address

Address is the term used to refer to the physical location of any piece of information and the computer on which that information resides on the Internet. Addresses are also used to define where electronic Internet mail is sent to and from.

browser

A computer program, or piece of software, used to access information on the Internet and display it on your computer. A Web browser is capable of interpreting Web pages prepared using html. Netscape Navigator and NCSA Mosaic are Web browsers.

cyber

A prefix that is often attached to words to make them 'computerish'. For example, some people use the term 'cyberpal' to refer to friends they've made over the Internet. 'Cyberspace' (see below) is another frequently used term.

cyberspace

A vague term intended to evoke the idea of an electronically-travelled space or environment. Recently coined by William Gibson, author of Neuromancer and Johnny Mnemonic.

directory

The way of naming the place where computer files are stored on disks. Directories are like file folders and are used to make access to files easy. There are several Internet search tools which search through the directories of Internet sites for the keyword, topic, or area of interest of your choice. Some examples are Open Text, Yahoo, WebCrawler, Lycos.

domain name

The equivalent name, as displayed to you in letters, of the numeric address of computers you connect to on the Internet.

download

The action of transferring information from a (usually larger) computer to your own computer.

e-mail

Electronic mail. Messages of text (although pictures and other computer files may be attached) sent from one user to one or more others.

emotive

A facial or otherwise physical gesture usually communicated within an e-mail message using typed characters on a keyboard. See also smiley.

encryption

A method of keeping information sent over the Internet private and secure by scrambling it, rendering it unreadable until it is unscrambled using the same method. Some Web browsers, like Netscape Navigator, are capable of this.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Question. You will see this abbreviation used throughout the Internet to refer to common questions and their answers.

FTP

File Transfer Protocol. A standard used to transfer files between computers over the Internet. Some sites are called FTP sites because they contain files which are primarily available for downloading files to your computer.

Gopher

A navigation service named after the University of Minnesota's sports teams. Gopher software enables you to search for, retrieve, and view various types of information from Gopher servers on the Internet. Gopher servers store mainly text-based documents locally as well as maintaining links to related sources of information at other sites.

graphic

Any non-moving image viewed on your computer screen which is not text. Includes photographs, drawings, icons and other artistic renditions.

home page

Also referred to as 'home'. On the World Wide Web, the home page is the top-level document on a specific Web site, from which you connect to other documents or pages. When you click on the 'home' key on your toolbar, Netscape Navigator displays the pre-set home page.

html

HyperText Markup Language. The language used to define and describe the way information is arranged and displayed on Web pages by inserting 'tags' in a text file for interpretation by a Web browser.

http

HyperText Transfer Protocol. The protocol used for accessing documents on the Web. A common prefix to URLs.

hyperlink

A reference from a point in one hypertext document to another document or another place in the same document. A browser (like Netscape Navigator) usually displays a hyperlink in some distinguishing way (e.g., in a different colour, font or style). Both text and images can be hyperlinked. When you point to hyperlinked test of images with your mouse, the mouse pointer turns into a hand and the browser displays the address of the link in the lower left-hand corner. When you click on the link, your browser takes you there.

hypermedia

An extension of hypertext which enables the delivery of graphics, sound and video to your computer.

hypertext

A term created around 1965 meaning a collection of documents containing cross-references or 'links' which, with the aid of an interactive browser program, allow the reader to move easily from one document to another.

kbps

Kilobits per second. A measurement of the transfer of data over a phone line, typically by a modem.

login

A process by which you identify yourself to your computer or to another server so that you can access files, programs or networks which are set up for your use. A login process usually asks you for a user name and a password.

modem

An electronic device that converts data from a computer into an audio signal (digital to analog) suitable for transmission over telephone lines (by MOdulating), and vice versa (by DEModulating).

Mosaic

Created by the NCSA (National Centre for Supercomputing Applications in the USA), the first program to provide a graphical interface to the Internet's resources (formerly mostly limited to FTP and Gopher) at a time when access to the Internet was expanding rapidly outside its previous domain of academia, government, and large industrial research institutions.

netiquette

The conventions of politeness recognized for and expected by Internet users. Refers primarily to situations where Internet users have occasion to interact in an online context. See http://www.fau.edu/rinaldi/net/index.htm, http://www.netscape.com/eng/mozilla/1.1/news/news2.html#netiquette, and http://www.organic.com/1800collect/Netiquette/index.html for suggestions of acceptable behaviour.

Netscape

Netscape Navigator is a Web browser created by Netscape Communication Corporation. Netscape has its roots in another Web browser, Mosaic, which was created by the National Centre for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) in the USA.

netspert

Someone who's an expert at using the Internet.

network

Any collection of two or more computers connected together for the purpose of sharing information and resources.

newbie

A term used (sometimes affectionately, sometimes not) by long-time Internet users for a new Internet user.

newsgroup

The division of the Usenet component of the Internet into discussion topics. Used to share opinions on specific topics of interest, participants 'post' queries and replies to newsgroups, much like leaving messages on a bulletin board. Newsgroups can be 'unmoderated' (anyone can post) or 'moderated' (submissions are automatically directed to a moderator, who edits or filters and then posts the results).

page

Each screen of information you get from the Internet is called a page. You may have to scroll in your browser window to view all the contents of a page. See also web page and home page.

search engine

A computer program used to search directories on the Internet and return the location (address) to you. Popular search engine programs include Yahoo, WebCrawler, Lycos, Open Text.

search tool

A helper component of a Web page which enables the user to search a Web page by keywords. Some search tools search directories on the Internet.

server

A computer on the Internet containing content. There are three types of sites that reside on a server: Web sites, Gopher Sites, and FTP sites. A site resides on an Internet computer called a server. A site is identified to Internet users by its address.

site

The location or place (a computer or server) where a Web page or newsgroup resides on the Internet. A site is known to Internet users by means of its address.

smiley

A smiley is 3 or 4 typed characters which resemble a face turned sideways displaying a mood, e.g., :-) Also called emotives. For a comprehensive listing of different smilies and their meanings, see gopher://vega.lib.ncsu.edu:70/00/library/reference/dictionaries/smilies

subscribe

The action of adding a newsgroup name to your 'regular' newsgroup list. With over 12,000 newsgroups available on the Internet, subscribing to the ones of interest to you makes your regular list manageable.

telnet

The action of connecting your computer to another over the Internet for the purpose of issuing commands to the remote computer. When you telnet to another computer, your computer acts as a remote terminal on the computer to which you are connected.

thread

The collection of replies to an initial posting to a newsgroup, including the initial posting.

traffic

Users accessing Web pages or Internet sites constitute traffic. Large numbers of users accessing the same sites at the same time can cause a 'traffic jam', resulting in slow transfer of text and images.

upload

The action of transferring information from your computer to another (usually larger, like a server) computer.

URL

Uniform Resource Locator. A URL is a way to spell out the address of a site where information can be accessed, e.g., http://www.internorth.com. This is not the same as an e-mail address.

Usenet

The collection of a wide variety of online discussions organized into subject categories. Like a series of electronic bulletin boards where each topic is called a newsgroup, the Usenet has been around for 15 years and is one of the most active parts of the Internet.

Web page

A document composed and 'published' (made available) on the World Wide Web in a format readable by a Web browser. Web pages use hyperlinks, and are characterized by their ability to include text, pictures (moving and still) and sound. See also page.

World Wide Web

Commonly refered to as the Web.

See these Web sites for further glossary information:

http://www.matisse.net/files/glossary.html
(Glossary of Internet terms by internet literary Consultants)

http://www.pi.cnr.it/ODI/Glossario/glhpage.html
(Internet Data and Communications Terms)

http://www.murfield.com/terms.html
(Cutting Edge Distribution Internet Terms)