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Want to know what all your techie co-workers and friends are talking about! Here's a list of common Internet terms.
Have Fun!!
- Address
- In the Internet world, address refers to the name of a site or individual user's e-mail address, such as dsmo.com (site) or So_And_So@dsmo.com (user e-mail address).
- BBS
- A bulletin board system lets you post messages - and sometimes program and text files - for other members to see. Many BBSes also give you an e-mail account and access to the Internet. There are tens of thousands of BBSes; most are operated by special-interest groups, while others are maintained by schools, research institutions and government agencies.
- Bookmark
- A bookmark is considered by some to be the best thing about surfing the Web. By "bookmarking" a Web site while you visit it, you can easily return to it at a later time with a simple mouse click rather than remembering or typing in very long and sometimes cryptic URLs. The World Wide Web can be seen as a HUGE library of information. Finding your way around can be confusing at first. Bookmarks are just one way of personalizing the Web experience, by enabling you to quickly return to areas of the Web which interest you. Customarily Web sites have a "links" section, which is really just a collection of bookmarks and are sometimes called hot lists.
- Bounced
- When an e-mail message is returned to sender due to a failure to deliver, the message has been "bounced".
- Browser
- A program used to view, download, upload, surf or otherwise access documents (pages) on the World Wide Web. Browsers can be text-based meaning they do not show graphics or images but most however are text and graphical based.
Browsers read "marked up" or coded pages (usually HTML but not always) that reside on servers and interpret the coding into what we see "rendered" as a Web page. Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer are examples of Web browsers. The program you are using right now to view this information is called a browser.
- BTW
- BTW is an abbreviation used in e-mail messages. It stands for "by the way."
- Cache
- Caches come in many types, but it all works the same way: it stores information where you can get to it fast. A Web browser cache stores the HTML page’s code as well as any graphics, and multimedia elements embedded in it, that way, when you go back to the page, everything doesn’t have to be downloaded all over again. Since hard disk access is much faster than Internet access, this speeds things up. Hard disk access however is slower than RAM, which is why there is disk caching, which stores information you might need from your hard disk.
- CD-ROM
- Compact Disc - Read Only Memory
An optical storage technology that uses compact discs to store and play back data. CD-ROM technology was originally used for encyclopedias, dictionaries, and software libraries, but now they are often used in multimedia applications. One CD-ROM can hold about 600 megabytes, or the equivalent of 700 floppy disks CD-ROMs have become a favorite medium for installing programs, since they cost only slightly more to manufacture than floppy disks, and most major software applications come on at least five floppies. Don’t sound hopelessly out of touch with technology: use the term CD-ROM to refer to the technology or the discs, but not to the hardware you play the discs on. That’s a CD-ROM drive.
- Compression
- The process of making computer data smaller so less is needed to represent the same information and, consequently, the information takes up less disk or file space and may be transmitted in less time.
- Domain
- Domain names are used in Internet addresses and they usually denote the activity of the holder of a particular name. For example, .com is for commercial users, .edu is educational, .gov is government, etc.
- E-mail or Email
- An e-mail message looks a bit like a business memo - it has a header that lists the sender's name, the date and time sent, and subject.
E-mail is quite simply, electronically transmitted mail on your computer. As opposed to "snail mail," e-mail sends your messages instantaneously anywhere in the world. It is the most popular use of the Internet because of the capability to send messages at anytime, to anyone for less money than it would cost to mail a letter or call someone on the telephone.
Linked by high speed data connections that create a global network, e-mail lets you compose messages and transmit them in seconds to one or more recipients across the office, the street or the country. Some of the more popular e-mail programs are Eudora and Hotmail, as well as those provided with your ISP. All you need is an e-mail account a computer and a program to get started.
- FAQ
- Pronounced fak, this term is short for "frequently asked questions."
- Flame
- A flame is a violent attack against another user, disagreeing with a message he/she previously posted. Flames usually occur on newsgroups or a discussion lists.
- Freeware
- Software that doesn't cost anything.
- FTP
- FTP is also referred to as "anonymous FTP", and stands for File Transfer Protocol. It is used to transfer files from one computer to another. On many remote computers, areas are set aside for public access to users without accounts in order to make documents publicly accessible. It is from this public use where "anonymous FTP" was coined. Usually, after making a connection to a remote terminal, one logs in as "anonymous", and provides their Internet e-mail address as a password.
- GIF89a/GIF animation
- Animated GIF or Multi Block GIF
A type of GIF format which allows a series of images to be displayed one after another or on top of each other. Since its implementation in Netscape Navigator 2.0, GIF animation has been one of the best and easiest ways to put animation and movement on Web pages. Animated GIFs have been around since the introduction of the GIF89a format in 1989. The reason animated GIFs didn't appear on the Web at that time is that Netscape Navigator or any other Web browsers around at that time didn't support GIF89a's animation features.
- Gopher
- Gopher provides access to Internet resources through a series of hierarchical menus. After making a menu selection, gopher will retrieve and display the desired item. It may be a text file house on that or another computer, or another menu option on a different computer.
- Hang
- When a modem fails to hang up.
- Home page
- Think of this as a Web site's title page - it typically describes the individual or institution operating the site. In most cases, home pages include hypertext links to other areas of the site and often to related information at other Web sites.
- Host
- A computer that allows users to communicate other computers on a network.
- HTML
- HyperText Markup Language, the standard language in which documents for the World Wide Web are written
- HTTP
- HyperText Transfer Protocol is a standard protocol used by the World Wide Web.
- Internet Protocol address
- A numeric address that is given to servers and users connected to the Internet. For servers it is translated into a domain name by a Domain Name Server aka the DNS. When you get "online" you are assigned an IP address by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). This IP address may be the same everytime you log on (this is called a static IP) or it can change and be assigned each time you connect based on what's available. Most Internet users prefer the static IP because this allows you to use software such as Internet Phone or CUSEEME more easily, which needs to know an IP address in order to connect to another user. If your IP is automatically assigned based on what's available then someone trying to "call" you with an Internet Phone program will not be able to connect unless you somehow identify what your current IP address is and transmit that information to them somehow, so they could then point to the current and correct address.
- IRC
- Internet Relay Chat, like the telephone party lines of yester-year, allows people anywhere on the Net to join in real-time discussions by typing messages on their screens. IRC is split into channels, like those on a CB radio; each has a different conversation.
- ISP
- Internet Service Provider
A company that provides access to the Internet. Before you can connect to the Internet you must first establish an account with an Internet Service Provider (ISP). ISP's have a wide range of prices and packages for users to choose from. There are accounts custom tailored for high level users and Web designers and accounts for the more moderate Internet user. The best thing to do when choosing an ISP is to be sure they have a local access number so you won't have to dial long distance to connect, also try to get an account that offers unlimited access as well as storage on the company's server to house your own Web site. You can learn more about choosing the right ISP for you by clicking on the more button below. The Internet Service Providers List - A searchable database of more than 2,600 (and growing) Internet Service Providers.
- Java
- Developed by Sun Microsystems, Java is a programming language that is specifically designed for writing programs that can be safely downloaded to your computer through the Internet and immediately run without fear of viruses or other harm to your computer or files. Using small Java programs (called "Applets"), Web pages can include functions such as animations, calculators, and other fancy tricks. Java is a simple, robust, object-oriented, platform-independent multi-threaded, dynamic general-purpose programming environment. It is best for creating applets and applications for the Internet, intranets and any other complex, distributed network.
- Javascript
- A scripting language for Web pages. Scripts written with JavaScript can be embedded into HTML documents. With JavaScript you have many possibilities for enhancing your Web page with interesting elements. It makes it easy to respond to user initiated events (such as form input). Some effects that are now possible with JavaScript were once only possible with CGI. Javascript gives a developer the ability to create really sophisticated Web pages. Some computer languages are compiled, which means that you run your program through a compiler, and it performs a one-time translation of the human-readable program into a binary that the computer can execute. JavaScript is an interpreted language, which means that the computer must evaluate the program each time it is run. Java and JavaScript are not the same thing. JavaScript was designed to resemble Java, which in turn looks a lot like C and C++. The difference is that Java was built as a general purpose object language, while JavaScript is intended to provide a quicker and simpler language for enhancing Web pages and servers.
- Listserv
- A listserv is an automated mailing list distribution system.
- Nav bar
- navigation bar
The set of directional tools you are presented with on a Web site. The options listed and hyperlinked on a web page - usually determined by the names of the sections of a Web site. Inherent to the name "Web" almost all web pages are "linked" in numerous places to numerous other pages. Nav bars are supposed to help in guiding a user through the tangled mess.
- Netiquette
- The etiquette of the Internet, which amounts to being courteous to fellow users. Netiquette generally applies to communications such as e-mail, discussion lists, or newsgroup discussion groups. Some examples of Netiquette are NOT TYPING MESSAGES IN ALL CAPS (considered shouting), or inserting "smileys" to denote that a comment was intended in a joking manner.
- Network
- A communications system that links two or more computers. It can be as simple as a cable strung between two computers a few feet apart or as complex as hundreds of thousands of computers around the world linked through fiber optic cables, phone lines and satellites.
- Newbie
- Newbie is slang for someone who is a new (and inexperienced) user on the Internet.
- Newsgroup
- A newsgroup is an Internet message and discussion area, usually defined by subject matter.
- Offline
- When your computer is not connected to a host system or the Net, you are offline.
- Online
- When your computer is connected to an online service, bulletin-board system or public-access site.
- Post
- The digital equivalent of putting a letter in a letterbox (just e-mail into an e-mail box).
- Shareware
- Software that is freely available on the Net. If you like and use the software, you should send in the fee requested by the author, whose name and address will be found in a file distributed with the software.
- Smiley
- A Smiley is a sideways happy face, made using text characters. It is generally used in e-mail to signify that the statement preceding it is a joke, or sarcasm, in an effort to prevent anyone from becoming offended. It is usually made with a colon, followed by a dash, and then a parentheses, e.g. :-) but there are endless variations.
- Snail mail
- Mail that comes through a slot in your front door or a box mounted outside your house.
- TCP/IP
- Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. The particular system for transferring information over a computer network that is at the heart of the Internet.
- Telnet
- Tenet is a way to connect to a remote computer. Once connecting to that computer, your PC becomes a terminal on the remote computer system. Commands for navigating in the remote computer vary from system to system - there is no standard.
- Thread
- A thread is a series of linked messages/postings to a message area, such as a newsgroup or discussion list.
- TIA
- TIA is an abbreviation used in e-mail. It stands for "thanks in advance."
- UNIX
- Unix is a system operating language (similar to DOS), used on the Internet. You will mainly run into Unix when retrieving a document using FTP, although some Telnet sites also use Unix. To see a list of Unix commands which are useful for retrieving a document through FTP, click here.
- Upload
- Copy a file from your computer to a host system.
- URL
- URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. This is the address used by the various systems in order to make connections to other systems. It always states the name of the protocol to be used, followed by two slashes and a colon. For example, to connect to a Web site, the URL would be: http://www.whatever.com. To connect to a Telnet site, the URL would be: telnet://whatever.com.
- User name
- On most host systems, the first time you connect you are asked to supply a one-word user name. This can be any combination of letters and numbers.
- World Wide Web (WWW)
- World Wide Web is a way of accessing Internet resources using hypertext. Links within documents can take users to other documents or computers. When using the World Wide Web, one can navigate through the Internet in a non-linear fashion.
This is not a complete and concise list of Internet/WWW terms. I suggested you look at the NetLingo site for any terms you did not find here.
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