Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!att!linac!uwm.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!cs.utexas.edu!helps!uudell!pmafire!geoff
From: geoff@pmafire.inel.gov (Geoff Allen)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: Please indulge my ignorance
Message-ID: <1990Nov02.200437.12749@pmafire.inel.gov>
Date: 2 Nov 90 20:04:37 GMT
References: <12240005@hpfcmgw.HP.COM> <12240006@hpfcmgw.HP.COM> <sb=ULBu00awTEIaWMO@andrew.cmu.edu>
Organization: WINCO Computer Engineering, INEL, Idaho
Lines: 65

vd09+@andrew.cmu.edu (Vincent M. Del Vecchio) writes:
>This may be a little bit roundabout, but you can do ftp through mail as
>well.  I quote from Jon Granrose's FTP list:
>
>>       For those unfortunates who do not have ftp but  do  have  mail,  I
>>  have included  the  mail  address  of  an archive that will retrieve
>> files for you through the mail.  Send "help" in a message to the server 
>> to  find  out  the exact commands necessary.
>
>>  The only mail-ftp archive I know of is:
>
>>          bitftp@pucc.princeton.edu (most well-known)
>
>>  Please don't ask me how to use it, as it can explain  itself  better  than  I
>>  can.
>
>Please don't ask me how to use it either, as I have never tried (no need).

Someone sent me info on this as a comment on my Frequently Asked
Questions file recently posted to comp.sys.mac.announce.  I'll add this
info to the FAQ for the next go-around.  In the meantime, here's the
scoop (from recent discussions in comp.dcom.telecom):

| ......................................................................
| FIRST -- Send a letter to:  bitftp@pucc.princeton.edu  (all but Bitnet)
|                             bitftp@princeton.bitnet    (Bitnet users)
| 
| Your letter should consist of the single word HELP, in upper case, on
| the first line at the far left margin. The subject does not matter.
| You will receive by return mail a help file for how to use the
| Archives Mail Server, with contact names at Princeton if you run into
| trouble. 
| 
| SECOND -- When you have studied this document, you can then use the
| facility to obtain the files you need.
| 
| Basically, you send 'letters' to the address above, and your letters
| will consist of ftp commands and appropriate arguments for each. Here
| is an example:
| 
| Write to: bitftp@pucc.princeton.edu   (or bitftp@princeton.bitnet)
| The subject does not matter. Issue the ftp commands at the left
| margin, then a space, and the arguments:
| 
| FTP lcs.mit.edu
| USER anonymous name@site
| CD telecom-archives
| ASCII
| GET index.to.archives   (or, the name of the desired file)
| GET the.next.file.you.want
| BYE
| 
| Somewhere between a few hours and a couple days later, you will
| receive the requested files sent to you as a letter. Large files will
| be broken into several smaller parts. You will also get a couple of
| letters from the daemon running this program showing you how your
| commands were interpreted in the event of an error.
| 
| Patrick Townson (Moderator: comp.dcom.telecom)
| ......................................................................

-- 
Geoff Allen         \  Computers are useless.  
uunet!pmafire!geoff  \  They can only give you answers.
bigtex!pmafire!geoff  \		-- Pablo Picasso