CompuServe Messages

Hi, folks– Here is a copy of what Martin Kilgore (thanks!) sent me about another source of geo-information. CompuServe users can exchange mail with this Internet mail address by addressing messages to ">INTERNET:ask-a-geologist@octopus.wr.usgs.gov" (do not include the quotes). Incoming mail via the Internet costs a CIS user (unless you delete without reading) as much as if the CIS user had sent it (it may be covered by the $9 monthly mail allowance that comes with the standard plan). –Doug Ask-A-Geologist – US Geological Survey offers new Internet service Have you ever wondered about why California has so many earthquakes, and New York does not? Why is there so much oil in Texas, but not in Wisconsin? What are the deepest canyons in the United States? (The answer might surprise you!) While the answers to many of these questions might be as close as an encyclopedia, some questions are difficult to answer without checking many sources. Beginning Monday, October 3, 1994, the USGS will offer a new, experimental Internet service – Ask-A-Geologist. General questions on earth sciences may be sent by electronic mail to the Internet address: ask-a-geologist@octopus.wr.usgs.gov All electronic mail to Ask-A-Geologist will be routed to the geologist of the day. The geologist will reply to your question within a day or two, or provide referrals to better sources of information. Please include an Internet-accessible return address in the body of your message. Ask-A-Geologist is an experimental service of the USGS Branch of Pacific Marine Geology, with participation from several other branches. The United States Geological Survey is the principal source of scientific and technical expertise in the earth sciences within the Federal Government. Naturally, we cannot answer some classes of questions. We cannot answer questions about specific sites — for example, Is my home in a landslide area? We cannot answer questions with a specific economic impact — for example, How much gold is left in the Homestake mine? We cannot endorse commercial products or companies. And, we cannot answer questions based on information not yet released to the public. We might be able to provide referrals to other sources of relevant information. All questions and answers will be part of the public record. After collecting questions and answers for a few months, we will make a Frequently Asked Questions list (with answers) available via anonymous FTP and World-Wide-Web. We encourage grade school and high school students with electronic mail access to send in questions — but we can't write your reports for you! In limited testing, we've had an enthusiastic response from many grade school students. If you have any questions about this service, but not about geology, please contact the system administrator – Rex Sanders <rex@octopus.wr.usgs.gov>.