Lyrics Server Directions

[scottm@mist.cs.orst.edu (Michael Gordon Scott)]

Here is the list of the directions to the Lyrics Server as promised.  Good
luck.

Oh, and IED, in reponce to a little blurb you responded to me about in one
of your loooonnnngg (but very informative and looked forward to), I mentioned
a Kate Bush III interview CD.  This is the exact title I saw in last weeks 
Goldmine magazine.  I was assuming it was the third in the series of interview
Disks that have been put out. (I have the first two, and luv 'em).  Please
tell more about the interview disks you know about.....

Anyway, save this and read it a couple of times before trying.  There are some
specific things you have to do before the server will work for you.....

--------------------   Cut here and save the rest    -------------------

Request: HELP

Carefully read the terms and conditions of the following agreement PRIOR
to sending requests to the Lyrics server. Sending additional requests to
the server indicates your acceptance of these terms and conditions.

 YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE AS FOLLOWS:

  a.  The lyrics server is providing a service at your request, acting as
      your authorized agent.  All actions taken by the server as response to
      your requests are your own responsibility.

  b.  In no event will the owner and/or author of the server be liable for
      direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages
      resulting from any use of the server, even if the possibility of such
      damages is known.

 Enjoy the Lyrics Server.

                Lyrics Server Help
                ------ ------ ----

Introduction:
     This program is designed to read requests from a mail file, and
reply with the appropriate selections from the database.

The format for a request from the lyrics server is as follows:
   Command/param1=option/param2=option/param3=option

There are 3 commands available for requests.

   Lyrics - prints lyrics
   Albums - prints album titles and authors
   Songs  - prints album titles, authors, and songs on albums

These commands will accept 3 parameters.
   /Author=xx   restricts command to response that is the work of author xx

   /Album=xx    restricts command to responses contained on album xx

   /Song=xx     restricts command to responses of song titled xx

Examples:

   Albums/Author=Peter Gabriel
          -will list album titles of Peter Gabriel

   Lyrics/Album=So
          -will print lyrics of any album entitled So

   Songs/Album=So
          -will list all songs on any album entitled So

   Lyrics/Song=Red Rain
          -will list lyrics of any song entitled Red Rain


Multiple parameters are also valid.

Examples:

   Lyrics/Album=So/Song=Red Rain
          -will list lyrics of a song Red Rain that is contained on any album
           called So

   Albums/Author=Peter Gabriel/Song=Red Rain
          -will list any album by Peter Gabriel that contains the song Red Rain


Commands and parameters may be abbreviated to their minimum uniqueness, thus

   Albums/Author=Peter Gabriel/Song=Red Rain
        is equivalent to
   Al/Au=Peter Gabriel/s=Red Rain


Requesting Lyrics:
   To make a request to the server, simply type the appropriate command
line in the body of a message to
    Lyrics Server
or  Lyrics@UMass.BITNet                                         (BITNet)
    Lyrics%Umass.BITNet@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU                          (internet)

If you would like to make a request from the server, a good place to start
would be sending just
Albums
(The Albums command with no parameters) which will list all album entries.

Multiple requests can be made in one letter by typing each command set
on a separate line. The subject line is ignored by the server.

The server checks for mail every ten minutes, so a response shouldn't take
any longer than that under most circumstances. Network replies obviously
depend on other factors as well.

Note: Some requests may entail lengthy responses. Users with minimal file
      space should be aware of this.
Note: a * next to a song title indicates that it is an instrumental, or
      no lyrics are available for it.


Advanced help is available by typing HELP/option
where option is one of the following available topics:
   FORMAT - instructions for formatting lyrics to be contributed
   SEARCH - describes the wildcard string search capability

The lyrics server string search is very useful for abbreviating
song/album titles if you aren't positive of spelling or punctuation.

Contributions are always encouraged and appreciated.


Please send all questions, comments, corrections, additions, and whatnot to:
            Lyrics Manager
       or   Lyrman@UMass.BITNet
            Lyrman%UMass.BITNet@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU
Request: HELP/FORMAT

          File Formatting for Lyrics Server
          ---- ---------- --- ------ ------

   All lyrics must be in the proper format to be interpreted by
the lyrics server program.
The title to each song must be preceded by a + which must be on the
beginning of a line. The markers are used for counting and locating
the individual songs, and are not printed when requests are made.
The first two lines before the first song title should contain the author
and album title, and all subsequent new songs on the same album should
be indicated as such by a + directly before the song title. Underlining
the song title is helpful as a means of separating songs.

Example:
Peter Gabriel
So
+Red Rain
--- ----

 . (lyrics)
 .
 .

+Sledgehammer
------------

 . (lyrics)
 .
etc.


Any instumentals contained on the album may be included for the sake of
completeness. On the same line as the song title should be some appropriate
notation indicating this.

The names of the album, author, songs, as well as the file location info
is stored in the master directories.

Please save the lyrics management the trouble of editing your
cotribution, by making sure your lyrics are correctly formatted
for prompt addition to the lyrics server.

Send lyrics and any other inquiries to Lyrics Manager.
LYRMAN%UMASS.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU
Request: HELP/SEARCH

      String Search Utility for Lyrics Server
      ------ ------ ------- --- ------ ------

     The lyrics server wildcard string search will seek out character
sequences in the three valid fields of Author, Album, and Song.
Putting the character + in the field of search will direct the program
to ignore any number of characters that may be between whatever
precedes and succeeds the +. There may be any number of +'s in
the string in any position. The major benefits of this feature
include abbreviating requests, thereby reducing any errors that might
be made if one is unsure of a precise name or spelling. Some song
names in particular may have odd spacing or punctuation which
must be matched exactly if not using this string search.
Also, one can always look for peculiar patterns and common words
in various songs titles, if one is into that sort of thing.

Examples:
---------

al/au=pete+

    will return the albums of authors whose names begin with the field
    'pete', i.e. Pete Townshend, Peter Gabriel.

ly/s=+excellent birds+

    will return the lyrics to any song title which contains the string
    'excellent birds'

ly/s=+and+

    will return lyrics of all songs that have the string 'and' in the
    song title   (quite a few)

s/au=+t+w+s+

    will return songs of an author whose name has a 't' somewhere,
    followed by a 'w' somewhere, followed by an 's' somewhere,
    i.e. pete ToWnShend


Multiple parameters with wildcards are also valid.