@item
Wget supports proxy servers, which can lighten the network load, speed
up retrieval and provide access behind firewalls. However, if you are
-behind a firewall that requires that you use a socks style gateway, you
-can get the socks library and build Wget with support for socks. Wget
-also supports the passive @sc{ftp} downloading as an option.
+behind a firewall that requires that you use a socks style gateway,
+you can get the socks library and build Wget with support for socks.
+Wget uses the passive @sc{ftp} downloading by default, active @sc{ftp}
+being an option.
@sp 1
@item
servers (and the ones emulating Unix @code{ls} output).
@cindex passive ftp
-@item --passive-ftp
-Use the @dfn{passive} @sc{ftp} retrieval scheme, in which the client
-initiates the data connection. This is sometimes required for @sc{ftp}
-to work behind firewalls.
+@item --no-passive-ftp
+Disable the use of the @dfn{passive} FTP transfer mode. Passive FTP
+mandates that the client connect to the server to establish the data
+connection rather than the other way around.
+
+If the machine is connected to the Internet directly, both passive and
+active FTP should work equally well. Behind most firewall and NAT
+configurations passive FTP has a better chance of working. However,
+in some rare firewall configurations, active FTP actually works when
+passive FTP doesn't. If you suspect this to be the case, use this
+option, or set @code{passive_ftp=off} in your init file.
@cindex symbolic links, retrieving
@item --retr-symlinks
display properly---the same as @samp{-p}.
@item passive_ftp = on/off/always/never
-Set passive @sc{ftp}---the same as @samp{--passive-ftp}. Some scripts
-and @samp{.pm} (Perl module) files download files using @samp{wget
---passive-ftp}. If your firewall does not allow this, you can set
-@samp{passive_ftp = never} to override the command-line.
+Change setting of passive @sc{ftp}, equivalent to the
+@samp{--passive-ftp} option. Some scripts and @samp{.pm} (Perl
+module) files download files using @samp{wget --passive-ftp}. If your
+firewall does not allow this, you can set @samp{passive_ftp = never}
+to override the command-line.
@item passwd = @var{string}
Set your @sc{ftp} password to @var{password}. Without this setting, the