WAIS Searching
Updated 4/16/97 Before the Web, there was WAIS, which stands for Wide Area Information Servers. Similar to the Web, the WAIS system is a collection of publicly-accesible documents, stored in databases distrubuted all over the Internet. Unlike the multimedia-rich Web, documents stored in WAIS databases are mostly text-only, and although they are structured to facilitate retrieval by keyword search there are no hypertext links.
WAIS Background
How to Search WAIS
WAIS and WAIS Pointers
How to form a WAIS Query

Z39.50 Standard
WAIS databases are structured according to ANSI's Z39.50 Standard, which specifies how the data is indexed and how the search can be indexed across multiple databases.
Library of Congress Z39.50 Maintenance Agency
Z39.50 resources

WAIS Databases
The content of the WAIS systems is interesting but less varied than what you'll find on the Web. There is significantly less commercial activity.
Content Router (Search 500 databases)
New Databases
WAIS indexes (CERN)
Astronomical WAIS Resources
EPA Public WAIS Servers (CERN)
Information retrieval via WAIS (MIT)

Client Software
To access a WAIS database, you need a client, which you download and run locally.
WAIS for Windows
winWAIS
WWWWAIS
freeWAIS (Web-to-WAIS connectivity)

Telnet Access
You can also access some WAIS systems via telnet, although the interface is cumbersome.
telnet://wais@wais.com
telnet://wais@quake.think.com

WAIS-related Newsgroups * requires a news server
alt.wais
comp.infosystems.wais