From LISTSERV@INDYCMS.IUPUI.EDU Mon Mar 2 08:29:46 1992 Date: Mon, 2 Mar 1992 08:24:34 -0500 From: Revised List Processor (1.7b) Subject: File: "RUSSIA EMAIL" being sent to you To: dab@moxie.Oswego.EDU ELECTRONIC MAIL IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES (CIS) Lawrence M. Probes, M.D. If you need to communicate often with relatives, colleagues, friends, or business associates in the former Soviet Union, there is no more economical, convenient, and reliable way to do this than by the use of electronic mail ("email"). This article will help you get started in one of the most enjoyable and useful forms of communication. Why not just make a phone call? There are several disadvantages to making a standard voice telephone call. First of all, Moscow is currently the only city in the CIS which may be dialed directly. For other locations, one must dial an international operator and request a call. In both cases, lines are often busy, especially at the most convenient times to call. Callbacks from international operators usually take hours, often occurring during your period of deepest sleep at night when you would rather not be wakened! Once the connection is made, the minimum initial cost is about $6 for the first 3 minutes, then about $2 per minute thereafter. After just a few 15 minute calls to Gospodin Takoi-to (Mr. So-and-so), you could just as well have purchased an airline ticket to visit him in person. Telephoning the CIS is like an encounter with the mythological "Ivan RIP-OFF-sky." The final bother of voice calls to the CIS is the noisy lines, which make already difficult communications (you're trying to carry on a conversation in Russian without the benefit of hand and facial gestures to compensate for your limited vocabulary) even more difficult. What about sending a fax? Even if you have ready access to a fax machine, fax messages suffer from almost all one of the problems which bedevil voice calls, but there are other difficulties as well. At least with a fax you can contemplate your message carefully, write it down completely, and be quite certain that you got your point across - that is, if a static crash or voltage drop didn't suddenly cause the most important line in the message to blur or skip altogether. You can also send messages in Cyrillic. One common problem is to spend $6 for the initial connection, only to find the fax machines unable to complete the transmission due to line noise or low signal levels. Such situations call for a consultation with Drummand & Perkins' "Slovar' netsenzurnykh slov" (a handy pocket dictionary of Russian obscenities available >from Scythian Books, PO Box 3034, Oakland, CA 94609). In spite of its drawbacks, faxing is the only fast way to deliver a hard copy of a picture or an important document with a logo or a graphic image. Telexes and telegrams If you need to communicate primarily with large organizations, major business enterprises and government ministries, then telexes and telegrams are reliable, reasonably convenient, and fast. But if you use them often, then you had better own at least half the gold in Fort Knox, because they are EXPENSIVE to send. I maintain a private telex number as a special service of PEACENET, my own bulletin board and email service. A typical two or three paragraph telex to Russia costs about $15. Telegrams through Western Union may cost more than $0.50 per word. In spite of the cost, I find it worthwhile to have a private telex account through Peacenet, at an additional cost of about $2.50 per month. Telexes are still the backbone of international communications in the CIS and in many other parts of the world. Not everyone else has access to email, so in some cases, telexes and telegrams are the only options. So why email? Email is fast. Messages reach their address (or electronic "mail box") within seconds to minutes, occasionally a few hours in the case of the CIS. Email is convenient. You can send and receive email messages whenever you feel like it from almost any location in the world where there is a telephone. No waiting around for a free telephone line or a callback from the operator. Email is comparatively inexpensive. That $15 telex to the CIS will probably cost only $2.50 or so on email. Domestic email on an inexpensive service like PeaceNet costs about $0.08 per minute while connected ("on line charges") during off-peak hours and about $0.17 per minute during peak hours (M-F, 7 am - 6 pm Eastern time). What kind of equipment is needed? The basic equipment necessary to "get on line" are a computer of almost any type, a "communications" software program (such as ProComm, Red Ryder, Microphone II, etc.), a modem, access to a telephone line, and a subscription to bulletin board or electronic mail service. Macintosh computers, IBMs and IBM clones, Amigas, laptops, and even some palm-sized computers work great for email. Most any modem will work, although I have found that inexpensive modems frequently fail to connect, wasting time and producing frustration. Therefore, I recommend that you look for a good quality modem and don't go after the cheapest model on the shelf. This is particularly true if you plan to use your modem in the CIS. You can use email with any kind of phone system, including both pulse and tone dial lines. Most of the time, you can simply plug your modem's telephone cord into a standard phone socket and dial up the email service. A telephone instrument is not necessary - only a phone line connection. Some hotels and offices use computerized telephone systems, which may require a special data port device, an acoustic coupler, or even a hard wired connection. A very good source of these items, if needed, is: Computer Products Plus, Inc. 16351 Gothard Street Huntington Beach, CA 92647 Tel: 800-274-4277 This company produces a kit, called "Road Warrior," which, together with a laptop computer and a modem, will enable you to use email services virtually anywhere in the world. You can even hook up to cellular and pay phones to use email! Signing Up with a Computer Network Within the US, there are a number of excellent computer networks (CN) which offer email. Well known commercial services include CompuServe, MCI Mail, and GTE Mail. Academic communities often use Bitnet and Internet. I prefer PeaceNet, which is one of the networks of the Institute for Global Communications (IGC). IGC is a division of the Tides Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, tax-exempt organization located in San Francisco, California which is dedicated to environmental preservation, peace, and human rights. It is also a member of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), a consortium of low-cost computer networks from eight countries. To sign up with PeaceNet, or to get more information, write or call: IGC Networks PeaceNet/EcoNet 18 De Boom Street San Francisco, CA 94107 Tel: 415-442-0220 Fax: 415-546-1794 If you can already use email, you may log in and sign up for PeaceNet directly by having your computer and modem dial (415) 322-0162. The settings (also called parameters are N-8-1 (No parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit). Have your credit card ready and type "new" at the LOGIN prompt. At the PASSWORD prompt hit , then follow the online instructions. There is a one-time sign-up fee of $15 and a monthly subscription fee of $10, which includes one free hour of off-peak time per month. Logging on to PeaceNet These instructions are specific to PeaceNet, but many of them are generic and apply to most any CN. To log on to a CN, you must set your software communications program to the correct parameters. For PeaceNet, the settings through SprintNet are: Parity? Odd Data bits? 7 Stop bits? 1 Xon/Xoff? On Duplex? Full (or Echo Off) Don't add Linefeeds (LF) to Returns (CR) SprintNet is a national and international commercial network of telephone numbers (also called local access numbers - LANs) which you may dial to connect with the PeaceNet computer in California. There are numbers in Moscow and St. Petersburg, which make email easily accessible even inside the CIS. Another way to dial up PeaceNet is through Internet or Direct Dial: 800-777-9454. Internet is available through educational institutions, so if you want more information, inquire through a college or university. When accessing PeaceNet through Internet or Direct Dial 800, use the following settings: Parity? None (Null) Data bits? 8 Stop bits? 1 Xon/Xoff? On Duplex? Full (or Echo Off) Don't add Linefeeds (LF) to Returns (CR) When you sign up with a CN, you will receive an "account name" (also referred to as a "log-in ID" or a "User ID"), and a password. You may share your account name freely, since this is what others will need to send you email. Your password is a secret code which you should memorize. Do not write it or type it anywhere in such a way that another person could associate it with your account and eavesdrop on your mail! These instructions are sufficient to get you connected to PeaceNet. From there, you can refer to the user manual, online "help" files, and user support services to learn about the many functions available while on ine. Other CN functions In addition to offering email services, CNs offer online conferences, data bases, and technical support. Some commerical services, such as Compuserve, allow you to shop by computer, reserve airline tickets, and work the stock markets. Some special services involve an additional surcharge. For example, you may rent a private telex number or transmit (not receive) faxes. Email in the CIS There are several CNs operating the CIS, including Internet, Fido Net, SovAm Teleport, GlasNet, and PeaceNet. Persons in the CIS may subscribe to any of them in principle, but the lack or hard currency usually limits them. The least expensive CN for citizen of the CIS which accepts full payment in roubles is GlasNet, which is an APC partner network that began operation in the summer of 1991. In order to assist in the cost of operation, PeaceNet charges a small fee for each message received from GlasNet. The cost of sending an email message from PeaceNet to Glasnet is usually about $0.50 for a page or less of text. To get more information about GlasNet, have your partner in the CIS contact: GlasNet attn: Anatolij Voronov or Aleksandr Zajtsev ulitsaYaroslavskaya 8 Korpus 3, Komnata 111 129164 Moscow RUSSIA Tel: 217-6173 You may get information about GlasNet from the staff of PeaceNet, and in the USA, more GlasNet information is also available from: David Caulkins GlasNet USA 437 Mundel Way Los Altos, CA 94022 Tel: 415-948-5753 PeaceNet: dcaulkins Another CN which is more expensive but very high in quality is the San Francisco Moscow Teleport (SFMT). For more information, contact: SF-Moscow Teleport 3278 Sacramento Street San Francisco, CA 94115-9800 Tel: 415-931-8500 Fax: 415-931-2885 Telex: 9103804097 TELEPORT SFMT E-mail: sovamusa SOVAM Teleport ulitsa Nezhdanova 2a Moscow, 103009 RUSSIA Tel: 229-9663 Fax: 230-4121 SFMT E-mail: sovamcccp Using Peacenet from inside the CIS SprintNet maintains telephone numbers in Moscow and St. Petersburg: Moscow: 928-0985 St. Petersburg: 274-2621 Once you use them to dial up PeaceNet, you may perform online functions just as if you were in the US. You may read and send email, send and receive telexes, transmit faxes, visit online conferences, and search the user directory. Since email messages can be "gatewayed" to almost any other CN, you literally have the world at your fingertips from inside the CIS in a way that would make most of those unfamiliar with email turn green with envy (in Russian, they might even call it x=hyfz pfdbcnm). Making international phone calls and sending faxes from the CIS is very frustrating and expensive, but email eliminates both these problems. A person not located in Moscow or St. Petersburg may dial up the LANs by making a long distance call. Due to noise and signal problems, it is usually best to make such calls when it is after 9 pm in Moscow. Next time you travel to the CIS, take your laptop along and stay in touch with the people back home via Peacenet. I should mention that due to noisy phones and fluctuating signal levels, it is sometimes difficult to log in during peak business hours. The noise and static causes many "junk" characters to flood in on the computer screen at times. Using a full sized modem with a desktop computer reduces this problem significantly, since the increased signal processing helps filter out static. The smaller modems in laptop computers cannot filter as well. Therefore, it is sometime necessary to keep redialing the LAN or simply wait until later in the evening when the phones are quieter. Based on my extensive tests in January 1992, the phone connections to SprintNet numbers (for PeaceNet) were substantially less noisy and easier to use at all times than the LANs for Glasnet. Using a laptop, I could access Glasnet successfully only late in the evening. In order for any modem to function effectively in the CIS, the MNP error-correcting protocol should be used. It is best to purchase a modem which has MNP built in to the hardware, although GlasNet can help supply software which can accomplish the same purpose. Most good quality modems now include MNP as a standard feature, but be sure to check. Cyrillic email You may now swap email messages in Cyrillic as well as using standard Latin characters. It takes some special software and user expertise, but it is not difficult or esoteric. First of all, you must have a Cyrillic font program which is identical to that of your email partner. After composing the message in Cyrillic, the document must be SAVED AS a TEXT ONLY file, which will eliminate all formatting, such as underlining and italics. After saving as a text file, the Cyrillic characters will be converted to nonsensical combinations of Latin letters. Transmit this "nonsense" file to your partner, who will receive it in the usual way. During or after receiving the "nonsense" message on the communications program, the file should be saved as a TEXT file and then opened up as a document within a standard word processor program, such as Microsoft Word or Word Perfect. Then, select the nonsense text and change the font to Cyrillic. Presto! You have the Cyrillic message! There are some other important things to know. The Cyrillic fonts must be such that conversion to a TEXT file will preserve them as standard ASCII characters. There are a number of such fonts, but the ones I have specifically tested and worked with are the GLASNOST fonts produced by Casady & Greene. They may be ordered directly from Casady & Greene by calling 800-359-4920, or you may obtain them at a discount from The Russian Works at 800-869-9567. These are high quality, PostScript laser fonts which may be used for camera ready copy. Any of the Cyrillic fonts from Casady & Greene may be purchase for both Macintosh and IBM computers, and since the key layout is similar, Cyrillic email messages (as well as binary files) may be sent and received by Macintosh and IBM computers in any combination. The best software for using these fonts with IBM is Microsoft Windows, which is very similar to Macintosh programs. Persons in the translating business will find this technology very useful. I was recently approached by the director of an art gallery in Washington who needed the an exhibition catalogue translated into Russian FAST (you know, yesterday, if not sooner!), since the show was to open in St. Petersburg in a week. He faxed the English original to me and to two of my native Russian speaking colleagues. One of them, who lives near Chicago, used Casady & Greene "Vremya" fonts on a Macintosh and emailed me the results on PeaceNet within 24 hours. The other translated his portion on an Everex laptop (IBM clone) using Casady & Greene "Bodoni" fonts. With the help of "MacLink" software and a direct cable, I transferred both sets of data to my Macintosh for final polishing and formatting. Then I sent a hard copy and diskette copy of the finished product via overnight mail to the gallery owner, whose nervousness about the approaching deadline turned to great relief and astonishment about the wonders of modern technology and telecommunications. On a recent trip to Moscow, I introduced this technique to users of Glasnet, who had still been unable to send and receive Cyrillic via email. It started a small new "revolution," which I am sure will spread quickly to other users in the CIS. Conclusion Thanks to electronic mail, it is now possible to communicate rapidly, inexpensively, conveniently, and reliably within the CIS and between the CIS and other countries. Both Latin and Cyrillic characters may be used, and it is possible for citizens of the CIS to pay for electronic mail services in roubles. This should make it possible for people of many backgrounds and interests to work more effectively with the CIS, since timely and clear communications are essential for the success of most human endeavors. Good luck in your projects!