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Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!rutgers!ames!ucbcad!ucbvax!UCONNVM.BITNET!SEWALL
From: SEWALL@UCONNVM.BITNET
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: Snowed (and replies)
Message-ID: <8707310201.aa12317@SMOKE.BRL.ARPA>
Date: Fri, 31-Jul-87 02:28:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: SMOKE.8707310201.aa12317
Posted: Fri Jul 31 02:28:00 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 2-Aug-87 08:41:43 EDT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Distribution: world
Organization: The ARPA Internet
Lines: 47

Thank you for your thoughtful, and helpful message.  As it happens
I tried paths through seismo.css.gov and nosc.mil (I'd seen nosc
before so I knew to send it to mil).  Both came back with "host
unknown."  After I used henry's helpful path through uiuc, I took
another look at that message and tried bigbang.uucp; it works and
appears to involve fewer node to node transfers than uiuc.

I've learned quite a lot about network paths as a result of that
message and one or two others.  I realized that one substantial source
of difficulty is that I've wanted to respond to messages that were
forwarded by a mailing list; so what I'm looking at is the path from
sender to mailing list (which happens to be on arpa) rather than what
I really want which is the path between the sender and me (on bitnet).

That problem is about to become an order of magnitude worse as all
bitnet subscribers have been switched to a redistribution by LISTSERV
at NDSUVM1.  While I fully understand that that is a far more efficient
means of getting the mail out, a consequence is that almost ALL of
the path information from the original message is deleted (if the
"from" line isn't a legitimate address, there's virtually no way
to figure out how to answer directly that I can see).

Alas expecting help from the local network administrator is likely
to be futile.  The University of Connecticut, I fear, is xenophobic
about the use of networks (the attitude is "the trouble with adding
that service is that people will want to use it").  I am fortunate to
be on the faculty, as there is a strong prejudice against letting students
even find out that bitnet exists much less giving them access to it.
The faculty is pretty much on its own as the "consultants" who are
routinely available are students (even if they have some knowledge
of the network, it's less than what I know already).  It happens I do
know who our local network administrator is, but he isn't what I'd
describe as a visable (or even particularly available) presence.  He'll
probably say I should have sought him out; my response is I shouldn't
have to go out of my way to find him (I sent him a message yesterday
on another matter - no answer yet, but then it is mid-summer, he may
not be in every day).

I've found the existance of info-nets to be VERY helpful on occassions
when I really get stuck (and I find I'm having trouble less and less
often).  However, I happened to find out about info-nets purely by a
chance reading of a newslist item.  Our mail system has a number of
help files related to using the mailer executives themselves and a
little about nodes on bitnet.  No doubt additional documentation about
network addresses (an explanation of "domains" written in language
comprehensible in the liberal arts disciplines would be nice) and where
to ask for help could and should be added.