Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)v96.07.01 for the Graph-TI and Calc-TI lists, the Calc-TI newsgroup, and the Graph-TI program archive. ============================================================= TABLE OF CONTENTS ============================================================= INTRODUCTION IMPORTANT E-MAIL ADDRESSES Question: What is Graph-TI? Question: What is Calc-TI? Question: Should I subscribe to Graph-TI or Calc-TI? THE LISTS Question: What are the Graph-TI and Calc-TI lists? Question: How do I subscribe to the Graph-TI or Calc-TI list? Question: How do I remove myself from the Graph-TI or Calc-TI list? Question: I can't seem to unsubscribe from the Graph-TI or Calc-TI list. Question: How do I post a message to the Graph-TI or Calc-TI list? Question: How do I reply to a posting so my reply will be sent to everyone on the list? Question: How do I reply to a posting so my reply will be sent only to the author of the post? Question: How do I get "back issues" of Graph-TI or Calc-TI? Question: How do I set up my list subscription to receive posts as weekly digests? Question: How do I find out about some of the list server's other capabilities? THE NEWSGROUP Question: What is the Calc-TI Newsgroup? Question: How do I subscribe to the Calc-TI Newsgroup? Question: How do I unsubscribe from the Calc-TI Newsgroup? Question: How do I read messages posted to the Calc-TI Newsgroup? Question: How do I post a message to the Calc-TI Newsgroup? Question: How do I reply by e-mail to the author of a post? THE PROGRAM ARCHIVE Question: What is the Graph-TI archive? Question: How do I submit a program to the Graph-TI archive? Question: How do I access the Graph-TI archive through ftp? Question: How do I access the Graph-TI archive through the WWW? Question: How do I transfer an archive program to my calculator? INTRODUCTION ============================================================= This file is designed to answer some of the most frequently asked questions regarding Graph-TI and Calc-TI. If you have a question, you should first check to see if it is answered here, rather than posting the question to the Newsgroup or to the lists. If you have any suggestions, corrections, or questions regarding this FAQ, or regarding any aspect of Graph-TI or Calc-TI, please send them to: ti-cares@ti.com IMPORTANT INTERNET ADDRESSES ============================================================= There are several addresses which are associated with the Graph-TI and Calc-TI lists, the Graph-TI and Calc-TI message archives and the Graph-TI program archive. It is important that you not mix these up, or you may end up sending list server commands to the archive or even posting them to the list. The following addresses are used to access the lists and the archive. Newsgroup Calc-TI Newsgroup: bit.listserv.calc-ti Mailing lists list server: listserv@lists.ppp.ti.com (for subscription requests) Graph-TI list: Graph-TI@lists.ppp.ti.com (for posting to Graph-TI) Calc-TI list: Calc-TI@lists.ppp.ti.com (for posting to Calc-TI) Graph-TI and Calc-TI list archives via listserv: listserv@lists.ppp.ti.com via anonymous ftp: peach.ease.lsoft.com/CALC-TI (for archived Calc-TI messages) peach.ease.lsoft.com/GRAPH-TI (for archived Graph-TI messages) Graph-TI program archive via anonymous ftp: archive.ppp.ti.com via world wide web: http://www.ti.com/calc/docs/calcsupt.htm Commands relating to the lists like "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" in general should be sent to the list server. Messages which you want to post to all Graph-TI list subscribers should be sent to the Graph-TI list. Messages which you want to post to all Calc-TI list subscribers should be sent to the Calc-TI list (or should be posted to the Calc-TI Newsgroup). Questions or comments of any kind can be sent to ti-cares@ti.com ============================================================= Question: What is Graph-TI? Graph-TI was created by Professor Bert Waits of Ohio State University and by Texas Instruments to provide a forum for free exchange of educational information regarding the Texas Instruments graphing calculators and associated products. It has two forms: the list, and the program archive. The list allows subscribers from around the world to share information with each other relating to education and the TI calculators. The archive is a collection of programs and documents for the TI calculators; anyone may submit programs to the archive or download programs from it. ONLY EDUCATIONAL TOPICS ARE ACCEPTABLE ON GRAPH-TI. Please do not post anything to Graph-TI unless it is related to education. ============================================================= Question: What is Calc-TI? Calc-TI was created as a forum for discussion of topic related to all Texas Instruments calculators, but not related to education. It is in many ways similar to Graph-TI, except that all topics related to all Texas Instruments calculators are acceptable on Calc-TI. Calc-TI exists as both a list and a Newsgroup. Note, however, that the Graph-TI archive serves both Graph-TI and Calc-TI. There is no Calc-TI archive, and non-educational materials are allowed in the archive. The Calc-TI newsgroup and the Calc-TI lists contains the same information. Any information sent to one of the lists is automatically posted to the newsgroup, and vice versa. Therefore, there is no reason to subscribe both to the list and the Newsgroup. If you are able to subscribe to the Newsgroup, you should probably do so, since a Newsgroup has many advantages over a list. If you are not able to subscribe to a Newsgroup you should subscribe to the list. ============================================================= Question: Should I subscribe to Graph-TI or Calc-TI? If you are interested only in educational topics, you should subscribe only to Graph-TI. If you are interested only in non-educational topics, you should subscribe to Calc-TI. If you are interested in both educational and non-educational topics, you may want to subscribe to both Graph-TI and Calc-TI. THE LISTS ============================================================= ============================================================= Question: What are the Graph-TI and Calc-TI lists? The Graph-TI and Calc-TI lists are automated e-mail mailing lists. Postings to the Graph-TI list are sent directly to the e-mail address of each person who is subscribed to the Graph-TI list, and postings to the Calc-TI list are sent to all Calc-TI list subscribers. If you wish to subscribe to the Calc-TI list, and have access to Usenet news, you might prefer to use the Newsgroup, rather than the lists. See "What is the Calc-TI Newsgroup?" for more information. ============================================================= Question: How do I subscribe to the Graph-TI or Calc-TI list? To subscribe to the Graph-TI or Calc-TI list, send an e-mail message to listserv@lists.ppp.ti.com. The message should contain only the following line: SUBSCRIBE {listname} {firstname} {lastname} You should replace {listname} in the above line with GRAPH-TI or CALC-TI, depending on which list you want to subscribe to, and replace {firstname} and {lastname} with your first name and last name respectively. The commands are not case-sensitive so you may mix upper and lower case letters. Do not include the brackets. Example: John Doe would subscribe to the Graph-TI list by sending the following line in an e-mail message to listserv@lists.ppp.ti.com: SUBSCRIBE GRAPH-TI John Doe ============================================================= Question: How do I remove myself from the Graph-TI or Calc-TI list? To remove yourself from the Graph-TI or Calc-TI list (to "unsubscribe"), send an e-mail message to listserv@lists.ppp.ti.com. The message should contain only the following line: SIGNOFF {listname} You should replace {listname} in the above line with GRAPH-TI or CALC-TI, depending on which list you want to remove yourself from. Do not include the brackets. Example: to remove yourself from the Graph-TI list, send the following line in an e-mail message to listserv@lists.ppp.ti.com: SIGNOFF GRAPH-TI This should be sent from the same e-mail address used when you subscribed. If your e-mail address has changed since you subscribed, and you are no longer able to send mail from the original address, please send mail to ti-cares@ti.com explaining your situation. ============================================================= Question: I can't seem to unsubscribe from the Graph-TI or Calc-TI list. What do I do? The list server keeps track of your subscription by your e-mail address, not by your name. If your e-mail address changes slightly (as e-mail addresses do occasionally), the list server will no longer recognize you as the same person who subscribed originally, and will not let you unsubscribe. Note, however, that in such a situation the mail from the list will almost certainly continue to be forwarded from your old address to your new address, so small changes in your address will not interfere with your subscription unless you try to unsubscribe. If this happens to you, please send mail to ti-cares@ti.com. They will remove you from the list. ============================================================= Question: How do I post a message to the Graph-TI or Calc-TI list? To post a message to the Graph-TI list, send an e-mail message to Graph-TI@lists.ppp.ti.com. To post a message to the Calc-TI list, send an e-mail message to Calc-TI@lists.ppp.ti.com. Your message will be posted to the list (copies will be sent to all list subscribers). As a courtesy to the readers of your posting, and to reduce private messages on the list, your message should always include the following: * Your Name * Your e-mail address * Postal mailing address if you are requesting that something be sent to you through postal mail. Postings to either list should relate to Texas Instruments graphing calculators. Postings to Graph-TI should also relate to education. ============================================================= Question: How do I reply to a posting so my reply will be sent to everyone on the list? Send your posts to Graph-TI@lists.ppp.ti.com or Calc-TI@lists.ppp.ti.com to ensure they get to the list. Simply choosing the reply feature on most mail readers will not work because postings from the list come from the list owner's address rather that the list address itself. ============================================================= Question: How do I reply to a posting so my reply will be sent only to the author of the post? To reply to the author of a post, you need to copy the address of the poster as given by the poster. The header information may not contain the posters address. This is why it is important to include your e-mail address in your message whenever you post. Most people include it in the salutations at the end of their message. ============================================================= Question: How do I get "back issues" of Graph-TI or Calc-TI? Contributions sent to this list are automatically archived. You can get a list of the available archive files by sending an "INDEX GRAPH-TI" command to LISTSERV@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM. You can then order these files with a "GET GRAPH-TI LOGxxxx" command, or using LISTSERV's database search facilities. Send an "INFO DATABASE" command for more information on the latter. The archive files will be placed in an anonymous FTP tree with the path names: peach.ease.lsoft.com/CALC-TI peach.ease.lsoft.com/GRAPH-TI The file names will be: Calc-TI.LOGyymmw Graph-TI.LOGyymmw For example, Calc-TI.LOG9606A would be the file containing messages from the week ending the first Sunday in May. B would correspond to the week ending the second Sunday, and so on. Messages will be grouped into these files on a weekly basis. ============================================================= Question: How do I set up my list subscription to receive posts as weekly digests? The Graph-TI and Calc-TI lists can be received in the form of a weekly digest. To set your subscription to this mode of delivery send the following command to listserv@lists.ppp.ti.com. SET {LISTNAME} DIG You should replace {listname} in the above line with GRAPH-TI or CALC-TI, depending on which list you are using. If you are receiving the list in digest form and wish to receive each message separately, send the following command to listserv@lists.ppp.ti.com SET {LISTNAME} NODIG ============================================================= Question: How do I find out about some of the list server's other capabilities? The list server understands more commands than the few (SUBSCRIBE and SIGNOFF) described above. It is possible to get a list of subscribers to either list, and to do other things. If you want more information about the extended capabilities of the list server, send an e-mail message to listserv@lists.ppp.ti.com. The message should contain only the word HELP. THE NEWSGROUP ============================================================= ============================================================= Question: What is the Calc-TI Newsgroup? The Calc-TI Newsgroup is an Internet Newsgroup. The name of the Calc-TI Newsgroup is bit.listserv.calc-ti. Subscribers to the Newsgroup use a program called a news reader to read messages on the Newsgroup and to post messages to Calc-TI. The Newsgroup has several advantages over the lists. First, if you subscribe to a Newsgroup, you will not receive the information as e-mail, so it will not clutter up your mailbox. Second, if your site has multiple Graph-TI subscribers, a Newsgroup will store only one copy of each message on your system's hard drive, whereas a list will store one copy for each subscriber on your system. So a Newsgroup saves your system disk space. Third, a Newsgroup is easier to use. Most news readers are easier to use than most e-mail programs. Finally, computer systems spend a lot of time processing a list, but spend relatively little time processing a Newsgroup. So if you use a Newsgroup instead of a list, you are conserving computing resources. Nevertheless, there is no obligation to use the Newsgroup rather than the list; you may use whichever you choose. ============================================================= Question: How do I subscribe to the Calc-TI Newsgroup? The exact procedure varies among news readers and systems. In general, you will want to select bit.listserv.calc-ti and tell the news reader to subscribe you. For example, if you are using the UNIX news reader trn and you want to subscribe to the Calc-TI Newsgroup, you should type; g bit.listserv.calc-ti to select bit.listserv.calc-ti. trn will note that you are not yet subscribed to bit.listserv.calc-ti, and will ask you if you want to subscribe. Hit y and trn will subscribe you. ============================================================= Question: How do I unsubscribe from the Calc-TI Newsgroup? The exact procedure varies among news readers and systems. In general, you will want to select bit.listserv.calc-ti and tell the news reader to unsubscribe you. For example, if you are using the UNIX news reader trn and you want to unsubscribe from the Calc-TI Newsgroup, you should type; g bit.listserv.calc-ti to select bit.listserv.calc-ti, and then type u to unsubscribe from it. ============================================================= Question: How do I read messages posted to the Calc-TI Newsgroup? The exact procedure varies among news readers and systems. In general, you will want to select bit.listserv.calc-ti (for Calc-TI) and tell the news reader to show you the messages. Some news readers will immediately start showing you the messages, one after the other. Others will first show you a list of the topics of the messages, and will allow you to select by topic those messages which you wish to read. For example, if you are using the UNIX news reader trn and you want to read the messages posted to the Calc-TI Newsgroup, you should type; g bit.listserv.calc-ti to select bit.listserv.calc-ti, and then hit return to get a list of topics (threads). You can select those threads you want to read by pressing the key corresponding to the letter next to them. When you're done, hit return and trn will show you all the messages in the threads you selected. ============================================================= Question: How do I post a message to the Calc-TI Newsgroup? The exact procedure varies among news readers and systems. In general, you will want to select bit.listserv.calc-ti and tell the news reader to post a message. You will then type the message, and when you're done the news reader will post it. For example, if you are using the UNIX news reader trn and you want to post a message to the Calc-TI Newsgroup, you should type; g bit.listserv.calc-ti to select bit.listserv.calc-ti, and then hit return to get a list of topics. Use the instructions above to read the message you are responding to (or any existing message of you are not responding to anyone), and then press f to follow-up to the message. Hit y and return if you are posting a message unrelated to the one you read, or n if you are posting a message which is a follow-up to the message you viewed. Type the subject of the post and press return, press return at the Distribution prompt, press y and return if you really want to post, press return unless you want to include a separate file, and type your message, leaving a line between your message and the news header. When you are done, save the file and exit (using whatever commands your editor uses; for emacs it would be control-x control-s control-x control-c). Press s to send the message, and trn will post it for you. As a courtesy to the readers of your posting, and to reduce private messages on the list, your message should always include the following: * Your Name * Your e-mail address * Postal mailing address if you are requesting that something be sent to you through postal mail. Postings to Calc-TI should relate to any Texas Instruments calculators, and not necessarily related to educational issues. ============================================================= Question: How do I reply by e-mail to the author of a post? The exact procedure varies among news readers and systems. In general, you will want to select bit.listserv.calc-ti and tell the news reader to reply by e-mail to the author. You will then type the message, and when you're done the news reader will mail it. For example, if you are using the UNIX news reader trn, you should type; g bit.listserv.calc-ti to select bit.listserv.calc-ti, and then hit return to get a list of topics. Use the instructions above to read the message you are replying to, and then press r to reply to the message. Hit return (if you do not want to include a file from your directory), and then type your message below the header information, leaving a blank line between the header and your message. When you are done, save the file and exit (using whatever commands your editor uses; for emacs it would be control-x control-s control-x control-c). Press s to send the message, and trn will post it for you. IMPORTANT: Due to peculiarities in the way the Calc-TI handles e-mail replies, some news readers on some machines may not be able to automatically reply directly to the author; instead, such replies will be sent to everyone on Calc-TI. To identify this problem, look at the e-mail header while you're typing a reply. If the first line of the header reads "To: graph-ti@lists.ppp.ti.com" then you must change that line to specify the author's e-mail address. For instance, if the author's e-mail address were janedoe@univ.edu, you would change the first line of the header to "To:janedoe@univ.edu". THE PROGRAM ARCHIVE ============================================================= ============================================================= Question: What is the Graph-TI program archive? The Graph-TI archive is a collection of programs and documents for the TI-80, TI-81, TI-82, TI-83, TI-85 and TI-92 calculators, and associated products. Anyone may download these programs, and anyone may submit programs to the archive. The archive, which is located at archive.ppp.ti.com, can be accessed through e-mail, WWW, anonymous ftp, or gopher. ============================================================= Question: How do I submit a program to the Graph-TI program archive? To submit a program to the archive, you should mail it to calc-webmaster@ti.com. TI will verify that the program contains an abstract, documentation, and the uuencoded program itself. If any of the above sections are missing the program will be returned to you. New programs will be posted to the archive on a weekly basis so if you don't see your program in the archive immediately, wait another week. The program must be uuencoded, and you must include the documentation and the abstract. The precise format for a program submission command is as follows: {abstract} ----begin documentation---- {documentation} ----begin ASCII---- {text equivalent of program} ----begin uue---- {uuencoded program} The ASCII section (from ----begin ASCII---- to ----begin uue----) is optional, but all three ----begin xxx---- lines must be present. ============================================================= Question: How do I access the Graph-TI program archive? The Graph-TI archive accepts anonymous ftp logins. You can access the archive through ftp by connecting to archive.ppp.ti.com and logging in with username "anonymous". You should type your e-mail address as the password. Information is located in the pub/graph-ti directory. Don't be alarmed if you encounter a disclaimer from AT&T, as they are running the archive for TI. ============================================================= Question: How do I access the Graph-TI program archive through the WWW? You can access the Graph-TI archive through the World Wide Web by pointing your browser to http://www.ti.com/calc/docs/calcsupt.htm and selecting the link to the appropriate archive section. You can also point your browser directly to ftp://archive.ppp.ti.com/pub/graph-ti/ ============================================================= Question: How do I transfer an archive program to my calculator? To transfer an archive program to your calculator you need the TI-GRAPH LINK software, available from Texas Instruments. TI-GRAPH LINK runs on either a PC-compatible or Macintosh computers. Archive programs are uuencoded, so you need to first UUDecode the archive file before transferring it with TI-Graph Link. This utility can be found in the TI-Graph Link software, as a utility on the Graph Link disk or in the pub/graph-ti/sw-apps/link directory. If you do not have the TI-GRAPH LINK software, you may be able to enter a program manually by looking at the ASCII section of the files, if it exists.