[There is now an ftpmail server at ftpmail@nevada.edu send a message with 9 'help' in the body] This is from ryan harding's faq: I don't have real-time internet connection or my system doesn't support ftp. ============================================================================ What can I do? ============== You can get access via ftpmail. This is basically an offline request version of the interactive "ftp" command detailed earlier. I know of the following ftpmail services: ftpmail@sunsite.unc.edu ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com mailserver@informatik.tu-muenchen.de (only for Munich mirror & MUSIC archive) [Note: these are internet addresses - if you use a non-internet email service like FIDOnet, compuserve or bitnet you may need to modify the address. Email me if you don't know how to do this. I'd like to add this to the guide so if anyone on these services would like to help (5 minutes of your time) email me] Of these the ftpmail@sunsite.unc.edu service looks most user-friendly. There is another ftpmail server which I only recommend using if you have access to "uudecode", "uud" or "xxencode". It does offer HELP in HOWTOFTP and also for users of VMS. It's address is bitftp@pucc.bitnet. The server at mailserver@informatik.tu-muenchen.de provides simple access to the Munich archives only. It also requires that the user is able to "uudecode" and "gunzip" the files which are returned in their email messages since it will not decompress files "on-the-fly". It must therefore use the file names listed at the Munich site (usually those from INDEX and FLAT.INDEX but with a ".gz" extension added.) For more info ask for help as below. To get further instructions, you should email the appropriate server with the subject "HELP" and message body "help". For example, to get more info from all these services send the message between the === lines below. If you don't wish to use the mailserver@informatik.tu-muenchen.de service don't send the carbon-copy to that address. === To: ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com,ftpmail@sunsite.unc.edu Cc: mailserver@informatik.tu-muenchen.de ~Subject: HELP help quit === A reply will automatically be despatched to you usually within minutes of the server receiving the email (not necessarily within minutes of you sending it!). Use the instructions and PLEASE let me know of any pitfalls or ambiguities you encounter and tell me which servers you prefer. To access the Nevada archive, you should send a message of roughly the following form (this is in sunsite syntax): open ftp.uwp.edu cd pub/music/guitar get FLAT.INDEX quit This will obtain the index of the archive which should reach you in a day or so if not a minute or less. (If the file FLAT.INDEX can't be found, it may be currently saved under another name so try again with this or try the command "cd pub/music/guitar" then "ls" to find out what it's called). You can search FLAT.INDEX with an editor or word-processor or, in UNIX, the grep command. For example, in UNIX, to find any songs with "mystic" in them, I type: grep mystic FLAT.INDEX and the response is: ./c/camel/mystic_queen ./m/bob_marley/natural_mystic.crd ./m/van_morrison/into_the_mystic.crd At other sites without an index file you'll need to use the "ls" command to get directories. If you move to the /pub/music/guitar or whatever the root directory is using the "cd" command, you might find out the contents of all subdirectories using a command like "ls -rf" then save the reply to a file. To get a file such as into_the_mystic.crd, don't include any ".Z" extension named in the index or listing unless you use BINARY mode and can "uncompress" and "uudecode" files, just send the following sort of message body: open ftp.uwp.edu cd pub/music/guitar get ./m/van_morrison/into_the_mystic.crd quit You'll be sent the file in a day or maybe a minute. To get more than one file, send more "get" commands on different lines of the message. The "mget" command is not available on most ftpmail servers. Let me know how you get on, ftpmailers! (I don't mind the extra mail)