Before I send you off into the wild yonder, I'd like to pass on some points of etiquette to follow while using our friendly File Transfer Protocol.
The most important thing to remember is be courteous! The people that run public FTP servers are just that: people. They don't like being hassled by impolite users, or even innocents who haven't learned how to properly use their FTP clients. Many FTP admins place readme files in the root directory of their server ("root directory" being the main directory you're dropped into when you log in). The readmes aren't there to take up space or look pretty, they are there for you to read. Also, administrators sometimes put their user guidelines in the flood of server information that you receive when you first log in. Open up your FTP logs and browse them for rules, requests concerning your behavior, and the sysadmin's contact info in case anything goes wrong.
Also, be patient. Some servers are extremely popular, so it may take you a few tries to gain access. If your client allows you to re-try logging in after a server timeout, all the better. Set your re-tries to one minute or longer, and don't hammer the FTP server with log in requests. That's an excellent way to have your IP address banned.
Once you've connected to a strange server for the first time, you may have trouble accessing certain folders. That's because permissions have been set that only allow certain users to get into folders where sensitive files are stored. Unless the readme files point you elsewhere, your best bet is to aim for /PUB, the standard public directory on UNIX systems. If you are downloading anything for public use off of a public FTP server, that's where you'll find it.
Speaking of public FTP servers, I have a few favorites that I'd like to pass along. There's some wonderful software available on the Free Software Foundation servers. You can download academic Linux builds from the UK Mirror Service, or find out when your Uncle Jeb emigrated to West Virginia by scrounging up genealogical data. If you have a spare SGI machine lying around that needs some software, the University of California at Santa Cruz has its own directory of FTP sites carrying public domain software. If your girlfriend is an astronomy buff like mine, go grab some space research materials and impress her with your Carl Sagan impersonation.
The world of FTP has billions and billions of practical applications, and now you're ready to start exploring. Why the blank stares? C'mon, this is the kind of stuff I do for fun. Seriously!
