*** ANSWERMAN INTERNET EXTRA *** For the week of February 10, 1997 This is the weekly newsletter for the community of Internet users on America Online. This week, AnswerMan focuses on MUDs -- Multi-User Dungeons. =*=*= IN THIS ISSUE =*=*= AnswerMan's Update -- Digging into the Mailbag AnswerMan's Update -- MUDs Upcoming Weekly Focus & Chats -- What's coming up The End -- How to contact us or unsubscribe =*=*= WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK WITH ANSWERMAN =*=*= Go to keyword: For: AM FOCUS MUD info, Valentine's sites, lots more ANSWERMAN Member web sites, daily tips, message boards NET HELP Get quick help for your Internet questions NET TUTORIAL Clueless about the Internet? Start here! AM CHAT Read transcripts of Internet chats that you missed AM GLOSSARY RTFM to decrypt that Internet jargon Here are direct links for AOL 3.0 users: Go to keyword AnswerMan AnswerMan Focus Net Tutorial =*=*= ANSWERMAN'S UPDATE -- Digging into the Mailbag =*=*= It's the second week of the month, the moon is new and it's two days until Lincoln's birthday -- you know what that means! It's time to open up the old AnswerMan mailbag. -.-.- MCAFEE's shareware -.-.- In last week's newsletter, I stated that the MCAFEE virus-checking software was free. Thanks to the sharp-eyed readers who pointed out that that program is in fact shareware, not free software. If you use the software regularly, you're expected to pay for it. And you should, it's a small price to pay to keep your data safe. And as long as I'm admitting to messing up, I'll point out that the software is at keyword MCAFEE -- in last week's newsletter I spelled it with too many F's and not enough E's. -.-.- Internet Phone and Audio E-mail -.-.- I received many, many messages on the topic of Internet Phone software after the recent newsletter on the topic. Some of you had better experiences with Internet telephony than I did -- others were glad that I saved you the trouble. Further research has shown me that Internet telephony works better when you're logged on though an Internet provider other than AOL. If you haven't noticed (ha ha) AOL has been a little busy lately. In order to work well, Internet phone software needs every ounce of network bandwidth that you've got, and AOL's network sometimes can't eke out all those ounces. The solution here is to log on to the Internet through a local Internet service provider (ISP), and use the Internet phone software from there. You can then switch to AOL's "Bring Your Own Access" plan, which costs $9.95 a month for unlimited use, to access AOL via the Internet. (You can switch access plans at keyword BILLING.) There's another big benefit to accessing AOL via another ISP -- you can get on to AOL reliably -- no busy signals, no waiting. Since you're not dialing AOL directly -- you're dialing an Internet service provider and accessing AOL through them -- you don't have to fight other AOL users for a free modem. I access AOL via the Internet almost exclusively -- and I can log in on the first try 99% of the time. You can find a list of thousands of ISPs world-wide at http://www.thelist.com. Several of you also inquired about audio e-mail, which uses special software to let you send e-mail with your voice in it. Audio e-mail should work just dandy over AOL. Since it doesn't require real-time transmission of sound, a few delays in transmission won't affect the sound quality at all. Many of you have asked about this technology, so audio e-mail will be an AnswerMan Focus topic soon. -.-.- Valentine's Day -.-.- Valentine's Day is this Friday. Don't forget to: 1) Create or purchase something to woo your sweetie; 2) check out AnswerMan's picks of Valentine web sites at keyword AM FOCUS. -.-.- Hacker's Day? -.-.- Many members have received disturbing messages warning about a "hackers riot" that is to take place this Friday, the 14th. The rumors on this are spiraling out of control,know if there will actually be a day of mad hacking on AOL this Friday, but I do know this: there's not a lot that a hacker can do to make you miserable unless you let him. I'm guessing that some hackers may spam you with unwanted e-mail (just ignore it,) ruin your fun in chat rooms in various ways, and generally try to annoy us all. Here are some do's and don'ts for this Friday, and every day. * Do log in to AOL whenever you get the urge. * Don't be afraid to read e-mail. You can't get a virus just by reading e-mail. * Don't download e-mail file attachments from people that you don't know. * Never, never, give your password, credit card info, favorite color or any other personal information to anyone. AOL has this information (well, except your favorite color) and will never ask you for it via e-mail or Instant Messages. Here are direct links for AOL 3.0 users: Keyword MCAFEE Keyword BILLING THE LIST of ISPs Valentines sites =*=*= ANSWERMAN'S UPDATE -- Multi-User Dungeons =*=*= Multi-User Dungeons ("MUDs") are a popular diversion on the Internet. They allow you to enter a virtual world where you can chase dragons, find opponents for an online game of Scrabble, or just chat with a few friends. MUDs are the basis for games and role playing as well as educational services and even serious collaborative research. Using a MUD is sort of a cross between using IRC, AOL chat and a text adventure game like Adventure or Zork. For instance, you can chat with people in real time, and if that crowd is boring your socks off, you can walk your character to a different place and see what's happening in the next room. There are hundreds of different MUD systems -- each has its own theme. In general, you read text descriptions of what's around you in the virtual space, and you can type your actions to interact with the world around you. MUDs usually have various "locations" through which players can move by typing the compass directions. Objects can be manipulated with commands such as GET, LOOK, EAT, and THROW. Conversation with other users (and sometimes intelligent programs) is done using the SAY command, for speaking "aloud," and EMOTE, to show actions. (For instance, "Waffle looks at you cross-eyed.") You are in the Living Room. You see a cherry pie and Fred. >Throw cherry pie at Fred You throw the pie at Fred. SPLAT! Fred says, "Hey! Stop that." Your electronic world surroundings might include any combination of characters, creatures, rooms, and objects. Users in the world of a MUD can converse, move around, affect the environment, play games, program, hunt for treasure, and fight vile beasties. Other MUDs (usually private ones) are used for distance education, scientific collaboration and other real work. Depending on its popularity and the time of day, any MUD might have just a few or hundreds of users. Most MUDs on the Internet are text-based -- so you need to use a client program in order to access them. There are specialized programs just for accessing MUDs, but it's convenient and easy to use telnet. Telnet is not built into the AOL software, so you'll have to download and install telnet before diving into the MUD. I've talked about setting up telnet in this newsletter before, so I'll avoid repeating this details here. If you missed it, no problem: go to keyword AM FOCUS. and click on the "MUDs" link for the details of using telnet for the first time. For more information about MUDs, start by reading the MUD Frequently Asked Questions and Answers List at http://www.math.okstate.edu/~jds/mudfaqs.html. You'll also need a list of MUDs -- one good site for this is the MUD Connector at http://www.mudconnect.com/. There you can get a huge list of MUDs, see the top 20 MUDs, and get lots of good info about MUDding. Finally, there's more information about MUDs and telnet at keyword AM FOCUS.. Here are direct links for AOL 3.0 users: AnswerMan Focus MUD FAQ The MUD Connector =*=*= THE WEEKLY FOCUS & CHAT =*=*= Every Sunday, AnswerMan hosts a live chat to close out that week's Focus topic. Here's what's coming this Sunday, February 16 at 6 PM ET: This hour, AnswerMan will show you how you can access MUDs through AOL, what MUDs are out there, and pitfalls to avoid. He'll answer your questions, too. Every week, AnswerMan focuses on a particular facet of using the Internet. Here are the Weekly Focus topics we'll be covering in the near future: Feb 17 - Feb 23: Great web sites for Mac and Windows Feb 24 - March 2: Tax Time Here is a direct link for AOL 3.0 users: AnswerMan Chat and Transcripts =*=*= THE END =*=*= That's all for this week. Got comments about this newsletter? We want to hear them! Send 'em to AnswerMan. The e-mail address is "AnswerMan@aol.com". We would hate to see you go, but if you must leave, there are two easy ways to unsubscribe yourself from this newsletter. You can use either. #1: Send an e-mail message -- To: LISTSERV@LISTSERV.AOL.COM Subject: UNSUBSCRIBE Body: UNSUBSCRIBE ANSWERMAN #2: For AOL 3.0 users only: Click here then press "Unsubscribe". I've built a little empire out of some crazy garbage, and I've copyrighted this newsletter. Copyright 1997 by America Online. All rights reserved.