Wait! Have you checked the online documentation?
Please don't ask a question until you have. Most questions will be answered in the "help" menu; type help <Enter> at any prompt, or "main" menu option 1 (About Alachua Free-Net) then "about" menu option 2 (HELP Documents). Since you're reading this now, you've come to the place to start.
When you have a problem, it is frustrating. But you have to help us in order for us to be able to help you. All functions on the Free-Net have been tested and found acceptable for use, though that doesn't mean they didn't stop working, either. However, just as an auto mechanic wouldn't be able to help you very well if you said "Why can't I drive my car?" or "Steering wheels don't work" since there could be hundreds of reasons for problems, we can't help you either unless we know the full circumstances involved in your problem.
Please try to include a complete description of the situation when you ask for help.
The more information we have pertaining to the problem, the easier it is for us to help you solve it. See answer 5 below for one method to help you get information.
You don't drive a car until you've had some training from someone. A great way to learn about using the Free-Net is in various classes at Santa Fe Community College, other community education classes, or classes provided by Alachua County Computer Users Group (ACCUG) or other organization.
Check the "Office Hours and Classes" option in "About Alachua Free-Net" (Menu = about) for times and places.
One more thing: unless something changes, all Free-Net staff workers, in every capacity, are volunteers. Be patient. We do care about solving your problem.
Why doesn't my password work? I typed in a new password and I know what the word is, but it still doesn't work.
This is almost always due to the unix standard that text case (CAPITAL and lower-case letters) is significant. You must enter filenames, usernames, and passwords in exactly the same form as they were created. TEST.TXT is not the same as test.txt or Test.Txt. If you enter "Jones" for your password, "jones" or "JONES" won't work.
The gobbledygook of random characters on the screen is symptomatic of noise on the phone line. There isn't much you can do about it unless you happen to have the error correction function turned off on your modem.
If your modem will accept it, you need to use the initialization string of ATW0&Q5 to turn error correction on (and turn negotiation progress messages off, which confuses some terminal programs, ZTERM included). This initialization string assumes your modem accepts Hayes-compatible commands.
Your only other reliable option is replacing your modem with one which can use error correction (technically called the V.42 protocol), though sometimes hanging up and redialing may give some relief if you can get a less noisy phone circuit.
Ironically, turning error correction ON causes problems with FIRN modems if you need to use them, so use an initialization string of AT&Q0 for connection to FIRN modems until they get a chance to replace their older modems.
Most terminal programs have a session capture function (also called a session log). This can be a great aid in problem debugging. If you know you can get a problem to repeat, turn on your session capture to save everything that occurred on your terminal session to a disk file, then go through the steps to make the problem recur, then turn capture off.
Next, upload this file, and send it in e-mail as an attachment; see the e-mail help information or frequently asked questions list for instructions if you don't know how to do this. This can be extra valuable in cases where a message shows too briefly for you to read it under normal circumstances.
(1) To transmit a <Ctrl+C> character, also written ^C, Ctrl-C, or control-C, you must press (and keep holding down) the control key, labeled "Ctrl" on most systems, then press the letter c. In this case you don't have to hold down the shift key to make it a capital letter.
(2) There is no way we could have tested all terminal programs, but the only known system that has a problem with <Ctrl+C> is the supplied terminal package that comes with Microsoft Windows(R).
The reason the Windows Terminal package doesn't allow control keys or function keys is that the default setting is for Windows to intercept them for Windows functions rather than transmit them on the modem.
To change Windows Terminal so that it can transmit control and function keys,
