.: Vancouver Webpages

Webgate: Vancouver Webpages' W3-by-mail Gateway

This document is located at http://vancouver-webpages.com/webgate/

Webgate has a new feature (May 2000). A new MAIL command has been added to make it easier to browse - clicking a link will send a new message to Webgate, without having to cut and paste the URL.

Webgate (mailto:webgate@vancouver-webpages.com) is Vancouver Webpages' web-by-mail gateway. It delivers one or more Web objects as
MIME attachments to a mail message.

It is intended as a means for those with only email access to the Internet to retrieve a limited number of Web documents.

It is not intended as a means for well-connected people to circumvent corporate firewalls or logging systems (in order to retrieve adult material, for
instance).

Connections are logged for administrative and security reasons. Webgate is located in Canada. Material illegal under Canadian law (such as child
pornography) going to or from Canadian (or US) addresses may be reported to law enforcement if detected, although logs are not normally examined.

Commands

GET - retrieve general WWW object; a BASE tag is added to HTML pages.
MAIL - retrieve general WWW object; links in HTML are converted to Webgate URLs.
DUMP - retrieve an HTML document as text.
HEAD - retrieve only the HTTP headers of a general WWW object
SEARCH - pass a simple search string to AltaVista
A command may be given as the subject, or in the body of the message. Multiple GET commands may be given, one on each line. The maximum object size is currently set to 750kb. If a command is given in the body of the message, a continuation line may be used if the first line ends with a backslash, e.g.
get http://some.org/some/long/url/some\
page.html

Forms mailed from Netscape Navigator are also accepted, though currently only one command is understood. Returned HTML documents have a
BASE tag prepended, which allows Navigator to resolve relative URLs. Thus, by using the right mouse button and clipsheet, one can follow a link by
pasting the URL into the mail form.

Formats other than text/plain and text/html are MMencoded (Base64). Output normally appears as MIME attachments to a mail message. The
Netscape Navigator mail tool will display HTML attachments with correct formatting, but inline images will not be available unless an HTTP connection
exists.

Other mail tools which can display HTML may work with Webgate. They may display pages inline, or as a separate attachment which must be opened in another window.

Retrieved pages will have no inline images. To get an image, obtain the URL of the image file by right-click or view-source and mail another request.

Retrieving a complete page complete with images may be done piece-by-piece saving each image and HTML frame into a local file, then editing the
HTML source (typically deleting the BASE tag).

Due to limitations in some mail servers, to protect Webgate's server from excessive memory use, and to prevent Webgate from being used to send
unsolicited email (spam), Webgate has a limit on pages retrieved. This limit changes from time to time. Currently there is a 750K limit for one item plus a limit of 50 items/hour plus a limit of 12Mb/hour.

Some mail systems impose a limit on the size of messages, or on how much mail a user can receive, or on how much mail can be in a users mailbox at
one time. Also, some sites block Webgate mail for policy reasons, and some block mail where the ip address cannot be resolved - which currently
applies to vancouver-webpages.com Some typical limits:
Site
Limit
zakamsk.ru
1000K
giki.edu.pk
500K
cubalse.cu
1000K
energy.gov.ua
2000K
freenet.kiev.ua
500K
rlk.pu.ru
1000K
teammail.com
blocked
sae.com.hk
blocked
copextel.com.cu
blocked

To submit a Web form using the HTTP GET method, fill in the form then click "Submit". Next, copy the complete URL from the location box (typically http://some.org/some-cgi/form?ans1=one&ans2=two) into the Webgate URL box and request it. The HTTP POST and PUT methods are not supported - the form contents are not encoded in a URL and so cannot be requested with Webgate.

To report problems, email gatemaster@Vancouver-Webpages.com

Thanks to Alain Jossart for suggestions, pointing out bugs, etc.

Other Gateways

WWW4MAIL
Support for http,ftp, gopher, news (usenet), cookies, passwords, etc. Quota imposed (300/week).
www4mail@wm.ictp.trieste.i
www4mail@ftp.uni-stuttgart.de
www4mail@web.bellanet.org
Agora
agora@kamakura.mss.co.jp
Commands (in body): send (=DUMP), source(=GET), help, doc (get PostScript)
agora@kamakura.mss.co.jp
agora@dna.affrc.go.jp
webmail@www.ucc.ie
Commands (in body): send (=DUMP), get, go (=DUMP and GET), help
web-mail@ebay.com
Include URL in body. 15 free accesses/month.
gophermail
File splitting, Mac HQX format
gophermail@eunet.cz
gomail@ncc.go.jp
gopher@dna.affrc.go.jp
Others
binky@junoaccmail.org
getweb@usa.healthnet.org
getweb@unganisha.idrc.ca
page@grabpage.com
FTP servers
bitftp@pucc.princeton.edu
ftpmail@ftp.sunet.se
ftpmail@uar.net
ftpmail@mail.iif.hu
ftpmail@giswitch.sggw.waw.pl
ftpmail@mercure.umh.ac.be
bitftp@plearn.edu.pl

See also Mr. Cool

Copyright Status
Webpages Admin