How to Access Collabra Discussion Groups at CSULB from AOL

"The Scream"* by Edvard Munch

*believed to have been painted after attempting to learn Windows 95 and Unix on the same day

• It is possible to access the Collabra Discussion Groups at CSU Long Beach from America On-Line. It requires more steps than would be necessary from virtually any other Internet Service Provider (ISP), because AOL has given you stripped-down software in the AOL start-up kit.
• If you are at the end of your tether over problems with AOL and are thinking about switching to a different ISP, this would be a good time. They all cost about $20/month. All you need is reliable Internet access through local phone numbers (so you don't pay toll calls). You can get that from dozens of ISPs - Prodigy, Earthlink, GTE, AT&T, PacBell, Sprintlink, you name it. They all give you an e-mail account and free start-up software that is full-featured (not stripped down like the AOL modifications). The Internet itself will give you full access to all the newsgroups, information sources, etc. that you now get from AOL.
• If you want to stick with AOL, read on. You might want to print-out these instructions so you can follow along more easily.

NOTE: These instructions are a work-in-progress. My goal is to make them as beginner-friendly as possible. If you get stuck or don't understand something, please let me know so I can add clarification and corrections. - Julie Van Camp jvancamp@csulb.edu

PRELIMINARIES: What you will need to access a Collabra discussion group at CSULB:

1. Access to the Internet via a Winsock/TCP/IP connection: You don't need to know what that means. AOL includes that so you already have it.
2. News reader software that allows you to change the setting for the news group server (the NNTP server): AOL users do not get this with your start-up package. You have been given news reader software set permanently to the AOL news groups - it cannot be changed. Below, we'll tell you how to get the software you need for this.
3. A CSULB computer account ID and password: If you are a registered CSULB student, get your free computer account at the North Campus Library/Academic Computing. If you are an Open University student, contact your instructor and she will tell you how to get a free account ID and password on-line that will give you access to the CSULB discussion groups. You will be accessing the Internet via AOL as you always do, but when you get to the CSULB Collabra server, it will ask you for identification - that's where you put in the CSULB ID/password.

STEP ONE: Log onto AOL

Log on as you always do, with your AOL account name and password.

STEP TWO: Read "Help" Information from AOL

AOL has information on-line about this issue. You might want to first read what AOL has to say, so you know that the instructions here are legitimate. (We are not telling you to do anything AOL forbids.)

• Go to Keyword: Help
• Click the "search" tool
• Search for these articles:
  • "Newsgroups: Can't Access myschool.myclass.section"

This Help article explains why you cannot use the AOL news groups to get to our Collabra discussion group. Note that the article says you can access these groups (including ours) by using any external news reader software on your AOL connection. They mention Agent, Netscape, and NewsXpress. We will be using Netscape, but you could use others.

• "Using other Browsers with AOL"

You have been given stripped down Web browsers in your AOL software (either Netscape or Internet Explorer). Among other features, AOL removed the mail and news programs that the rest of us use. This article explains that you can download and set up a full-featured browser and use that via your AOL phone connection. This is what we will be doing.

• "Netscape"

AOL has an article that will give you lots of information on how to download Netscape. Do not download from that "help" article. It appears that they will have you download a stripped-down version of Netscape. We are going to the real Netscape page and download a full-featured version. But you will learn from this article that it is perfectly legitimate to download Netscape and use that instead of the software they included in your start-up package.

STEP THREE: Download the Real Netscape Browser

You need to obtain and install the real Netscape browser on your computer, so we can use that instead of the stripped-down version you got from AOL. Netscape is free to educational users from their web site. ("Download" means that the software will be transferred from the Netscape site, through the phone lines, and onto your hard disk, so you can set it up.)

• Open your existing AOL browser by clicking "Internet."
• In the address line at the top, type: http://www.netscape.com/
• That should take you to the real Netscape site.
• Scroll down the Netscape home page and look for "download software." Click to that.
• You will be given a variety of choices so you can download the software correct for your computer (Windows 3.1 vs. 95, PC vs. Mac, etc.) Complete all those choices.
• If asked, you are an educational user, so this is entirely free to you.
• It will ask you where you want to put the software. Put it into a "temp" directory so you can clean-up later.
• Click the "download" button so it will start sending the software from Netscape onto your hard disk.
• Write down the name of the file that is being sent. You will see this on the dialogue box telling you how much time is left in the download. Having the name of the file will make it easier later to find it again.

HELPFUL HINTS:

• This is a huge file that is being transferred to you. It can take as long as an hour. It usually goes faster in the mornings when the phone lines, AOL lines, and Netscape site are not so busy.
• Keep an eye on that AOL message that wants to automatically disconnect you. If you lose your connection, you will have to start over again.
• I know this is a pain, but you will love having a full-featured browser. You will never want to use the AOL version again.
• Running Netscape 4.0/Communicator requires that you have 32 MB RAM on your computer. RAM upgrades are cheap, so you might want to add some. Otherwise, choose a 3.x version of Netscape instead.

STEP FOUR: Install the Netscape browser

After you have downloaded the software (the dialogue box will go away to let you know you're finished), sign-off from AOL. You need to install the Netscape browser on your computer.

• Sign-off from AOL.
• Close any other software you have running.
• Find the file you just downloaded from Netscape. (Use "File Manager" or "Windows Explorer" to find it.)
• Double click on the file you just downloaded. It is a self-executing program.
• You will see a set-up program that will install Netscape on your computer. Generally, the defaults it suggests are fine.
• If the install program doesn't do it for you, put a short-cut on your desktop, so it's easier to open later.
• After you've finished the installation, you can go back to the "temp" directory and delete out the original file you downloaded. It will ask if you are sure. You are. Delete it, if you want to save space on your hard disk.

STEP FIVE: Set up the configuration on Netscape

We need to set up a few preferences on Netscape so it will be able to find our group. We can do some of this off-line.

• Open your new Netscape program (from the desk-top short-cut or the Start>Programs list).
• If you are using Netscape 4.0/Communicator:
  • Pull down "Edit" then click "preferences"
  • Click the + sign by Mail & Groups
  • Click Groups Server
  • In the space for "Discussion groups (news) server" type: collabra.csulb.edu
  • If port is blank, type: 119
  • If you want to get your CSULB mail this way, click "mail server" and enter this:
    • user name: your account name (the part before the @ sign in your CSULB e-mail address)
    • SMTP server: smtp.csulb.edu
    • Popmail server: popmail.csulb.edu
• If you are using Netscape 3.0:
  • Pull down "Options" then click "mail and news"
  • In the space for "news server" or NNTP server": collabra.csulb.edu
  • If you want to get your CSULB mail this way, enter this:
    • user name: your account name (the part before the @ sign in your CSULB e-mail address)
    • SMTP server: smtp.csulb.edu
    • Popmail server: popmail.csulb.edu
• Completely close your Netscape program. (Do not simply "minimize" it. We are about to log back onto AOL and an open program can sometimes cause AOL to freeze during the log-on program.)

NOTE: collabra.csulb.edu is the NNTP "server" computer that receives and sends all the messages for the CSULB discussion groups. The AOL news reader program does not allow you to change the NNTP server address, as we are doing here.

STEP SIX: Opening Netscape on-line on AOL

• Log onto AOL as your normally do.
• Minimize the main AOL screen. (In the upper right hand corner, click the _ button. That will make the screen pop down to the taskbar. It's still available, but you've just minimized it.)
• Open your new Netscape program (use your desktop short-cut or go to start-programs-Netscape).
• Minimize the Netscape program, just as you did for the main AOL screen.
• Maximize the main AOL screen (click on the small symbol so it fills the screen again).
• Maximize the Netscape program (click on the small symbol so it fills the screen again).

NOTE: This seems like a nuisance, but you need to keep the AOL screen maximized. By following these steps, it is "underneath" your maximized Netscape screen. Otherwise, AOL can't send you messages about time and non-use that you will need to see. It might cut you off or freeze your screen.

NOTE: Always go through these steps when you are using the new Netscape through an AOL connection.

STEP SEVEN: Using Netscape to subscribe to the Collabra news group for the first time

If you are using Netscape 4.0/Communicator:

• Go to the "Communicator" pull-down menu. Click "Collabra Discussion Groups"
• You will be in a screen that says "Netscape Message Center"
• Select "New Discussion Group Server"
• Type in the dialogue box: collabra.csulb.edu
• If it's blank, in the Port line type: 119
• Click "OK"
• In the Message Center list you see, highlight: collabra.csulb.edu (click once on it)
• On the toolbar across the top, click "subscribe"
• Collabra will ask you who you are before it lets you go any further:
  • For username: type of CSULB account name (that's the part of your e-mail address before the @ sign) and click "OK"
  • In the password entry dialogue box: type your CSULB password and click "OK"
• You will now see a list of all groups at CSULB, some organized in folders.
• Click the little "+" box to the left of "csulb"
• Look down the list and look for "courses"
• Click the little "+" box to the left of "courses"
• Look down the list and look for the name or folder for your instructor.
• Click the little "+" box by the instructor's folder, if she has one (otherwise click on the name of the course if there is no folder)
• Look for your course and click the little "subscribe" button to its right. Click "OK."

If you are using Netscape 3.0:

• Go to the "Windows" pull-down menu and click "news."
• You should now be in the News program.
• Collabra.csulb.edu should be in the list of news servers
  • If it's not there, go to the far-left "file" pull-down menu and select "Open News Host"
  • Enter: collabra.csulb.edu
• When prompted for your user ID and password, enter your CSULB account name (the part before the @ sign) and password.
• Find collabra.csulb.edu on the list of groups, and highlight it by clicking once.
• Pull-down "options" and select "show me new newsgroups"
• From the list you get, select "csulb" then "courses" then your instructor's name, then your course.
• Subscribe by putting an "X" in the box by your group name.

You should only have to go through this set-up process once. Your subscribed groups should be there the next time you open Netscape.

STEP EIGHT: Accessing the Collabra newsgroup from Netscape

To use the group in the future, once you have an AOL connection and Netscape open. Be sure to follow the exact procedure in Step Six, above, at all times.

• In Netscape 4.0/Communicator: Open the news program from "Communicator" >Collabra Discussion Group
• In Netscape 3.0: Open the news program from "Windows" > News
• Collabra will always ask you for your account name and password before it lets you into the group.
• Netscape will connect to the Collabra server and download any new messages.
• Use "help" on the Netscape screen for more information on using the news group.

This page written and maintained by: Julie Van Camp, Associate Professor of Philosophy

Department of Philosophy, California State University, Long Beach

Comments and questions are welcome: jvancamp@csulb.edu

Return to the Class Home Page for PHIL 361 (Spring 1998)