporarily suspend mail from a specified 
list, or from every list if the all option is used. You will still remain 
a list member and may continue to receive mail by issuing a 
resume mail command.

Example:	suspend mail cti-humgrad

"resume mail" will restore mail from a chosen list, or from all 
(joined) lists if the all option is used.

Example:	resume mail cti-humgrad


Checking your membership

"list me" shows which lists you are member of, and whether you are 
a List Owner or Moderator.

Synonym:	listme


Retrieving files

Use the "index" command to obtain a record of those lists which 
have related files. If you include a listname then the names of files 
specific to that list are returned.

Example:	index romantic-poets

send retrieves files via electronic mail (see index command). Large 
files are automatically broken down into several messages each 
1000 lines long.

Example:	send mac-users dtp-review
Synonym:	get, send me

You may set your own file size, up to a maximum of 5,000 lines,  
by using the "line limit" command. If required it should precede a 
send command. The minimum line limit value is 1000.

Example:	line limit 2000
Synonym:	line-limit


Anonymous FTP

Public files on Mailbase may be retrieved using the anonymous FTP service.
	
	* Use your local FTP service to connect to mailbase.ac.uk
        * Login as "anonymous"
	* Files for a list are in /pub/listname. For example the files  
	  for the nisp list are in the directory /pub/nisp
	* Mailbase documents are in the directory /pub/mailbase

Contact your local system administrator for details of FTP at your site.


List information

"lists" returns a list of all the current Mailbase lists. The full option 
adds short descriptions provided by List Owners.

Example:	lists full

Use find lists" to search Mailbase for lists which have descriptions 
matching your subject area.

Example:	find lists medical 

Use review to obtain details of the members of a Mailbase list, and 
a brief description of the purpose of that list.

Example:	review lib-cdroms 


Mailbase statistics

Use "statistics" to obtain data on a specific Mailbase list if the 
listname option is given, or on all lists if the lists option is chosen. 
With the commands option, statistics on Mailbase commands are 
shown. If no options are given, statistics on both commands and 
lists are returned.

Example:	statistics eng-lit

===============================================================================
                                                             (cs Jan 1993)