6.4 TELNET BULLETIN-BOARD SYSTEMS
You might think that Usenet, with its hundreds of newsgroups, would be enough to satisfy the most dedicated of online communicators. But there are a number of "bulletin-board" and other systems that provide even more conferences or other services, many not found directly on the Net. Some are free; others charge for access. They include:
Bookstacks Unlimited is a Cleveland bookstore that uses the Internet
to advertise its services. Its online system features not only a catalog,
however, but conferences on books and literature.
Telnet: books.com
Log in with your own name and select a password for future connections.
Cimarron. Run by the Instituto Technical in Monterey, Mexico, this system has Spanish conferences, but English commands, as you can see from this menu of available conferences:
List of Boards
Name Title
General Board general
Dudas Dudas de Cimarron
Comentarios Comentarios al SYSOP
Musica Para los afinados……..
Libros El sano arte de leer…..
Sistemas Sistemas Operativos en General.
Virus Su peor enemigo……
Cultural Espacio Cultural de Cimarron
NeXT El Mundo de NeXT
Ciencias Solo apto para Nerds.
Inspiracion Para los Romanticos e Inspirados.
Deportes Discusiones Deportivas
To be able to write messages and gain access to files, you have to leave a note to SYSOP with your name, address, occupation and phone number. To do this, at any prompt, hit your M key and then enter, which will bring up the mail system. Hitting H brings up a list of commands and how to use them. Telnet: bugs.mty.itesm.mx (8 p.m. to 10 a.m., Eastern time, only). At the "login:" prompt, type
bbs
and hit enter.
Cleveland Free-Net. The first of a series of Free-nets, this represents an ambitious attempt to bring the Net to the public. Originally an in-hospital help network, it is now sponsored by Case Western Reserve University, the city of Cleveland, the state of Ohio and IBM. It uses simple menus, similar to those found on CompuServe, but organized like a city:
<<< CLEVELAND FREE-NET DIRECTORY >>>
1 The Administration Building
2 The Post Office
3 Public Square
4 The Courthouse & Government Center
5 The Arts Building
6 Science and Technology Center
7 The Medical Arts Building
8 The Schoolhouse (Academy One)
9 The Community Center & Recreation Area
10 The Business and Industrial Park
11 The Library
12 University Circle
13 The Teleport
14 The Communications Center
15 NPTN/USA TODAY HEADLINE NEWS
————————————————————————
h=Help, x=Exit Free-Net, "go help"=extended help
Your Choice ==>
The system has a vast and growing collection of public documents, from copies of U.S. and Ohio Supreme Court decisions to the Magna Carta and the U.S. Constitution. It links residents to various government agencies and has daily stories from USA Today. Beyond Usenet (found in the Teleport area), it has a large collection of local conferences on everything from pets to politics. And yes, it's free! Telnet: freenet-in-a.cwru.edu or freenet-in-b.cwru.edu or freenet-in-c.cwru.edu
When you connect to Free-Net, you can look around the system.
However, if you want to be able to post messages in its conferences or
use e-mail, you will have to apply in writing for an account.
Information on this is available when you connect.
DUBBS. This is a bulletin-board system in Delft in the
Netherlands. The conferences and files are mostly in Dutch, but the
help files and the system commands themselves are in English.
Telnet: tudrwa.tudelft.nl
ISCA BBS. Run by the Iowa Student Computer Association, it has
more than 100 conferences, including several in foreign languages.
After you register, hit K for a list of available conferences and then
J to join a particular conference (you have to type in the name of the
conference, not the number next to it). Hitting H brings up
information about commands.
Telnet bbs.isca.uiowa.edu
At the "login:" prompt, type
bbs
and hit enter.
Youngstown Free-Net. The people who created Cleveland Free-Net sell their software for $1 to anybody willing to set up a similar system. A number of cities now have their own Free-Nets, including Youngstown, Ohio. Telnet: yfn.ysu.edu At the "login:" prompt, type
visitor
and hit enter.