Date: Tue, 5 Nov 2002 15:54:41 GMT
Reply-To: Tim Berryhill <tim@AARTWOLF.COM>
Sender: "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From: Tim Berryhill <tim@AARTWOLF.COM>
Organization: Concentric Internet Services
Subject: SAS-L FAQ Updated 11/02/02
SAS-L and comp.soft-sys.sas FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
One hopes the answers are the significant part, but tradition demands...
Revised 11/2/02 Added and deleted several web sites
Revised 11/2/02 Mention some of the web interface at:
http://listserv.uga.edu/archives/sas-l.html
Revised 10/20/99 Removed discussion of NCSU gopher (Y2K problem?)
Revised 6/9/99 Change in Virginia Poly address
Revised 8/18/98 Better archive search instructions, thanks
to Kevin Brunson for the suggestion
Revised 3/6/98 Changed addresses in preparation for UGA change
Revised 12/23/97 added pointer to SAS info in German:
http://web.urz.uni-heidelberg.de/Unterstuetzung/Hinweise/Einzel/SAS/
Also 12/23/97, changed pointer to Faith Sloan's site:
http://faith.hypno.net/sasmass
Revised 9/16/97; changed Arnold Schick's pages
Revised 9/15/97; added http://www.stattransfer.com/lists.html
Revised 8/15/97; added ftp.uga.edu/pub/sas/contrib
Revised 7/18/97; added http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~statdata/
Q) How can I stop getting all of this mail?
send e-mail to the server to which you subscribed:
listserv@vm.marist.edu Marist University
listserv@listserv.vt.edu Virginia Polytechnic University
listserv@listserv.uga.edu University of Georgia
listserv@AKH-Wien.AC.AT University of Vienna
The subject line is ignored and the body should contain the command:
unsubscribe sas-l
Q) What if I try to unsubscribe and the server says I am not subscribed,
but it still sends me all the mail?
Send E-mail to a human-being:
SAS-L-REQUEST@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU
and ask that your ID be removed from the list.
Q) How do I read the messages?
The easiest way is to read the newsgroup comp.soft-sys.sas.
To have the messages mailed to you as they are available, send e-mail to
any of the mail servers:
listserv@vm.marist.edu Marist University
listserv@listserv.vt.edu Virginia Polytechnic University
listserv@listserv.uga.edu University of Georgia
listserv@AKH-Wien.AC.AT University of Vienna
The subject line is ignored and the body should contain the command:
subscribe sas-l your name here
e.g.
subscribe sas-l Tom Smith
is how Tom Smith would subscribe.
It is not always slower to subscribe through Vienna. It depends on
which side of the trans-Atlantic cable you are on.
If you have a web browser, you can subscribe through:
http://listserv.uga.edu/archives/sas-l.html
Q) What about "Good Times" and other viruses?
The main thing I will tell you about viruses is, do not post anything
about them (not even a question--not to this list!) unless at least 20
people rely on you for virus answers. 90% of everything you have heard
about viruses is wrong, and I am not going to straighten you out here.
There are several web sites which describe viruses and treatments.
Q) What about SPAM?
Many people think SAS-L has a high signal to noise ratio. There is a lot
of good information compared to the amount of junk. SPAM, UCE,
requests for employment, and off-topic posts lower the signal to
noise ratio. Before posting a complaint about someone lowering the signal
to noise ratio, please make sure your post will raise the signal to noise
(content to junk) ratio.
Q) Are SAS-L and comp.soft-sys.sas the same?
Eventually, they have nearly the same content. They work differently.
Q) How can I contribute?
Post a message to comp.soft-sys.sas, or send e-mail to the list at:
sas-l@AKH-WIEN.AC.AT University of Vienna
sas-l@vm.marist.edu Marist University
sas-l@listserv.vt.edu Virginia Polytechnic University
sas-l@listserv.uga.edu University of Georgia
Use a subject line. If your subject line is "No Subject" many people
will ignore your message. If your subject line is "FREE SEX" many
people will read your message, but you (probably) will not like the
responses.
Include your SAS version and platform. Try to quote the error
message correctly. Consider cutting and pasting the log or output. You
may want to read a few posts before you compose your first one.
Q) Did anyone get my message? I got an error report, and I do not see
my message.
This is tricky. It depends on how you post and how you view. You can
post to the newsgroup or to the e-mail list, and you can read the
newsgroup or read e-mail.
If you post to the newsgroup and get an error message, the problem is
probably at your site and involves local magic words which we do not
know and cannot tell you. If you both post to and read the newsgroup
then you should be able to read your message soon after you post it.
If you post to the e-mail list you will almost always get error
messages. This is because the server will give you copies of error
messages it gets when it forwards your message to thousands of people
around the world. Normally you will not get copies of your own e-mail.
Q) Did anyone get my message? No one replied.
Perhaps no one had anything to say. Perhaps your message was very
general (like "my program failed") or specific to your site (like "what
is the name of my network printer"). Perhaps no one else on the list
uses the exact hardware and software you are trying to use. Perhaps
your mail gateway is down, and your message has not left your site. If
you want to verify that your e-mail is working, send e-mail to the
server (not to the list) with the body:
help
The server will send you a quick reference card in a few minutes.
If you really just want to verify the server is reachable, send the
server (listserv@..., not sas-l@...) the message:
thanks
You will get a brief response.
Q) Can I get a little less mail?
send e-mail to the server (listserv@..., not sas-l@...) to which you
subscribed.
The subject line is ignored and the body should contain the command:
set sas-l digest
NOTE: set sas-l mail will reverse this
Q) Can I stop the traffic until I get back from vacation?
send e-mail to the server (listserv@..., not sas-l@...) to which you
subscribed.
The subject line is ignored and the body should contain the command:
set sas-l nomail
NOTE: This does not save mail for you. It is a lot like unsubscribing.
NOTE: set sas-l mail will reverse this
Q) Where are the cool web pages?
Searching in http://www.google.com/ for SAS, there are about
1.3 million hits. Here are a few:
The SAS Institute home page:
http://www.sas.com/
The SI web site includes technical support FAQ pages:
http://www.sas.com/service/techsup/faq/index.html
Scandinavian Airlines uses:
http://www.sas.se
Surfers Against Sewage can be found at:
http://www.sas.org.uk/
Charles Patridge maintains a site at:
http://www.sconsig.com/
Dr. Carina Ortseifen offers SAS info in German
(auf Deutsche?) at:
http://web.urz.uni-heidelberg.de/statistik/sas-ah/
The Lsoft manual (the list server package) is at:
http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/user/user.html
The University of Georgia has a very good site for interacting
with this list at:
http://listserv.uga.edu/archives/sas-l.html
Q) Where are the macros?
A search engine returned 48,000 hits on "SAS macro" and 18,000 more on
"SAS macros" so you can probably find some.
Some people add macros they post here to the SAS File Contribution Server
at ftp://ftp.uga.edu/pub/sas/contrib. Get the file USER.DOC first.
The Mayo Clinic shares macros at:
http://www.mayo.edu/hsr/sasmac.html
Michael Friendly provides some popular macros at:
http://www.math.yorku.ca/SCS/sasmac/
Arnold Schick offers some at:
http://members.tripod.com/~schick/macros.html
Richard A. DeVenezia offers us:
http://www.devenezia.com/downloads/sas
Q) How can I get help from SAS Institute?
Call 919-677-8008 and have your SAS site number ready.
You can get your SAS license number from the top of any .log file.
Q) How do I search the archive?
Browser-based:
http://listserv.uga.edu/archives/sas-l.html
Via e-mail:
The full instructions are at:
http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/user/user.html
Be careful. Most people who try this send their request to the list
(sas-l@...) rather than to the list server (listserv@...), and they
get derisive notes.
Send e-mail to any of the list servers:
SEARCH DDE IN SAS-L SINCE 98/05/26
The reply will include something like:
Item # Date Time Recs Subject
------ ---- ---- ---- -------
006546 96/07/22 23:25 94 Lines written
006569 96/07/22 15:47 1184 Re: SAS Data Set Format (long)
Send another message using the item numbers in the first column:
GETPOST SAS-L 6546 6569
Q) How can I do a better search?
Be careful. Many people who try this send their request to the list
(sas-l@...) rather than to the list server (listserv@...), and they
get derisive notes.
Start by sending a message to the list server with the body:
help
The server will send you a quick reference card. The author knows more
about searching than I do, so read it.
NOTE: http://listserv.uga.edu/archives/sas-l.html is easier.
Q) What if someone gives me a bad answer?
If you are really unhappy with the answer and you provide your fax
number, some people will fax back your dollar.
Q) Who is in charge of SAS-L?
The people who manage the list rarely comment publicly about management
decisions. The list is un-moderated, which means any carbon-based
entity with a mailer can dump garbage into it. Many people at SAS
Institute read the list, but they rarely post to it and they definitely
do not control it.
Q) How do I fix a FAQ?
If you want this FAQ changed, send e-mail to FAQ-Request@aartwolf.com.
If you want one of the referenced FAQ's changed, see that FAQ for details.
This being an anarchy, you are free to start your own FAQ.
If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the
shoulders of giants.
-- Isaac Newton
Thanks to Joe Kelley, Sally Muller, Greg Nelson, Melvin Klassen.
Tim Berryhill - Contract Programmer and General Wizard
tim@aartwolf.com or http://www.aartwolf.com/twb.html
Currently looking for programming opportunities in SAS in San Francisco
