Inter-connectivity has been and always will be one of the biggest
goals in computer networking. The ultimate desire is to make it so
one person can contact anyone else no matter where they are. A number
of "gateways" between networks have been set up. They include:
AppleLink
Quantum Services sells access to AppleLink, which is similar to
QuantumLink for Commodore computers and PCLink for IBM PCs and
compatibles. It also provides email access through the address
user@applelink.apple.com.
ATTMail
AT&T sells a commercial email service called ATTMail. Its users
can be reached by writing to user@attmail.com.
BIX
Users on BIX (the Byte Information eXchange) can be reached
through the DAS gateway at user@cibix.das.net.
CompuServe (CI$)
To reach a user on the commercial service CompuServe, you must
address the mail as xxxxx.xxx@compuserve.com, with
xxxxx.xxx being their CompuServe user ID. Normally CompuServe
ids are represented as being separated by a comma (like
71999,141); since most mailers don't react well to having
commas in addresses, it was changed to a period. For the above
address, mail would be sent to 71999.141@compuserve.com.
EasyNet
Digital sells a service called EasyNet; users that subscribe to it can
be reached with the addresses user@host.enet.dec.com or
user%host.enet@decwrl.dec.com.
FidoNet
The FidoNet computer network can be reached by using a special
addressing method. If John Smith is on the node 1:2/3.4 on
FidoNet, his or her email address would be
john.smith@p4.f3.n2.z1.fidonet.org
(notice how the numbers fall in place?).
MCI Mail
MCI also sells email accounts (similar to ATTMail). Users can be
reached with user@mcimail.com.
PeaceNet
Users on the PeaceNet network can be reached by writing to
user@igc.org.
The Well
Users on the service The Well can be reached by writing to
user@well.sf.ca.us. The Well is directly connected to the Internet.
This table is far from complete. In addition to sites not being
listed, some services are not (nor do they plan to be) accessible
from the "outside" (like Prodigy); others, like GEnie, are actively
investigating the possibility of creating a gateway into their
system. For the latest information, consult a list called the
Inter-Network Mail Guide. It's available from a number of FTP sites,
including UUNET; Anonymous FTP, for more information on getting a
copy of it using anonymous FTP.