*************************************************************** ****************** WELCOME TO SGML NEWSWIRE ******************* *************************************************************** * * * To subscribe, send mail to sgmlinfo@avalanche.com * * * * (Please pass along to interested colleagues) * * * *************************************************************** GNN GOES ONLINE =============== Today, 1 October 1993, the Global Network Navigator (GNN) officially goes online. What is GNN? It is an Internet-based Information Center from O'Reilly & Associates, and it contains a news service, an online magazine, the Online Whole Internet Catalog, a marketplace and a forum. (A broader explanation is included in the attached letter from O'Reilly, below.) Why is this news coming over SGML Newswire? Because GNN is a World Wide Web (WWW)-based information service about the Internet, and WWW is a global hypertext system based on SGML. ==== For general information about the World Wide Web, you can get an introduction written by Tony Sanders by sending a message to listproc@online.ora.com with this body content: get gnn-announce/web-info sanders-intro For more in-depth explanations, FTP to: wuarchive.wustl.edu Change to directory: /doc/misc/www And get the .txt files there. And, FTP to: rtfm.mit.edu Change to directory: /pub/usenet/news.answers/www/ And get the faq (frequently-asked questions) file there. In addition to retrieving the faq at this FTP site, you can retrieve three other files: "World Wide Web Primer" "An Information Provider's Guide to HTML" "An Information Provider's Guide to Web Servers" *Note: If you have troubles accessing this ftp site and are interested in reading any of the files noted here, contact Linda Turner at SGML Newswire to request that they be directly mailed to you. If you're interested in subscribing to GNN or want more information, send e-mail to gnn-list@gnn.com. To talk to a human, call (800)998-9938 or +1 707-829-0515. Attached below are excerpts of two letters. The first was sent over the Internet to GNN subscribers by Dale Dougherty, the publisher of GNN. The second letter (referenced in Dougherty's) comes from O'Reilly & Associates, who developed GNN. *************************************************************** "Perhaps you saw the recent Technology article in the Wall Street Journal that mentioned the Global Network Navigator. Below is a letter from Tim O'Reilly that he wrote in response to some people's concerns about our using advertising as a means of funding GNN. I thought you might find it interesting, as we are very much concerned that our subscribers understand our unique approach to advertising. I look forward to bringing you GNN on October 1. Dale Dougherty Publisher, Global Network Navigator dale@ora.com" *************************************************************** "Is There a Right Way to Advertise on the Internet? We've had a number of questions from people on the Internet in response to a column in the August 27th Wall Street Journal. The article described our new Internet information center, the Global Network Navigator.... What we're doing is creating an information service, running on our own computers or those of Internet service providers, that people can contact to retrieve information that they want, entirely under their own control.... The Internet is an interactive medium, where people can use applications like gopher, WAIS and the World Wide Web (WWW) to actively seek out information that they want. The Global Network Navigator is a World Wide Web-based information service about the Internet. It contains a news section that has up-to-date information on new services available on the Net, plus a magazine that contains feature articles giving in-depth background on useful services. It also contains an online version of the catalog portion of Ed Krol's bestselling book, "The Whole Internet User's Guide and Catalog". What makes GNN so exciting to users is that it's not just a magazine about the Internet, it's an easy to use interface to it. Using a WWW client such as NCSA's Mosaic, people don't have to type cryptic commands or long, obscure filenames; they can simply click on a button to retrieve files or visit an Internet service. Hypertext links in news items, articles, and catalog entries take you not only to other parts of GNN but out to other servers on the Net. You follow the links you're interested in, and only the articles you want to read are actually transferred over the Net from the server to your WWW client.... The point is that what information a customer retrieves is entirely under his or her control. We firmly believe that people on the Net are interested in solid, detailed information about commercial products. They don't want unsolicited advertising, but they do want to be able to retrieve information that they are looking for--and that includes commercial information as well as free information.... ...in GNN, the person can follow a link to information instantaneously. What's more, an advertiser can provide far more than a glossy brochure that leads to yet another request for still more information. A company's GNN Marketplace Resource Center might include a company background, detailed product literature, specifications, technology white papers, price lists (always up-to-date), text of reviews, software demos, names and contact information for local sales representatives, and a host of other information that is far too voluminous to send out in response to every casual inquiry.... Everyone is looking for new value-added services on the Internet, and without government subsidies, someone has to pay for them. An advertiser-supported publication like GNN is a win-win situation for everybody. It lets us develop a rich information resource for the Internet while at the same time providing a non-intrusive way for advertisers to work with this new medium." INTERNET CONFERENCES ==================== If you have a specific interest in the Internet, may we suggest the following events: INTERNET WORLD '93 and DOCUMENT DELIVERY WORLD '93 "Conference and Exhibition Dealing with the Commercial and Non-Commercial Utilization of these Services and the Impact they Have on Information Providers and Users" December 6-9, 1993 Jacob Javits Convention Center, New York City Sponsored by Internet World Magazine and Document Delivery World Magazine, Meckler Corporation For a full conference program by ground- or e-mail, send your mailing address to meckler@jvnc.net. Subject line for e-mail: IW 93 Conf. Tel: 800-MECKLER (632-5537); 203-226-6967 Fax: 800-858-3144; 203-454-5840 E-mail: Internet: meckler @jvnc.net CompuServe: 70373,616; AppleLink: Meckler ************************************************************** * SGML NEWSWIRE LIST MANAGER * * * * Linda Turner * * Corporate Communications * * Avalanche * * 947 Walnut Street * * Boulder, CO 80302 * * sgmlinfo@avalanche.com * * linda@avalanche.com * * Vox: (303) 449-5032 * * Fax: (303) 449-3246 * **************************************************************