Chapter 8: GOPHERS, WAISs AND THE WORLD-WIDE WEB
8.1. GOPHERS
Even with tools like Hytelnet and archie, telnet and ftp can still be frustrating. There are all those telnet and ftp addresses to remember. Telnet services often have their own unique commands. And, oh, those weird directory and file names! But now that the Net has become a rich repository of information, people are developing ways to make it far easier to find and retrieve information and files. Gophers and Wide-Area Information Servers (WAISs) are two services that could ultimately make the Internet as easy to navigate as commercial networks such as CompuServe or Prodigy. Both gophers and WAISs essentially take a request for information and then scan the Net for it, so you don't have to. Both also work through menus — instead of typing in some long sequence of characters, you just move a cursor to your choice and hit enter. Gophers even let you select files and programs from ftp sites this way. Let's first look at gophers (named for the official mascot of the University of Minnesota, where the system was developed). Many public-access sites now have gophers online. To use one, type
gopher
at the command prompt and hit enter. If you know your site does not have a gopher, or if nothing happens when you type that, telnet to
consultant.micro.umn.edu
At the log-in prompt, type
gopher
and hit enter. You'll be asked what type of terminal emulation you're using, after which you'll see something like this:
Internet Gopher Information Client v1.03