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!%@:: A DIRECTORY OF ELECTRONIC MAIL ADDRESSING AND NETWORKS (Third
Edition) by Donnalyn Frey and Rick Adams.  O'Reilly and Associates,
Inc., 103 Morris St., Suite A, Sebastopol, CA 95472, (800) 998-
9938, (707) 829-0104 FAX.  O'Reilly publications may be ordered
from the Internet by sending e-mail to order@ora.com.  First-time
senders will be e-mailed an order application, which will ask for
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number.  For security reasons, please do not send a credit card
number via e-mail.  The application may be faxed or mailed back to
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requests need only be accompanied by the account number.  Three
indexes, glossary, four appendices.  458 pp., $24.95 paper.
0-56592-031-7

                             REVIEW

     !%@:: is usually what a person sputters when they, failing to
connect to an electronic mail address, encounter the arcane
acronyms that govern e-mail, such as RFC-822, X.400, DNS, OSI, O/R,
and X.500.  The third (and lower-priced) edition of "!%@::" while
not guaranteeing that every e-mail message a user sends will go
through, goes far in helping them experience fewer "bounces" (those
infernal messages from a busybody named Daemon Mailer), while
improving their ability to rapidly connect with over 180 networks
across the nation.
     "!%@::" begins with an introduction to domain addressing,
which makes message formats used in e-mail headers, such as
addressing syntax and domain naming conventions, a snap to
understand.
     The bulk of the book, though, is a directory of network names,
alphabetically arranged by network notation.  This information,
while remaining fairly constant, may not be current.  Most entries
were updated in March/April of 1993.
     The entry for the ubiquitous yet hard to access NYSERNet, for
example, identifies it as the New York State Education and Research
Network, the mid-level network of NSFNET.  NYSERNet contains 192
affiliate sites (102 leased line and 90 dial-up sites).  Included
in the entry is information on NYSERNet facilities, addressing
syntax, contact details, and future plans.
     The book also has four appendices: Subdomains in the United
States (commercial, educational, governmental, military, network,
and organizational), International Subdomains, ISO Country Codes,
and a simplified discussion of how Internet addresses are handled
by UUCP sites (problematically).
     Written for novice and experienced users alike, "!%@::" is
enthusiastically recommended as a reference for individual e-mail
users (whether Internet or another online provider such as
CompuServe), as well as businesses, research and academic institu-
tions, and network service providers.