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CFS NET-HELP file

Version: 1998/01/22

This file was written for CFS networkers to be a help reference about Internet, LISTSERV and Usenet. It can be used more easily by reading its web version at http://www.cfs-news.org/net-help.htm. For the most basic help about LISTSERV, it may only be necessary to read section 1-B.


Subject: Section 1: Mailing Lists and LISTSERV

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Subject: Section 1-A: About LISTSERV

LISTSERV software automates many administrative tasks necessary to maintain lists. It relieves the list-owner from a great many time-consuming chores. Messages to be posted to a list for all to read should be sent directly to the list address, e.g., CFS-L@LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG. However, requests for administrative changes to your list subscription, or to retrieve files of archived messages, etc., must be sent to the LISTSERV address (which in this example would be LISTSERV@LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG) in the form of commands that LISTSERV understands. Sometimes people will accidentally send a LISTSERV command to a list address where it may be distributed to all subscribers, so please address your mail to LISTSERV carefully!

There are many sites that use LISTSERV software but most CFS resources are based at LISTSERV@LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG. Messages that are replies *and* which quote an earlier message including the original mail headers will usually be rejected by LISTSERV if they include a Sender: line which points to the address of the list you are posting to. To ensure that your message gets posted, be sure to delete Sender: lines in any quoted text in your message. In any case it is a courtesy to readers to keep quoted material to a minimum.

If the advice in this guide is not sufficient, you may wish to contact the list-owners directly for help. They can be reached at standard email address which takes the form of (listname)-REQUEST@(nodename). For example, the list-owners' address for the CFS-L list would be CFS-L-REQUEST@LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG.

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Subject: Section 1-B: Common LISTSERV commands

In the text below, commands that LISTSERV will accept are initially shown with the minimum acceptable abbreviation in capital letters.

SUBSCRIPTION commands: SUBscribe; SET options; Query

To subscribe to a list, send a command in the following format to LISTSERV in an e-mail message: SUBscribe (listname) (your_first_name) (your_last_name). Example:

   SUB CFS-L John Doe

You may later unsubscribe by sending the command: UNSUBscribe (listname). Example:

   UNSUB CFS-L

The SET command can set various options for your list subscription, and the Query command can view the status of your current SET options. To use the SET command, send a message by email to LISTSERV in the form of SET (listname) (option). For example, send to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG:

   SET CFS-L DIGEST

Common SET options are as follows:

NOMail -- Temporarily suspends list mail to you (including DIGest and INDex delivery); handy if you'll be out of town and don't want list messages piling up at your address. This is also the proper setting for being able to post to alt.med.cfs without getting any e-mail.
e.g. SET CFS-L NOMAIL

Mail -- Cancels a setting of NOMail, restores either individual piece-by-piece mail, DIGest, or INDex delivery. (Sending this command while you are currently receiving DIGest or INDex delivery will switch you to individual messages.)
e.g. SET CFS-L MAIL

DIGest -- Has all messages sent as one large message, once per digest cycle so that you won't get every message individually. For CFS-L the cycle is once per day, or when post volume reaches 1000 lines, whichever comes first.
e.g. SET CFS-L DIGEST.

NODIGest -- Switches you from DIGest to individual messages.
e.g. SET CFS-L NODIGEST

INDex -- To get a list of messages but not the actual messages themselves; sent at the same time as the DIGest. The list of post descriptions includes the author, subject, and number of lines in the message. Messages that you select can be retrieved in full text by replying to the INDex and deleting the descriptions of posts you do not want to retrieve. Directions on using the INDex are included in each INDex.
e.g. SET CFS-L INDEX

NOINDex -- Switches you from INDex to individual messages.
e.g. SET CFS-L NOINDEX

TOPICS -- E-mail subscribers can adjust the topics they receive. To add topics use the format TOPICS +topic1 +topic2. To subtract topics use the format TOPICS -topic1 -topic2. To remove all topics except for the ones you specify, use TOPICS topic1 topic2. (Digest and Index subscribers must receive all topics.)
e.g. SET CFS-L TOPICS +OTHER +CHAT  (adds OTHER and CHAT)
     SET CFS-L TOPICS -MED -ADMIN  (removes MED and ADMIN)
     SET CFS-L TOPICS MED RES  (removes all except MED and RES)

REPro -- You will receive a copy of messages you post, provided you subscribe to the topic you are posting to and receive individual messages.
e.g. SET CFS-L REPRO

NOREPro -- Turns off REPro
e.g. SET CFS-L NOREPRO

ACK -- You will receive a short acknowledgment notice via e-mail when your messages are successfully distributed to the group.
e.g. SET CFS-L ACK

NOACK -- Turns off the ACK message.
e.g. SET CFS-L NOACK

FULL -- Full mail headers.
e.g. SET CFS-L FULL

SHORT -- Makes message mail-headers briefer, less extraneous information to page through.
e.g. SET CFS-L SHORT

SUBJ -- Inserts a tag (typically the list name) to the subject line. For example the subject line in each message from CFS-L would begin with "CFS-L". Makes it easier to sort list mail from personal mail. To turn this off, send the command SET CFS-L FULL (or any other mail header option).
e.g. SET CFS-L SUBJ

DUAL -- Adds some header information (i.e. author, subject, and list name) to the message body. For those whose mail program doesn't display that information from normal message headers.
e.g. SET CFS-L DUAL

MIME -- Turns MIME digests on (digest may be easier to read). This is only useful if your mail client supports MIME digests.
e.g. SET CFS-L MIME

NOMIME -- Turns MIME digests off, you will receive digests with normal formatting.
e.g. SET CFS-L NOMIME

CONCEAL -- Your address will not be displayed to others who use the REView command. Many lists, including CFS-L, keep the subscription list confidential so you don't need to conceal your subscription. The REView command is described below in the file commands section.
e.g. SET CFS-L CONCEAL

Query: To check which options as described above you currently have in place, send a command to LISTSERV in the form of Query (listname). Example:

   QUERY CFS-L

FILE commands

The REView, INDex and GET commands enable you to retrieve useful information about a list, and any stored documents that relate to the list's subject matter.

The command REView (listname) will retrieve descriptive information about a list, including its definition, the identity and address of the list-owner, and a list of current subscribers. Recent abuses on the Internet have prompted many list-owners to keep their subscription lists confidential and so REVIEW may not always retrieve such lists.

The command INDex (listname) will show all files at the LISTSERV relating to the named list. Usually these will only be archives of the list's old messages. Sometimes the list-owner will also have other documents there. A few lists do not maintain an archive of previous messages.

The command GET (filename1) (filename2) will retrieve files saved on the LISTSERV, either archives or special documents. Every file has a two-word name. Most often, files of a list's archived messages will be grouped by month (like CFS-NEWS) or by week (like CFS-L). A monthly archive will have a filename in the form of (listname) LOG(2-digit-year)(2-digit-month) and a weekly archive will have a letter added at the end (either A, B, C, D or E) to identify a week. For example, the February 1997 archive for CFS-NEWS would be retrieved by sending the command

   GET CFS-NEWS LOG9702

as an email message to address LISTSERV@LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG. Or to get the CFS-L archive for the 2nd week of April 1997 you would send the command

   GET CFS-L LOG9704B

To see what specific filenames are available, you can use the INDEX command as described above. When GETting logs or other files you can have the file split into a number of smaller files by adding a SPLIT= instruction to your GET command. For example to GET the same CFS-L log as in our example above but split into 50 kilobyte messages, send the command:

GET CFS-L LOG9704B SPLIT=50K

This is helpful for those whose provider limits the size of incoming mail messages. You can adjust the size of the split to suit your needs. The split command also works when GETting other files.
e.g. GET CFS FAQ SPLIT=50K

CFS information files are available from the St. John's LISTSERV at LISTSERV@LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG, and from the Albany LISTSERV at LISTSERV@HEALTH.STATE.NY.US. For a discussion of those file facilities and some advanced LISTSERV file commands, see Section 3 below.

Other helpful commands

To get a selection of listnames on any LISTSERV where the name or description contains a certain keyword, send a command in the form of LISTS GLOBAL /keyword. Example:

   LISTS GLOBAL /CFS

The command THANKs will generate a message which says "YOU're welcome!". This may be used to check whether all the network connections are in place between you and the LISTSERV and to be sure that the LISTSERV is up and operating.

A user's guide to LISTSERV 1.8c is available at http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/userindex.html. A complete list of LISTSERV commands can be found on the LISTSERV REFCARD and a detailed LISTSERV manual can be found as the LISTSERV MEMO document. These documents, and how to get them, are described in Appendix A below.

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Subject: Section 1-C: Mailing lists of interest

Note the following net mailing lists that may be of interest. In each case, the Internet node where the sponsoring LISTSERV is located is shown. Always send subscription commands to the LISTSERV address. Study subsection B above carefully before using the addresses below.

In the web version of this document, many of the group names below are hot-linked to more detailed information about each group. Those who don't have web access may get more information by sending the command GET CFS LISTS as an e-mail message to the address LISTSERV@LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG.

CFS-NEWS @ LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG  CFS Electronic Newsletter.
                                  Gatewayed to bit.listserv.cfs.newsletter.
CFS-L    @ LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG  Chronic Fatigue Syndrome general 
                                  discussion.  Gatewayed to newsgroup 
                                  alt.med.cfs.
CFS-WIRE @ LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG  CFS Newswire service to exchange news
                                  articles between CFS support group 
                                  newsletters.  Gatewayed to 
                                  alt.med.cfs.info.
ME-NET   @ NIC.SURFNET.NL         Dutch language group for CFS/FMS/Lyme
CFS-MED  @ LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG  CFS discussion for health professionals
CFS-DOC  @ LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG  CFS discussion for doctors (private 
                                  group; to subscribe contact
                                  CFS-DOC-REQUEST@LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG)
CFIDS-L  @ LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU           CFS/CFIDS/ME political action discussion.
                                  Gatewayed to alt.health.cfids-action.
CFS-OPEN @ LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG  Unmoderated, subject to heated discussion
                                  Gatewayed to alt.med.cfs.open.
CATHAR-M @ LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG  Catharsis magazine of personal health,
                                  intellect and creativity for the CFS
                                  community.
CFS-FILE @ LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG  Notices of additions and changes to CFS
                                  file base at St. John's.
CFS-D    @ HEALTH.STATE.NY.US     Notices of additions and changes to CFS
                                  file base at Albany, New York 
CO-CURE  @ LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU     CFS/FM information exchange.
CFS-Y    @ LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG  CFS discussion for youths
CFS-20s  (not on LISTSERV)        20-somethings CFS discussion. To sub
                                  send SUBSCRIBE CFS-20S to 
                                  majordomo@tertius.net.au
CFS-Q    (not on LISTSERV)        Gay CFS/ME discussion. To sub send 
                                  SUBSCRIBE CFS-Q to 
                                  majordomo@tertius.net.au
OzME     (not on LISTSERV)        Australia and New Zealand CFS/ME 
                                  discussion.  To sub send any email
                                  to ozme-subscribe@topica.com
MECHAT    @ hugme.com             UK CFS/ME discussion.
CDN-ME-FM @ LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU    Canadian CFS/ME/FM discussion 
PWC-INFO  @ HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM   Canadian CFS/ME discussion 
C-ACT    (not on LISTSERV)        CAA's CFIDS activist program
                                  To join mail to c-act@cfids.org
WECAN    @ HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM    CFIDS/ME patient advocacy
SASYFRAS @ HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM    CFS/ME patient discussion
CFS-P    (not on LISTSERV)        Parents of young PWC's. To sub send
                                  SUBSCRIBE CFS-P to 
                                  majordomo@tertius.net.au
CFS-CARE @ LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG  Caregivers of PWC's.
FIBROM-L @ MITVMA.MIT.EDU         Fibromyalgia / Fibrositis discussion
                                  No longer gated to alt.med.fibromyalgia.
immune   (not on LISTSERV)        Immune system discussion. To sub 
                                  send SUBSINGLE to
                                  immune-request@lists.best.com
MCS-IMMUNE-NEURO @ LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG    MCS/Chemical sensitivity  
Gulf War Syndrome                 News on Gulf War syndrome. To join, send
                                  a request to grant@ides.com.
LymeNet-L                         Lyme Disease electronic newsletter
                                  available through a non-standard listserv
                                  send the command Subscribe Lymenet-l
                                  (your) (name) to listserv@lehigh.edu
YEAST-L  @ LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG  Yeast problems and yeast-free recipes.
WITSENDO @ LISTSERV.DARTMOUTH.EDU Endometriosis discussion
EPD      @ list.pitt.edu          Enzyme Potentiated Desensitization
                                  treatment discussion. (Send SUBSCRIBE EPD
                                  to Majordomo@list.pitt.edu.)
HOLISTIC @ SIU.EDU                Holistic discussion
HERB     @ VM3090.EGE.EDU.TR      Medicinal and Aromatic Plants discussion
VEGLIFE  @ VTVM1.CC.VT.EDU        Vegetarian discussion
AMALGAM  @ LISTSERV.GMD.DE        Dental AMALGAM and MERCURY Poisoning
HELP-NET @ VM.TEMPLE.EDU          Internet Help group
To search for other mailing lists of interest visit http://www.liszt.com or see the LISTS command in section 1-B above.

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Subject: Section 1-D: SEARCHing and selecting old messages

You can have LISTSERV send you only selected messages of your choosing without having to retrieve whole files of monthly logs. Many LISTSERV lists that have archived messages can have those messages searched and selected. Consider the following example where we want to search the CFS-L archive for all messages containing the character string "ampligen":

SEARCH AMPLIGEN IN CFS-L

If you send the text above to the LISTSERV where CFS-L is based (i.e., LISTSERV@LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG) you will get in return a listing of all CFS-L messages that contain the word "ampligen" (regardless of whether any of the letters are upper or lower case in the messages). Directions on how to retrieve the complete articles will be sent with the index of article hits. You can narrow your search further, some examples follow:

SEARCH DHEA IN CFS-L SINCE DEC 96

SEARCH FLORINEF IN CFS-L SINCE NOV 96 WHERE SENDER CONTAINS FEKLARA

The "SENDER CONTAINS" option can only search the sender's email address, not the sender's name. If the search string is longer than one line you must begin each line with a double forward slash followed by a space:

// SEARCH 'SIDE EFFECTS' IN CFS-L FROM 96/6/30 TO 96/11/15 ,
// WHERE SUBJECT CONTAINS FLORINEF

Note that a space followed by a comma at the end of the first line allows the command to continue to the 2nd line.

You can also narrow your search by using the reserved word AND or broaden it by using the reserved word OR. E.g., entering SEARCH AMPLIGEN AND RESEARCH would yield only those messages which contained both of those words. Please note that CFS-L logs are only retained for roughly six months. To search further back you may want to use other archive services such as http://www.dejanews.com

A full description of how to use the LISTSERV database utility can be obtained by sending the command GET LISTDB MEMO to any LISTSERV.

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Subject: Section 2: Usenet newsgroups

Many people prefer the convenience of reading Usenet newsgroups rather than receiving many messages from an active mailing list. Some mailing lists and newsgroups are linked, or "gatewayed". Some newsgroups such as alt.med.cfs are moderated and your post will not appear in the group immediately. For a more detailed discussion on the technical setup of alt.med.cfs see Appendix C below.

If you don't have access to Usenet and would like to find a service that enables you to reach there, read the "CFS/ME Electronic Resources" guide which can be obtained by sending the command GET CFS-NET TXT as an e-mail message to the address LISTSERV@LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG. It is also possible to access Usenet newsgroups via e-mail, see Appendix C below.

Newsgroups

 alt.med.cfs                    patient discussion, linked to CFS-L
 alt.med.fibromyalgia           patient discussion, see also FIBROM-L
 alt.med.cfs.info               CFS-NEWS, CFS-WIRE and other periodicals.
 sci.med.immunology             general discussion on immunology
 sci.med.diseases.lyme          Lyme disease
 misc.health.alternative        alternative health
 alt.health.cfids-action        CFS political action issues (CFIDS-L)
 bit.listserv.cfs.newsletter    CFS-NEWS electronic newsletter
 alt.med.cfs.open               Unmoderated, linked to CFS-OPEN
 news.announce.newusers         info for those new to Usenet
 news.newsusers.questions       Q&A about Usenet

Discussions on other health issues can be found in the hierarchies of sci.med, misc.health, and alt.support. Discussions for biologists can be found in the bionet hierarchy.

For more information on Usenet visit http://sunsite.unc.edu/usenet-i/home.html

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Subject: Section 3: FILES -- documents via email

CFS information files are available from the CFS-FILE database on the St. John's University LISTSERV, and the CFS-D database on the New York State Department of Health LISTSERV in Albany, New York.

To use the St. John's LISTSERV, send commands to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG. To get a list of current files available, send the command GET CFS-FILE FILELIST to this LISTSERV address. To retrieve specific files, note the filenames on the FILELIST and then send a command in the form of GET (filename1) (filename2) to the LISTSERV address (each file has a two-part name). Example: GET CFS FAQ
To be notified of newly added files in the future, join the notification list by sending a command in the form of

   SUB CFS-FILE YourFirstName YourLastName

as an email message to the address LISTSERV@LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG.

To use the Albany LISTSERV, send commands by e-mail to LISTSERV@HEALTH.STATE.NY.US and use commands similarly as above, i.e. send GET CFS-D FILELIST to this LISTSERV address.

When GETting files you can have the file split into a number of smaller files by adding a SPLIT= instruction, see the GET command instructions in section 1B above.

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Subject: Section 4: World Wide Web

World Wide Web, or "www", is the latest Internet tool which having a revolutionary effect on computer technology. Web pages link many different Internet resources together on any related topic. If your system doesn't have www but does have telnet, you can use www by telnetting into any of the following and logging in as 'www': ukanaix.cc.ukans.edu; telnet.w3.org; or www.njit.edu. It is also possible to access web pages via e-mail, see Appendix C below. For a FAQ on the www see http://www.boutell.com/faq

There are a great many CFS/ME resources that are reachable via the web, too many to list here. The following web pages can lead you to these many links:

   http://www.cfs-news.org/

   http://www.dds.nl/~me-net/meweb


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Subject: Section 5: IRC (Internet Relay Chat)

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) enables a real-time live conference. There is a CFS channel on the "Undernet" portion of the IRC network which holds regular meetings daily, and which has become so popular that there are usually people on the channel at almost all hours of the day. For details about how to reach the #CFS channel you can go to the web page at http://CFS-IRC.home.att.net. Or by email you can send the command

   GET CFS IRC

as a message to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG.

For information about IRC generally, send the command

   send usenet/news.answers/irc/undernet-faq/part1

as an e-mail message to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu. For information about the IRC Undernet in particular (where the active CFS channel is located), send the command

   send usenet/news.answers/irc/undernet-faq/part2

to that same address.

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Subject: Section 6: Gopher

"Gopher" is a file-finding utility. The ME-NET mailing list based in the Netherlands has much information and its archives can be found by gopher. Go to HEARN.nic.SURFnet.nl and choose "LISTSERVs public archives on HEARN.nic.SURFnet.NL", and then ME-NET.

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Subject: Section 7: FTP

"FTP" stands for "file transfer protocol". It is a means of transferring large files rapidly between different computer systems, and it is available at many Internet providers. Note the following sites:

alternatives.com (Alternatives BBS, British Columbia), directory hecfs (to see a helpful menu listing of the files there, web to http://www.alternatives.com/libs/hecfs.htm

warp.icdi.wvu.edu (Project ENABLE BBS, West Virginia), directory CFS (to see a helpful menu listing of the files there, web to http://www.icdi.wvu.edu/files/file23.htm

ftp.uci.edu (U. Calif. Irvine Science Library), ftp://ftp.uci.edu/med-ed/cfs

rtfm.mit.edu (Usenet FAQ repository), directory pub/usenet/news.answers/medicine/chronic-fatigue-syndrome/

ftp.cdc.gov (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/infectious_diseases/cfs/

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Subject: Section 8: Telnet

"Telnet" enables you login in to another system from your own. There are a few computer systems that allow limited access by the general public to selected resources.

The Project ENABLE BBS of West Virginia can be reached by telnet. The BBS gives access to many disability related discussion groups on the Fidonet BBS network, including the CFS "echo". People on Internet who are accustomed to quick responses to messages may feel that the Fidonet echos are slow (they can take a day or two to distribute messages). However, Fidonet BBSs can be accessed at no charge and usually by a local telephone call, so they can be reached by a great many people. Telnet to enable.wvnet.edu and after completing the online registration you can from the main menu use the Join command to go to the CFS echo at conference 101. CFS files can be found in file area 23 and can be downloaded via ftp from warp.icdi.wvu.edu directory CFS. (For information on how to find Fidonet BBSs locally, get the "CFS/ME Electronic Resources" guide by sending the command GET CFS-NET TXT as an email message to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG.)

The National Capital Free-net (Ottawa) has a CFS section with discussion groups and info files. Telnet to freenet.carleton.ca. When you reach the command prompt, enter the command "go cfseir" to get to the CFS section. You may want to fill out and mail in the Freenet registration forms to get wider access to that system.

The Alternatives BBS has a health forum including a files section on CFS (which can be accessed directly by ftp, see Section 7 above). Telnet to alternatives.com or 204.244.17.10.

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Subject: Appendix A: Further info about health resources and LISTSERV.

A comprehensive guide to medical resources has been developed by Dr. Gary Malet with Lee Hancock and it is available as a web page at

   http://www.medmatrix.org

A similar guide to general health resources can be found in the Health Resources file maintained by Lee Hancock. The 1993 edition can be obtained by sending the command GET CFS MED-RES as an e-mail message to LISTSERV@HEALTH.STATE.NY.US. The current edition can be obtained by the following means:

       web:  http://kuhttp.cc.ukans.edu/cwis/units/medcntr/menu.html

       gopher:  ukanaix.cc.ukans.edu, login kufacts
                choose Departmental Information, and 
                then Medical Center Resources

       ftp:  ftp.cc.ukans.edu, directory /pub/hmatrix
             with filenames in the form of medlst*

Further detailed information about LISTSERV can be obtained by sending the command GET (filename1) (filename2) as email to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.NET. See the examples below.

   GET LISTSERV REFCARD   Commands reference card
   GET LISTSERV MEMO      Gen'l Introduction to LISTSERV
   GET LISTFILE MEMO      File-server functions
   GET LISTDB   MEMO      Database functions
   GET LISTFAQ  MEMO      Frequently Asked Questions
                          [could be subtitled How to Use
                          Database to Answer Your Own
                          Questions]
Also see the user's guide at http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/userindex.html.

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Subject: Appendix B: Other help documents about on-line CFS resources

The "CFS/ME Electronic Resources" guide answers questions such as

- How can I find Freenets, BBSs, and other low-cost alternatives to CFS online information?

- Where can CFS information be found on the commercial services, like Prodigy, America Online, Compuserve, GEnie, and others?

- How can I find a local full-service Internet provider?

To get a copy, send the command GET CFS-NET TXT as an email message to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG.


The CFS INDEX file describes many basic online documents and how to obtain them, including the CFS FAQ. The CFS INDEX is available on the web at http://www.cfs-news.org/cfs-indx.html and can be obtained via email by sending GET CFS INDEX to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG.

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Subject: Appendix C: Additional internet info

You can access many internet resources via e-mail including the www, Usenet news, FTP, and gopher. For more information send the command:

   send usenet/news.answers/internet-services/access-via-email

as a e-mail message to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu.

One copyright FAQ is at http://www.clari.net/brad/copymyths.html
For information on spam visit http://spam.abuse.net

alt.med.cfs posting delays -- When posting to alt.med.cfs your article will not appear in the group immediately. Posts to alt.med.cfs are forwarded to the LISTSERV which verifies that you are registered for posting (they are not viewed by anyone before distribution). It then sends the post to the Usenet gateway (and to CFS-L). From the news gateway at American University the article must make its way back to your news server.

News propagation tends to be slow and unreliable. It's not uncommon to see posts appearing out of order. It's also probable that those following via Usenet do not see every article posted to the group. The quality of news feeds vary depending on your provider.

If you would like to be certain that your posts are reaching the group, you can set your registration subscription to ACK. To do so, send a e-mail message to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG that reads SET CFS-L ACK. (For more information on LISTSERV and SET commands see Section 1 above.) Thereafter, each time you post you will receive a short confirmation notice via e-mail when your post is successfully distributed.

If getting timely and complete information is important to you, you may want to consider following via the mailing list. E-mail is much faster and more reliable than news propagation. The mailing list CFS-L and the newsgroup alt.med.cfs mirror each other. To switch to the mailing list, send a e-mail message to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG that reads SET CFS-L MAIL.

If your posts do appear on the group immediately, it's likely your provider doesn't have the group set as moderated at your site. In that case your posts are not being distributed to the full group. You should ask your news administrator to set the group as moderated. Another way around this problem is to send your posts as an e-mail message to CFS-L@LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG. Everything sent to that address is automatically distributed to the group, provided you are registered for posting.

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Subject: Appendix D: Where to get this document

A current edition of this document can be obtained in the following ways:

Email: send GET CFS NET-HELP to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG

Web: go to http://www.cfs-news.org/net-help.htm

Usenet: go to newsgroup alt.med.cfs and see the weekly FAQ article whose subject title is "FAQ: CFS Network Help"

ftp: go to rtfm.mit.edu, directory pub/usenet/news.answers/medicine/chronic-fatigue-syndrome
filename cfs-network-help

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