January 26, 1995: Vol26n14: ELECTRONIC HIGHWAYS:  Veronica: Fast Track to Information

Veronica: Fast Track to Information
There are thousands of gopher menus on the Internet. These can be
immensely useful sites when you know where to go for information.
However, all too often you know what you want but you don't know where
it is.
	Enter Veronica, a fast-paced feature that will cull gopher
sites worldwide and custom build you a menu based on your search
request.
	Veronica, an acronym for "Very Easy Rodent-Oriented Net-wide
Index to Computerized Archives," is easily invoked through Wings.
First, type Wings at your system prompt. Select "Access the Internet"
then "Look for information resources on the Internet." You will be
presented with several "Search Gopherspace" choices. Feel free to
choose any one of these or to try different ones; they all provide
access to Veronica.
	Once you have made a "Search Gopherspace" choice, you will be
prompted to "Enter keyword(s)." At this point you may enter one or
more keywords, keeping in mind that the terms you enter will be
searched with the default logical connector, "and." (That is, if you
search for "buffalo" and "wings," results will all contain both
buffalo and wings.)
	You can't always be sure what your search will retrieve. (The
above query, for example, retrieves not only numerous connections to
UB's gopher Wings, but two chicken wings recipes as well!) So keep an
open mind and be ready to revise your search terms when necessary.
	Veronica has a number of other defaults; these include the
maximum number of records that will be retrieved and the type of
entries that will be listed (directories, files, and other types of
entries). If you are unfamiliar with Veronica, it is best to
experiment -- the results can be extremely rewarding.
	Once you have become an experienced user, you may wish to try
some of the other options available for Veronica searches such as
limiting your search to menus, text files, etc. These can be found in
the documents "Frequently-Asked Questions About Veronica" and "How To
Compose Veronica Queries," available in the same directory where you
search Veronica.
	For more information on accessing WINGS and using Veronica
contact the CIT Help Desk at 645-3542, <consult@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu>.
 -- Gemma DeVinney and Loss Peque