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Help on na-net
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na-net |
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Subject: |
Help on na-net |
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Date: |
Tue, 26 Aug 2003 00:50:36 -0400 (EDT) |
NOTE: This is an automatic response sent in reply to a message to
<address@hidden>. It is the users' documentation for the
NA-NET system. The NA-NET is also available on the World Wide Web
at the url http://www.netlib.org/na-net/. From there you can also
subscribe, unsubcribe, or update your email address for the NA-Digest
distribution list.
=========================== HELP ON NA-NET ==========================
1. What is NA-NET?
NA-NET is many things in one:
a) an electronic mail forwarder
b) a "white pages" database of numerical analysts
c) a place to submit articles to the NA-DIGEST, a weekly collection
of articles on topics related to numerical analysis and those
who practice it.
Briefly, NA-NET is a special kind of mail handler. You send mail to
any of several addresses at na-net.ornl.gov. NA-NET gets your
message, and depending on the address you sent the message to, handles
it in some special way. You can join or leave NA-NET, add yourself to
the white pages or change your entry, submit an article to the digest,
or ask for help.
The most unusual feature is the mail forwarding. NA-NET knows the
electronic mail address of each of its members, and is willing to
forward mail to them. So if you know that Gene Golub is a member of
NA-NET, you can send mail to address@hidden and it will
automatically get forwarded to wherever Gene reads his mail. NA-NET
can also do forwarding given only someone's first or last name, or
via a special NA-NET "key".
The first NA-NET was built at Stanford University by Gene Golub. Much of
the software we've used up to now was written by Mark Kent. Bill
Rosener of the University of Tennessee wrote the second major version
of the software. The third version of NA-NET was written in June of
1993 by Keith Moore.
NA-NET is often confused with NETLIB. Some of the same people and
machines are involved, but the two are not the same. For information
about NETLIB, send mail to address@hidden with the word "help" in
the message body.
Jack Dongarra is the director of NA-NET.
Cleve Moler is editor of the NA-NET News Digest.
Keith Moore is NA-NET postmaster, and continues to maintain the software.
========================================================================
General Note:
In all cases where data are sent to NA-NET in the message body,
there MUST be a blank line between the message headers (To/From/Subject/etc.)
and the data (lastname/firstname/e-mail/etc.) that are sent to NA-NET.
The easiest thing to do is to begin your message with a blank line.
========================================================================
FEATURES:
========================================================================
A. NANET
========================================================================
1). Mail forwarding
---------------
This is the most frequently used feature of NA-NET.
A message sent to
address@hidden
will be forwarded to that person's real electronic mail
address. If you don't know how to spell someone's
first or last name, you can also use one of:
address@hidden
address@hidden
In each case, if there is more than one NA-NET member
with the name or names you give in the address, your
message will be returned along with a list of NA-NET
members whose names match your request, and their keys.
Each NA-NET user is assigned a unique "key" which
can be used to send mail to that person even if his or
her name is not unique. The key is usually (first initial)
+ (last name) of the user, but sometimes additional initials
or even digits are added to prevent conflicts.
If you know a NA-NET user's key, you may also reach them with:
address@hidden
NOTE: The "na." prefix is still accepted, but no longer
necessary. Sending mail to "address@hidden"
has the same effect as sending it to "address@hidden".
2). NA-NET News Digest
------------------
Any mail sent to "address@hidden" will be considered
for distribution to all members of the NA-NET. About once a week
the Editor of the NA-NET News Digest will go over the messages which
have queued up, pick out the ones that are thought to be of general
interest to the numerical analysis and mathematical software
community, combine them in a News Digest format, and mail the
Digest to everyone on the mailing list.
Back issues of the NA-DIGEST are available for anonymous ftp
from ftp.netlib.org, directory na-digest.
3). Joining the NA-NET
------------------
When you join the NA-NET you get both the mail forwarding
(mail to address@hidden will be forwarded to you),
and an automatic subscription to the NA-DIGEST.
To join the NA-NET send mail to "address@hidden".
In the message body specify the following three fields.
Lastname:
Firstname:
E-mail:
The values can be specified in any order. The subject line of your
message is ignored.
NA-NET will try to generate a unique name for you to be used with
its mail forwarding service, usually by concatenating your first
initial and last name. Occasionally there are too many people
with the same name and NA-NET will reject your request. If this
happens, send mail to address@hidden and ask for assistance.
See Appendix A for an example on how to join the na-net.
4). Removing membership
-------------------
To remove your membership from the NA-NET send mail to
"address@hidden". In the message body specify
the following two fields.
Lastname:
Firstname:
The values can be specified in any order. Again the subject line
of your message is ignored. A message will be sent to both the
deleted address and the address making the request informing you
that your name has been removed. See Appendix A for an example
on how to remove your membership.
In cases where there is more than one NA-NET user with the same
first and last names it is also necessary to specify the "key".
You do this by adding a line of the form:
Key:
to your remove request.
5). Changing e-mail address
-----------------------
To change your e-mail address send mail to "address@hidden".
In the message body specify the following three fields.
Lastname:
Firstname:
New-address:
The values can be specified in any order. Again the subject line
of your message is ignored. A message will be sent to both the
old-address as well as the new-address informing you that the
change has taken place. See Appendix A for an example on how to
change your e-mail address.
In cases where there is more than one NA-NET user with the same
first and last names it is also necessary to specify the "key".
You do this by adding a line of the form:
Key:
to your change request.
6). Help
----
Mail sent to <address@hidden> will cause the current
NA-NET help file to be sent to you. (You're reading it.)
Questions and comments about NA-NET should be addressed to
<address@hidden>. A human being will read all mail
sent to this address.
Technical problems with NA-NET mail should be sent to
<address@hidden>.
Questions and comments about the contents of the digest should
be sent to the digest editor, not to any of the addresses listed
above.
7). Current list of all members
---------------------------
Mail sent to the following address will result in a mail message
being sent back to you containing all members of the NA-NET.
address@hidden
========================================================================
B. WHITEPAGES
========================================================================
The NA-NET "white pages" is a directory service. Listing in the
white pages is separate from the NA-NET membership, but NA-NET
members are encouraged to join the white pages also.
Like any directory service, it is only useful if everybody takes the
time to join, and then as necessary updates their entry. Below is a
short description of the whitepages, and and how to use it.
FEATURES:
1). Querying the Database
---------------------
To find out information about a person send mail to
"address@hidden". In the message body or on the
subject line specify their firstname and lastname, or just
their lastname. The order of firstname and lastname does not
matter. See Appendix B for examples.
On systems that are connected to the Internet, and which have
the "whois" program, you may query the database for someone's
name, without waiting for electronic mail to be returned.
Specify "netlib2.cs.utk.edu" as the host.
For example, on many UNIX machines:
whois -h netlib2.cs.utk.edu "gene golub"
will return Gene Golub's white pages entry.
2). Joining the Whitepages
----------------------
To join the whitepages send mail to "address@hidden".
In the message body specify the two mandatory fields and as many of
the optional fields as you want.
Mandatory
============
Last_name:
First_name:
Optional Fields
===================
Middle_name:
Other_name:
Affiliation:
Office_address:
City_state_zip:
Country:
Office_phone:
Research:
Home_address:
Home_phone:
Fax:
E_mail_address:
Other:
Home-Page-URL:
The fields can be specified in any order. The subject line of your
message is ignored. All fields are entered into the database as
characters. So spaces can be used for readability.
All fields (except first_name, last_name, and middle_name) can
be multiple lines. Any line starting with a space is assumed
to be a continuation of the previous line.
In the rare exception that your first and last name combination
is not unique, send mail to "address@hidden". We will
manually insert your name into the database despite the duplication.
A message will be sent back to you confirming the operation was
successful. See Appendix B for an example of joining the database.
3). Removing your entry
-------------------
To remove your entry from the NA-NET database send mail to
"address@hidden". In the message body specify the
following two fields.
Last_name:
First_name:
The values can be specified in any order. Again the subject line of
your message is ignored. For security purpose, a confirmation message
will be sent to both the address requesting the removal, and also to
the address listed in the whitepages database. See Appendix B for an
example of removing your entry.
4). Changing fields
-----------------------
To change the value of a field or add to new field - send mail to
"address@hidden". In the message body specify the
following two fields plus the fields to be added or changed.
Last_name:
First_name:
The values can be specified in any order. Again the subject line
of your message is ignored. You cannot change your name. If you
wish to do so, first remove your entry and then rejoin with the new
name. If you wish to clear the value of a field, simply include the
field with no value. A message will be sent back to you confirming
the operation was successful. See Appendix B for an example on how
to change or add a field.
==========================================================================
Appendix A (NANET)
==========================================================================
Below are some real examples to give you an idea of how the NA-NET works.
1). For example, to mail to Gene Golub.
mail to: address@hidden
2). Mail sent to a nonexistent na-net name. For example,
mail sent to: address@hidden
will result in the following message being returned to you.
-----------------------------------------------------------
NA-NET key (abcde) not found. Message returned.
.
.
.
------------------------------------------------------------
3). Mail sent to a non-unique na-net name. For example,
mail sent to: address@hidden
will result in the following message being returned to you.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Ambiguous key: try one of the following
fox, david = na.dfox
fox, phyl = na.pfox
fox, x = na.cfox
.
.
.
------------------------------------------------------------
4). An example of how Gene Golub would join the na-net.
mail address@hidden
Subject: anything
Lastname: golub
Firstname: gene
E-mail: address@hidden
5). An example of how Mike Foobar would remove his membership
in the na-net.
mail address@hidden
Subject: anything
Lastname: foobar
Firstname: mike
6). An example of how Mike Fox would change his e-mail address.
mail address@hidden
Subject: anything
Lastname: fox
Firstname: mike
New-address: address@hidden
============================================================================
Appendix B (WHITEPAGES)
============================================================================
Below are some real examples to give you an idea of how the whitepages works.
1). For example, to find out more about Bill Rosener. The software has
been written to understand many different forms. The following are
some of the acceptable forms.
---------------------------------------
mail to: address@hidden
Subject: "blank"
Bill Rosener
---------------------------------------
OR
---------------------------------------
mail to: address@hidden
Subject: "blank"
Rosener Bill
---------------------------------------
OR
---------------------------------------
mail to: address@hidden
Subject: "blank"
whois Rosener Bill
---------------------------------------
OR
---------------------------------------
mail to: address@hidden
Subject: bill rosener
null body
---------------------------------------
OR
---------------------------------------
mail to: address@hidden
Subject: whois bill rosener
null body
---------------------------------------
OR
---------------------------------------
mail to: address@hidden
Subject: "blank"
last-name: rosener
first-name: bill
---------------------------------------
A message similar to the following will then be returned.
==========================================================
Last Name: Rosener
First Name: Bill
Middle Name: J.
Affiliation: University of Tennessee
Office Address: Dept. of Computer Science; 107 Ayres Hall
City State Zip: Knoxville, TN 37996-1301
Country: U.S.A.
Office Phone: (615) 974-3647
Research: Highly-interactive, direct manipulation,
<< MULTIPLE-LINES >>
3D graphical interfaces.
Home Address: 1403 White Ave; Knoxville TN, 37916
Fax: 615-974-8296
E-mail Address: address@hidden
Other: graduate student
Correct as of: Jun 1991
----------------------------------------------------------------
2). For example, to find out more information on all people
whose last name is "smith".
mail to: address@hidden
Subject: "blank"
smith
3). For example, to find out more information on all people who are
interested in "parallel". This does a string comparison on all fields
other than the name fields searching for the pattern "parallel".
mail to: address@hidden
Subject: "blank"
Keyword: parallel
4). For example, to find out more information on all people who live
in "Knoxville". This does a string comparison on all fields other
than the name fields searching for the pattern "Knoxville".
mail to: address@hidden
Subject: "blank"
Keyword: Knoxville
5). An example of how Bill Rosener would join the whitepages.
mail address@hidden
Subject: anything
Last_name: Rosener
First_name: Bill
Middle_name: J.
Affiliation: University of Tennessee
Office_address: Dept. of Computer Science; 107 Ayres Hall
City_state_zip: Knoxville, TN 37996-1301
Country: U.S.A.
Office_phone: (615) 974-3647
Research: Highly-interactive, direct manipulation, <return>
3D graphical interfaces.
Home_address: 1403 White Ave; Knoxville TN, 37916
E_mail_address: address@hidden
Other: graduate student
Home-Page-URL: http://www.cs.utk.edu/~rosener
Note; The optional fields "Fax", "Home_phone", and "Other_name" were not
given. So people querying Bill Rosener will not find this information.
6). An example of how Mike Foobar would remove his entry from the whitepages.
mail address@hidden
Subject: anything
Last_name: foobar
First_name: mike
7). An example of how Mike Fox would change his E-mail address and
Fax number while also clearing his Home Phone number in the whitepages.
mail address@hidden
Subject: anything
Last_name: fox
First_name: mike
E_mail_address: address@hidden
Home_phone:
Fax: (764) 285-4239
Jack Dongarra
University of Tennessee and
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
address@hidden
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