The archive has been built and tested over the last three months with the help
of a great many people. I'd particularly like to thank the following people
for going above and beyond in helping me improve the archive. THANKS!
Terry Carroll <carroll@tjc.com>
Michael Current <mcurrent@carleton.edu>
Stefan Eggers <seggers@semyam.dinoco.de>
Pam Greene <pgreene@optics.rochester.edu>
Paola Kathuria <paola@limitless.co.uk>
Brad Knowles <BKnowles@aol.net>
Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us>
Wayne S. Mery <wsm0@lehigh.edu>
Edward Reid <faqmail@paleo.greensboro.fl.us>
Robert Kazuhiko Uyeyama <uyeyama@hawaii.edu>
Robert Lindsay Wells <WellsCom@aol.com>
Jean-Claude Wippler <jcw@meta4.nl>
Catherine Woodgold <woodgold@seismo.nrcan.gc.ca>
The important URLs to remember are
http://www.landfield.com/faqs/ - The archive itself.
http://www.landfield.com/faqs/faqsearch.html - The search facility.
To quickly get to your FAQ simply add "http://www.landfield.com/faqs/" to the
front of your FAQ's 'Archive-name' to construct the path.
What follows hopefully answers a good many questions. It was constructed
mainly from the archive's help file. As always, please do not hesitate
to contact me directly if you have any questions or concerns. I do try
to be responsive... And please keep those great ideas coming. Thanks.
-Kent+
======================================================================
The Usenet Hypertext FAQ Archive contains Usenet postings to the
*.answers newsgroups in both Hypertext and text formats. This archive
is evolving like most things in life. In keeping with the spirit of
FAQs, here are answers to some frequently asked questions.
------------------------------
Subject: What is this Archive and how is it built ?
The Usenet newsgroup news.answers is a repository for periodic informational
postings called Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). news.answers is a
moderated newsgroup meaning that if you want to post to news.answers, you
must follow the guidelines established by the *.answers moderation team.
The master archive for the newsgroup can be found at rtfm.mit.edu (aka RTFM)
The entire WWW HTML news.answers archive is rebuilt each day from a mirrored
copy of RTFM's ftp archive of news.answers.
Each FAQ is converted into a single hypertext document. All FAQs are scanned
for various references, and have hypertext links automatically inserted when
such references are found.
Some FAQs are formatted in the Digest Message Format specified in RFC1153.
Others support the Minimal Digest Format, while others have formatted their
FAQ in another format. Those that support RFC1153 or the Minimal Digest
formats are also split into multiple pages.
The build procedure completely rebuilds the articles after it has updated
the mirrored textual copy here. Both the the original text versions as well
as the HTML versions are available. The Mirror software is setup to "do
deletes" so if an FAQ is removed from rtfm.mit.edu, it will be removed from
the mirrored copy as well prior to the HTML rebuild. The process is a bit
inefficient but the trade off is having to deal directly with the removal
process. This way it is avoided.
------------------------------
Subject: Why was it built ?
IMHO, Turning text into selectable URLs makes the FAQs a lot more useful.
------------------------------
Subject: How many FAQs are available in the archive ?
There are now over 3100 separate FAQ files, written by over 1100 authors and
covering nearly 1600 newsgroups. For more exact statistics, see the statistics
page at
http://www.landfield.com/faqs/stats.html
This page is updated during each archive rebuild.
------------------------------
Subject: How can I find what I want ?
There are two different ways to access the HTML based FAQs, via the Index
files or via the full text search capabilities.
There are four different types of Index files.
* The FAQs by Archive-name Index - This lists the FAQs by the Archive-name
header that was assigned by the *.answers
moderation team.
* The FAQs by Category Index - This lists FAQs by general category.
* The FAQs by Newsgroup Index - This lists each newsgroup and the
associated FAQs posted to the newsgroup.
* The FAQs by Author Index - This lists each author by their email
address and the FAQs they maintain.
There are four different types of Full Text Searching.
* Search FAQs - Show References
This shows the lines in the FAQs that contain the search string.
* Search FAQs - Rank References
This sorts the results by the number of times the search
string is found in the FAQ. The more matches, the higher
on the list.
* Search Subject/Archive Names
This searches a Subject: and Archive-name: database to quickly
locate an FAQ by the information contained in those headers.
* Search Article Headers
This search looks only at the article and auxiliary headers
to satisfy the search.
------------------------------
Subject: What sorts of things are converted to links ?
As many references as possible are being converted to hypertext links. The
conversion is done both in headers and in the body of the faqs.
* Email Addresses - References in the format of user@domain as well as
mailto: references are converted.
* HTTP References - References listed as http: or https: are converted.
* Usenet News References - Newsgroup names are converted into news:
references. This does not mean that you can read them
directly. You must have a valid, preexisting news
environment set up to do so. news: and nntp: references
are enabled as are references to Message-IDs.
* FTP References - ftp references of the form:
ftp.host.name:/pathname
ftp://
* RFC References - All Request for comments of in the format of RFC ##,
RFC-## or RFC## are converted.
* Other URL References - Other references converted are
file:
wais:
gopher:
telnet:
prospero:
other things that look right.
* Archive-name: references found in the body of the FAQs are linked to the
FAQs in the archive to quickly access the referenced FAQs.
See the "Hyperlink Insertion Count section of the Statistics page for a more
complete listing of what's converted.
NOTE: These links are created without verification of the existence of the
hypertext document. If the the information in the FAQs is accurate, the
links will make the document much more useful.
If there are things we are not linking in today that you would like to see,
please let us know and we'll see what we can do about adding them.
------------------------------
Subject: What digest formats are supported ?
Support has been added for the Digest Message Format specified in RFC1153
and the Minimal Digest Format.
"What's a Section, and How is it Formatted?" in the Suggested Minimal
Digest Format FAQ describes a useful format that a good deal of the FAQs
are already posted in.
------------------------------
Subject: How can I get my FAQ to appear in the archive ?
This archive is updated automatically from a local ftp mirror of the master
FAQ archive site at MIT. If your FAQ is distributed via the news.answers
newsgroup then it will automatically appear in this archive. For more
details on posting your FAQ to news.answers, please refer to:
Introduction to the *.answers newsgroups
*.answers submission guidelines, the
*.answers post-approval guidelines
------------------------------
Subject: What if there is an error in my FAQ ?
We have tried very hard to get it right. If there has been some mistake
in the conversion to HTML, please let us know *immediately* at
We will assure that your FAQ is converted correctly.
------------------------------
Subject: My FAQ has a homepage where the community can get the
most current copy. Will that be supported here ?
If you have an HTML version of your FAQ and would like to refer to it then
simply use the URL: Auxiliary header documented in the *.answers submission
guidelines. The archive software scans the FAQs for URLs and converts them
to hypertext links. If you specify the URL for your document's homepage in
an Auxiliary URL: header it will be included automatically and available
from within the index files as well.
Another benefit to using the Auxiliary URL: header is that it alerts the
reader to the existence of the document's homepage very early in the
document.
------------------------------
Subject: What about FAQs that aren't posted to news.answers?
If you are unable to post your FAQ via news.answers and would like your FAQ
to appear in this archive then please send it to faq-admin@landfield.com and
let us know of your request. It can be inserted into the archive manually.
PLEASE NOTE: You are strongly encouraged to go though the minimal process of
getting it approved for posting to a *.answers newsgroup. You are taking
your time to write and maintain it. Make sure you are getting the widest
possible exposure for your work thus allowing more people to benefit from
it.
------------------------------
Subject: Can I provide you with a hypertext copy ?
As stated above... it is better for all if the process is automated. That
way there are no concerns about timely updates. If you have used the URL:
auxiliary header, the index will point to the location you specified in the
URL: header.
If the FAQ is not being posted to news.answers (see the encouragement
above), then a hypertext copy is preferred.
------------------------------
Subject: Will I have trouble deleting my FAQ when I quit posting it ?
The Mirror software used here keeps an exact copy of the RTFM master FAQ
archive and is setup to "do deletes". In other words, if the *.answers
moderation team removes your FAQ from the RTFM FAQ archive, it will be
removed from my copy of the FAQ archive prior to the next HTML build.
(The answer to your question is NO, as long as you notify the *.answers team
that you want it deleted.)
------------------------------
Subject: How can I help ?
Here are a couple things you can do to make this resource more accurate and
useful for all.
1. First, tell your friends about it, and get them to use it.
2. Send us your great ideas and constructive criticism.
3. If you are an FAQ author:
o Please try to follow the *.answers guidelines as closely as
possible concerning article header usage.
o If you have a home page for your FAQ, use the URL: header to
assure the software here, which generates the archive index files,
is able to list your FAQ's home page accurately.
o Use the HTML FAQ Archive to verify the information you list in
your FAQ is accurate. "http://www.landfield.com/cgi-bin/faqs/vlinks"
o Consider converting your FAQ to digest format so that it can be
available in both forms.
o Tell us immediately if there is some sort of conversion problem
with your FAQ or it's associated index entries. We have worked
very hard to assure your documents are converted correctly. If
there is a problem we will correct it immediately. Just let us
know.
4. If you want to be an FAQ author read the section on where to get more
information about FAQs
If you have other ideas about helping, please contact us at
faq-admin@landfield.com. We look forward to discussing them with you.
------------------------------
Subject: Is it OK to make links to the FAQs in this archive?
Yes.
------------------------------
Subject: What problems may I encounter reading the pages?
The hypertext links to URLs are added without verification. This may cause
things to be turned into bogus links.
If the information is wrong or out of date in a specific FAQ on RTFM then it
will be here as well. Best to inform the specific FAQ author/maintainer of
the situation so the problem can be corrected.
------------------------------
Subject: Why can't I read the newsgroups listed in the FAQs?
The HTML pages have the newsgroup names converted into hyperlinks. This
allows you to read the newsgroups directly if you have access to a news
server that carries the group. Simply because they are listed DOES NOT allow
you to read news directly from the Web, nor do they give you access to
groups that you would not have otherwise had access to. In order to read
articles in the groups listed you must have access to an NNTP based news
server and have configured your WWW client to point at that server.
Please ask your local support staff and refer to your WWW browser
documentation for more specifics.
------------------------------
Subject: Where can I find more information on FAQs ?
FAQ Resources on the Net
First, a Big Thanks to the *.answers moderation team
<news-answers-request@mit.edu> who organize and manage *.answers. Without
them this archive wouldn't exist.
* Introduction to the *.answers newsgroups
* *.answers submission guidelines, the
* *.answers post-approval guidelines
The following are excellent places to get additional information on FAQs.
* FAQs about FAQs written by Russ Hersch <russ@silicom.co.il>
* FAQs: A Suggested Minimal Digest Format written by Chris Lewis
<clewis@ferret.ocunix.on.ca>
* David Alex Lamb's "FAQ maintenance aids":
http://www.qucis.queensu.ca/FAQs/FAQaid/
* Infinite Ink's (Nancy McGough) "Finding and Writing FAQs and Periodic
Postings": ("FAQs" & "PIPs") (or its mirror.)
If you know of other FAQ related net.resources, please let us know at
faq-admin@landfield.com and we'll add it here so others can benefit from it.
------------------------------
Subject: Now a question for you...
Is there a specific type of index or method of access that you see as
missing and would like to see added ?
If you have an opinion on any of these questions, please let me know. We are
trying to determine what people would like to see and decide what to
implement. Thanks!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Kent Landfield Phone: 1-817-545-2502 The Landfield Group FAX: 1-817-545-7650 Email: kent@landfield.com http://www.landfield.com/ Please send comp.sources.misc related mail to kent@uunet.uu.net.
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