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Message-ID: <ucdavis/king-hall-faq/part9_1051198758@rtfm.mit.edu> Supersedes: <ucdavis/king-hall-faq/part9_1048762998@rtfm.mit.edu> Expires: 5 Jun 2003 15:39:18 GMT References: <ucdavis/king-hall-faq/part1_1051198758@rtfm.mit.edu> X-Last-Updated: 1996/06/22 From: Internet Esquire <netesq@dcn.davis.ca.us> Organization: Internet Esquire(SM) Newsgroups: ucd.king-hall,news.answers Subject: King Hall Law School USENET FAQ Part 9 of 9 Followup-To: poster Summary: This article is Part Nine of a Multipart compilation of information on subjects of interest to the readers of the ucd.king-hall USENET newsgroup and other members and would-be members of the King Hall Law School community. Date: 24 Apr 2003 15:40:01 GMT X-Trace: 1051198801 senator-bedfellow.mit.edu 3934 18.181.0.29 Archive-name: ucdavis/king-hall-faq/part9 Posting-Frequency: monthly Last-modified: Jun. 22, 1996 Version: 21Jun96 [ASCII/Multipart] URL: <http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/ucdavis/king-hall-faq/part9/faq.html > Ebb: <http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~netesq/USENET-FAQs/king-hall/part8.html > The King Hall Law School USENET FAQ Part 9 of 9 Frequently Asked Questions at and about King Hall (c) Copyright 1995 & 1996 by David F. Prenatt, Jr. King Hall, 1995 Alumnus U.C. Davis School of Law University of California Davis, CA 95616-5210 <mailto:NetEsq@dcn.davis.ca.us > The King Hall Law School USENET FAQ (King Hall USENET FAQ) may be comprised of more than one part. If it is, please see the TABLE OF CONTENTS in Part One for a complete list of the questions that I have attempted to answer and for other important legal information. Caveat emptor: I assume no obligation to anyone through the publication of the King Hall USENET FAQ. Furthermore, all versions of the King Hall USENET FAQ are my personal property and are protected by applicable copyright laws. All rights are reserved except as follows: I hereby give my permission to anyone who has access to this version of the King Hall USENET FAQ to reproduce the information contained herein for non-profit purposes, provided that proper credit is given to me as the author of this FAQ and that I am promptly notified of any use other than personal use. I may revoke permission to reproduce any version of this FAQ at any time. - - - - - The King Hall Law School USENET FAQ Part 9 of 9 Frequently Asked Questions at and about King Hall (c) Copyright 1995 & 1996 by David F. Prenatt, Jr. 11.2) What computer facilities are available to law students at U.C. Davis? U.C. Davis provides computer facilities for all registered students, including PCs, Macintoshes, and Internet access. Call IT-CAP (<mailto:ithelp@ucdavis.edu >) at (916)752-2548 for more information; readers with a web browser may visit the Lab Management Home Page on the World Wide Web (<http://lm.ucdavis.edu/labs/ >). In addition, King Hall provides computer resources specifically for law students, such as LEXIS and Westlaw. There are two computer rooms at King Hall: The LEXIS/Westlaw room upstairs, and the computer lab in the basement. 11.2.1) How do I obtain access to the computer facilities at U.C. Davis? Open an ez-account. You can do this at the LEXIS/Westlaw room in King Hall or at any of the computer rooms anywhere on campus. However, you will usually have to wait at least 24 hours before you can use your account. 11.2.2) Will I lose access to computer services at U.C. Davis after I graduate? [Rev] Yes. Your account will be tagged for expiration the day after you graduate, and you will have to prove that you are still affiliated with the University to retain your computer privileges. In other words, you are not entitled to computer privileges after you graduate unless you remain affiliated with the University, and your privileges may be unceremoniously interrupted at any time after that. 11.2.3) What should I do to make sure that I still have access to computer services at U.C. Davis after I graduate? For a small monthly fee, the Davis Community Network (DCN) will give you 50 hours of access to the dial-in computer services that U.C. Davis provides to it students. [Note: mother.com, America On Line, and some other private ISPs/BBSs provide access to the ucd.* newsgroups.] Anyone can telnet to the DCN server to join the DCN (<telnet:wheel.dcn.davis >). For further information, see the davis.dcn USENET newsgroup (<news:davis.dcn >) or visit the DCN Home Page on the World Wide Web (<http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/ >). The National Public Telecomputing Network (NPTN) sponsors several "Freenets" that provide free Internet access. For more information, e-mail NPTN (<mailto:info@nptn.org >) or ftp NPTN's Freenet Guide (<ftp://nptn.org/pub/nptn/nptn.info/concept.community.computing >). The most satisfactory and reasonably priced for profit ISP is UUNET. For more information on UUNET, send your snail-mail address to UUNET (<mailto:info@uunet.uu.net > uunet!info). Whatever Internet service provider that you choose, you will probably have to provide your own computer and your own modem. 11.3) What is the Internet? The Internet is the product of a worldwide computer network developed by the military in the late 1960s (ARPANET), nurtured by academicians over the last 20 years or so, and currently used primarily as a medium for the communication and free exchange of information and ideas for anyone who knows how to obtain Internet access. There are more breathtaking Internet applications, but they are not for "newbies" and they are well beyond the scope of this FAQ. 11.3.1) How can I obtain access to the Internet? You can use your ez-account to "telnet" to one of the computers at U.C. Davis from King Hall, from one of the computer rooms on the U.C. Davis campus, or from your home computer via modem. 11.3.1.1) How do I obtain access to the Internet from King Hall? Go to the LEXIS/Westlaw room or the Computer Room on the second floor of King Hall. You will find several IBM clones with the Windows program running in the LEXIS/Westlaw room. If it is your first time signing on to the Internet, you will probably need some help. Computer Specialist Steve Langford (<mailto:sdlangford@ucdavis.edu >) works in the office adjoining the LEXIS/Westlaw room, and it his job to help the members of the King Hall community with all of their computer needs. Steve has written a set of instructions on how to open your ez-account and use the computers in the LEXIS/Westlaw room. 11.3.1.2) How do I obtain access to the Internet from one of the computer rooms on the U.C. Davis campus? Every computer room is a little different, but they are all pretty straightforward. Check with the site attendant on duty if you need any help. 11.3.1.3) How do I obtain access to the Internet from my home computer? You will need a modem and some sort of communications software. Once you have your communications software up and running, you can dial (916)752-7900 to access the various computer services that are available to U.C. Davis students, faculty, and staff through IT-CAP. With a PC system, you are well advised to use the Windows operating system. This will enable you to install a constellation of public domain and educational software that is available to U.C. Davis students free of charge (i.e., Trumpet Winsock, WinQVT, Win32s 1.2, Wgopher, Netscape, Mpeg, and Lview). Contact a consultant at IT-CAP <mailto:ithelp@ucdavis.edu > at (916)752-2548 for information on how to obtain copies of these programs or other programs that will work on whatever computer you may have. Once installed, the programs that I listed above will give you access to the Internet through a U.C. Davis SLIP connection by dialing (916)752-7925 (PPP access is also available). [Note: Some of these programs may run *very* slowly on a SLIP connection depending upon the type of computer that you have.] King Hall Computer Specialist Steve Langford (<mailto:sdlangford@ucdavis.edu >) has put together a handout on the installation of these programs. However, you must first obtain the software that you need from IT-CAP in the Shields Library. 11.3.2) How do I communicate with other people on the Internet? Communication between individuals on the Internet usually takes place through the institutions of e-mail and the USENET newsgroups. These are the most straightforward and easy to use Internet applications. Live time conversations also take place with the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) and the World Wide Web provides multimedia communication. I hesitate to mention the highly intrusive Internet communication software "talk/ytalk," but for those of you who want more information on how to interrupt people with a talk request, contact David T. Witkowski (<mailto:dtwitkowski@ucdavis.edu >; readers with a web browser may visit David T. Witkowski's Ytalk Primer on the World Wide Web (<http://www.ece.ucdavis.edu/~witkowsk/ytalk.html >). 11.3.2.1) Are there any rules for e-mail and the USENET newsgroups? Yes. U.C. Davis imposes regulations for e-mail and the USENET with its Acceptable Use Policy. There are also informal rules of conduct that are enforced by the Internet community, fondly referred to as "netiquette." Contact Student Judicial Affairs Officer Donald Dudley (<mailto:djdudley@ucdavis.edu >), King Hall Class of 1993, at (916)752-1128 for more information about the U.C. Davis Acceptable Use Policy. As for netiquette, use your own good judgement. 11.3.2.2) What is the difference between e-mail and the USENET newsgroups? The primary difference between e-mail and the USENET is privacy. However, neither e-mail or the USENET are completely confidential. While an e-mail message is not completely private, it is directed to a particular individual or group of individuals; a USENET article is available to anyone who has access to any newsgroup where the article is posted. If you want to conduct confidential communications over the Internet, check out an encryption program such as PGP ("Pretty Good Privacy"). PGP has a public domain version that is available free of charge to anyone who is using it for non-commercial purposes. It has thwarted virtually every attempt that people have made to crack it. What makes PGP unique is that the key that encrypts your mail (i.e., your "public key") is distinct and separate from the key that unscrambles it (i.e., your "private key"). Unless you tell someone your private PGP key or someone guesses it (which could take thousands of years of computer time) or discovers it by eavesdropping, no one can read your PGP encrypted mail. 11.3.2.2.1) How do I use e-mail? The most straightforward and easy way to use e-mail is by using a program called "pine," which is an acronym for "pine is no-longer elm" ("elm" was an e-mail program on which pine was based) To use pine, type in "pine" (without the quotes) at the Unix prompt. Pine is menu- driven, so just follow the instructions. 11.3.2.2.2) How do I access the USENET newsgroups? The most straightforward and easy way to use the USENET newsgroups at U.C. Davis is by using a newsreader called "tin." To use tin, type in "tin" (without the quotes) at the Unix prompt. The tin program is menu-driven, so just follow the instructions. 11.3.2.2.2.1) How many USENET newsgroups are there? There are several thousand USENET newsgroups (more than anyone could ever hope to read) and more are being created every day. Thus, you have to decide which newsgroups you want to read. 11.3.2.2.2.2) How do I figure out which USENET newsgroups I want to read? The USENET newsgroups are organized into a heirarchy that includes regional and other domains. You can use this hierarchy to select-out thousands of newsgroups that do not interest you. With tin, use the "yank" command (with the "y" key), the "search" command (with the "/" key), and the "subscribe" command (with the "s" key). After you've subscribed to the named groups that you want, simply yank out the rest. The "unsubscribe" command (the "u" key) will eliminate unwanted groups. For more information, use the online help in tin (^g). 11.3.2.2.2.3) Which USENET newsgroups are of interest to members of the King Hall community? It depends upon the individual, but at the very least members of the King Hall community would probably be interested in a number of the regional domains that are available through the U.C. Davis USENET; people who are new to the Internet would also be interested in a number of newsgroups found in the news.* domain. You should subscribe to news.announce.newusers (<news:news.announce.newusers >) until you feel that you know more than most of the people reading that newsgroup. You will also find FAQs on every conceivable topic in the news.answers USENET newsgroup. 11.3.2.2.2.3.1) What regional domains are available through the U.C. Davis USENET? The ucd.* domain, the ucb.* domain, the davis.* domain, the yolo.* domain, the sac.* domain, the ba.* domain, and the ca.* domain are all regional domains that the U.C. Davis USENET can access; Netscape can access virtually any USENET domain through the World Wide Web. 11.3.2.2.2.3.2) Does King Hall have its own USENET newsgroup? But of course! The ucd.king-hall newsgroup (<news:ucd.king-hall >) was founded by Joel Siegel, King Hall Class of 1997. 11.3.2.3) How do I use the IRC? To use the IRC, type in "irc" (without the quotes) at the Unix prompt. There is online help available for the IRC and most of the people whom you meet on the IRC will be willing to answer your newbie questions. You will also find a FAQ on the IRC in the news.answers USENET newsgroup (among other places). 11.3.2.4) How do I access the World Wide Web? You can access the World Wide Web by using a text-based program, such as "lynx," or by using a web browser, such as "Netscape." Access to the multi-media features of various web sites (i.e., pictures and sound) is the biggest advantage of using Netscape. 11.3.2.4.1) How do I use lynx? Just type in "lynx" (without the quotes) at the Unix prompt, and follow the instructions you find on the screen. 11.3.2.4.2) How do I use Netscape? Netscape is easy to use and has many revolutionary and exciting multi- media/multi-protocol features, but you will probably need help from someone who knows what he or she is doing to get started, so see Steve Langford in the LEXIS/Westlaw computer room. For more information, readers with a web browser may visit the Netscape Home Page on the World Wide Web (<http://home.netscape.com/ >). 11.3.3) What other resources are available over the Internet? In addition to the communication and exchange of information that people accomplish using e-mail, the USENET, and the IRC, people can download archived information from computers on the Internet using "file transfer protocol" (ftp). 11.3.3.1) What is ftp and how does it work? The ftp function resembles the telnet function (the basic method of gaining access to the Internet for e-mail and the USENET), but ftp is only used for downloading or uploading information. There are generally two ways to access a computer via ftp, anonymous and privileged. 11.3.3.1.1) How do I use anonymous ftp? When you know which anonymous ftp site has the information that you want, you can then log onto it and get that information using the ftp program: * Type in "ftp" (without the quotes) at the Unix prompt, followed by the name of the ftp site that you wish to access. For example: ftp ftp.site where ftp.site is the name of a hypothetical ftp site that you want to access. If this doesn't work, try "open" in place of "ftp." * You will be asked to provide your username, type in: anonymous * You will be asked to provide your password. DO NOT TYPE IN YOUR PASSWORD! *ANONYMOUS* FTP IS SUPPOSED TO BE *ANONYMOUS*! If you wish, you may type in your Internet address as a return address, but you do not need to do so. Virtually any response to the password request will give you access to an anonymous ftp site. * Type in the GET command, followed by the exact name of the file that you want to obtain. For example: get ftp-document where ftp-document is the name of a hypothetical document that you wish to obtain. This procedure will retrieve an ASCII document. * If for some reason, there is something wrong with the document that you obtain, start over and set the code to binary by typing in "binary" (without the quotes) after you have opened the anonymous ftp site. Specifically, type in the following: binary This should fix the problem so that you can GET the document that you want. If it doesn't, then the file you have is probably compressed or encrypted, so you will need to find out what program you should use to decompress or decrypt the file. Check with King Hall Computer Specialist Steve Langford for more information. * To quit the ftp application, type in "quit" (without the quotation marks). For example: quit Note: Steve Langford (<mailto:sdlangford@ucdavis.edu >) has set up several of the computers in the LEXIS/Westlaw with simplified ftp access with the Fetch program. Contact Steve Langford at (916)752- SLOW for more information. 11.3.3.1.2) How do I use privileged ftp? A privileged ftp site requires an actual username and an actual password (as opposed to an anonymous one). In addition to the GET command, you can also use the PUT command with privileged ftp. For example: put ftp-document where ftp-document is the hypothetical name of the document that you want to load to the privileged ftp site. 11.3.3.1.3) How can I find out what files are available via ftp? You can use various "search engines" on the Internet, such as "gopher," "archie, and "veronica." My favorite search engine on the World Wide Web is Yahoo (<http://www.yahoo.com/ >). 11.3.3.1.3.1) What is a gopher? The term gopher primarily refers to a computer protocol and a type of menu-driven computer application. People use gophers to burrow through the Internet, figuratively speaking, and help them find the information that they want. Gophers are named after the mascot of the University of Minnesota where the gopher protocol was developed. All the gophers in the world are interconnected, so if you want to use a gopher, simply type in "gopher" (without the quotes) at the Unix prompt and follow the directions. 11.3.3.1.3.2) Who (or what) is/are Veronica and Jughead? Veronica (*Very *Easy *Rodent *Oriented *Netwide *Index to *Computer *Archives) and Jughead (*Jonzi's *Universal *Gopher *Hierarchy *Excavation *And *Display) are somewhat dated gopher-based search engines. 11.3.3.1.3.3) Who (or what) is Archie? Archie (*Archive *Retrieval *C--- *H--- *I--- *E---) is a search engine that helps you locate computer programs that are archived on ftp sites on the Internet. To use Archie, simply type in "archie" (without the quotes) at the Unix prompt and follow the directions. 11.3.3.1.4) How do I obtain ftp files by e-mail request? For information on ftp by e-mail service, send an e-mail message to ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com with the text "help" somewhere in the body of the message. Many ftp sites have mail-server software that will send ftp files by e-mail request. For example, to obtain this faq by e- mail send the following message to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu: send usenet/news.answers/ucdavis/king-hall-faq/part* . . . quit Where * is replaced by the numbers 1 through 9 in successive lines of text. Other FAQs that I have written are archived at rtfm.mit.edu under the usenet/news.answers directory under the appropriate archive name. See Section 1.5 for more information about these other FAQs. To obtain one of these other FAQs change the text of the line that begins with send so that the archive name ucdavis/king-hall-faq is replaced with the archive name of the other FAQ. 11.3.3.1.5) How do I transfer files to and from my personal computer and my Internet account? You can put your files on a diskette and use one of the workstations on campus to ftp your files to and from your Internet account. Alternatively, there are several file transfer programs available to accomplish such tasks. Your best option among those that are currently available is a kermit file transfer. Kermit is public domain software that is available from IT-CAP; instructions for kermit file transfers are available on the World Wide Web at the U.C. Davis Network Administrators FAQ: <http://tsp.ucdavis.edu/nar/FAQ-UNIX.html#Tag-MSKermit > 11.3.3.2) What legal resources are available on the Internet? There are too many legal resources available on the Internet for me to offer a complete catalog. However, there are two superb resources that will help you find out what legal resources are available on the Internet and where you can find them for yourself: * The law.listserv.* USENET newsgroups are an excellent resource for cutting-edge legal information of all kinds. The newsgroup law.listserv.law-lib (<news:law.listserv.law-lib >), moderated by Associate Director Judy Janes (<mailto:jcjanes@ucdavis.edu >) of the U.C. Davis Law School Library is one of the most popular. This newsgroup is frequented by thousands of law librarians, law professors, and other legal scholars. A word of caution though: Do not identify yourself as an outsider unless you are ready to suffer the ridicule of thousands of erudite individuals. * Erik J. Heels, who heads up Lawyer's Cooperative Publishing (<http://www.lcp.com/ >), has compiled a very comprehensive list of legal resources available on the Internet: The Legal List, Law-Related Resources Available on the Internet and Elsewhere (ISBN 0-9643637-0-4). The Legal List is always available on the news.answers USENET newsgroup (<news:news.answers >) as well as many other newsgroups. A paperback edition of the Legal List is also available from the author. The Legal List is an invaluable reference tool, and I unequivocally recommend that anyone with any interest whatsoever in the law or the Internet get a copy of the Legal List as soon as possible. 11.4) ISSUES ARISING FROM THE USE OF PERSONAL COMPUTERS AT KING HALL. The recent dramatic increase in the use of personal computers at King Hall has given rise to some novel issues. For example, you will probably notice a number of your classmates use laptop computers in class. This prompted the law school administration to post "unofficial guidelines" for computer etiquette. Similarly, Cecilia Wong, King Hall Class of 1997, asked LSA to impose a "30 minute courtesy time limit" for the computers in the LEXIS/Westlaw room so that people could check their e-mail without being inconvenienced by the people who monoplize these computers. IMHO, these measures were (at best) misguided attempts to enforce the personal values of a few uninformed individuals upon the entire law school community. Accordingly, I complained to the powers that be at King Hall when the guidelines for computer etiquette were posted on the dayboard. Similarly, I was present on other business at the LSA meeting where the "courtesy time limit" was proposed; when asked my opinion, I spoke out against it. In both cases, I was ignored. As there was no official enforcement of these measures during my tenure as a law student, I ignored them (which seemed like an appropriate quid pro quo), and I recommend that you do the same. If someone has a legitimate gripe arising from a breach of etiquette, there is no reason why it cannot be resolved privately. Someone who types on a laptop in class is no more offensive than someone who wears too much perfume. The offended party can either speak up or move to another seat. Similarly, if a person wants to check his or her e-mail when all of the computer terminals are occupied in the LEXIS/Westlaw room, that person can simply ask for permission from someone who is already seated or wait his or her turn. People can check their e-mail at hundreds of locations on the U.C. Davis campus, some as close as the basement computer room at King Hall. And in comparison to most other computer applications, e-mail is nothing more than a frivolous use of computer resources. I'm sure that some people would like to issue a sidearm, tire chalk, and a citation book to Computer Specialist Steve Langford so that he can enforce the tyrrany of a few uninformed student leaders. However, Steve probably has more important things to do; I know that LSA does. 12) REVISIONS FOR FUTURE VERSIONS OF THIS FAQ. [Note: Expect periodic revisions in this section and/or its subsections.] I will add or change the information in this FAQ as it becomes necessary. However, this FAQ all but completed its puberty with the publication of Version 1.5 on November 5, 1995. If information is substantially changed or deleted in the future, I will make a note of it in this section; I may also post a separate USENET article. The following notations will be used in section headers to point out revisions in this FAQ: * [CORRECTIONS]--If information is revised because of substantial inaccuracy, I will mark the heading with this notation; I will *not* note minor corrections. * [Del]--Old section deleted. * [New]--New section. * [Rev]--Revised section. * [Moved from . . .]/[Moved to . . .]--Section moved; information unchanged. As the above notations are meant to accomodate regular readers of this FAQ, these notations will only appear for one month. 12.1) CHANGES IN THIS VERSION OF THE KING HALL USENET FAQ FROM PREVIOUS VERSIONS. This version of this FAQ (Version 21Jun96) should contain most of the information contained in Version 1.5 with only minor editorial changes. The most important revision was in the URL references from the ftp server at rtfm.mit.edu to the hypertext version located at the USENET FAQ project (passim). 12.2) CHANGES THAT WILL TAKE PLACE IN FUTURE VERSIONS OF THIS FAQ. I will probably leave the structure and substance of this FAQ intact, but I will continue to add more subsections and questions and modify details if it becomes necessary to do so. I will revise the html version of this FAQ that is currently available at the USENET FAQ project sometime soon (the current version was created by the USENET FAQ Project's software). Your comments are very much welcome and appreciated, but I am not able to respond to every person individually. If you have any questions that you would like to see answered in this FAQ, please let me know by e-mail or snail-mail. I would also like to know how you came across this FAQ and where you think that I should post a notice of its availability. While this FAQ answers inquiries that I receive from all over the USENET, I only post this FAQ to ucd.king-hall (<news:ucd.king-hall >) and news.answers (<news:news.answers >) once a month to conserve that mystical and increasingly rare commodity known as bandwidth. For those of you who do not wish to view this FAQ in the future, you may activate the killfile function on tin (Ctrl-K). - - - - - End of document: The King Hall Law School USENET FAQ Part 9 of 9 Frequently Asked Questions at and about King Hall (c) Copyright 1995 & 1996 by David F. Prenatt, Jr. King Hall, 1995 Alumnus U.C. Davis School of Law University of California Davis, CA 95616-5210 <mailto:NetEsq@dcn.davis.ca.us > Last document. - - - - -