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size of mail messages their users can receive. Fidonet doesn't even allow encoded messages. In general, a file size of 30,000 or so bytes is a safe upper limit for non-Internet systems.
9.4 GETTING FTP FILES VIA E-MAIL
To help people without ftp access, a number of ftp sites have set up mail servers (also known as archive servers) that allow you to get files via e-mail. You send a request to one of these machines and they send back the file you want. As with ftp, you'll be able to find everything from historical documents to software (but please note that if you do have access to ftp, that method is always quicker and ties up fewer resources than using e-mail).
Some interesting or useful mail servers include:
mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu Files of "frequently asked questions" related to Usenet; state-by-state lists of U.S. representatives and Senators and their addresses and office phone numbers.
archive-server@eff.org Information about the Electronic Frontier Foundation; documents about legal issues on the Net.
archive-server@cs.widener.edu Back copies of the Computer Underground Digest and every possible fact you could want to know about "The Simpsons."
netlib@uunet.uu.net Programs for many types of personal computers; archives of past postings from many Usenet newsgroups.
archive-server@ames.arc.nasa.gov Space-related text and graphics (GIF-format) files.
service@nic.ddn.mil Detailed information about Internet.
Most mail servers work pretty much the same -- you send an e-mail message that tells them what file you want and how you want it sent to you. The most important command is "send," which tells the computer you want it to send you a particular file.
First, though, you'll need to know where the mail server stores that file, because you have to tell it which directory or sub- directory it's in. There are a couple of ways to do this. You can send an e-mail message to the archive-server that consists of one line:
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