
            Using the Wisconsin Network - Part 38
                 by Andy Nemec, KB9ALN

     The last two parts of our series have found us exploring
the Internet Gateway. We will conclude with a catch-up of
miscellaneous topics in a "Q&A" format.

Q - I saw in part 37 of this series that one can send binary
    files if they are encoded. However, the sysop of the
    gateway I use frowns on this practice. Why?

A - The reason is that he does not want to spend his time
    trying to decode and view every encoded message that goes
    through his system. The same rules regarding regular packet
    mail forwarding apply to the internet when Amateur Radio is
    involved. The originator of the message, as well as the
    first forwarding station are legally responsible for the 
    content of the message. Therefore, a good gateway operator
    will want to keep a close eye on things, it is his license
    on the line. Obviously, you are using the gateway at the
    pleasure of the Sysop, so it is reasonable for him to limit
    encoding mail messages - it does take a lot of time to make
    sure their content is legal.

Q - What should I do if I get SPAM mail at a gateway?

A - If you are in the process of reading it, stop immediately.
    If you must do a hard disconnect, so be it. Don't kill the
    message yet! Then contact the gateway Sysop and inform him
    or her of the situation. The Sysop will probably want to 
    look at the message to see if the point of origin can be
    determined. If this can be done, a Sysop can generally set
    a trap for that originator and block out future mail
    delivery attempts from that internet host.

Q - I have been trying to mail a friend of mine, and every time
    I try, the gateway says "Bad host" and won't let me leave a
    message. What is happening here?

A - Chances are, you have something wrong with the way you
    typed the address. E-mail addresses are structured like this:

  username@computername.networkname.domain.optional-country-code.

    The username is your friend's internet mail name. The optional
    computername is followed by a network name, then the domain. 
    Valid domains are org, net, com, gov, and mil. If your friend 
    has an internet provider in a country other than the US,
    you will probably see a country code in it.

    Internet addresses are in most cases entirely lower case.
    Occasionally you will see a username in Capital letters. If
    this is the case, then type ONLY that portion in capital 
    letters. Pay special attention to the rest of the address -
    That is what the gateway says is wrong with the address.
    What it is saying is "There appears to be no such computer
    known by that name on the internet". So you need to triple
    check the address, and correct it.

Q - I sent a message to a friend and got another message later
    titled "Failed Mail" from "Delivery Subs". I did not ask to
    have subs delivered, what is this?

A - Nobody called up a sub shop as a prank - this is a message
    from the mail delivery subsystem telling you that your
    message was refused by the destination computer. The most
    frequent reason is an incorrect user name in the To: address.
    Another reason could be that the destination computer was
    not able to be reached. It may be because of a network
    failure, or the destination computer was temporarily off-line.
    Included in the message will be a notice that the mail system
    keep trying for 3 to 5 days. If this is the case, wait and
    see if you get another message telling you it had failed
    and was deleted. If you do not get this message, then you
    should try mailing again. Hint: If you get one of these
    messages, save it to a file on your computer. That way, if
    it fails completely, you can re-edit it and upload it later
    in another message. That is, if you do find out where the
    problem is.

Q - What is an AXIP link? What do I have to do to use it?

A - AXIP is a way to send the AX.25 protocol that we all use
    over the internet. An AXIP link will operate as though you
    are in direct communication with another AX.25 station.
    This allows network nodes to function over the internet in
    the same manner that they operate on radio.

    While not particularly efficient, it does work and provides
    a lot of AX.25 users with an easy way to access remote Net/Rom
    nodes over the internet. If you connect up to a gateway and
    connect to a remote node, you are using an AXIP link. There
    is nothing special to do, an AXIP link generally appears 
    transparent to the user. If you know how to use a regular
    networked node through the internet, you know what to do.
    If you have not ever used a node, check out the first few
    parts of this series to familiarize yourself with one.

     That's all we have space for this time. Until next time,
     73 from Andy