attachment - a file attached to an email
- most email clients allow the user to append files to an email as an easier way of
transmitting information to others across the Internet.
ASCII -stands for American Standard Code
for Information Interchange, a file type that contains standard text characters as data.
Active X - A software technology
developed by Microsoft that allows programmed capabilities or content to be delivered to
Windows-based personal computers via the World Wide Web.
address - There are three types of
addresses in common use on the Internet: email addresses, IP addresses, and Uniform
Resource Locators. See also email address, IP address, Uniform Resource Locator.
AFK - Abbreviation for Away From
Keyboard.
applet - A Java program which is
designed to run only on a web page. To use an applet on a web page, you would specify the
name of the applet and the size (length and width--in pixels) that the applet can utilize.
When the web page is accessed, the browser downloads the applet from a server and runs it
on the user's machine (the client). Applets differ from applications in that they are
governed by a strict security protocol. See also Java.
AUP - Acceptable Use Policy.
bandwidth - refers
to a network connection's maximum capacity for carrying data traffic
barfmail - Repeated bounce messages,
usually due to mail server or gateway errors, which cause significant annoyance.
baud - measurement of modem speed - one
baud = one signal per second.
BBS - Bulletin Board System, a local
computer system which, traditionally, was a dial-up only system, allowing users to dial-in
and chat with others and download or upload files.
binary - a file type in the form of pure
data - not text - that needs to be converted to image, sound or application
BinHex - a Macintosh file format for
converting binary files into ASCII for emailing
bit - A binary unit
bmp - a bitmapped graphics file
bps - bits per second - measurement of
data transfer sped on a modem, for higher speeds also expressed as Kbps (Kilobits per
second)
broadband - a network with high
bandwidth (greater than 256Kbps)
CGI - Common Gateway Interface. A
standard used by programmers that allows their programs to interact with the World Wide
Web. CGI scripts can be written in many computer languages, but Perl and C are the most
common.
chat - A form of interactive online
communication that enables typed conversations to occur in real-time. When participating
in a chat discussion, your messages are instantaneously relayed to other members in the
chat room while other members' messages are instantaneously relayed to you.
client - in computer context, means an
individual's computer and the software it uses to get information from a server computer
compression - "squeezing" a
file down in size by replacing commonly occurring characters with a single bit, useful for
faster transfer of files and / or storage.
daemon - In the UNIX operating system, a
background process that lies dormant waiting to perform some useful task. The sendmail
daemon, for example, continually runs but becomes active only when email is sent or
received.
domain - the hierarchy in which a
particular machine is placed.
domain name server (DNS) - the computer
that actually "remembers" all the names of other machines and their IP
addresses. It remembers these as numbers, so...
domain name system - the system of
converting IP addresses to names and back again
download - the act of retrieving
information or files from one computer and bringing it back to your own.
emoticons - A cute sideways face created
by using special characters on the keyboard.
| Smiley :-) |
Pirate <P-) |
Wink ;) |
| Smiley with Shades B-) |
Smiley with a hat <:-) |
encryption - the encoding
of data, so that it can only be read by the people it's intended for.
FAQ - Stands for "Frequently
Asked Questions." Files of these are kept on many newsgroups and web sites so
that newbies don't pester everyone by asking the same questions all the time. The problem
is that newbies never read FAQs in the first place.
firewall - a security program that is
designed to keep unauthorized people away from sensitive information
flame - a message designed to
"burn" the addressee. usually rudely and in public. When the addressee responds
in kind and the whole thing escalates, it's called a "flame war". Not an
uncommon thing on newsgroups.
FTP - File Transfer Protocol, a
system for moving files across networks
gateway - a machine which is connected
to two networks at the same time and acts as a transfer point
GIF - Graphics
Interchange Format, a file type for storing and exchanging pictures.
Gopher - a system of information
retrieval that "digs" down through layers of menus to reach what you actually
want.
hardwired - A function or capability
that is hardcoded into a system. Generally, anything that can not be modified or
customized.
header - the top part of an email or
newsgroup message that shows where the message came from and when it was posted
host - your ISP's computer that you
connect to for accessing the Net
HTML - stands for Hyper Text Markup
Language, a set of tags that makes the World Wide Web possible. To view a web page's
HTML code, click View Source on your browser to see how the page was done.
HTTP - stands for Hyper Text
Transport Protocol - the retrieval system for other Hyper Text
hyperlink - a click-sensitive spot on a
Web pages that is linked to another spot on the same page, a different page or even a
different site altogether
hypertext - text that is colored
differently from the body text on a Web page so you know that clicking there will produce
a result like jumping to another page
imagemap - a "clickable
graphic" that performs different actions depending on where in the graphic you click
IP - stands for Internet Protocol,
the main Net protocol
ISP - stands for Internet Service
Provider
JPEG - stands for Joint Photographic
Experts Group, also refers to the graphics file format named after the group. The
image quality of a JPEG can vary with the degree of compression used. It is possible to
reduce a picture file to a twentieth of its original size. The counterpart for movies is
called MPEG
LAN - stands for Local Area Network,
where two or more computers are connected by cables
lurking - watching IRC or newsgroup
discussions without actively participating
mailing list - a list of subscribers to
a particular discussion group. This method is also used to distribute eZines (electronic
magazines)
MIME - stands for Multi-purpose
Internet Mail Extensions, which is a newish net standard for moving sound and
pictures around by email.
mirror site - an Internet site that
contains exactly the same information as another site elsewhere in the world. This is done
to spread the load on popular sites.
moderator - person who ensures that all
contributions to a newsgroup are suitable before posting them where everyone can see them
NNTP - stands for Net News Transport
Protocol, a transmission standard for Usenet news
ping - pinging is when you send a data
packet from your computer to a site or other user to test the connection's performance. If
the other site is down, the ping fails and if the site is up, the packet bounces back
("pongs")
port - specific channel used by a
network service. Example: gopher often uses port 70, while some Web sites use port 80.
PPP - stands for Point to Point
Protocol, which is a direct connection from your computer to the Net, via modem and
phone line
root directory - the "top"
directory of a collection of files/ folders
search
engine - a program that searches indexes of addresses using keywords to find
what you're looking for.
server - any computer that stores
information and allows outside users to get copies of that info.
SLIP - stands for Serial Line
Internet Protocol, which is a dial-up connection to the Net, an older system than PPP
SMTP - stands for Simple Mail
Transport Protocol, the transfer method for email on the Net
TCP/IP - pronounced
"tee-see-pip", stands for Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol,
used in combination it's the networking method used by computers to talk to each other
over the Net
Telnet - type of program that lets your
computer act like it's part of a different computer so you can log in and do stuff
URL - stands for Uniform Resource
Locator - which is the address system used on the World Wide Web.
Usenet - the vast collection of
discussion groups and newsgroups on the Internet.
WAN - stands for Wide Area Network,
a group of machines located at (great) distance from each other but connected via
dedicated lines
.zip - files can be compressed into ZIP
format, which require them to be unzipped with PKUNZIP before installing
Other Resources
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