This document contains information about the archive of postings to the Usenet newsgroup alt.backrubs. The document was originally created by adding some markup to a version of the archive announcement, that was posted to the newsgroup on about 13 August 1995. Various changes have been made since then. It isn't intended to be a great example of hypertext but this isn't my job either :). Please feel free to send me suggestions for improvement.
J. Blustein <jamie@uwo.ca>The alt.backrubs archive is my own collection of postings from the alt.backrubs newsgroup. It is not complete since our site didn't receive alt.backrubs for the first few months (the group was created in February 1991) and other connections weren't terribly reliable. I've been trying collect all the informative articles since about November 1991. The archive was opened to the public in December 1992. Although the archive is chock full of interesting and informative postings I can't guarantee that anyone will find what they want there.
I saved these posts because I was interested in them. I haven't even saved all the postings about topics I'm interested in (although I've been collecting everything informative since about November 1991). I haven't saved anything about the old backrubs exchange programme and little from the seemingly endless arguments about sex and massage. There are entries about the new backrubs exchange programme in the frequently asked questions list (with answers) which is posted to alt.backrubs every two weeks.
It would be great for someone would create an index to the postings in the files. Also, please send me mail if you find something wrong with the files. Please tell me if you know of a different FTP site where I could keep the files. I welcome all constructive criticism.
The files were originally made available via FTP. They are now also available directly through the World Wide Web. This section contains details of both methods.
Copies of the alt.backrubs archive are kept at two anonymous FTP sites. The main site is ftp.csd.UWO.ca. A mirror image of the archive is kept at Sunsite.UNC.edu. Information about the FTP sites is summarized below. For information about FTP consult the section entitled `See Also'.
Most of the files in the archive have been encoded by the Free Software Foundations GNU product gzip. The compressed files all have `.gz' at the end of their names. These files cannot be read normally without first being decoded. These files are smaller so they take less storage space and can be transferred over networks faster. All FTP sites (and FTP mailservers) provide a way to transfer the compressed files. Some FTP sites provide a method to decode files as they are being sent, ftp.csd.uwo.ca is one such site. For information about the automatic decompression feature at the ftp.csd.uwo.ca site read the file ~ftp/pub/README at that site -- the file is only at that site because the file is not part of the alt.backrubs archive.
If you want to transfer the (smaller) compressed versions of the files to your site, for decoding, the transfer must be in binary form and you'll need gunzip or a similar program to read the files. The file `00README' in the archive contains information about where you can obtain the program. It is the only file in the archive that is not compressed or solely for indexing.
The files are in mailbox format (so you can read them as ordinary text files or use any standard mail reader to treat them as a list of mail messages). See the section entitled `See Also' for pointers to information about FTP and FTP-by-mail.
There is currently access to the archive via the following two addresses:
When you connect, you can read the category list (Archive.Index) and follow links from the files listed there to their descriptions in the Abstracts list. From the Abstracts list you can go right to the compressed files. Those users with browsers that automatically uncompress files for reading (it's very easy to do, I'm surprised more browsers don't do this yet) will be able to read the files directly.
I haven't made a WWW document since about 1992 and the standards have changed. If you see something wrong with any part of the WWW interface please send me (<jamie@uwo.ca>) a note with the details. I will try to get the FAQL incorporated by the end of 1995 too, but real work may make this infeasible.
An article like this is automagically posted, every ten days to alt.backrubs and every 30 days to news.answers and alt.answers, with the help of Jonathan I. Kamens's `post_faq' program (patchlevel 5).
Significant change to the archive may also be announced in comp.archives. Postings to comp.archives may be duplicated in alt.answers and news.answers but will not be cross-posted as this causes problems at the MIT archive.
I have tried to use short descriptive filenames. However the subjects of many files overlap so I've included some files, with `->' in their names, just to help users find the files they are interested in.
There is a category list is in the file `Archive.Index'. All the files that have `->' in their name are for indexing only. The file `Abstracts' contains a brief description of every file in the archive. I use it to determine where to put postings.
The alt.backrubs FAQL (frequently asked questions list with answers) is posted every 14 days to alt.backrubs and every 28 days to news.answers and alt.answers. It contains lots of useful information. You can retrieve the FAQL using Anonymous FTP from the rtfm.mit.edu site (it is in the directory `pub/usenet/news.answers/backrubs').
If you don't know what Anonymous FTP is then I suggest you read the article entitled `Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Usenet' that is regularly posted to the news.announce.newusers and news.answers newsgroups. For more information about Anonymous FTP or how to retrieve files from FTP sites using only a mailserver see the Anonymous FTP FAQL (see below). The file `00README' in the archive contains some information about programs to reverse compression for Apple Macintosh computers.
The Anonymous FTP FAQL is posted regularly to the following 8 newsgroups: alt.sources.wanted, comp.archives, comp.archives.admin, comp.sources.wanted, news.newusers.questions, alt.answers, comp.answers, and news.answers. It is also stored in the rtfm.mit.edu FTP site in file `pub/usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/faq'.
Using a mailserver to retrieve compressed files from the archive (all the files, except the zero length ones and `00README', are compressed) will probably require the use of another decoding program (atob or uudecode). Both programs are widely available and almost certainly installed at any multiuser site. FTP mailservers might be able to use the automatic uncompress feature at the UWO site. I haven't tried it so I can't say for sure. The mailservers are intended for people who cannot use an interactive FTP program. So the mailservers can continue to provide that service, you should use them only if you cannot use another method.
If your only access to the 'net is by mail then you will likely be interested in `Doctor Bob's Guide to Offline Internet Access'. That guide is posted regularly to the following 8 newsgroups: alt.internet.services, alt.online-service, alt.bbs.internet, alt.answers, comp.mail.misc, comp.answers, news.newusers.questions, news.answers with Subject `Accessing the Internet by E-Mail FAQ'. It is also stored in the rtfm.mit.edu FTP site in file `pub/usenet/news.answers/internet-services/access-via-email'.
I've put together a list of other websites in which I think alt.backrubs readers will be interested. That list is available in the other-sites.html file in the archive.
If you find something wrong with the archive, or have suggestions about how to improve it, please send mail to jamie@uwo.ca. Check out the section below for information about what changes are planned.
If you are having trouble with the UWO FTP site please send mail to <jamie@uwo.ca>. If I can't solve the problem then I will pass the information on to the site's FTP administrator. If I don't reply to your mail within three days I haven't received it.
The archive would not be possible without the permission of the head of sysgrp at uwocsd. Thanks, Dave. Thanks as well to Jonathan Magid at Sunsite for mirroring the archive.
Thanks as well to all those who post interesting, informative and stimulating articles to alt.backrubs. It's because of you that there is anything I find worth preserving in the archive.
I must not forget to thank those who have taken the time to point out errors in and make suggestions about this document and the archive. I'm grateful for your advice and interest.
Lorre Smith, a senior professional librarian, has been preparing a comprehensive index to all files in the archive. This project is expected to take a long time to complete.