The NIC is a facility available to all Internet users which provides information to the community. There are three means of NIC contact: network, telephone, and mail. The network accesses are the most prevalent. Interactive access is frequently used to do queries of NIC service overviews, look up user and host names, and scan lists of NIC documents. It is available by using
on a BSD system and following the directions provided by a user friendly prompter. From poking around in the databases provided one might decide that a document named NETINFO:NUG.DOC (The Users Guide to the ARPAnet) would be worth having. It could be retrieved via an anonymous FTP. An anonymous FTP would proceed something like the following. (The dialogue may vary slightly depending on the implementation of FTP you are using).
(Another good initial document to fetch is NETINFO:WHATTHE-NIC-DOES.TXT)!
Questions of the NIC or problems with services can be asked of or reported to using electronic mail. The following addresses can be used:
NIC@SRI-NIC.ARPA General user assistance, document requests
REGISTRAR@SRI-NIC.ARPA User registration and WHOIS updates
HOSTMASTER@SRI-NIC.ARPA Hostname and domain changes and updates
ACTION@SRI-NIC.ARPA SRI-NIC computer operations
SUGGESTIONS@SRI-NIC.ARPA Comments on NIC publication Services
For people without network access, or if the number of documents is large, many of the NIC documents are available in printed form for a small charge. One frequently ordered document for starting sites is a compendium of major RFCs. Telephone access is used primarily for questions or problems with network access. (See appendix B for mail/telephone contact numbers).
