Type a new file name and hit enter (if you hit enter without typing a file name, the message will be saved to another mail folder, not your home directory). In all three cases, exit the mail program to return to your host system's command line. Because the file has been encoded for mail delivery, you now have to run a decoder. At the command line, type
uudecode file.name
where file.name is the file you created while in mail. Uudecode will create a new, uncompressed binary file. In some cases, you may have to run it through some other programs (for example, if it is in "tar" form), but generally it should now be ready for you to download to your own computer (on which you might then have to run a de-compressor program such as PKXZIP).
9.3 SENDING FILES TO NON-INTERNET SITES
What if your friend only connects with a non-Unix system, such as CompuServe or MCIMail? There are programs available for MS-DOS, Apple and Amiga computers that will encode and decode files. Of course, since you can't send one of these programs to your friend via e-mail (how would she un-encode it?), you'll have to mail (the old-fashioned way) or give her a diskette with the program on it first. Then, she can get the file by e-mail and go through the above process (only on her own computer) to get a usable file. Remember to give her an encoder program as well, if she wants to send you files in return. For MS-DOS machines, you'll want to get uunecode.com and uudecode.com. Both can be found through anonymous ftp at wuarchive.wustl.edu in the /mirrors/msdos/starter directory. The MS- DOS version is as easy to use as the Unix one: Just type
uudecode filename.ext
and hit enter. Mac users should get a program called uutool, which can be found in the info-mac/util directory on sumex-aim.stanford.edu. Think twice before sending somebody a giant file. Although large sites connected directly to the Internet can probably handle mega-files, many smaller systems cannot. Some commercial systems, such as CompuServe and MCIMail, limit the size of mail messages their users can receive. Fidonet doesn't even allow encoded messages. In general, a file size of 30,000 or so bytes is a safe upper limit for non-Internet systems.
9.4 GETTING FTP FILES VIA 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@rtfm.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:
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