6.4  TELNET BULLETIN-BOARD SYSTEMS
 
You might think that Usenet, with its hundreds of newsgroups, would be 
enough to satisfy the most dedicated of online communicators. 

But there are a number of "bulletin-board" and other systems that provide 
even more conferences or other services, many not found directly on the 
Net.  Some are free; others charge for access.  They include: 
 
Cimarron.  Run by the Instituto Technical in Monterey, Mexico, this 
system has Spanish conferences, but English commands, as you can see from 
this menu of available conferences: 
                                                                               
          List of Boards
            Name                 Title 
            General              Board general
            Dudas                Dudas de Cimarron 
            Comentarios          Comentarios al SYSOP
            Musica               Para los afinados........
            Libros               El sano arte de leer.....
            Sistemas             Sistemas Operativos en General.
            Virus                Su peor enemigo......
            Cultural             Espacio Cultural de Cimarron
            NeXT                 El Mundo de NeXT
            Ciencias             Solo apto para Nerds.
            Inspiracion          Para los Romanticos e Inspirados.
            Deportes             Discusiones Deportivas
 
To be able to write messages and gain access to files, you have to leave 
a note to SYSOP with your name, address, occupation and phone number.  To 
do this, at any prompt, hit your M key and then enter, which will bring 
up the mail system. Hitting H brings up a list of commands and how to use 
them. 

     Telnet: bugs.mty.itesm.mx (8 p.m. to 10 a.m., Eastern time, only).
     At the "login:" prompt, type
 
               bbs
 
and hit enter.
 
Cleveland Free-Net.  The first of a series of Free-Nets, this represents 
an ambitious attempt to bring the Net to the public. Originally an in-
hospital help network, it is now sponsored by Case Western Reserve 
University, the city of Cleveland, the state of Ohio and IBM. It uses 
simple menus, similar to those found on CompuServe, but organized like a 
city: 
 
          <<< CLEVELAND FREE-NET DIRECTORY >>> 
                                                                               
            1 The Administration Building
            2 The Post Office
            3 Public Square
            4 The Courthouse & Government Center
            5 The Arts Building 
            6 Science and Technology Center
            7 The Medical Arts Building 
            8 The Schoolhouse (Academy One)
            9 The Community Center & Recreation Area
           10 The Business and Industrial Park
           11 The Library
           12 University Circle
           13 The Teleport 
           14 The Communications Center
           15 NPTN/USA TODAY HEADLINE NEWS
          ------------------------------------------------
          h=Help, x=Exit Free-Net, "go help"=extended help
                                                                               
          Your Choice ==>
 
The system has a vast and growing collection of public documents, from 
copies of U.S. and Ohio Supreme Court decisions to the Magna Carta and 
the U.S. Constitution.  It links residents to various government agencies 
and has daily stories from USA Today. Beyond Usenet (found in the 
Teleport area), it has a large collection of local conferences on 
everything from pets to politics.  And yes, it's free! 

     Telnet: freenet-in-a.cwru.edu or
             freenet-in-b.cwru.edu or
             freenet-in-c.cwru.edu
 
When you connect to Free-Net, you can look around the system.  However, 
if you want to be able to post messages in its conferences or use e-mail, 
you will have to apply in writing for an account.  Information on this is 
available when you connect. 
                                    
 
DUBBS.  This is a bulletin-board system in Delft in the Netherlands. The 
conferences and files are mostly in Dutch, but the help files and the 
system commands themselves are in English. 
     Telnet: tudrwa.tudelft.nl
 
ISCA BBS.  Run by the Iowa Student Computer Association, it has more than 
100 conferences, including several in foreign languages.  After you 
register, hit K for a list of available conferences and then J to join a 
particular conference (you have to type in the name of the conference, 
not the number next to it).  Hitting H brings up information about 
commands. 
     Telnet bbs.isca.uiowa.edu
     At the "login:" prompt, type
 
                bbs
 
and hit enter.
 
Youngstown Free-Net.  The people who created Cleveland Free-Net sell 
their software for $1 to anybody willing to set up a similar system. A 
number of cities now have their own Free-Nets, including Youngstown, 
Ohio. Telnet: yfn.ysu.edu At the "login:" prompt, type 
 
               visitor
 
and hit enter.