Community Wide Networking Using MUSIC/SP Software ================================================= This paper is based on a talk given by Roy Miller at the International Free-Net Conference held August 17-19, 1993 at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. In it he discusses how MUSIC/SP is used to run a community-wide information service. Examples are taken from the InfoMcGill service that was set up to provide information to the McGill University community. Roy is the General Manager of McGill University Systems Inc. (MUS Inc.), a subsidiary of McGill University in Montreal, Canada. MUS Inc. markets the MUSIC/SP software, developed at McGill and now being used in more than 200 sites in over 10 countries (including Canada, USA, Brazil, Japan, Ireland, and Australia). He can be reached by e-mail at roy@musicm.mcgill.ca, or phone at (514) 398-4480, or fax at (514) 398-4488. What is a CWIS? =============== The acronym "CWIS" was initially coined to refer to a Campus-Wide Information System. Over the years, the reference attributed to the letter "C" has broadened to also include community and corporate information systems. The letter "S", initially referring to system, is also now wider in scope, and embraces the notion of service. In this paper we will use CWIS to refer to a "Community-Wide Information Service". Why have a CWIS? ================ Nowadays, almost all printed materials start off as text on a computer. They usually aren't printed on paper until the final stages, when they're distributed in the form of newspapers, pamphlets, flyers, etc. Keeping printed information up-to-date and available for everyone who needs it, when they need it and where they need it, is a formidable challenge. Difficulties can arise because information becomes outdated. And, getting rid of old, printed materials leaves us, as individuals, institutions, and a society with the problem of materials disposal. On-line information services can provide a popular alternative to printed materials, and help alleviate some of the problems associated with them. Specifically, on-line services: * provide immediate access to the latest information, bypassing the stages of printing and distribution; * allow information providers to monitor how often their material is looked at; * allow those who read the information a chance to respond with feedback to the information providers, in the form of comments, corrections, or suggestions for improvements; * allow information to be made available in multiple languages; * give community groups a forum for publicizing their events, avoiding costly printing and distribution cycles; * provide e-mail for people in a community, on both a one-to-one and group discussion basis; * allow those who are vision-impaired or shut-in a chance to become more active participants in their community by giving them a "voice" in what's going on; and * allow people a chance to discuss and communicate with each other on a neighborhood-wide, nation-wide, and world-wide basis concerning thousands of topics. InfoMcGill ========== McGill University runs a CWIS called InfoMcGill, which focuses on providing information to its community of 30,000 students and some 5,000 staff members. InfoMcGill contains such information as a staff telephone book, student and staff handbooks, information on clubs, schedules and locations of public lectures, locations and hours of various libraries, and local weather news. An electronic want-ads section has proved to be extremely popular. InfoMcGill has been running since September 1991. Almost anyone can get access to InfoMcGill through McGill's local area networks or through telephone lines. You do not need a userid to access the service. (You can access InfoMcGill by following the instructions given at the end of this document.) MUSIC/SP Software ================= The InfoMcGill service runs on a MUSIC/SP software platform. Registered McGill users can also use this software to send e-mail to colleagues, classmates, instructors, or others at McGill or anywhere else that is accessible via the world-wide Internet network. They can also use Internet services such as Gopher, Telnet, FTP, and RN. (More information about these Internet services is provided later.) MUSIC/SP's attraction is its ability to support a large number of users performing a wide variety of functions with a modest hardware requirement. At the hub of the system is either an IBM mainframe or an IBM PS/2 computer. Users can be running from terminals such as VT100s, IBM 3270s, and personal computers. National Language Support ========================= MUSIC/SP has recently be modified to support multiple national languages. These include French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese. Users specify their language preference in their user profile. The system will then present menus, text, and messages in whatever language was chosen, if available. A CWIS can be established that will present information to a consumer in their preferred language. User Identification =================== Userids are used to identify users of the system. Typically users are allowed to look at information in a CWIS without needing a personal userid. Userids are assigned when someone wants to use e-mail and other facilities. These userids can be assigned by the system administrator, or users can be permitted to automatically register themselves. Disk space allocation limits and other options can be assigned for each userid. Individual sites decide themselves on which options they want to make available to their user community. Information Navigation ====================== A CWIS is typically presented as a set of menus and sub-menus. For example, the main menu of InfoMcGill could have been organized as follows: 1 - How to use infoMcGill & post information 2 - Lists latest updates 3 - Index to all topics 4 - Montreal weather reports from Environment Canada 5 - McGill phone/addresses 6 - Course Timetable 7 - Budgets, Stats, Memorials 8 - Sessional Calendar/Dates 9 - Computing Facilities, store prices 10 - Student Services, Societies, Convocation 11 - Wide Area Network info. 12 - Grants, Fellowships, Exchange 13 - University Libraries 14 - Notices: Summer Studies 15 - Events, Confs, Meetings 16 - Positions, Seminars 17 - ICC Films, Bookstore 18 - Administrative Handbook 19 - Renovations on Campus 20 - Loans,Travel,Mgt Forum 21 - Classified Ads You would have been able to select an item by typing in a number or by tabbing or moving the cursor to the desired menu item. Instead, McGill chose to use a combination topic name and description format as follows: ABOUT How to use infoMcGill & post information WHATSNEW Lists latest updates INDEX Index to all topics WEATHER Montreal weather reports from Environment Canada PHONE McGill phone/addresses TIMETABLE Course Timetable MCGILL Budgets,Stats,Memorials DATES Sessional Calendar/Dates COMPUTING Facilities,Store prices STUDENT Services,Soc'ties,Convocation WAN Wide Area Network info. GFE Grants,Fellows.,Exchange LIBRARIES University Libraries DEPTS Notices: Summer Studies EVENTS Events,Confs,Meetings HR Positions,Seminars SERVICES ICC Films, Bookstore ADMIN Administrative Handbook FACDEV Renovations on Campus STAFF Loans,Travel,Mgt Forum ADS Classified Ads (The capitalized words are highlighted on the screen display.) This format allows the user to both quickly scan the topic names and look at the topic description. A benefit of topic-name lookup is that you can proceed directly to a sub-menu item without passing through the intermediate menu screens. It also permits hypertext-type links between document files. As an added benefit, you can use the topic names to point to menu items or data files that do not exist on the menu structure. This is ideal for testing new information before releasing it to the public. Providing Access to Large Documents ==================================== Usually it is desirable to prepare information for a CWIS in small chunks, so that each piece can be displayed on a few screens. However, some information does not lend itself easily to this kind of division. An example would include access to a listing of thousands of on-line discussion lists. Dividing it up into thousands of files would be a nuisance. And, it would be a challenge to group them into meaningful menus and sub-menus and keep them all up-to-date. To solve this problem, MUSIC/SP provides a full-text search capability. By using this utility, an information provider can take a single large file and have the computer index all of the meaningful words in it. This lets end users easily locate discussion groups that address areas they are interested in by merely typing words like astronomy, education, health, etc. The search is performed in a fraction of a second, even for documents that are many millions of characters in size. The users gets to what they want quickly, without having to navigate through many sub-menus. And, the information provider can put up the information quickly and keep it current, with minimum effort. Features for Information Providers ================================== Usage information is kept for each item in the CWIS. With this data, it is easy to tell how often items are referenced, and plot their usage as a function of time of day and day of the week. Comments from end users can be fed directly back to information providers. This can alert them to incorrect information in their postings. End users can be presented with an on-line form, such as one that can be used to register for a seminar. The information from this form is sent via e-mail directly to the information provider. Updates to information files can be directly performed by the information provider, without having to give them a super-user or similar option. Changes can be made directly using editor functions, or, entire sections of a file can be replaced by uploading information from a PC. An information provider can also specify which userids are permitted to view the information. Access to the Internet ====================== Users can be permitted access to a range of services that are available through the world-wide Internet network. Internet provides access to millions of users and countless sources of information, ranging from encyclopedias to on-line library catalogues. Installations can select to permit access to these facilities depending on the userid. The popular "gopher" service provides a technique of searching through thousands of computers for useful information. Access to thousands of discussion topics are available through a Usenet reader. Transfer of data files can be accomplished through the use of the FTP protocol. Users can browse through library information catalogues at distant libraries using the Telnet facility. On-line live interactive discussions can been held between groups of people spanning several continents using the Internet Chat (IRC) facility. Accessing infoMcGill ==================== InfoMcGill can be accessed through the Internet or through telephone lines. Internet Access --------------- Follow the steps below to access McGill's CWIS via the Internet: * Use a Telnet command that can handle 3270 data streams. (On VM systems, just use the TELNET command. It may be called TN3270 on other systems.) * Use Internet address of "VM1.MCGILL.CA" (the numeric address is 132.206.27.2). * Press ENTER to clear the full screen VM/ESA logo screen. (If you only see the short "VM/ESA Online" message followed by a period (.), then your Telnet program cannot handle 3270 data streams.) * Enter PF3 (or type "INFO") as the screen will prompt you. You should now be signed on to the InfoMcGill system. Dial in Access -------------- Follow the steps below to access McGill's CWIS via a dial-in line: * Use VT100 emulator. * Set modem to speed to 2400 or 9600 baud, 7 bit, even parity. * Dial (514) 398-8311. * Press ENTER. That will give you the "Enter class" message. * Type in MUSIC and press ENTER. * Press ENTER again to get the "Enter terminal type" message. * Select terminal type of VT100. (If you are using the MUSIC/SP terminal emulator (PCWS) then select terminal type of VT100P to show the screens in color.) * You should then see the VM logo screen. * Enter PF3 (or type "INFO") as the screen will prompt you. You should now be signed on to the InfoMcGill system.