This is a periodic posting on Finding Information In Parkinson Archives By
E-mail. Changes in this edition include the removal of the index command from
the second message to the listserv.
Date of Posting: February 13, 1995
For assistance E-mail [log in to unmask]
Queries discussed in this article should be addressed to:
[log in to unmask] <<< AND NOT TO >>> [log in to unmask]
Start of Finding information in Parkinson Archives by E-mail.
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Almost any thing discussed in Parkinson's can be found using the listserv.
Every message posted to the list is archived in Notebooks which are simple to
search by E-mail.
All that it takes to find anything ever discussed in the PARKINSN
(notice the spelling) database uses the following method.
Send mail to: [log in to unmask]
In the Subject: put anything or nothing at all(this isn't read by the machine)
Enter the following information:
//DBlook JOB Echo=No
Database Search DD=Rules
//Rules DD *
select blue glasses in parkinsn
index
Don't put anything else in the message even your signature.
Explanation:
The word SELECT(caps just for emphasis) is a command that the listserv
understands to tell it to look for the following words just before IN(caps
again just for emphasis). In this test message, the words, blue glasses are
what we want the machine to look for. The words, in parkinsn tell the listserv
where to look for blue glasses, which is in the parkinsn database. The
parkinsn database includes all the notebooks in which hold the Parkinson
messages. Don't confuse the word Parkinson with the database name which is
parkinsn. The word INDEX(caps again just for emphasis) is a command that tells
the listserv to send you a list of messages that contain the words you
specified.
You will receive a message back from a listserv which will tell you the number
of hits that resulted from your search. Below this, a list of
messages will be given. The number in the first column is important. Each
message will have a unique number.
How do I get these messages?
Enter the following information:
//DBlook JOB Echo=No
Database Search DD=Rules
//Rules DD *
select blue glasses in parkinsn
print all (THIS IS WHERE YOU ENTER THOSE UNIQUE NUMBERS THAT WERE IN THE FIRST
COLUMN) Separate the numbers with a space.
Example:
print all 249 250
>From experience, some of the posts can be quite long and the listserve will
restrict the number of lines it will send per request. If you limit each
message request to 3 or 4 numbers, you should get all of the information for
those 3 or 4 numbers. From a practical standpoint, if you save the message to
a text file, it is easy to edit the message numbers in the print all line
without having to retype the whole schmaltz each time.
Can I ask more than one question in the first message requesting a parkinsn
database search?
Yes.
//DBlook JOB Echo=No
Database Search DD=Rules
//Rules DD *
select blue glasses in parkinsn
index
select left foot dragging in parkinsn
index
In this example, another search would be made for left foot dragging and an
index would be returned. Receive those messages the same way with the print
all and then the unique message number. Remember, if you request more than 3
or 4 of those messages with one request, you may not receive them all.
Also, when you receive the messages and wish to correspond by E-mail with the
posters, the addresses may not be valid. In the last year and a half that I
have been on the list, I have gone through 4 or 5 providers. There is a way
using what you have learned about getting information from the parkinsn
database to find a newer address.
Enter the following information:
//DBlook JOB Echo=No
Database Search DD=Rules
//Rules DD *
select * in parkinsn where sender contains cottingham
index
>From the list of messages received that contain that match, pick the newest
one and use the print all command in another message to get the newest address.
If anyone finds one piece of information that they desparately needed,
compiling this message was worth it.
"God help us if we don't help one another"
John Cottingham [log in to unmask]
Located in Sunny Oklahoma City, Okla.USA
