Subject: LINGUIST How-To's Feb 11, 1995 (REV) Date: Mon, 4 Mar 96 15:01:10 EAT File last changed: Feb 11, 1995] The following message describes how to do things on LINGUIST, and with the LINGUISTS Nameserver. We send this out every few weeks so that it will be available through the same channel as the messages, rather like the stylesheet in the front cover of a paper journal. It will always appear without a volume number and with the subject line "LINGUIST How-To's" followed by the date of the latest update, and the annotation (REV) if the file has been changed since the last posting, and (UNREV) if it has not. Change bars (|) along the left margin mark these modified sections.] NOTE: LINGUIST is now also available through World Wide Web. You can find it in Mosaic or Lynx at the following URL: http://www.ling.rochester.edu/linguist/contents.html | We also keep informational pages which you can access | through the Web. Each of these is kept at two sites: | | a. A list of linguistic data sources on the Web: | | http://engserve.tamu.edu/files/linguistics/linguist/datasources.html | or | http://tam2000.tamu.edu/~linguist/datasources.html | | | b. How to access the LINGUIST database: | | http://engserve.tamu.edu/files/linguistics/linguist/dbasehelp.html | or | http://tam2000.tamu.edu/~linguist/dbasehelp.html IMPORTANT: If you decide to read LINGUIST on WWW rather than by mail, do not simply unsubscribe. This will deprive you of access to the Listserv, and you will not be able to get files. Instead, set your subscription to nomail. ---VERY IMPORTANT--- If you're receiving LINGUIST yet your messages to the Listserv are rejected, check to see if your address has recently changed. Mail will often continue to reach you under your old address, but the Listserv will not recognize your new address on incoming messages. ------------------------------ HOW TO: 1) SUBSCRIBE TO LINGUIST: Send a message to: Listserv@tamvm1.tamu.edu The message should consist of the following line only: subscribe linguist firstname lastname Ex: subscribe linguist Jane Doe 2) TEMPORARILY STOP RECEIVING LINGUIST: Send a message to the Listserv (NOT to the main LINGUIST address) at the address in (1) above. The message should consist of the following line only: set linguist nomail You might do this if, for example, you are going on vacation for a few weeks. When you return, simply do (3) below. 3) RESTART LINGUIST AFTER HAVING SET YOURSELF TO "NOMAIL": Send a message to the Listserv, at the address in (1) above. The message should consist of the following line only: set linguist mail 4) PERMANENTLY REMOVE YOURSELF FROM THE LIST: Send a message to the Listserv, as in (1) above. The message should consist of the following line only: unsub linguist 5) CHANGE YOUR ADDRESS: Log on to your OLD account and send the following message to the listserv at the address in (1) above: unsub linguist Now, log on to your NEW account and send to the same address the message: subscribe linguist firstname lastname If you no longer have access to your old account, subscribe from your new account as described above, and ask one of the editorial staff to remove your old address manually. 6) FIND OUT WHY YOU AREN'T GETTING LINGUIST: Send a message to the Listserv, as in (1) above. The message should consist of the following line only: query linguist This will tell you the status of your own subscription. If you find you've been set to Nomail, you can restart your subscription by following (3) above. If you find that the Listserv has no record of you, simply resubscribe by following (1) above. (Your subscription may have been deleted because messages were bouncing from the address you gave us, and we weren't able to contact you.) 7) GET THE LISTSERV TO CORRECT YOUR NAME: Send a "subscribe" command as described in (1). Listserv treats a "subscribe" command from someone who is already subscribed to the list as a name change request. 8) GET THE NAMES AND E-MAIL ADDRESSES OF LINGUIST SUBSCRIBERS: Send a message to the Listserv, as in (1) above. The message should consist of the single line: review linguist If you wish to receive a list which is categorized by country, send the following message: review linguist by country If you wish to receive an alphabetized list send the following message: review linguist by name 9) JOIN IN THE LINGUIST DISCUSSION: Address your message to: Linguist@tamvm1.tamu.edu (Internet) Or simply select the Reply option while reading a LINGUIST message. (Use this option only if you're joining in the same discussion as the message you're replying to.) PLEASE: -----DO use subject headings which clearly tell the subscribers what's in your message (e.g. don't send a query on Mbum NP's with the subject heading "Query"!) -----DO NOT reply to more than one LINGUIST posting in a single message. This gives the editors a lot of extra work! 10) RETRIEVE A FILE FROM THE LISTSERV: We frequently announce that large files are available on the Listserv. To get such a file sent to you as a mail message, follow the instructions given in the message announcing that the file is available. BUT REMEMBER: The address for retrieving files is different from the address for posting a message to LINGUIST. Send your message to listserv@tamvm1.tamu.edu Your message should consist of the following line: get linguist Ex: get lsa lst linguist (This will retrieve the list of e-mail addresses for LSA members.) If the listserv tells you that the file is unknown to it, you may just have the wrong name. Get a listing of all the files it has by sending the listserv the message: index linguist 11) PUT A FILE ON THE LISTSERV: We ask that you put very long files (e.g. over 400 lines) of LONGTERM interest on the Listserv, rather than posting them to the entire list. Files appropriate for the Listserv include conference abstracts; linguistic surveys; long bibliographies; reports on projects directly relevant to linguistic research (e.g., the Text-Encoding Initiative); and other material of wide interest within the linguistics community. If you have material to put on the Listserv: Head the material EITHER "For the Listserv" OR "For the Listserv--announcement follows" and send it to: Linguist@tamvm1.tamu.edu In other words, send it exactly like a regular LINGUIST message. We will put it on the Listserv for you and announce to the list that it is available. Depending on your header, we will announce it in one of two ways: If you have headed it, " . . . announcement follows" we'll wait for your summary announcement and post that, after appending our standard header telling how to retrieve the complete file. THIS IS THE OPTION WHICH WE WOULD PREFER, since it ensures a coherent announcement. Please make your announcement brief and send it, as a second mail message, to the same address. If you have headed it simply "For the Listserv," we'll post the first few lines of the file, after appending our standard header telling how to retrieve the complete file. 12) GET A BACK ISSUE OF LINGUIST: Currently all previous issues are available on line from the listserv. These are kept in archive files, so you'll need to send a database query to the listserv asking for an index of the back issues you want. a keyword for your topic. You get such a listing by sending the following to the listserv: //SEARCH JOB ECHO=NO DATABASE SEARCH DD=RULES //RULES DD * SEARCH IN LINGUIST INDEX For example, you remember that there was a discussion last year about Acehnese, but can't remember exactly when. You need to search the database of the listserv for issues with the word "Acehnese" in them. You send the following to the listserv: //SEARCH JOB ECHO=NO DATABASE SEARCH DD=RULES //RULES DD * SEARCH ACEHNESE IN LINGUIST SINCE 01-OCT-1993 INDEX You will recieve a listing of all relevant issue numbers, with their headers. To retrieve an issue, send the message: //SEARCH JOB ECHO=NO DATABASE SEARCH DD=RULES //RULES DD * SEARCH ADEHNESE IN LINGUIST SINCE 01-OCT-1993 PRINT Item-Number Note that you use the Listserv's OWN item number, NOT the LINGUIST issue number. More than one issue can be retrieved at once. For more complex searches than this one, you'll need to find out more on how to use Listserv's database. So you send the message: get database help linguist to the address: listserv@tamvm1.tamu.edu (Internet) 13) GET LINGUIST BACK-ISSUES BY FTP: Back issues of the LINGUIST list are available by anonymous ftp from a file-server at the University of Michigan. On most systems you can reach these by typing the following to your prompt: ftp archive.umich.edu Use the login id "anonymous" and give your identity as the password. Please direct any queries about the archive server to: John Lawler 14) GET THE LISTSERV TO COOPERATE WHEN IT HASN'T SO FAR: If you've been getting LINGUIST but haven't been able to get files, set nomail, etc., the Listserv may have an address which differs from the one on your mail-messages. A sure sign that the Listserv doesn't recognize you is the response "DATA CONTROL ACCESS VIOLATION" when you try a database search, or a sentence beginning "You are not authorized to..." when you try to get a subscriber list. This simply means that the Listserv doesn't know who you are, and is refusing to allow a non-subscriber access to LINGUIST data. There are a number of ways to handle this: a. If you are using a Bitnet address, you'll have to reroute using the Internet. LINGUIST no longer uses Bitnet. b. Check to see if your address has changed since you subscribed. If this has happened, you'll need to resubscribe as in (5) above. c. Many people also receive LINGUIST through local redistribution lists. Such a subscription allows you to read LINGUIST, but not to access its data. If this is your situation, you'll have to subscribe personally. You can set yourself to nomail if you want to continue receiving mail through the distribution list. If all else fails, ask the moderators for help. 15) GET EXTRA HELP WITH ANY OF THE ABOVE: Send a message to either of us: aristar@tamuts.tamu.edu (Anthony Rodrigues Aristar) hdry@emunix.emich.edu (Helen Dry) We'll be happy to help if we can. --Anthony & Helen ------------------------------------- HOW TO USE THE LINGUISTS NAMESERVER The LINGUISTS NAMESERVER is a program which allows linguists to find the e-mail addresses of other linguists. ALL SUBSCRIBERS TO LINGUIST SHOULD SEND THEIR OWN LISTING TO THE NAMESERVER WHEN THEY FIRST SUBSCRIBE, in the way described below. NB: The LINGUISTS Nameserver is administered independently from the LINGUIST mailing list. All ENQUIRIES about the server should be sent to the administrator of the nameserver, Norval Smith, at the address NSMITH@ALF.LET.UVA.NL. DO NOT SEND ANY NAMESERVER MESSAGES TO LINGUIST@TAMSUN.TAMU.EDU OR TO LINGUIST@TAMVM1. These addresses will not be able to deal with them. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ All nameserver messages using the commands below should be sent by e-mail to: linguists@alf.let.uva.nl (linguist@alf.let.uva.nl works too) 1) To get a listing of (an) address(es): list SURNAME 2) To add an address to the Nameserver list: add SURNAME, FIRSTNAME: USERNAME@ADDRESS 3) To remove an address from the Nameserver list: remove SURNAME, FIRSTNAME: USERNAME@ADDRESS 4) To receive the whole list (230 Kb) list * 5) To get a complete HELP message: help 6) To get a list of available FAX numbers: list fax Some Do's and Don'ts. NB-1: All capitalized portions of the above commands are variables. Replace with the relevant names. NB-2: Please use only lower-case letters. NB-3: Start all commands at the left margin. NB-4: Start each command on a new line. As many commands as you like in one message. NB-5: It's just a dumb computer. No message other than the above commands will have any effect at all. NB-6: Please don't attempt to reach us with a TELL message. You will only get a NO SUCH NODE message back.