DAYTON MICROCOMPUTER ASSOCIATION (DMA) New Unix Users Answers To Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) V1.3 (replaces unxfaq12.txt) 1. SCOPE ******************** This document is intended to cover a multitude of questions which arise when a new user attempts to use the Unix system available through the Dayton Microcomputer Association (DMA). It is expected that the reader has an understanding of basic computer concepts (files, directories, E-Mail) but may not have been exposed to Unix systems or Internet/Usenet. Since it is impossible, in this form, to answer all possible questions, the attempt has been made instead to provide enough details and references that a new user can get started, and that he be able to use available resources to find the answers he desires. This FAQ is not an _official_ publication of the Dayton Microcomputer Association, Inc. 2. CONTENTS ******************** 1. SCOPE .................. Page 1 2. CONTENTS ................ Page 1 3. OBTAINING THIS FAQ ........... Page 1 4. DMA ACCESS ACCOUNTS ........... Page 2 5. LOGGING ON: General Information. .... Page 2 6. LOGGING ON: Unix System. ........ Page 3 7. M.SH MENU: Menu Use. .......... Page 5 8. UNIX COMMANDS: System Use. ....... Page 5 9. EMAIL: Using "elm". .......... Page 8 10. EMAIL: Using "mail". .......... Page 9 11. EMAIL: Using "pine". .......... Page 9 12. TEXT EDITOR: Setting The Default. ... Page 9 13. TEXT EDITOR: "vi". ........... Page 10 14. TEXT EDITOR: "pico". .......... Page 12 15. READING NEWSGROUPS: Using "tin". .... Page 14 16. ADDRESSES: Access and E-Mail ...... Page 15 17. FILE TRANSFERS ............. Page 16 18. UNIX - Hints and Helps. ......... Page 17 19. INTERNET/USENET - Hints and Helps. ... Page 18 20. INTERNET/WWW - Hints and Helps. ..... Page 20 21. IN CASE OF TROUBLE ........... Page 21 22. CREDITS ................. Page 21 23. REVISIONS ................ Page 22 3. OBTAINING THIS FAQ ******************** Page 2 Stan Rohrer makes this FAQ available by WWW access somewhere under "http://www.dma.org/~rohrers". It may also be copied to the FAQ And MAN area identified by the m.sh menu. 4. DMA ACCESS ACCOUNTS ******************** The Dayton Microcomputer Association (DMA) provides a number of access levels. A completed membership application is required before access is granted. Forms are available by calling the DMA, via the Web site at , or are generally available from the DataBus newsletter received by DMA members. The access levels are briefly described here as they exist at the time of this edit. For full details and current descriptions give the public level access a try and look for current details (or contact one of the contacts provided in the "ADDRESSES" section below). PUBLIC LEVEL. Provides free E-Mail and read-only access to Usenet. Available to the general public. MEMBERSHIP LEVEL. Has all of the above access plus full Usenet access (reading & posting), file upload and download services and space, 24 hour Unix Shell Access. No connect time charges. Access is free with a current valid DMA membership. ENHANCED LEVEL. Has all of the above plus Internet connectivity via network tools such as Telnet, FTP, Archie, Wais, Gopher, and Lynx on a 24 hour basis. This is all text based access only via your modem program (ProComm or such). DMA membership is required and additional costs are also required to access at this level. RCInet LEVEL. Not actually provided by the DMA, however DMA Membership will be useful for a significant discount. Call RCInet at 223-4144 (voice) for details. They can provide a full IP access account which will run clients from your PC such as Netscape, Mosaic, FTP, Telnet, and such. 5. LOGGING ON: General Information. ******************** Before logging on make sure that your communications software's line settings are set for No Parity, Eight Data Bits, and One Stop Bit. Further, it is best that your terminal emulation is set for VT-100. ANSI may work, but VT-100 is preferred. If you are in doubt as how to check and change the settings on your machine, just try to dial in Page 3 as it is. It's been seen that a Macintosh, a modem, and a communications program, all fresh out of the box and thrown together, have connected on the first try. If you're that lucky, you should endeavor to learn what your equipment's present settings happen to be, and make note of same. If this is your first time logging in, it may be wise to have your communication software's log open, as there may be some special messages for new users. With all that in order you are ready to dial in. Do so. A multitude of telephone lines are available on a roll-over basis. They include 28.8K and 14.4K baud lines and will be served with the highest speed available line at the time the call is received. The top number of the group is: (937) 222-4638 (222-INET) If you run into a modem that doesn't answer, other numbers into the system are (all start with 222- ): 4638, 7391, 2010, 2753, 2741, 2756, 2776, 2788, 2793, 2797, 2749, 2789, 2648, 2635. If you get an answering machine, all modem lines are busy and the roll-over hit the answering machine. Note that access via the Internet is also possible via a Telnet session instead of the above modem connection. Provide your Telnet client with the connect address "dmapub.dma.org". 6. LOGGING ON: Unix System. ******************** You must have completed an application and received a login name and password which has been assigned by a DMA system administrator to access the Unix system. Upon making a phone connection, wait for the login message to display and scroll up, ultimately asking you for your userid with the prompt "login:". (This may take a while. If after 10 or so seconds you haven't seen the message, press . You may have to repeat pressing after a couple more seconds.) At the prompt, type in your userid (---> In lower case. Almost everything in Unix is to be put into lower case <---). Then press enter (return). You will next be prompted for your password. Enter it as you did your userid. You will not see the password echoed. Note here that, if you make any errors in the above entry, do not bother to make corrections. They will not be recognized. Just carriage return through and wait for a new Page 4 "login:" prompt. If you were successful some more messages will scroll by and you will be presented with the following message. "you have mail" "What terminal (emulation) are you using? (vt100 is the default)" Note you probably won't have the mail message if you are a new user. You likely will see some additional banners and information concerning club events and local news during the login process. A space bar or key may be used to advance these messages if they stop for your reading. The line, _What terminal_, seems to be asking for some specific input. Don't worry, it isn't. Just take it as a reminder that you should have your terminal emulation set correctly. We'll cover what to do if you can't emulate VT-100, or even ANSI, in a short while. For now just press and very shortly you may be presented with the following Unix prompt, or something very similar. 2 dmapub:/home/userid Most new users bypass the Unix prompt and are directly taken to a menu screen named _m.sh_. For users who wish to use a minimum of Unix commands, use "m.sh" for a shell program which is menu oriented. It is fairly straight forward so I will not describe further details here. Otherwise, you may wish to check out some basic Unix in the following section. You now control part of a Unix machine and can use a number of Unix commands to get some things done (in the Unix shell mode) or use the menu items (in the m.sh menu mode). If all you see is a dollar sign, don't worry, you just have a slightly different shell setting, on the system, and you can continue on just the same. Later, you can leave a message to "root" (the system administrator), or the person who set up your login account, requesting that you get into the "k shell". If you need to enter a different type of terminal emulation, it can be done in the Unix shell (not menu) mode. Here you will use capitals. Type "TERM = ". Don't type the quote marks or <> symbols. That should do it. You can now read and send mail to just about anywhere in the world. That mail can be letters or files. You can also read and respond to articles in the newsgroups, create and read files, change directories, determine who else has an account on our system, find out who's been on-line recently, and, if they still are, communicate directly with Page 5 them. To exit a Unix system, return to the Unix prompt and type the CTRL-D character. On a PC this is done by pressing and holding the key while depressing the key. 7. M.SH MENU: Menu Use. ******************** Most people who don't have extensive Unix experience will prefer to use the _m.sh_ menu program. Most E-Mail, Newsgroup, and other system user functions can be accessed via the menu structure. Through this menu most of the default settings for your login account can also be set. Since the operation is fairly straight forward we will not spend additional time discussing it here. You will note that some features of the m.sh menu are disabled based on your level of system access. Some of the following text in this FAQ may or may not apply depending on which options you choose and whether or not you are using the menu program _m.sh_. 8. UNIX COMMANDS: System Use. ******************** Unix is similar to dealing with a DOS system but many of the commands are of different syntax. Following are a few commonly used commands. "cat filename" or "cat filename(s)|more" to display a file. "cat" is really intended to concatenate files. See its "man" pages. "cd" to change back to your home (login) directory. "cd pathname" to change to another directory. Unix uses forward slashes unlike DOS (i.e. "cd /tmp" is a directory containing Unix temporary files, "cd tmp" goes to a directory under the current directory assuming one exists). Note that Unix file names and pathnames use a forward slash as opposed to a back slash you may be familier with in DOS systems. "cp ExistingFile NewFile" for copy. _ck-size_ Check and report the file storage use. Typically Page 6 done at the login directory to see if your account is using file space approaching the limits for the account. "date" gives you the system date and real time. "elm" more about this mail utility later in a separate section. "exit" or ^d (control-d) to log off. <-- KEEP THIS IN MIND <---- "finger" find out who is logged on. "finger userid" gives information about that user. This command can do a lot more too. See note on "man" pages below. "info" similar to "man" but covers the GNU utilities. This is a hypertext type of index. You may use arrow keys to get to the topic of choice and then hit the enter key. "last" or "last|more" lists the past logins, latest first. "ls" or "ls -l" or "ls -la" to list a directory's contents. "login" with no arguments will also log off. "login userid" will do a login sequence just like calling in. "m.sh" to invoke the "M" shell menu which will help the non-Unix user navigate the Unix system. Great for the new folks! "M" shell has been created just for the DMA Unix system. "mail" to read mail. You may prefer "elm". "mail userid" or "mail userid " whatever is typed becomes a part of the text in the file. "" puts you back into command mode. Use it anytime you are not sure what mode your in and you will always go back to command mode. In the Command Mode - Cursor Movements: "j" or moves cursor down. "k" or moves cursor up. "h" or moves cursor left. "l" or moves cursor right. ^d or ^f moves down/forward / screen. ^u or ^b moves up/back / screen. "w" or "W" moves to next word (W ignores punctuation). "b" or "B" moves to previous word (B ignores punctuation). "^" (caret) moves to first non-blank character of current line. "$" moves to last character in current line. "nG" moves to line #n. "G$" moves to last character in file. "/text" searches forward for next text. "?text" searches backwards for previous text. In Command Mode - Text Control: "r" to replace letter under cursor. "x" to delete letter under cursor. "R" typeover mode. "dd" to delete line at cursor. "#dd" i.e. "4dd" deletes current line plus next 3. "dw" to delete word right of cursor. "#dw" i.e "4dw" deletes current word plus 3 more. "D" to delete from cursor to end of line. "u" to undo last command. <-- A REAL LIFE SAVER! In Command Mode - Miscellaneous Page 12 ^l clear and redraw screen "J" join next line to end of current line. (Insert a [enter/return] to split a line. ":n,mw filename" write line n through m to file. Omitting the file name overwrites the source file (gone forever)!!!! "nyy" or "Ny" yank (copy) n lines into buffer. If n is omitted only the current line is yanked. Useful for copy and move. "p" put yanked or deleted text from buffer after the cursor. "P" put yanked or deleted text from buffer before the cursor. Note that deleted text comes from "x", "dd", "dw" or "D" and thus allows block copy and move. In Command Mode - Exiting vi (Last Line Commands begin with a colon) "ZZ" in command mode, to exit and save file. (use caps) If you're in elm you'll get another menu regarding sending mail. ":q!" quits without saving or sending. ":r" read currently named file into current file. ":r filename" read named file into current file. ":w" write file to currently named file. ":w filename" write to named file. A couple of examples of a range of lines have been shown above. There are a number of ways to specify ranges for many of the commands. Line 1 through 7 would be specified "1,7", line 3 through the current is "3,.", the current line through the end of the document is ".,$". Searches can also be used for range specifications as in "/starttext/,/endtext/". 14. TEXT EDITOR: "pico". ******************** This author finds the Unix "vi" text editor very cumbersome though users may not be able to get completely away from it. Try "pico" ("man pico" for more information). pico also has help as an internal function (copied here). Pico is designed to be a simple, easy-to-use text editor with a layout very similar to the pine mailer. The status line at the top of the display shows pico's version, the current file being edited and whether or not there are Page 13 outstanding modifications that have not been saved. The third line from the bottom is used to report informational messages and for additional command input. The bottom two lines list the available editing commands. Each character typed is automatically inserted into the buffer at the current cursor position. Editing commands and cursor movement (besides arrow keys) are given to pico by typing special control-key sequences. A caret, '^', is used to denote the control key, sometimes marked "CTRL", so the CTRL-q key combination is written as ^Q. The following functions are available in pico (where applicable, corresponding function key commands are in parentheses). ^G (F1) Display this help text. ^F move Forward a character (try arrow keys too). ^B move Backward a character. ^P move to the Previous line. ^N move to the Next line. ^A move to the beginning of the current line. ^E move to the End of the current line. ^V (F8) move forward a page of text. ^Y (F7) move backward a page of text. ^W (F6) Search for (where is) text, neglecting case. ^L Refresh the display. ^D Delete the character at the cursor position. ^K (F9) Delete (kill) the entire line at the cursor position. ^Y Prev Pg ^D Delete the character at the cursor position. ^K (F9) Delete (kill) the entire line at the cursor position. Note: consecutive deletes appended lines to a buffer which subsequent undeletes will write at the current cursor position. ^U (F10) Undelete last deleted line[s] at cursor position. ^I Insert a tab at the current cursor position. ^J (F4) Format (justify) the current paragraph. Note: paragraphs delimited by blank lines or indentation. ^T (F12) To invoke the spelling checker (does not supply possible spellings - if you are using elm use the spelling checker from elm after exiting the editor). ^C (F11) Report current cursor position. ^R (F5) Insert an external file at the current cursor position. ^O (F3) Output the current buffer to a file, saving it. ^X (F2) Exit pico, saving buffer. Page 14 15. READING NEWSGROUPS: Using "tin". ******************** Unix "tin" is usable for reading Usenet Newsgroups. Some users prefer "tin" over "rn" because "tin" groups messages of a common topic together (called threads). To invoke the newsgroup reader enter "tin". You will then be presented with the beginning of the list of newsgroups. You can find particular topics by searching with the "/" command. You then will enter your topic or search string such as: newuser, answers, cray, modem, cd-rom, pottery, bicycle, vw, test, or whatever. If it's there tin will find it. Keep in mind that the newsgroups order, and numbering may be different for each user. The details of this ordering are kept in a hidden file, the ".newsrc" file, in your home directory. That file can be altered using an editor, but coverage of such operations are beyond the scope of this text. At newsgroup level you will also want to learn about commands subscribe and unsubscribe to create a list of newsgroups in which you are normally interested. The yank command can then be used to narrow the displayed listing to your subscribed newsgroups. To enter the highlighted newsgroup press "enter". The newsgroups are arranged in topic threads. To move down through the pages use the space bar. To move up through use the "b" key. To go up or down one thread at a time use the "k" or "j" key, respectively (or try the keyboard arrow keys). To enter and start reading a topic press "enter", and use the space bar to page down through the text and articles. "b" brings you back up. If there are several articles in a thread, you can select the article by number. To move back to the thread listing type "q" and likewise to move to the newsgroup listing. "q" exits tin. When reading an article, you can reply in several ways. Check the menu at the page bottom. "f" starts the vi (default) editor so you can create a message that will be posted in that thread. "r" sends your reply only to the poster of the article by way of E-Mail. You can use "w" to start a post thread of your own. In this case you need to edit the header line "Distribution: local" to something like ohio, usa, na (for North America), or world. When doing this consider who you want to reach and who you don't. (NOTE: You must change the distribution to something other than "local" if you want the message to leave the DMA system). Upon exiting the editor the posting menu will be self explanatory. When reading articles, they can be saved to your file by typing "s". You will be prompted as to whether you want just that article or the whole thread, then you will be Page 15 prompted for a file name. This file will be stored in the your "News" directory. You can read it later, or better yet, download it to your computer (see the File Transfers section herein). Even though it is not shown in any of the menus, "h" is context sensitive help for commands - even for commands which are not in the menu. See the Internet/Usenet section below for more tips on newsgroups. If you would like the distribution default to be something other than "local", add this line to your .profile file: DISTRIBUTION=world 16. ADDRESSES: Access and E-Mail ******************** Email and newsgroups use addresses to identify users. Our address, worldwide, starts with your userid, adds our addressing information, and goes like this _userid@dma.org_ or "userid@dmapub.dma.org" (i.e. _smithj@dma.org_ or "smithj@dmapub.dma.org"). Your userid on the Unix system is the name you use at the "login:" prompt. Keep in mind that the Unix system uses the "@" symbol as a kill character or some such thing. It may be necessary to first type "\" in order to tell the system to take the next character as a literal, and then type the "@". In other words, if the address gets erased during typing, try typing "userid\@dma.org" to get the previously shown address to work. See the section UNIX HINTS AND TIPS to modify the use of the "@" symbol. "sysop" is not generally a legal email name on Unix systems. "root" is the highest level Unix system administrator though the administrators may not often enter the system at that account. Some systems have an "adm" or admin". If you don't know who to send mail to concerning DMA system operation try posing a question to the administrator who set up your account, or to "root", or better yet, one of the administrator addresses shown below. It's a good idea to see if that user has had any recent activity before sending email by using the command "finger userid". Obviously if your selected user has not been on the system for months it's not likely that you will get an answer in the next days. Many systems on Internet/Usenet also have a "postmaster" which handles mail and mail routing ("who do I ask about...") questions. Better than all of these, for questions concerning the DMA systems, use one of the "local only" or "DMA" newsgroups and address your question to Page 16 "all". Many of the users are capable of answering questions (they may have asked the same) and this reduces the response time from overworked system administrators. A number of addresses and phone numbers are published in "The DataBus", the newsletter of the Dayton Microcomputer Association. Following are contacts as reported in the May 1997 (Volume 21 Issue 12) edition. DMA Internet/Usenet (Unix and BBS) system data phone: (listed above in Logging In section). Internet E-Mail address: info@dmapub.dma.org By WWW: http://www.dma.org/ By Telnet: dmapub.dma.org Computerfest: (937) 223-FEST (3378) (937) 22C-FEST DMA Club Information Line: (937) 848-4DMA (4362) DMA Mailing Address: DMA PO BOX 4005 DAYTON, OH 45401-4005 DMA Pub Unix System Administrators (Replace _ at _ with _@_ in E-mail addresses) Dave Lundy (937) 426-1132 email: lundyd at dmapub.dma.org Dave Nevel (937) 294-7520 email: neveld at dma.org Ken Phelps (937) 832-3824 email: phelpsk at dma.org Gary Turner (937) 253-5090 email: turnerg at dma.org 17. FILE TRANSFERS: Kermit and Zmodem ******************** The transferring of files between the Unix host and the users' computer is possible in a number of ways, including Kermit and Unix's Zmodem protocols. To do a kermit download, from the Unix prompt, type "kermit -s filename". Then escape to your computer's download function or screen and initiate a kermit receive. To download a file from the Unix system to a PC (or other computer for that matter) using Zmodem protocol use "sz" (for Send Zmodem). Uploading is done with "rz". Issue the Unix command before initiating the transfer on the local machine. Page 17 sz UnixFileName [UnixFileName ...] Sends the named file(s) from the Unix system to your local PC using the Zmodem transfer protocol. rz PcFileName Prepares the Unix system to receive a transfer file, from the local PC, which will be sent using the Zmodem protocol. 18. UNIX - Hints and Helps. ******************** There is a directory of DMA Frquently Asked Questions (FAQ). Get to it by the m.sh menu or by Unix command (yes, this is case sensitive). The "@" character is a line kill character by default in the most login accounts. Sometimes (especially in the E-Mail programs) the character gets very cumbersome since it is used in E-Mail addresses. It may be necessary to first type "\" in order to tell the system to take the next character as a literal, and then type the "@". In other words, if the address gets erased during typing, try typing "userid\@dmapub.dma.org" to get the previously shown address to work. Alternatively, you may edit your ".profile" file in your login directory (for example, use command "pico .profile") and add a line such as: stty kill '^k' This will change the kill character from the "@" to a control-k (placed in single quotes). Another trick, while editing your ".profile" file, is to add a line at the end of the file with the "finger" command. This will list all current users on the system each time you log in. Some of the login news messages are archived in /var/news if you would like to get a copy of one of the previous messages no longer displayed. See also the "news -a" command. For advanced E-MAIL processing, there are "procmail" and "formail". These utilities permit a user to sort incoming mail by various criteria, generate automatic replies, etc. See "man procmail" "man procmailrc" and "man formail" for details. DMA members with the basic level account do not have access to many of the Internet utilities. For those with Gopher access, the following Gopher bookmark information will access the menu described above: Type=1+ Page 18 Name=Internet Resources Path=1/internet Host=marvel.loc.gov Port=70 Admin=LC MARVEL Design Team ModDate=Mon Sep 26 18:46:21 1994 <19940926184621> URL: gopher://marvel.loc.gov:70/11/internet 19. INTERNET/USENET - Hints and Helps. ******************** There is so much to the Usenet that I can't even provide a drop of information in the scope and size of this document. Suffice it to say that the following should at least get interested people pointed towards some fundamental information and descriptions of the services available. For understanding Internet and Usenet, the following book is helpful: Zen And The Art Of Internet, by Brendan P. Kehoe. P T R Prentice Hall, Publisher. ISBN 0-13-010778-6 Recommended reading for new users of Usenet and some local newsgroups include the following newsgroups: news.announce.newusers Introduction to Usenet and basic new user information. news.answers FAQ's (answers to Frequently Asked Questions) and other periodic articles from many, many Usenet newsgroups. This is the place to get a global feel for what is available on Usenet as well as find a lot of excellent information on a wide variety of topics. Just keeping up with this newsgroup will be a challenge. news.newusers.questions If you haven't found it, ask here. Usenet dumb questions as well as smart ones are accepted here. Hopefully somebody on the network can answer it. Be sure to look around before using network resources to get an answer to a simple obvious question. Also, consider that the rest of the world does not know one iota about the local system and commands you are using. Some questions are much better asked at home. dma.general Discussions among DMA system users. This is a "local", DMA only, newsgroup. dma.unix-sig Unix related discussions among DMA system users. Page 19 This is a "local", DMA only, newsgroup. Look for any group with "answers" or "newusers" in the name. The above are of a general nature for Usenet. Others may be more specific towards a particular topic. Also, groups with a "news..." prefix generally relate to Usenet network activities. If you want to test out your newsgroup reader and message sending abilities, use the following newsgroups: misc.test alt.test These newsgroups are available just for the testing of your newsgroup messaging capabilities. They have "auto- reflector" automated software in various parts of the world which will return your message, via email, so that you know it actually went out, how long it took, and clues as to how far it may have gone. The return messages may take anywhere from minutes to days to return. Outbound newsgroup capabilities as well as inbound email delivery must be enabled to successfully complete this test. If it doesn't work, likely the system administrator for your system has not allowed send capability for newsgroup messages (especially if you know you can receive email from other outside sources or people - inbound email is not often restricted). From personal experience, I'll pass along this suggestion. Read a Usenet newsgroup (sometimes incorrectly called SIGS, forums, discussion areas, echoes) for a month before jumping in. This gives a new user a chance to catch the "flavor" of the topics under legitimate discussion before making a fool of himself. This also gives time for the group rules to be posted as well as any FAQ's (listing of answers to Frequently Asked Questions) that appear there on a periodic basis. Even the names of the newsgroups can be a help in determining whether they are posted material only, or discussions about material posted in a post only group. Veteran newsgroup readers do not take kindly to off topic discussions wasting their time and the network resources. Likewise, if a FAQ answers the common questions then there is no need to waste network time or the time of thousands of newsgroup readers. Please be considerate of the other users on the network (it will make your network interactions much more enjoyable). Want to avoid receiving Junk E-Mail? Don't post to Usenet Newsgroups or advertise your E-mail address on any Web pages. Page 20 20. INTERNET/WWW - Hints and Helps. ******************** Any DMA membership level, with Unix access, can provide a personal World Wide Web (WWW) homepage to the world. However only some of the higher membership levels have access to tools which can access them via the WWW. Members who wish to create pages need to know how to program pages using a markup language named HTML. Note that COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING IS NOT ALLOWED. You may make your personal page(s) accessible then by following this procedure: 1. In your login directory do command: chmod 711 ../$LOGNAME 711 keeps prying eyes out of your file area but 755 or 751 may be used as well. See "man chmod" for more help on what this command does. 2. Setup a WWW accessible directory: mkdir public_html chmod 755 public_html This creates a directory that the DMA system WWW server looks for (the name must be exactly as shown for all of this to work). The directory was made accessible to the WWW server. 3. Create a master homepage file: cd public_html date > index.html chmod 755 index.html We then entered the directory and created a file. This file must exist using the file name shown and must have world read access using 755. Now you must edit it with your favorite editor. Delete the date info we used to create the file and insert your personal homepage information using the HTML markups to create the format desired. You may create your HTML files off-line and upload them if desired. Just be sure to chmod the read access to 755. File index.html may be used to point to other files, directories under directory public_html, and files in directories under directory public_html. In other words, directory public_html is the top of a Unix directory tree which can be served to the world via WWW access methods. Remember to make all files and directories world accessible via the "chmod 755 filename_or_dirname" command. Note that if you do not use the homepage name "index.html" your pages are still accessible via the WWW but the DMA system will not automatically add you to the DMA index page of member providers. You, and anyone in the world, may access your public_html directory by the URL "http://www.dma.org/~your_login_name/". Page 21 If you have an "index.html", that will be the file provided automatically. If not, a directory listing should be returned. If you are providing pages be sure to test them to see that they work using Netscape, Lynx, or other WWW browser. Note you must have higher levels of DMA membership to try this from the DMA. If you do not have access via the DMA you must test them from some other system via the Internet. Want to avoid receiving Junk E-Mail? Don't post to Usenet Newsgroups or advertise your E-mail address on any Web pages. 21. IN CASE OF TROUBLE ******************** When seemingly stuck somewhere, attempt to get back to the Unix prompt. Try the following: "", "","", "", "control-c", "q", "quit", "exit", "end", "bye", "help", "h", "?". For additional help on system problems, contact the system administrators as identified in the Addresses section. 22. CREDITS ******************** The compiler of this FAQ is Stan Rohrer . I hesitate to use the word "author" since the material has come from many sources and some of it is in a form very much like the original source. But as an attempt to give credit where credit is due, I extend my thanks to: - The system administrators of dmapub.dma.org who make the system available for public use. - David Nevel for my introduction to the system and it's operations. Also for an "Introduction To vi" handout sheet. - The authors of files on the DMA FidoNet BBS concerning the Unix system. The authors did not leave their names though the apparent userid of "snydert" (perhaps ) was observed in some of the text. - The "pico" help section was partially copied from the on- line help section of the program. - Jim Dalley (dalleyj at dmapub.dma.org) for proof reading the original draft and for constructive criticism of the text versus the real system. Page 22 The Dayton Microcomputer Association Inc. (DMA) is an Ohio non-profit organization. Computerfest is a registered trademark of the DMA. Other copyrights and trademarks may apply to information contained herein. 23. REVISIONS ******************** Comments, updates, corrections, accolades, and money are graciously accepted concerning this document. Send them to . The source file has been created in Word Perfect. The distribution file has been made by printing to a standard printer and directing the output to a file. R1.3 8/16/97 Rohrer E-mail addresses obliterated so the autoaddress robots of the Internet don't collect the addresses for junk mail purposes. Change _ at _ to _@_ to make addresses work. Changed phone area codes from 513 to 937. Deleted references to the BBS side of the Unix system as it no longer exists. Unix command _callUDlib_ didn't work and was removed. The FidoNet BBS is defunct - removed all references to it. Added _ck-size_ Unix command. Added brief section on _m.sh_ menus. Tested and updated additional details based on the Linux implementation of Unix. The computer operating system has been updated to a version of Linux in the spring of 1997. Some of the info in this FAQ may still relate to the previous and hence be in error. R1.2 1/1/95 Rohrer Corrected and added to phone number list. Updated address references in ADDRESSES section. Added some references to m.sh and telnet accesses. Added details to create a WWW homepage based on the Dave Lundy article in _The_DataBus_ of January 1996. Added section of DMA Access Accounts. R1.1 1/19/95 Rohrer Fixed the new phone numbers since the system has moved. Added the Unix "info" command and references. Added EMAIL "pine" section. Added Unix Hints and Tips section. Added "news" command description. Cleaned up a hand-full of other details. R1.0 8/23/93 Rohrer Lets see how good I did on the first release!!! Let me know! Let's get it right so we can all benefit.