Surfing the Internet | Page 2

on the pros and cons of
various hardware configurations.
Want to see if any libraries are doing anything with Total Quality
Management? Ask the members of LIBADMIN and you'll have offers
of reports, studies, personal experiences and more. How do you cope
with budget cuts: personnel layoffs or materials? Again, LIBADMIN
use allows shared advice.
Here is one story about the power of the net. At Christmas, an

electronic plea came from Ireland. "My daughter believes in Santa
Claus," it began. "And although the `My Little Pony Megan &
Sundance' set has not been made in three years, she believes Santa will
prevail and she will find one under her tree." Mom, a university
professor, had called the manufacturer in the US, but none were
available. "Check around," they said, "maybe some yet stand on store
shelves." So Mom sent the call out to the net.
Many readers began a global search for the wily Pony as part of their
own holiday shopping forays.
Soon, another message came from Dublin. It seemed that a reader of
the original message had a father who was a high-ranking executive in
the toy company, and he had managed to acquire said pony where
others had failed!
It was duly shipped in time to save Santa's reputation.
Part of the library's mission is to help remove barriers to accessing
information, and part of this is removing barriers between people. One
of the most interesting things 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