about telecommunications is that it is the Great Equalizer. It lets all kinds of computers and humans talk to each other. The old barriers of sexism, ageism, and racism are not present, since you can't see the person to whom you're "speaking". You get to know the person without preconceived notions about what you THINK he is going to say, based on visual prejudices you may have, no matter how innocent.

Well, almost without visual prejudice. Electronic mail is not always an harmonic convergence of like souls adrift in the cyberspace cosmos: there are arguments and tirades (called "flames"). Sometimes you get so used to seeing a frequent poster's electronic signature that you know what he's going to say before he says it!

Smileys

One problem with written communication is that remarks meant to be humorous are often lost. Without the visual body-language clues, some messages may be misinterpreted. So a visual shorthand known as "smileys" has been developed. There are a hundred or more variations on this theme- :-) That's a little smiley face. Look at it sideways. More Smiley info may be found via anonymous ftp at many places, including the following: ftp nic.funet.fi cd /pub/misc/funnies/smiley.txt

FTP is introduced later in the text.

What a range of emotions you can show using only keyboard characters. Besides the smiley face above, you can have :-( if you're sad, or :-< if you're REALLY upset! ;-) is one way of showing a wink. Folks wearing glasses might look like this online: %^).

But for the most part, the electronic community is willing to help others. Telecommunications helps us overcome what has been called the tyranny of distance. We DO have a global village.

Electronic Newsletters and Serials

Subscribing to lists with reckless abandon can clog your mailbox and provide a convenient black hole to vacuum up all your spare time. You may be more interested in free subscriptions to compiled documents known as electronic journals. These journals are automatically delivered to your electronic door.

There are a growing number of these. Some of the best for librarians are listed below. To subscribe to these journals you must know how to send an interactive message to another computer. This information is well- documented in the resources listed at the end of this article. Telnet and ftp are introduced further along in this article.

ALCTS NETWORK NEWS
(Association for Library Collections and Technical Services)

Various ALA news, net news, other items of interest to librarians. Send the
following message to
[email protected]
SUBSCRIBE ALCTS First Name Last Name.

Current Cites

Bibliography of current journal articles relating to computers, networks,
information issues, and technology. Distributed on PACS-L, or connect
remotely via
TELNET to MELVYL.UCOP.EDU (192.35.222.222);
Enter this command at the prompt: SHOW CURRENT CITES.
Further information: David F. W. Robison, [email protected].

EFFector Online

The online newsletter of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. All the hot
net issues are covered here: privacy, freedom, first amendment rights.
Join EFF to be added to the mailing list or ftp the files yourself from
ftp.eff.org (192.88.144.4)
They are in the /pub/eff and subsequent directories.

Hot Off the Tree (HOTT)
(Excerpts and Abstracts of Articles about Information Technology)

TELNET MELVYL.UCOP.EDU (192.35.222.222); Enter command:
SHOW HOTT. Further information: Susan Jurist, [email protected].

Network News

An irreverent compendium of tidbits, resources, and net factoids that is a must for true Internet surfers. To subscribe, send the following message to

[email protected]
SUBSCRIBE NNEWS First Name Last Name.
For more information: Dana Noonan at [email protected].

Public-Access Computer Systems News and The Public-Access Computer Systems Review Sent automatically to PACS-L subscribers. See above. For a list of back issue files, send the following message to: [email protected] INDEX PACS-L

To obtain a comprehensive list of electronic serials on all topics, send the following commands to: [email protected] GET EJOURNL1 DIRECTRY GET EJOURNL2 DIRECTRY For further information, contact Michael Strangelove: [email protected].

Remote Login to Internet Resources: TELNET

One step beyond electronic mail is the ability to control a remote computer using TELNET. This feature lets you virtually teleport anywhere on the network and use resources located physically at that host. Further, some hosts have gateways to other hosts, which have further gateways to still more hosts. How can you be in two places at once? It sounds more confusing than it is. What resources are available? Here is a sampling of some of the fare awaiting you at several sites:

Cleveland Free-net

Freenets are the progeny of: Tom Grundner, Director, Community Telecomputing Laboratory Case Western Reserve University 303 Wickenden Building Cleveland, OH 44106 216/368-2733 FAX: 216/368-5436 Internet: [email protected] BITNET: aa001%cleveland.freenet.edu@cunyvm and the folks at: National Public Telecomputing Network (NPTN) Box 1987 Cleveland, OH 44106 216/368-2733 FAX: 216/368-5436 Internet: [email protected].

Free-nets are built around a city metaphor, complete with schools, hospitals, libraries, courthouses, and other public services.

Academy One recently held an online global simulation of a series of major space achievements. 16 schools (from five states and four nations) participated. Here are several of the descriptions of their projects:

"VALKEALA HIGH SCHOOL VALKEALA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Valkeala, Finland ([email protected])
Acting as Space Shuttle Discovery taking the Hubble Telescope into space.
These Finnish students will be in communication with students in Estonia,
relaying their reports."

"DR. HOWARD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Champaign, IL
([email protected], [email protected])
Dr. Howard School (25 students in 3rd/4th grade) will be simulating the
Challenger 2 launch. They are being assisted by the National Center for
Supercomputing Applications."

"ST. JULIE BILLIART SCHOOL Hamilton, OH ([email protected]) Simulating a NASA Tracking Station in Florida. They will be posting hourly weather reports about the conditions in Florida around Cape Kennedy. This information is vital to the recovery of the Friendship 7 capsule and crew. Students have taken an interest in Space Junk and will be posting additional reports on the various probes which were used to test the surface of the moon and how all of that junk is now becoming a hazard to current and future space exploration."

Another Free-net resource is Project Hermes. This service provides copies of Supreme Court opinions in electronic form to as wide an audience as possible, almost as soon as they are announced.

The Court's opinions can be sent directly to you or you may download the files directly from any NPTN community computer system.

The Free-nets also provide weather, news, and