Chapter 9: Advanced e-mail (1 of 4) -- Files by E-Mail

     To help people without  ftp  access, a number of ftp sites have
set up mail  servers  (also known as archive servers) that allow you to
get files via e-mail.  You send a request to one of these machines and
they send back the file you want.  As with ftp, you'll be able to find
everything from historical documents to software (but please note that if
you do have access to ftp, that method is always quicker and ties up
fewer resources than using e-mail).
     Some interesting or useful mail servers include:

mail-server@pit-manager.mit.edu  Files of "frequently asked questions"
related to  Usenet ; state-by-state lists of U.S. representatives and
Senators and their addresses and office phone numbers.

archive-server@eff.org  Information about the Electronic Frontier
Foundation; documents about legal issues on the Net.


archive-server@cs.widener.edu  Back copies of the Computer Underground
Digest and every possible fact you could want to know about "The
Simpsons."

netlib@uunet.uu.net  Programs for many types of personal computers;
archives of past postings from many Usenet  newsgroups .

archive-server@ames.arc.nasa.gov  Space-related text and graphics
(GIF-format) files.

service@nic.ddn.mil  Detailed information about Internet.

     Most mail servers work pretty much the same -- you send an e-mail
message that tells them what file you want and how you want it sent to
you.  The most important command is "send," which tells the computer you
want it to send you a particular file.
     First, though, you'll need to know where the mail server stores that
file, because you have to tell it which directory or sub- directory it's
in.  There are a couple of ways to do this. You can send an e-mail
message to the archive-server that consists of one line:

                index

     The server will then send you a directory listing of its main, or
root directory.  You'll then have to send a second message to the archive
server with one line:

                index directory/subdirectory

where that is the directory or directory path for which you want a
listing.  An alternative is to send an e-mail message to our old friend
archie, which should send you back the file's exact location on the
archive-server (along with similar listings for all the other sites that
may have the file, however)
     Once you have the file name and its directory path, compose a
message to the archive server like this:

                send directory/subdirectory/file

     Send off the message and, anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of
days later, you'll find a new message in your mailbox: a copy of the file
you requested.  The exact time it will take a file to get to you depends
on a variety of factors, including how many requests are in line before
yours (mail servers can only process so many requests at a time) and the
state of the connections between the server and you.

     There are a number of other mail servers.  To get a list, send an
e-mail message to mail-server@pit-manager.mit.edu:

send usenet/comp.sources.wanted/How_to_find_sources_(READ_THIS_BEFORE_POSTING)

     You'll have to spell it exactly as listed above.  Some mail servers
use different software, which will require slightly different commands
than the ones listed here.  In general, if you send a message to a mail
server that says only

                help

you should get back a file detailing all of its commands.