From: Aron Roberts (aron_at_socrates.berkeley.edu)
Date: Wed Jun 11 2003 - 10:30:14 PDT
The Micronet mailing list recently achieved two milestones:
- Six months ago, in early December 2002, the Micronet list
celebrated its tenth anniversary.
(To be excruciatingly correct, this represented the anniversary
of the current, list server administered Micronet list. A less
formal, and relatively lightly used, Micronet list had been around
since the group's origination in October 1989.)
- For the first time, the list has reached 400 members.
(As of today, June 11, 2003, there are 404 members.)
Congratulations to Micronet's members, and its current and past
coordinators, for the long-time success of this group and its mailing
list!
Aron Roberts
Workstation Software Support Group
P.S. The following are the first four messages sent to the Micronet
list, in December 1992 and January 1993, respectively. These were
unearthed after some archeological work in old e-mail archives.
Al Stangenberger's question about converting Volkswriter documents
and Steve Goldfield's query about the then-forthcoming UCLink service
represent the first "real" (non-announcement) postings to the list.
As you may notice from the message headers, almost a full month
passed between the first and second postings!
Some of you might also get a kick out of the uucp and BITNET e-mail
address variants in Al's signature, and the reference to a future (!)
Gopher server in the original Micronet FAQ.
At that time, the first pre-beta of NCSA Mosaic, the first
graphical Web browser which was soon to spur a revolution in the
computing industry, was still two months away. Microsoft Windows
3.1, Mac OS 7.1, and Solaris 2.1 were then the state of the art, with
David Cutler's team inside Microsoft hard at work finishing the
initial release of Windows NT ...
---------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 93 15:34:38 -0800
From: sag_at_hera.berkeley.edu (Steve Goldfield)
To: MICRONET Distribution List <micronet_at_tuna.Berkeley.EDU>
Subject: UC Link: Any Information on When?
In December, I was told by IST User Account Services
that UC Link would be going into operation "next
semester." I now have a request to obtain an Email
account for someone who is campus staff.
Does anyone know exactly when UC Link will be available?
Are there instructions on how to use it? What phone
number should a person with a modem call?
If it's going to be a while, I can get an account from
the College of Engineering, but they are starting to
charge us beginning this month.
Thanks for your help and any information.
Steve Goldfield :<{ {>: sag_at_hera.berkeley.edu
Network Administrator/Newsletter Editor voice: 510/231-5615
Health and Safety/Recreation/AutoCAD ... Ubiquitous Factotum
Richmond Field Station/RFS Operations fax: 510/231-9520
College of Engineering campus mail: 175 RFS
University of California at Berkeley 8<] \<; #%<!
---------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 92 10:54:26 PST
From: forags_at_insect.berkeley.edu (Al Stangenberger)
To: MICRONET Distribution List <micronet_at_tuna.Berkeley.EDU>
Subject: Convert Volkswriter document?
I will be receiving a document prepared on Volkswriter (MS-DOS word processor)
from a colleague, and will want to convert it to MS-Word or Word Perfect.
Neither Word nor WP list Volkswriter in their list of importable file types.
I remember reading good reviews of Software Bridge, a commercial conversion
package by Systems Compatibility. Unfortunately, I don't remember if it
supports Volkswriter translation.
Does anybody know if Software Bridge will translate Volkswriter? Any other
suggestions (I am also asking for a pure ASCII version of the file as a
last resort, as well as hardcopy... )?
Al Stangenberger Dept. of Forestry & Resource Mgt.
forags_at_violet.berkeley.edu 145 Mulford Hall - Univ. of Calif.
uucp: ucbvax!ucbviolet!forags Berkeley, CA 94720
BITNET: FORAGS AT UCBVIOLE (510) 642-4424 FAX: (510) 643-5438
---------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 3 Dec 92 20:19:54 -0800
From: aron_at_garnet.berkeley.edu (Aron Roberts)
To: MICRONET Distribution List <micronet_at_tuna.Berkeley.EDU>
Subject: Micronet Q&A--Ten Commonly-Asked Questions about Micronet
Micronet Q&A--Ten Commonly-Asked Questions about Micronet
The following are answers to some common questions about Micronet:
The questions answered below are:
1. What is Micronet?
2. How do I find out about Micronet meetings and events?
3. How are Micronet activities planned?
4. How do I subscribe to the Micronet mailing list?
5. How do I review, delete, or change my entry in the Micronet list?
6. How do I subscribe to Micronet or change my entry if I don't have email?
7. How do I send mail to all the members of the Micronet mailing list?
8. How can I look at mail that's been recently sent to the list?
9. How can I obtain a list of all Micronet members?
10. How can I obtain an updated copy of this "common questions" list?
1. What is Micronet?
--------------------
Micronet is a voluntary professional organization for employees
of the University of California at Berkeley campus who:
o Are responsible for managing microcomputer systems used
as independent computers, or integrated into LANs and other
networks;
o Write or support microcomputer software;
o Provide technical assistance or training to microcomputer
users.
The term "microcomputer" is intended to encompass the terms
"personal computer," "microcomputer," and "workstation" without
distinction.
Micronet has been in operation since October 1989. As of early
December 1992, about 280 people belong to this group, representing
more than 75 different campus departments and units.
Micronet is dedicated to the free exchange of information,
resources, ideas, and tools via electronic mail, publications,
and people-to-people networks.
To date, Micronet has operated on the contributions of time, skill,
and materials by its volunteer members.
For more information about Micronet please feel free to contact:
Don Nicodemus (510) 642-6688, erg_at_violet.berkeley.edu or
Aron Roberts (510) 642-5974, aron_at_garnet.berkeley.edu.
2. How do I find out about Micronet meetings and events?
--------------------------------------------------------
You can currently obtain a schedule of upcoming Micronet meetings and
other events, as well as a list of past activities, in two different ways:
(1) Via the list server using the GET command.
To use this method, send an electronic mail message to
with only the following line in the *body* (not *subject*)
of the message:
GET micronet micronet.calendar
You will automatically receive the schedule of events as an
electronic mail message.
(2) Connecting via anonymous FTP from tuna.berkeley.edu
To use this method:
Start your FTP program
login as "anonymous" and
use your own email address or "guest@" for a password
then change to the "/pub/micronet" directory
and get the file "micronet.calendar"
If you need assistance using FTP from a microcomputer or
workstation, please contact Workstation Consulting at 264 Evans Hall,
drmicro_at_garnet.berkeley.edu, or (510) 642-8899.
(The Micronet schedule of events is also likely to become available
in other places in the near future, such as on a "Gopher" information
server.)
As a general rule:
Micronet general meetings are usually held on the second Tuesday of
each month from 10 am to 11:45 am, except during holiday periods.
In the recent past, these meetings have all taken place in 2515 Tolman Hall.
3. How are Micronet activities planned?
---------------------------------------
Micronet Steering Committee meetings, when called to plan meetings
or events or to handle other administrative matters, are usually held
on the fourth Tuesday of each month from 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm, except
during holiday periods.
All Micronet members are invited to participate in these Steering
Committee meetings. To date, the Micronet "Steering Committee" has
consisted of those members who currently have an active interest in
planning Micronet events and projects and have the time to attend
a Committee meeting recently. In the recent past, the Steering Committee
meetings have taken place at The Musical Offering Cafe, 2430 Bancroft Way
(directly across the street from Zellerbach Hall, about one block west of
[downhill from] Telegraph Avenue).
This location may change based on the whim of the person who has
volunteered to serve as Micronet's Coordinator, thus doing a lot of
work for little reward. This person is currently Don Nicodemus of
the Energy and Resources Group, who can be reached at erg_at_violet or
(510) 642-6688.
Gordon Adams of Computer-assisted Survey Methods, Saskia Lund of
the School of Library and Information Studies, and Mark Westwind,
formerly of Womens' Intercollegiate Athletics, previously served
as Micronet's Coordinator.
4. How do I subscribe to the Micronet mailing list?
---------------------------------------------------
You can automatically subscribe to the Micronet electronic mail
(or "email") mailing list 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by sending
an electronic mail message from your own computer account to:
The message can have any subject line--or no subject at all.
However, in the body (or content) of the message, you should
include a single line that looks something like the following:
SUB micronet Your Name - Your Department-Your Sub-Unit (if any)
This line should contain the following information:
- The word SUB (for "SUBscribe")
- Followed by the name of the list (micronet)
- Followed by your name and department
Here's one example:
SUB micronet Lou Campanelli - Athletics & Recreational Sports-Basketball
(One other note: Please do *not* include your *email address*
anywhere in your one-line message. The list server software will
automatically obtain your email address from the header of your message.)
After you send this message, you should soon see a return message
via electronic mail telling you that your requests has been received
and that you will soon be added to the list.
You should then shortly thereafter receive a long message (i.e.
something like this one!) welcoming you to Micronet and letting
you know that you've been added to the Micronet mailing list. You
should receive this within a few minutes after the first message,
unless the list server or the tuna.berkeley.edu host computer is down.
As a courtesy to the group's members, after you have been added to
the Micronet mailing list, you are asked to then send another email
message to micronet-request_at_tuna.berkeley.edu.
Name:
Department:
Campus address:
Phone number(s):
There is an alternative method to the one described above.
(using the list server).
Alternative method:
If for any reason the above method--using the automated LISTSERV
list server, listserv_at_tuna.berkeley.edu--doesn't work for you (such as
the list server being temporarily down), or you'd prefer not to use it,
you can alternately send mail with your request to subscribe to the
Micronet mailing list to the following address:
micronet-request_at_tuna.berkeley.edu
This mail is answered by a human--a person who has volunteered to
maintain the Micronet mailing list. Although this mail may not be
responded to as quickly as the automatic method described above, you
are also welcome to use it if you wish.
5. How do I review, change, or delete my entry in the Micronet list?
--------------------------------------------------------------------
You can automatically review, change, or delete your entry in the
Micronet email mailing list 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by sending
an electronic mail message to:
The message can have any subject line--or no subject at all.
However, in the body (or content) of the message, you should
include a single line that looks something like the following:
(To REView all members in the list, including your own listing:)
REV micronet
(To SIGnoff [delete your entry] from the list:)
SIG micronet
(To change your entry in the list--you will need to send one message
to SIGnoff from the list, then send another message to re-subscribe
to the list with your new information. In other words:)
SIG micronet
(followed by a second message)
SUB micronet Your Name - Your Department-Your Sub-Unit (if any)
(One other note: Please do *not* include your *email address*
anywhere in your one-line message. The list server software will
automatically obtain your email address from the header of your message.)
In summary:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To do the | Type this commands in the body of an
following: | email message and send it to listserv_at_tuna.berkeley.edu:
|
| (Command) (Mailing list) (Other info)
------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe | SUB micronet Your Name - Your Dept-Your Unit
------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------
Review your entry | REV micronet
------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------
Delete your entry | SIG micronet
(unsubscribe) |
------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------
Change your entry | SIG micronet
|
(followed by |
a second msg) | SUB micronet Your Name - Your Dept-Your Unit
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alternative method:
If for any reason the above method--using the automated LISTSERV
list server, listserv_at_tuna.berkeley.edu--doesn't work for you (such as
the list server being temporarily down), or you'd prefer not to use it,
you can alternately send mail with your request to review, change, or
delete your entry in the Micronet mailing list to the following address:
micronet-request_at_tuna.berkeley.edu
This mail is answered by a human--a person who has volunteered to
maintain the Micronet mailing list. Although this mail may not be
responded to as quickly as the automatic method described above, you
are also welcome to use it if you wish.
6. How do I subscribe to Micronet or change my entry if I don't have email?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you wish to subscribe to the Micronet list, unsubscribe,
change your listing, or obtain information about member listings via
campus mail or telephone, rather than electronic mail, you can currently
contact:
Aron Roberts
Workstation Software Support Group
221 Evans Hall
(510) 642-8899
Aron is currently maintaining the mailing list. In the future, another
Micronet member may be doing so.
7. How do I send mail to all the members of the Micronet mailing list?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
To send a message that will be "broadcast" to all of the members of
the Micronet mailing list, you can send electronic mail to:
This is the address to use if you have announcements to make to the
whole group, if you have questions that you'd like to "put out on the table"
for other Micronet members to respond to, or if you'd like to offer your
own suggestions for questions that others have asked.
Electronic mail sent to the Micronet group should reflect the
interests of the group. Please use common sense and courtesy in
sending messages that are broadcast to the entire group.
8. How can I look at mail that's been recently sent to the list?
----------------------------------------------------------------
With the advent of the list server, you can now obtain archive files
containing all the mail that has been recently sent to the entire
Micronet mailing list.
To do so, send an electronic mail message to
with only the following line in the *body* (not *subject*)
of the message:
IND micronet
You will automatically receive an INDex of files that are available
from the list server. Some of these files will start with
the word "log", followed by the year and month of the archive;
e.g. a file called "log9212" which keeps an archival record of mail
that was sent to the entire Micronet mailing list during December 1992.
To receive one of these files, you can send another message
GET micronet filename
where "filename" above is the actual name of a file you wish to obtain,
such as:
GET micronet log9212
You will soon automatically receive an email message containing all
of the mail sent to the entire Micronet list during December 1992.
9. How can I obtain a list of all Micronet members?
---------------------------------------------------
If you wish to send a "paper" announcement to Micronet members
via campus mail or simply want to contact selected members via campus
mail or telephone, a comma-delimited list of Micronet members is currently
available in two ways:
(1) Via the list server using the GET command.
To use this method, send an electronic mail message to
with only the following line in the *body* (not *subject*)
of the message:
GET micronet micronet.members
You will automatically receive the list of all Micronet members,
(including any members who do not currently have an electronic
mail address), with the names of their departments or units,
their campus addresses, and phone numbers, as well as their
names and email addresses.
(2) Connecting via anonymous FTP from tuna.berkeley.edu
To use this method:
Start your FTP program
login as "anonymous" and
use your own email address or "guest@" for a password
then change to the "/pub/micronet" directory
and get the file "micronet.members"
If you need assistance using FTP from a microcomputer or
workstation, please contact Workstation Consulting at 264 Evans Hall,
drmicro_at_garnet.berkeley.edu, or (510) 642-8899.
This comma-delimited list can be imported into many database programs
or used with the mail merge capabilities of many word processing
programs. If you would like assistance with a "paper" mailing, please
send your request to:
micronet-request_at_tuna.berkeley.edu.
Both electronic mail and paper messages sent to the Micronet group
should reflect the interests of the group. Please use common sense and
courtesy in sending messages that are broadcast to the entire group.
If you are a commercial vendor of computer-related products or services,
or services, we ask that you send all such announcements to:
micronet-request_at_tuna.berkeley.edu
so that they can be screened before mailing to Micronet's members.
10. How can I obtain an updated copy of this "common questions" list?
---------------------------------------------------------------------
This list of commonly asked questions about Micronet will be updated
as necessary. You can currently obtain the latest copy of this list in
two ways:
(1) Via the list server using the GET command.
To use this method, send an electronic mail message to
with only the following line in the *body* (not *subject*)
of the message:
GET micronet about.micronet
You will automatically receive the latest copy of this document
via electronic mail.
(2) Connecting via anonymous FTP from tuna.berkeley.edu
To use this method:
Start your FTP program
login as "anonymous" and
use your own email address or "guest@" for a password
then change to the "/pub/micronet" directory
and get the file "about.micronet"
If you need assistance using FTP from a microcomputer or
workstation, please contact Workstation Consulting at 264 Evans Hall,
drmicro_at_garnet.berkeley.edu, or (510) 642-8899.
(This list of common questions and answers about Micronet is also
likely to become available in other places in the near future, such as
a "Gopher" information server.)
---
Last updated 3 December 1992 by Aron Roberts
---------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 3 Dec 92 20:19:42 -0800
From: aron_at_garnet.berkeley.edu (Aron Roberts)
To: MICRONET Distribution List <micronet_at_tuna.Berkeley.EDU>
Subject: Micronet mailing list now using a list server
The Micronet mailing list recently switched over to the use of a list
server running on tuna.berkeley.edu. This occurred somewhat precipitously,
and I'm just now feeling comfortable that the list will start running
smoothly again.
Since many of us recently have received up to 20 copies of individual
email messages due to nasty bugs in the list server software (which have
been tracked down and fixed by Rusty Wright of the Workstation Software
Support Group over the last few days), it's only fair to balance this
abysmal introduction by saying that the list server represents a true
enhancement in the way that the Micronet list will be handled from now on.
Among these improvements:
-- You can now automatically subscribe or unsubscribe to the
Micronet mailing list, or review or change your listing, by
sending a simple electronic mail (email) message. You will also
receive prompt notification of any actions taken regarding your
entry in the list.
-- Newly-subscribing members will automatically receive detailed
information about Micronet when they subscribe.
-- Anyone can now obtain information about Micronet events, members,
and even Micronet itself by sending a simple email message.
-- Mail sent to the Micronet mailing list is now archived, so that
you can obtain copies of, say, all mail sent to the list during
December 1992 by sending a simple email message. This is likely
to prove useful for a forthcoming Micronet information server.
Many of these changes are described in a document called
"about.micronet", subtitled "Micronet Q&A--Ten Commonly-Asked Questions
about Micronet." You will be receiving this Q&A list as a separate email
message, following this note. I encourage you to look at this list of
questions and answers even if you're a long-time Micronet member.
Please send any comments and suggestions regarding this change--and the
Q&A list which is to follow--to micronet-request_at_tuna.berkeley.edu. I
welcome the chance to hear from you!
Aron Roberts
Workstation Software Support Group
(who can make email message multiply faster than tribbles)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following was automatically added to this message by the list server:
For information about Micronet, including subscribing to
or unsubscribing from its mailing list and finding out
about upcoming meetings, please visit the Micronet Web site:
<http://micronet.berkeley.edu/>.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Wed Jun 11 2003 - 10:34:56 PDT