Dear Jan, George, and LSTOWN-L Folks, >Once upon a time, You left out, "in a distant galaxy" >Once upon a time, I remember that there used to be >a server to which one could telnet and get the real >identity of someone using an email account. You might be remembering 'FINGER.' Most implementations of FINGER in *private* (dot.com) networks have been at the option of the user, to allow privacy. There was a day, before SPAM reared it ugly head, when finger was *commonly* implemented at *.edu, and many other sites. Some implementations of FINGER look a little like telnet (or DOS / UNIX command line), so, to me, it is conceivable that you're remembering FINGER. FINGER is a great tool if you just want to get the information out, and don't care about security, tracking, cookies, and making money. There was a day when you could finger a soda cooler to be sure there was cold pop, or finger an "earthquake" server for the latest worldwide read-out. But, very sadly, I don't think there are many FINGER sites anymore. If you have a FINGER client, you can use it to find out what I said about myself in 1996 here: finger [log in to unmask] Today, IP address tracing is your best bet, as Don has already mentioned. Pax, Ballew Kinnaman <[log in to unmask]> 206/463-2322 Discussion list owner: Allergy ---> http://www.Immune.Com/allergy/index.html Arthritis ---> http://www.Emissary.Net/arthritis/index.html PCHealth ---> http://www.Emissary.Net/pchealth/index.html Latex Allergy ---> http://www.Immune.Com/rubber/index.html Thyroid ---> http://www.Emissary.Net/thyroid/index.html