Introducing the CSO

From API to Zapf Dingbat fonts, through the POP and PPP protocols, computer jargon and acronyms multiply faster than bunnies. Don't know the difference between DCE, CDE, and DEC? Computer not working the way it used to or the way you wish it would? Whether you have a specific problem or just need advice, the CSO is the place to go.

The Client Services Office is the Academic Computing and Communications Center's front line consulting group. We'll expand those acronyms, translate the jargon, and get your disks spinning again.

In addition, we have about 40 "CSOers", our student consultants. The CSOers staff the CSO proper and also serve as lab monitors in many of the ADN public labs. These students are a real blessing, not only because they let us handle a large volume of calls, but because they also let us handle a large variety of calls. I wasn't joking about the acronyms; there's such an array of computer-related interests on our campus these days that no one person can possibly serve everyone's needs. Each member of the CSO staff contributes different skills to our knowledge base. As a team, we know quite a bit about the many operating systems, applications, protocols, and procedures used at UIC and elsewhere on the Internet.

Check out pictures of the CSO team. Be sure to visit the CSO's home page on the World Wide Web at the URL: http://www.uic.edu/depts/accc/cso/

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Software Sales and Server Services

See Software Sales and Procedures for ordering procedures and lists of the software available for purchase under UIC site licenses. For more information on Server Services, see the Server Services World Wide Web home page.

ADN Seminar Series and Teaching Labs

The ADN's teaching labs can be reserved for use by instructors and by campus groups; for information on the facilities available and a reservation request form, see the lab reservation Web page (or send email to seminars@uic.edu or call the CSO at 3-0003). We can help you setup for these private sessions, including installing software for them (we'll need two weeks lead time, please, and legal copies only). If it's a topic we normally teach, we can help you teach it, or perhaps teach it for you, if there will be at least eight participants.

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There are three ways:

Email:

Send your question by email to: consult@uic.edu

You'll receive a response shortly after from the ADN Request Tracking DataBase <PROBLEM@UICVM.UIC.EDU> (the "Problem database"). Its subject will be: Re: Prob nnnnn followed by the subject of the message you sent; the nnnnn is your "Problem number".

Problem helps us keep track of your questions and the responses you receive. When writing us about the problem, please use your email program's Reply function to send your reply back to PROBLEM with Prob nnnnn in the subject; your reply will automatically be forwarded to everyone involved in handling your problem. Please don't send a new message to CONSULT or reply directly to a Computer Center staff member.

Walk in:

Room 2267 SEL, 950 South Halsted.

The Client Services Office is open 9 AM until 5 PM weekdays, except Wednesday, when it closes at 4 PM; walk-in hours are extended during the last two weeks of the semester. There are lab monitors in BGRC, BSB, CCC, SEL, and SRC (including weekends in some locations). The current schedule is on the Web.

Telephone:

(312) 413-0003; same hours as the CSO.

We have six incoming lines, but since each call might take five to ten minutes, if you call at a peak time you might find that our "consultants are currently busy." If you're put on hold, please stay on the line.

Which should you use?

Email is best for most problems,

particularly if your question will require specialized knowledge to answer. Email lets you describe your problem in detail (see You Can Help Us Help You for a list of useful "details"), lets us keep a record of your question and all the correspondence about it, and makes it easy to refer your question to an expert if necessary. We get a lot of email, so we probably won't answer your question right away, but we try to get back to you within 24 hours.

Walk in

if you're having a problem with your account; we'll need to take a quick look at your photo id, just to make sure we're fixing the right account for the right person. (On the west side of campus, take your walk-in account questions to Network Operations in Room LL55 BGRC, 1940 W. Taylor.)
You might also drop by if you want to demonstrate your problem or if you find it difficult to explain (the consultants know the questions to ask to zero in on what your problem really is), to pick up a quick start handout or two, or when you're just in the neighborhood.

Phone in

when you have a fast question that requires immediate assistance and when it's not convenient to walk in.

Phone in to report system-wide problems,

including problems with the ADN network, telephone connections, and printers. For these problems, go directly to the Network Operations (312) 413-8080; Operations is staffed 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.

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But please help us help you by being prepared.

First, please select the most appropriate contact method for your particular problem; usually that will be sending email to consult@uic.edu (see Getting in Touch with the CSO ).

Next, please include as many details as you can about your problem. Let's say, for example, that you're giving Eudora a test drive as suggested in How do I migrate away from CMS mail?, and you're having trouble with it.

Don't say: "Help, my email isn't working!"

Not much here!

Better: "Eudora can't download my mail from tigger."

This is better because it saves both of us from our first set of questions: "Where do you get your mail?" and "How do you read it?"

Better still: "I'm running Win95 with Eudora Pro, on campus with an ADN-ii ethernet connection. My POP server is tigger, and I repeatedly get the error message 'POP server busy.' I'm sure my password is correct, because I can telnet to tigger and log on. What's up?"

This last is a lot more like it! Though it still would be nice to know whether it ever worked, and if it did, when it broke.

• What operating system you're using (and if it's UNIX, whether it is tigger or icarus).
• How you're connecting to the network.
• What program you're using.
• What the exact error message is.
• What the conditions are when you get the error.

On the other hand, consider this. No matter what your problem is, chances are you're not the first person to have it. So you might want to look around a bit on your own before you contact us. For example, check for online tutorials and other Web-based resources. You can start your exploration at:

the ADN home page: http://www/uic.edu/depts/accc/

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API

is Application Program Interface,

CDE

is Common Desktop Environment,

DCE

is Distributed Computing Environment,

DEC

is Digital Equipment Corporation.

PPP

is Point-to-Point Protocol, and

POP

is Post Office Protocol.

Comments are welcome; send them to:
Margaret Bird, mbird@uic.edu