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ASCII (American
Standard Code for Information Interchange): A basic text
format which can be read by most computers.
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Autoresponder:
A device that sends an automatic e-mail message in
response to an incoming e-mail message.
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Bandwidth: The
capacity of a network to transfer data.
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Banner: A
static or animated graphic which is usually linked
to a web page.
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Baud rate: The
speed at which signals are sent by modem.
-
Browser (or web
browser): A program that interacts with web servers,
enabling users to view web pages.
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Carrier signals:
The high-pitched squeaks that accompany connections between
modems.
-
Chat room: A
web site incorporating interactive elements which
allow visitors to interact with each other in real-time.
-
Cracker: A
malicious hacker who breaks into a computer system
with the intention of stealing or altering files or disrupting the
way the system functions.
-
Dial-up access:
Accessing the Internet or making other computer
connections over telephone lines.
-
Directory: A
database of web pages listed by category.
Directories -- unlike search engines -- don't use
indexing software (spiders), so URL's
must be submitted in order to be indexed.
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Domain: A
domain is a web site with its own unique
domain name.
-
Domain name:
The address (in words) of an IP number on the
Internet.
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Download:
Retrieve files from a computer.
-
Downtime: A
period during which Internet connectivity cannot be
established with a server (or with any web
site hosted on the server).
-
E-mail (or email):
"Electronic mail" consisting of messages sent and/or received
electronically.
-
E-mail address:
An online location where e-mail messages are stored on a
server until they are picked up by the recipient. An
e-mail address consists of a "userid" and a
domain name separated by the "@" sign. Example:
janedoe@yahoo.com.
-
Finger: A
program that provides information about users on a system.
-
Flame: An
angry, often abusive attack delivered via e-mail
that is usually directed against spammers.
-
FTP (File Transfer
Protocol): A standard used to transfer files from one computer
to another.
-
Freeware: Free
software, often available in downloadable files over the
Internet.
-
GIF (Graphic
Interchange Format): A common type of file format for images.
-
Graphic: An
image on a web page.
-
GUI (Graphical User
Interface): Point-and-click capability (as opposed to
command-line interface requiring typed instructions).
-
Hacker: A
person who enjoys working with computers, programs, systems,
networks, etc. Hackers are often very proficient at retrieving
lost files, improving a system's performance, and even gaining
unauthorized entrance into secure systems (although most hackers
don't use their skills for abusive or illegal purposes).
-
Handshake: The
squawking sounds (carrier signals) that
modems make when they are communicating with each other to
determine a protocol for exchanging information.
-
Hit counter (or
counter): A device that records the number of times a
web page or file is accessed.
-
Home page: The
main page or main menu of a
web site. The most common point of entry into
a web site.
-
Hotlink: A
hyperlink on an image that links it to another
document. Example: Hotlinks are applied to most
banners, providing a link from the banner to a web
page.
-
HTML (Hyper Text
Mark-up Language): The standard format for documents on the
World Wide Web.
-
Hyperlink: A
word (or words) in hypertext that provides a
connection to another document, or to a different area of the same
document. Also a hotlink that connects an
image with another document.
-
Hypertext:
Highlighted words (text links) that connect to
other areas on a web page, other pages in a
web site, or other web sites on the Internet.
-
Internet: A
world wide network that makes it possible for computers to
communicate with other computers all over the world.
-
Internet relay chat
(IRC): see chat room.
-
InterNic: An
organization through which domain names can be
registered and/or reserved.
-
Invisible keywords:
Keywords that are the same color as the background to keep
them from being visible on a web page. Using
invisible keywords is a form of keyword spamming.
-
IP number: A
unique number that identifies a domain.
-
ISP (Internet
Service Provider): A company that provides access to the
Internet.
-
Jpeg (pronounced
"jay-peg"): Compressed format for an image file.
-
Keyword: A
word used in search engines and directories
to define search parameters.
-
Keyword spamming:
The mindless repetition of a keyword in tiny
letters (or the use of "invisible keywords") on a
web page to manipulate search engine
positioning. Note: Most search engines and
directories penalize keyword spammers with
a lower placement or with removal from their databases.
-
Listserver (also
mail list server or majordomo): A device that
sends an automatic e-mail message to a list.
-
Main page: see
home page.
-
Main menu: The
home page of a web site (usually a
domain) containing several separate web
pages or web sites, each of which is usually linked from
the main menu.
-
Majordomo: see
listserver.
-
META tags:
Hidden commands inserted into the HTML code on a
web page. Examples include META
keyword tags, META description tags, and META title tags.
-
Modem: A
device that connects a computer to a phone line and allows computers
to communicate.
-
Netiquette:
Internet rules of etiquette.
-
Netpreneur: An
Internet entrepreneur.
-
Newbie: A
newcomer to the Internet.
-
Newsgroup reader:
A software program that is needed to read newsgroups.
-
Newsgroups:
Discussion forums that are arranged by subject.
-
Newsreader:
see newsgroup reader.
-
PPP (Point-to-Point
Protocol): An alternative way to connect to the
Internet or to another computer (as opposed to
dial-up access).
-
Real-time: The
Internet equivalent of a "live" broadcast, which
allows participants to engage in a conversation on a
subject-oriented channel.
-
Reciprocal linking:
A common online marketing technique involving the exchange of links
between two or more web sites.
-
Search engine:
A database of web pages. Most search engines
use indexing software (spiders) to explore the web,
"crawling" from link to link and indexing web pages as they go.
-
Server: A
computer capable of hosting web sites and
domains, and of performing complex tasks for other
computers, called "clients."
-
Shareware:
Free software for which some form of voluntary payment -- not
necessarily in the form of money -- is usually requested.
-
Signature file:
A file added to the end of outgoing e-mail messages
that contains the sender's contact information.
-
Site map: A
web page that provides links to other areas on a
web site. Site maps are usually used to
facilitate navigating a web site.
-
SLIP (Serial Line
Internet Protocol): An alternative way to connect to the
Internet or to another computer (as opposed to the
more common dial-up access).
-
Snail mail:
Printed matter sent via the U.S. Postal Service.
-
Spam:
Unsolicited e-mail or inappropriate
newsgroup posting, including posting ads to newsgroups that
specifically prohibit advertising.
-
Spammer: A
person who uses spam.
-
Spider (or web
crawler): A "robot" used by some search engines
to "spider" a web site (to "crawl" from link to
link until it has accessed and indexed all or most of the pages on
the site).
-
Stationery file:
An e-mail template that can be used again and
again.
-
Surfer: One
who "surfs" the World Wide Web.
-
TCP/IP (Transmission
Control Protocol/Internet Protocol): Internet
connectivity, usually provided by the software supplied by an
ISP.
-
Text link: A
word (or a string of words) in hypertext that
connects one area of a web page with another area
or with another web page.
-
Thread:
A message posted to a newsgroup with a series of
replies.
-
Timeout: A
break in communication between two computers. This usually
occurs when one computer takes too long to respond to another
computer's signals.
-
Traffic:
Usually refers to the number of visitors to a web page.
-
Upload:
Transferring a file from a local computer to a remote computer.
-
Uptime:
Usually stated in terms of a percentage, "uptime" most often refers
to the time Internet connectivity can be
established with a web site and/or a server.
-
URL (Uniform
Resource Locator): The unique Internet
address assigned to every web page.
-
Usenet: A
collection of networks and computer systems arranged by subject
matter into newsgroups, each of which can exchange
messages with the others.
-
Userid: A
unique name given to a user on a system. An example of a
userid is the first part of an e-mail address,
which distinguishes the user from all other users on the system.
-
Web crawler (or
webcrawler): see spider.
-
Web page: A
document on the Internet with a unique URL
(Internet address).
-
Web page editor:
A program that allows users to create web pages,
usually with little or no knowledge of HTML.
-
Web ring (or webring):
Consists of a "ring" of member sites about a specific subject.
Each member site displays a logo on the bottom of its main
page that provides a link to the next member site in the
ring.
-
Web site (or
website): A little piece of cyberspace consisting of one or
more web pages.
-
Web site host:
A server that hosts web sites
and/or domains.
-
World Wide Web (or
WWW): An Internet application based on
hypertext which allows users to move from one document to another
via links.
Glossary
of Internet Terms
