a thread of related items linked together using next and previous item links. One can also view specific items, a range of items, new items or items that have new responses. To participate in a conference one must first register as a permanent participant, an auditor, or a temporary observer. A participant may contribute items and responses, while an auditor or observer just views them. Once one has joined a conference, CONFER keeps track of what has been seen for participants and auditors, but not for observers. Each time a conference is visited by a participant or auditor, CONFER displays a list of new information that has been entered since the previous visit. Of course one can always go back and look at old items and responses as well. CONFER allows the use of pseudonyms for items, responses, and messages, and participants can register in a conference under a pseudonym. Many conferences that allow pseudonymous comments ask participants to register under their own names to establish a legitimate tone for the conference, and help establish the credibility of the participants. Bulletins, notices that are displayed when a conference is entered with no responses allowed, are another less frequently used form of communication. CONFER also provides a "meeting" mode to allow real-time discussions and includes facilities to support "simulations" as described below. Not only did CONFER offer the opportunity for various forms of group discussion, it also served as the first widely used e-mail system on the Michigan campus. And while the MTS $MESSAGE e-mail system eventually surpassed CONFER as the e-mail facility of choice at Michigan, the computer conferencing portion of CONFER continued to thrive. Commands The following commands are supported by CONFER. Many command names and modifiers may be abbreviated using initial sub-strings of the name. At the DO NEXT? prompt: HELP To see the online tutorial in CONFER II. ? Same as HELP. DESCRIPTOR [NEW] To see the 3-line descriptors of an item or the new items. NEW To see NEW messages, items, and responses. ITEM n To see a particular item, where "n" is its number. RESPONSES [n:m1-m2] Display responses "m1" to "m2" for items "n". ENTER To enter an item (public) into the conference. LOAD filename To enter text from filename TRANSMIT To send a message (private) to another participant. MESSAGE [n] Display a message or messages. BULLETIN To enter a bulletin (public) for everyone to