SUM: ftp sites

[Randy Allen Harris <raha -at- WATARTS -dot- UWATERLOO -dot- CA>]

Awhile back I posted two queries to the list, for information on two types
of ftp archives--graphic archives and public-domain software archives, and
the responses were both rapid and helpful.

I have summarized a highly edited version of the results below (the total
number of ftp sites I got information on was well into the hundreds).  I
have included only those sites which people personally vouched for, and I
have indented any special comments immediately below the site address.  All
of the sites include software, some of them include graphics, but no one
identified any sites particularly good for graphics.  (Many thanks to Louis
Rondeau, Logendra Naidoo, Jane Patterson, Stacey McCroskey, Frank DiIorio,
Lori Lathrop, Steve Fouts, and George Klima.)

        wuarchive.wustl.edu
        garbo.uwasa.fi
        gatekeeper.dec.com
                (100s of Win3 programs)
        oak.oakland.edu
        ftp.uu.net
        Oak.oakland.edu
        wuarchive.wustl.edu
        archive.umich.edu
                (great software archives)
        sumex-aim.stanford.edu
                (best mac archive available)
        ftp.brown.edu
                (various platforms)

MANY more sites are available, and the following instructions will get you
a gazillion or so of them:

Site lists for anonymous FTP sources can be retrieved in one of the following
ways:

* Send an e-mailmessage with no subject and in the body:

     send usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/faq
     send usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/sitelist/part1
     send usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/sitelist/part2
     send usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/sitelist/part3
     send usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/sitelist/part4
     send usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/sitelist/part5
     send usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/sitelist/part6
     send usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/sitelist/part7

  to mail-server -at- rtfm -dot- mit -dot- edu

* Anonymous FTP to rtfm.mit.edu and getting all the files from the
  /pub/usenet/new.answers/ftp-list/sitelist directory for the sitelist
  and /pub/usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/faq for the FAQ List (ASCII files)

* Anonymous FTP to garbo.uwasa.fi and getting /pc/doc-net/ftp-list.zip
  (PKZip 2.x archive: PKUnzip 2.x or Unzip 5.x or higher needed)

* Anonymous FTP to oak.oakland.edu and getting /pub/msdos/info/ftp-list.zip
  (PKZip 2.x archive: PKUnzip 2.x or Unzip 5.x or higher needed)

* Anonymous FTP to ftp.edu.tw and getting the file in the format you want
  from the /documents/networking/guides/ftp-list directory. Several formats
  are available, including a .Z and .gz version of the FAQ and sitelist.

Don't forget to change to 'binary' or 'image' type before transferring
the .ZIP, .Z or .gz version of this file! Garbo.uwasa.fi, oak.oakland.edu
and rtfm.mit.edu are mirrored on many sites around the world.

Please remember to use sites during off-peak (1800-0600 or 6pm-6am
local time) hours and within your area, before jumping to international
archives. If they have regional access or limited links, respect their
restrictions.
And remember that mirrors are here for a reason, it's often much faster
to check if the file(s) you're looking for, are mirrored close by and
getting them there than getting them from somewhere distant (and slow).

Most important of all:
Anonymous FTP access is a privilege and can be denied at any time.
Don't ruin it for yourself and lots of others by overusing a site
or not abiding by their rules.

                       -------======= * =======-------
                              Randy Allen Harris
                           raha -at- watarts -dot- uwaterloo -dot- ca

   Rhetoric and Professional Writing, Department of English, University of
Waterloo, Waterloo ON N2L 3G1, CANADA; 519 885-1211, x5362; FAX: 519 884-8995