----------------------------- KIDPLAN GOPHER May 18, 1993 ----------------------------- A new KIDLINK service is now fully functional and ready for your use. The KIDS Gopher is running on the same IBM RT that was used for the bulk of the Annual Celebration Chat. For those of you who do not know what Gopher means, it is a really nice set of interactive menus allowing you to intuitively move through the entire KIDLINK Archives (except the log files). You need to be able to TELNET to reach it (TELNET 192.88.240.244 login: gopher) or you may also reach it with your own Gopher Client (gopher kids.duq.edu 70). The best feature about this system is that you can browse through the entire library in a few minutes, selecting only those items you want. The Gopher program offers you the option to mail the files to yourself. This is SUBSTANTIALLY easier than the LISTSERV GET commands because you don't need to know anything about the list or file name. If you like what you are reading, you have it mailed to you, it is as simple as that. The menus and files are grouped *functionally* rather than by list name. This makes it much easier to find related information. The menu setup and information offered is dynamic. It will be changed to meet our needs. As of Tuesday, May 18, 1993, this is what the first menu looks like: +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Internet Gopher Information Client v1.03 KIDS Gopher! --> 1. Quick Info About This Service. 2. About the KIDLINK Projects/ 3. Finding and Using KIDLINK Services/ 4. KIDLINK in the Classrooms/ 5. KIDLINK People/ 6. KIDART Computer Art Gallery/ 7. Research, Reports, Papers, and Newsletters/ 8. Other Gopher and Information Servers/ +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Press ? for Help, q to Quit, u to go up a menu +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ That just about says it all. A menu choice that is a file available to view ends in a period (.). A menu choice which leads to a submenu ends with a slash (/). While viewing a file with Gopher, you will use the bar if you want to scroll up to view the next screen. If you have seen enough and want to view something else or maybe receive this file via mail, you can press and you will be given a prompt like this: +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Press to continue, to mail, to save, or

to print: +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Will take you back to the source menu. You will be asked for an email address. Please enter it carefully. I don't know if this works. You will probably get an error message.

Same as You need to have VT100 set at your mainframe computer. We are working on supporting other terminal types like IBM 3270, but this menu system is heavily dependent on the VT100 emulation, so I have doubts about how much we can do. Bear with us though, we will try. I think that this new system is an *ideal* tool for people doing presentations about KIDLINK or educational telecommunications. It will allow the presenter the ability to present the information at the speed and interest level of the audience. If you have feedback about this system, please e-mail me at mark@kids.duq.edu of hunnibell@delphi.com Have Fun! Mark Hunnibell KidLink Special Projects Volunteer