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Lesson 76: Getting Connected, Part I

“Our company is moving to a new building and I’m not sure if we need Category 3 or Category 5 cable. Does anyone have advice?” “Can anyone recommend a program that will help me monitor my file server?”

These and other questions are asked—and answered—each month in the LAN Magazine forum on the CompuServe Information Service. But what is CompuServe? How do you get connected? And how do you find what you need?

In this “Tutorial,” I’ll describe the whys and wheres of CompuServe. CompuServe Information Service is the largest online commercial service provider in the world. Some people liken it to a really huge BBS (Bulletin Board System) and some liken it to an organized Internet. Both comparisons are somewhat correct.

CompuServe, like any electronic meeting place, has different areas set aside for people to talk about their particular areas of interest. In addition to those areas (“forums” in CompuServe parlance) CompuServe also has a number of magazine, periodical, and newspaper dataases available for searching that focus on such topics as business, computers, and investments. It also has news, sports, and weather reports available. As of this writing, CompuServe has over 2.2 million members worldwide.

GETTING AN ACCOUNT

In order to get connected to CompuServe you need a computer, a modem, and some communications software. Any speed modem will do. At the present time, CompuServe hardware handles speeds from 300bps to 14,400bps, and it is working on 28,800bps connectivity to be available in the near future.

Many software and hardware vendors provide support on the service, and they often include a coupon in their boxes for credit on new CompuServe accounts. You can also call CompuServe directly, at (800) 848-8199, within the United States, or (614) 457-8650. When you sign up you get a startup kit that includes a CompuServe Information Manager (CIM) appropriate for DOS, Windows, or Macintosh. CIM is communications software and navigation software in one program. You can also sign up according to the directions in the LAN Magazine forum ad that we often run in the magazine.

IF YOU ARE NOT A COMPUSERVE MEMBER

To join CompuServe and access the LAN Magazine forum, set your communications software to 7 data bits, even parity, 1 stop bit. Select your baud rate and find your local CompuServe access number by calling 1-800-635-6225. Respond to the CompuServe prompts as follows:

Host Name: CIS User ID Number: 177000,5605 Password: COMPUSERVE Agreement: LANSIGNUP Serial No: 93010

You will be prompted for billing information and receive a permanent User ID and temporary password online. CompuServe Information Service may be reached at 1-800-848-8199 or 1-614-457-8650.

HOUSE OF COMPUSERVE

When you go to a forum, imagine that you have just stepped into the hallway of a house. There are doors to rooms leading off each side of the hallway. Those doors are marked Announcements, Messages, Libraries, Conference Rooms, and Member Directory.

The Announcements area contains information for new members (you’ll be greeted with this automatically when you enter a forum), and information on the rules you’ll be expected to follow when you join the forum (if any). In the LAN Magazine forum, the rules are in POLICY.TXT in Library 1/General Information. There are also announcements about the other room areas, as well as the Sysops (SYStem OPerators, the people in charge of the forum). The Messages area will be subdivided into logical areas for that forum.

Table 1 and Table 2 contain lists of LANMAG message and library sections.

The message areas are not “realtime.” In other words, you don’t go online and stay online to talk with other people. Someone posts a message and other people read that message and respond—or not—at any time convenient to them.

Conference rooms are areas where you talk “real-time” with other members. Many forums have regularly scheduled conferences and members are encouraged to participate.

The Member Directory is a place where you can post some information about yourself and read information about others. The LAN Magazine forum encourages people to read about other members—and share information about themselves—via a file called LANBIO.TXT in Library 7/Forum member biographies.

I’M ONLINE!

Now that you have an account, you need to learn to get around and find all the resources that you’re looking for. CompuServe is navigated by GO words (In the CIM programs, GO is a menu option).

Most forums ask you to “Join” the forum. This does not mean you will incur any additional charges or get on someone’s junk mailing list. It’s strictly for internal forum accounting purposes. Join away.

The first place you want to GO is PRACTICE. The Practice forum is set up for people to post their first “This is a test” message and get on their electronic feet. When you are in the PRACTICE forum, your connect-time charges are suspended.

Try downloading a file from one of the Practice forum libraries. Library 1/Forum Help & Info has a file called COMPRS.DOC that you might find useful. It has information about the various compression programs that are commonly used on CompuServe. This is an ASCII text file that you can read online or download to your hard disk.

If you’re not sure how to download a file, or you have another question, leave a message (addressed to All or Sysop) on the forum, and the Sysop or a knowledgeable user will be by shortly to help you. The goal on most forums on CompuServe is to deliver an answer within 24 hours. For many questions it may take considerably less time, but for others, it might be a couple of days. It’s important for you to check for a response frequently.

MESSAGE THREADING

Messages on CompuServe are “threaded.” That means that you’ll not only read messages in the order they are posted, but also in the order they are created in reference to the original message (see Figure 1).

The way you’ll actually read these messages is shown in Figure 2.

Threading makes it easy to follow conversations on CompuServe. When replying to a message, it’s important to use the Reply function of your software, rather than the Write function, so that the messages can remain threaded.

Each forum can hold a set number of messages; the actual number varies by forum. On the LAN Magazine forum, the capacity is about 500 messages, that number will vary by forum.

When someone posts the 501st message on the LAN Magazine forum, the oldest message is “bumped” off the forum into the bit bucket. In CompuServe terms, the message “scrolls” off the forum.

The length of time a message stays on a CompuServe forum is measured in days or weeks and depends on the volume of message traffic, which varies for each forum. This is called the “scroll rate.” The scroll rate on the LAN Magazine forum varies from four days to two weeks. Some forums are so busy they have a 2-day to 3-day scroll rate, which is why it’s important to check back for answers within 48 hours.

SYSOPS

The Sysops on CompuServe are not CompuServe employees unless that fact is specifically stated. Each forum tends to have its own atmosphere or “flavor” depending on its Sysop.

This tutorial, written by Rebecca J. Campbell, was originally published in the December 1994 issue of LAN Magazine/Network Magazine.