A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

anonymous FTP
A special login used to access public FTP files. See FTP

archie
A play on archive, Archie is a distributed database of archive files.

B

bandwidth
A measurement of a network's transmission capacity or how much data a network can move in a given amount of time.

baud rate
The number of transitions per second made by a modem.

bits per second (a.k.a. bps)
Measure of data transmission for a modem or network. See buad rate.

bookmark
Allows the user to return to a particular site or entry by making a record of it. Used, for example, in Gopher and Netscape Web browsers.

BTW
Short for By the Way used in e-mail communication. See e-mail.

bulletin board system
A service dedicated to a specific topic where users post messages that are read by others. A computer or computers with dial-in modems that allow users to send e-mail, use news-groups, and possibly access the Net.

C

cheat
Instructions for winning a game.

client-server
Two computer systems linked by a network where the client computer uses resources via requests sent to the server computer.

D

demo
A short or incomplete version of a game distributed free as a sampler to entice players.

dial-up service
A common method of connecting to the Net where a modem calls a service provider.

dino
A veteran MUD player. See MUD.

domain name
The name of a computer on the Net in the form of a string of names separated by periods.

download
To transfer a file from a remote computer to the user's computer.

DNS
Short for Domain name System. A distributed client-server database system that takes domain names and returns IP adresses.

E

e-mail
Short for electronic mail. A memo sent to a person or group on the Net.

e-mail address
A user's electronic mailbox address, needed for identifying the sender of e-mail and the recipient.

F

FAQ
Short for Frequently Asked Questions. A document containing common questions and answers for a particular topic.

flame
A USENET news article, written as a personal attack on another Internet user. Flame wars occur when a sequence of flames are sent back and forth between two or more people.

finger
Net service that provides information aout the users on a particular computer.

freeware
Software that is available free for personal use.

FTP
Short for File Transfer Protocol. The Net service that is used to copy a file from one computer to another. The user may need a password and login name unless it's an anonymous site.

G

gateway
A computer system that connects two incompatible services such as a commercial online service and the Net.

GIF
Graphical Interchange Format is a commonly used graphics file format for image files on the Internet.

Gopher
A play on "go for." A menu-based browsing service on the Net. The user selects an item on the menu and is led to either a file or another menu.

H

home page
The main page of information for a user or organization on the World Wide Web (WWW).

Hot list
Similar to a bookmark in Gopher or Netscape, this list makes note of particular pages on the WWW that are accessed when using the Mosaic browser. See bookmark, Gopher, WWW, Mosaic.

HTML
Short for Hyper Text Markup Language. Used to specify the contents and format of a hypermedia document on the WWW. See WWW, hypermedia, hypertext.

HTTP
Short for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. See WWW, protocol, hypertext.

hypermedia
A systemfor storing information using embedded references to other pages, sounds, and graphics. Central to the WWW.

hypertext
The text-based version of hypermedia.

I

ID 10T
Identification code 10T (Ten-T) is used by technical support people to define special support problems, so the next technical support person can handle it correctly.

Internaut
Slang for someone who is an experienced Net user.

Internet
The worldwide, interconnected system of computer networks.

Internet address (a.k.a. IP address)
An assigned number unique to each computer on the Net which is used to identify it for data exchanges. See IP.

IP
Stands for Internet Protocol. A protocol that ensures data goes where it's sent on the TCP/IP network such as the Net.

IRC
Short for Internet Relay Chat. A Net service that features real-time communication on channels devoted to special interest groups.

J

K

L

LAN
Short for Local Area Network. Used to connect computers over a short distance such as within the same office.

LISTSERV
An e-mail list server. A computer program that maintains lists of e-mail addresses. See e-mail, mailing list.

login
The process during which a user enters an account name and password to access a time-sharing computer. See password.

LPMUD
A combat-oriented MUD named after originator Lars Penji. See MUD.

M

mailing list
An e-mail system that includes multiple recipients as part of its address. See e-mail.

Mosaic
A program originally developed by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications that provides the Net user with a point-and-click interface to WWW, Gopher, FTP, and other Net services. See WWW, Gopher, FTP.

MOO
An object-oriented MUD, often with an educational or academic orientation.

MUD
Stands for Multi-User Dungion or Dimension. A role-playing game program on the Net.

MUD God
The system administrator of a MUD.

MUSE or TinyMUSE
A social MUD that features combat and a class system.

MUSH or TinyMUSH
Stands for Multi-User Shared Hallucination. A social MUD and type of TinyMUD where players are allowed to build.

N

netiquette
Proper behavior for Net users.

newbie
Slang for someone who is new to the Net.

newsgroup
A Usenet discussion group that is related to one topic. Net users can subscribe to many different newsgroups.

 

Major newsgroup categories include:

alt:

"Alternative" discussions on a wide variety of topics (for example, alt.fan.jimmy-buffett).

comp:

Computer-related information and discussion (for example, comp.bugs.sys5).

misc:

"All other" category (for example, misc.health.diabetes).

news:

Issues concerning USENET

rec:

Recreational activities, such as golf, motorcycling, and movies (for example, rec.arts.startrek.tech).

sci:

Science news and information (for example, sci.space.news).

soc:

Topics of interest for students of sociology and psychology (for example, soc.college).

talk:

USENET's version of talk radio.

---

NetNews/USENET
Synonyms for an Internet network that lets users share information and opinions. USENET is a collection of hundreds of separate bulletin boards, called newsgroups. Users may read from or post articles to newsgroups.

O

P

password
Secret code needed to gain access to a time-sharing computer or FTP service, or to protect Web pages. See FTP.

patch
A program designed to fix a problem or bug in a computer game or program.

ping
Packet InterNet Groper is a program and UNIX command that is useful for testing and debugging network connections. An echo packet is sent to a specified host and then waits for a response. The result is a report that displays the success or failure of the intended action and statistics about its operation.

posting
Can refer to a message or article that appears on a newsgroup or the act of sending an electronic message to a newsgroup. See newsgroup.

PPP
Stands for Point to Point Protocol. A protocol used for sending information, usually through a modem connected tothe Net. PPP establishes a true IP network connection to the Net using modems. See TCP/IP.

protocol
The rules that govern the exchange of messages between computers.

Q

R

RTFM
Stands for Read The F***ing Manual. A common abbreviation used in e-mail and postings in response to obvious questions. See e-mail, posting.

S

search tool
A program, such as Gopher or Veronica, that allows a user to locate specific information. See Gopher and Veronica.

service provier
A company that provides access to the Net for a fee.

shareware
Copyrighted software that is available for personal use, usually for a small fee.

SLIP
Stands for Serial Line Internet Protocol. Like PPP, this is a protocol that is used with a modem to establish an IP connection to the Net. See PPP, TCP/IP.

snail mail
Slang for regular, paper mail.

T

TCP
Stands for Transmission Control Protocol. both the protocol and software that ensure that data sent over the Net arrive in the correct order.

TCP/IP
Short for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. A group of protocols that specify how computers communicate over the Net. All computers on the Net need TCP/IP software. See TCP and IP.

Telnet
A remote login service that enables the user to interact with a system at another site. See login.

U

Unix
A computer operating system developed by AT&T Bell Labs and used to develop the Net.

upload
Transferring a file from the user's computer to a remote computer.

URL
Short for Uniform Resource Locator. A string of characters used to identify a page of information on the WWW. Used by Mosaic and other browsing programs to locate the page. See WWW.

Usenet
A group of computers that exchange network news information.

uucp
Unix-to-Unix copy program refers to a class of signals and procedures that computers can use to exchange data.

uuencode/uudecode
UNIX commands that convert binary files in to and out of ASCII. These commands are used to transport binary data, such as Word documents, across systems that cannot handle binary files. The uudecode command is used, for example, if someone sends an RS-232 analyzer tool called ASYNC.COM that was created with the uuencode utility.

V

Veronica
An automated information search accessible through Gopher that locates a string within Gopher menus as specified by the user.

W

WAIS
Short for Wide Area Information Server. A Net search service that locates documents containing a key word or phrase.

walk-through
Step-by-Step instructions for a game.

WAN
Stands for Wide Area Network. A network that covers a large geographical distance.

whois
A Net database that lists information on a person or an organization.

wizard
A player who has won a MUD or has been appointed by the MUD God to help run the game.

WWW
Stands for World Wide Web. A very popular Net service that organizes information using hypermedia. The user can browse information by clicking on highlighted references. See browsing.

X

Y

Z

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