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FAQ Roadmap: Search The Internet
Version 1.1, April 14, 1995

0.0  Other Reports, Copyright, Disclaimer, and Please Help!

--Other Reports Available--

*Business Handbook Internet:
  How To Get Your Business Up On The Internet
*FAQ Roadmap: Embedded Systems Internet
*FAQ Roadmap: Windows Development Internet
*VMENET: VMEbus Hardware, Software, And Services

For information: info@cera.com

--Copyright--
(c) CERA Research, all rights reserved, 1995.

CERA Research
36608 Newark Blvd.
Newark, CA 94560 USA
Tel. 510-713-1620
Fax. 510-745-7929
Email. comments@cera.com

--Disclaimer--
We have made every effort to provide accurate information
for anyone trying to search the Internet.  Given rapid
transformations, however, certain inaccuracies may occur.
CERA Research accepts no liability for any consequences
which may arise from the use of this report.  Any slights
against people or organizations are unintentional -- please
email comments@cera.com to correct them!

--Please Help--
We are constantly updating this information with new WWW
sites, FAQ's, search engines, etc.  If you know of anything
we've left out, please email comments@cera.com, referencing
SEARCH-FAQ.  Thanks!


**********
CONTENTS

1.0  Search The Internet

2.0  USENET Groups

3.0  FAQ's and Informational Reports

4.0  Mailing Lists

5.0  Basic Search Tools

  *Archie
  *Finger
  *Gopher
  *WAIS
  *WHOIS

6.0  FTP

7.0  WWW Search Sites

8.0  Other Meritorious Search Tools

9.0  Recommended Books and Magazines

**********
1.0  Search The Internet

The goal of this FAQ is to provide a "roadmap" for anyone
searching for information on how to search the Internet.
The "roadmap" concept is important: this FAQ identifies the
search tools, where to find them, and where to begin to find
out how to use them.

It does ==>NOT<== explain how to use the tools.  See
recommended books in Section 4.0 for information on how to
use search tools!

This report does ===>NOT<=== claim to be the "definitive"
guide to searching the Internet.  Rather it is a starting
point....

Apologies in advance to the "sophisticated": some of this
information may seem obvious.  What is obvious to the
"sophisticated" is often obscure to the person just
learning....  And, if you know of something obvious we've
left out, please email comments@cera.com!

The latest version of this FAQ is always available:

-->by ftp
-->ftp.best.com /pub/cera as "search_the_internet"
-->ftp.netcom.com /pub/ce/cera as "search_the_internet"

PLEASE FTP FIRST, but if you can't --

-->by email
-->email cera@netcom.com
-->SEND SEARCH-FAQ in the SUBJECT line

**********
2.0  USENET Groups

USENET Groups are organized on a particular topic.  The
trick is: before you can read a "group," how do you find it?
What subjects exist?

--METHOD ONE: Check with Your Provider

Your Internet service provider probably has a listing of the
groups they subscribe to.  Scroll through the list on your
software; most names are self-explanatory.  Some providers
(like America OnLine) allow you to "search" USENET groups by
keyword.

--METHOD TWO: Scan the Hierarchies, *.answers groups and the
general news.* groups.

Certain groups focus on listing new newsgroups, questions,
FAQ reports, etc.  Often, they cross-reference to other
groups (look in the "newsgroups" line of the headers).

Note: the *.answer groups are "moderated," i.e. postings are
pre-approved by a human moderator.  You cannot post
questions to these groups.  For general questions, use the
news.newusers.questions or news.groups.questions groups, or
post to a specific group such as comp.misc for a
miscellaneous computer question.

For the basic hierarchies of USENET, the *.answers groups
are:

alt.answers
--"alternative" issues such as "sex," "t.v.," etc.

comp.answers
-- computer-related questions

misc.answers
-- miscellaneous-related questions

news.announce.newgroups
-- announces NEW Internet groups.
news.answers
-- general INTERNET questions, ALL official FAQ reports.
news.groups
-- discussions of groups, listings of groups
news.groups.questions
-- questions of "where can I find group X."
-- This is a good group for posting questions!
news.lists
-- news-related lists, usage statistics, etc.
news.newsites
-- announcements of new Internet sites
news.newusers.questions
-- discussions by and for people new to Internet
-- This is a good group for posting questions!

rec.answers
-- recreation-related questions

sci.answers
-- science-related questions

soc.answers
-- social issues, society-related questions

talk.answers
-- debate-oriented questions

--METHOD THREE: Obtain the "active newsgroups" list.

UUNET Technologies maintains a comprehensive list with
explanations of all active groups (except the "alt"
hierarchy), an update of new groups, and a list of the "alt"
groups.

To obtain the "active newsgroups," "diff" (new groups), and
"alt" lists:

On USENET, they are posted to:

news.lists, news.groups, news.announce.newgroups,
news.answers

Via FTP, from rtfm.mit.edu

/pub/usenet-by-hierarchy/news/answers
  as "active-newsgroups/part "
  as "active-newsgroups/diff "

/pub/usenet-by-group/news.lists
  as "Alternative_Newsgroup_Hierarchies "

**********
3.0  FAQ'S AND INFORMATIONAL REPORTS

FAQ stands for "Frequently Asked Questions."  FAQ's are
reports on a topic of interest -- anything relating from
microcontrollers to sexual pictures available over the
Internet.  FAQ's divide into two groups: official, and
unofficial.  Official FAQ's have been accepted by the news
hiearchy run out of MIT, and are archived at rtfm.mit.edu.

An FAQ -- if one exists -- is usually a goldmine to locating
information.  How do you find FAQ's?

--METHOD ONE: Read the Appropriate USENET Group

Most FAQ's are posted to USENET groups.  You can then
download the FAQ.  Or, if a "pointer" is posted, you can go
to that FTP or WWW Site.  Note: due to volume of postings,
you may not always find the FAQ on USENET.  Either watch the
group for a while, or search the FTP site.

NOTE: All officially approved FAQ's are posted to the
news.answers group as well as the appropriate *.answer group
in their hierarchy (such as comp.answers or rec.answers).
Brousing any of the *.answers groups, you can usually find
the FAQ you are looking for.

--METHOD TWO: FTP the FAQ from rtfm.mit.edu

FTP to rtfm.mit.edu
change directory to:

/pub/usenet-by-hierarchy/news/answers

FTP the desired FAQ or brouse...
/pub/usenet-by-group is also a good subdirectory for
brousing.

--METHOD THREE: Obtain From the World Wide Web:

http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu

--METHOD FOUR: Obtain A Helpful FAQ/Report

*****
NOTE: Unless otherwise noted, each of these reports can be
FTP'd from rtfm.mit.edu /pub/usenet-by-hierarchy
/news/answers as explained above, and all are
posted to news.answers.
*****

REPORT: ACCESSING ON-LINE BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATABASES
--This lists libraries worldwide that provide Internet
connections to their catalogs via telnet.
--It can be FTP'd from: ftp.utdallas.edu
/pub/staff/billy/libguide

REPORT: Finding (USENET) Groups FAQ
--This FAQ explains how to find the right USENET group to
post to.
--It is posted to: news.announce.newusers,
news.groups.questions, news.groups, and a few others.
--It can be FTP'd as finding-groups/general

REPORT: Internet Sources of Government Information
--This report catalogs US government sources of information,
available over the Internet, such as FTP, WWW, and gopher.
By subject category, with a brief description.
--It is posted to: alt.politics.economics,
alt.politics.usa.misc, soc.politics, soc.answers,
alt.answers
--It can be FTP'd from una.hh.lib.umich.edu as well as
rtfm.mit.edu as us-govt-net-pointers/part

REPORT: List of Periodic Informational Postings.
--This is the "master" list of FAQ's and other informational
postings, broken down by subject area.
--It is posted to: news.lists
--It can be FTP'd as periodic-postings/part

REPORT: PDIAL List of Internet Service Providers
--Comprehensive list of access providers by area code and
country.
--The list is posted to USENET: alt.internet.access.wanted,
alt.bbs.lists, alt.online-service
--The list can be FTP'd as /pdial

REPORT: Usenet Moderated Archives
--This report lists FTP archives for moderated USENET
groups.
--It is posted to:  news.lists, comp.archives,
news.newusers.questions, comp.answers,
--It can be FTP'd as usenet/mod-archives

**********
4.0  MAILING LISTS

Mailing lists, like USENET, connect persons interested in a
particular topic.  Usually, subscribers both receive and can
send email to all members of the group.  Generally, you
subscribe by emailing a specific address according to a
standardized format.

Problem: How Do You Find Which Mailing Lists Exist?

--ANSWER: Obtain The "Mailing Lists List"
--Maintained by Stephanie Da  Silva, this list lists all
known publically available mailing lists distributed over
the Internet.  (Subscribing to a mailing lists means
receiving information and-or being able to send out
information to a group of people interested in a particular
topic).
--The list is posted to USENET: news.lists
--The list is archived at FTP: rtfm.mit.edu /pub/usenet-by-
group/news.answers/mail/mailing-lists
--The list is available via the WWW at:
http://www.neosoft.com/internet/paml

**********
5.0  BASIC SEARCH TOOLS

Here is a list of basic search tools which your Internet
service provider should provide.  Check with recommended
books on how to use.

ARCHIE
--Archie allows you to search FTP sites for files stored
there as well as directories.  Archie is the "card catalog"
of ftp sites.

FINGER
--Allows you to locate a particular individual on a
particular host.

GOPHER
--Menu-driven search tool that allows you to locate files,
directories as well as connect to TELNET, WAIS, and other
Internet mechanisms.

WAIS
--Wide Area Information Server.  WAIS's allow you to search
their databases by key words, i.e. search within files to
identify where they are located on the Internet.

WHOIS
--Search tool that allows you to identify persons, hosts,
and domains.  Most important is at rs.internic.net, allowing
you to find out registered domain names.

**********
6.0 FTP SITES

FTP - File Transfer Protocal -- allows you to transfer files
from another computer to your own.  Most sites on the
Internet contain computing information, while others contain
text files relating to particular issues ranging from
legislation to agriculture.

One basic site -- rtfm.mit.edu -- has already been
identified as a key resource for locating FAQ reports.

Problem: How To Identify Specific FTP sites?

--METHOD ONE: Archie
Using Archie, Veronica, or Gopher you can identify files
containing key words and their hosts.  From there, you can
usually ftp the files via anonymous ftp.

--METHOD TWO: Obtain the "Internet Services List"
--This report lists WWW, FTP, Gopher sites that provide
information on particular topics (agriculture, computers,
etc.).
--It is posted to: alt.internet.services, comp.misc,
biz.comp.services, comp.answers, alt.answers
--It can be FTP'd from rtfm.mit.edu /pub/usenet-by-
hierarchy/news/answers as internet-services/list


**********
7.0  WWW SEARCH SITES

World Wide Web -- based on HTML and hypertext link -- is the
fastest growing part of the Internet.  If you have a brouser
such as Mosaic, you can "surf" the net.  The problem: how do
you know a company or organization's WWW site?

Note:this list is NOT comprehensive.  We have tried to
include only those search sites that (1) search the WWW for
other WWW sites, (2) seem to work the best, and-or (3)
provide pointers to more comprehensive lists.  Sites marked
--VERY USEFUL-- are just that.

--METHOD ONE: Public Search Engines.  Listed below are
public ("free") search engines.  Generally, you log onto the
site, enter a text search string (for example, "cooking"),
and the site answers back with WWW sites that somehow
contain the string.  Or, you scroll through a topic list.

CENTER FOR SUBJECT-ORIENTED INTERNET RESOURCE GUIDES
http://www.lib.umich.edu/chhome.html
--Lists Internet resource guides by subject category.
Allows for searching as well as brousing the list (gopher).
--VERY USEFUL--

CENTRE UNIVERSITAIRE D'INFORMATIQUE W3 CATALOG
http://cuiwww.unige.ch/W3catalog
--A search engine for the WWW

EINET GALAXY
http://www.einet.net/galaxy.html
--Topic-organized lists as well as a search engine of
hypertext links.

GLOBAL NETWORK ACADEMY
http://sturgeon.mit.edu:8001/uu-nna/meta-library/index.html
--GNA's meta-library search engine

HARVEST INFORMATION DISCOVERY AND ACCESS SYSTEM
http://harvest.cs.colorado.edu
--Search engine

INTERNIC DIRECTORY AND DATABASE SERVICES
http://www.internic.net/ds/dspg01.html
--Internic white pages, public database list

JUMP STATION TWO
http://www.stir.ac.uki/jsbin/jsii
--Jump Station Two search engine

LYCOS
http://lycos.cs.cmu.edu
--LYCOS search engine.
--VERY USEFUL--

NCSA "STARTING POINTS" FOR SEARCHING THE WWW
http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/Mosaic/StartingPoints/
NetworkStartingPoints.html
--NCSA list of starting points for searching the WWW
--VERY USEFUL--

NEXOR SEARCH SERVICES
http://pubweb.nexor.co.uk/public/welcome.html
--NEXOR's home page, linking to CUSI services.  CUSI is a
single form to search a number of different WWW search
engines.
--VERY USEFUL--

NIKOS - NEW INTERNET KNOWLEDGE SYSTEM
http://www.rns.com/cgi-bin/nomad
--Rockwell Telecommunication's WWW search engine

SPECIAL INTERNET CONNECTIONS (SCOTT YANOFF)
http://www.uwm.edu/Mirror/inet.services.html
--Yanoff's extensive list by categories of WWW sites

WHOLE INTERNET CATALOG
http://nearnet.gnn.com/gnn/wic/index.html
--Global Network Navigator's comprehensive list of the
Internet.

WORLD WIDE WEB WORM
http://www.cs.colorado.edu/home/mcbryan/wwww.html
--Very good WWW search engine

WWW Virtual Library
http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/DataSources/bySubject/Overview
html
--A distributed subject catalog with hypertext links by
subject.

YAHOO
http://www.yahoo.com/
--Yahoo provides both a comprehensive subject-oriented list
of WWW sites and a search engine for locating WWW
information.
--VERY USEFUL--

--METHOD TWO: Private Internet "shopping malls."  Companies
pay to be listed.

BIZWEB
http://www.bizweb.com
--Business Web, topical search hierarchy.

COMMERCENET
http://www.commerce.net/
--Subject-oriented directories with search engine.

INTERNET SHOPPING NETWORK
http://www.mecklerweb.com/imall/
--Mecklermedia's Internet equivalent of the home shopping
network.  Brouse by category.

NETCENTER
http://netcenter.com/
--Netcenter Yellow Pages, topical search hierarchy.

OPEN MARKET COMMERCIAL SITE INDEX
http://www.directory.net/
--Search engine and topical search hierarchy.

UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON BUSINESS YELLOW PAGES
http://www.cba.uh.edu/ylowpges/ylowpges.html
--Brouse by Subject.
--VERY USEFUL--

VIRTUAL YELLOW PAGES
http://www.imsworld.com/yp/
--Topical search hierarchy.

WORLD WIDE WEB YELLOW PAGES
http://www.yellow.com/
--Claims to be the "yellow pages for the next hundred
years."  Search engine plus topical search hierarchy.

YAHOO'S COMMERCIAL SITE INDEX
http://www.yahoo.com/Business/Directories
--Yahoo's comprehensive list of Internet "yellow pages"

--METHOD THREE: Paid Internet Search Services.  Users pay to
search.

INDUSTRYNET
http://www.industry.net
--Marketplace organized by subject "floors" with search
engine.  Focused mainly on new products, and new product
announcements.

INFOSEEK
http://www.infoseek.com
--Search engine

MCKINLEY INTERNET DIRECTORY
http://www.mckinley.com
--Search engine, claims to have each site reviewed and
evaluated.

NETSCAPE COMMUNICATIONS SEARCH PAGE
http://home.mcom.com/home/internet-search.html
--Search engine with paid subscription

RESEARCH LIBRARIES GROUP
http://www-rlg.stanford.edu
--Eureka and Citadel search engines, searching Internet as
well as bibliographic database.
--Best access to Eureka is: telnet eureka-info.stanford.edu

**********
8.0  OTHER MERITORIOUS SEARCH TOOLS

Some resources just don't fit a category...but can be very
useful in helping find information.

BEST OF THE WEB
http://wings.buffalo.edu/contest/awards
--Global Network Academy's "best of the web" awards.  If
you're looking to find a list of "what's cool," and "what's
neat," this is a good place to start.

FEDWORLD
http://www.fedworld.gov
--Federal Government's Home Page with pointers to US
government resources.

INDIANA UNIVERSITY UCS KNOWLEDGE BASE (Computing
Information)
http://sckb.ucssc.indiana.edu/kb
--Allows you to search 3000 entries on basic computing
issues.

INTERNET LIBRARY ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB:
http://ipl.sils.umich.edu.
--An experimental project that allows you to search library
holdings such as Encyclopedias, reference works, literature,
etc.

NEWSHOUND: Artificial Intelligence for Searching The News
--a "for profit" service of Mercury Center and America
OnLine, newshound allows you to create a "profile" that
searches news stories (wire services, Knight-Ridder, New
York Times, etc.), and emails full text articles to you.
Cost is around: $4.95 per month, and must be billed to a
credit card.
--for information email: newshound@sjmercury.com with INFO
in the text
--for information call: 1-800-818-6397, 1-408-297-8495
(Mercury Center).

TELNET: telnet melvyl.berkeley.edu
--University of California melvyl computer system.  Allows
you to search the collection for books and periodicals by
author, subject, title, and key word.

TELNET: telnet locis.loc.gov
--Library of Congress database. Allows you to search the
collection for books and periodicals by author, subject,
title, and key word.


**********
9.0  Recommended Books and Magazines

The focus here is on general purpose information on how to
use the Internet.

--Books--

Baczewski, Philip, et.al.  The Internet Unleashed
(Indianapolis, IN: Sam's Publishing, 1994).

Gilster, Paul.  The Internet Navigator (New York: John Wiley
& Sons, 1994).

Harley, Hahn and Rick Stout.  The Internet Yellow Pages (New
York: Osborne McGraw-Hill, 1995).

Harley, Hahn and Rick Stout.  The Internet: Complete
Reference (New York: Osborne McGraw-Hill, 1995).

Kehoe, Brendan P.  Zen and the Art of the Internet
(Englewood Cliffs, NJ: PTR Prentice Hall, 1994).

--Magazines--

Inside the Internet.  Tel. 502-493-3300 -- Tollfree. 800-
223-8720
-- Email. ineteditor@merlin.cobb.ziff.com
-- Critical review of the Internet.

Interactive Age.  Tel. 708-647-6834
-- WWW http://techweb.cmp.com/ia
-- Newspaper for electronic commerce.
-- "Free" to "qualified" professionals in the electronic
commerce, networking area.


Inter@ctive Week.  Tel. 609-829-9313
-- "Free" semimonthly for "qualified" professionals in the
interactive field.

Internet World.  Tel. 815-734-1261 -- Tollfree. 800-573-3062
-- Email. 74671.3430@compuserve.com
--General Information on the Internet.

NetGuide.  Tel. 904-445-4662 -- Tollfree. 800-829-0421 --
Email. mail@netguide.cmp.com.  WWW:
http://www.cmp.com/NetGuide/home.html
--General Information on the Internet.

Online Access.  Tel. 708-656-8259 -- Tollfree. 800-36-MODEM
-- Email. 74514.3363@compuserve.com
--Online services, BBS's, and the Internet.

Wired.  Tel. 415-222-6200 -- Email. talk2subs@wired.com,
info@wired.com.
--"Hip and happening" magazine of the electronic world
style, culture, and technology.

World Wide WebWeek.  Tel. 203-226-6967 -- Fax. 203-454-5840
-- Email. webweek@mecklermedia.com
-- "Free" monthly for "qualified" developers of WWW sites
and technology.

--Internet Services/Book-List--

A great way to find books on the Internet and its
resources is to obtain the "Internet-Services/Book-List."
This is a "master" list of books about the Internet and its
resources.
--It is posted to: alt.internet.services, alt.online-
service, as well as other groups.
--It can be FTP'd from rtfm.mit.edu /pub/usenet-by-
hierarchy/news/answers as internet-services/book-list

Or, use the WWW to scan Computer Literacy Books:
http://www.clbooks.com
--A very good bookstore, with a "search engine" for
searching their stock via the WWW.