addressing: A method of identifying a resource
(such as a program) or piece of information (such as a file) on a network. Methods of
addressing vary considerably from network to network.
ADJ: The Boolean ADJACENT operator, used by
WAIS to indicate that the two terms on either side of an ADJ tag should sit next to each
other in found documents.
Adventure: One of the earliest text adventure
games written for computers. It is the forerunner of the popular Zork series from Infocom.
America Online: A popular commercial
information service with a graphical interface.
AND: The Boolean AND operator, used by WAIS to
indicate that found documents must contain both terms that appear in the question.
AOL: Shorthand for America
Online. Each letter is pronounced separately.
.ARC: An older DOS archiving format.
Archie: An invaluable Internet service that
maintains, and allows users to search, a large database of materials stored on anonymous
FTP sites.
archive site: A site that archives files for users
to retrieve, via either FTP or email.
ARPA: Advanced Research Projects
Agency. The governmental organization responsible for creating the beginnings of
the Internet.
ARPAnet: The proto-Internet network created by
ARPA.
ASCII: American Standard Code for
Information Interchange. In the context of a file, an ASCII file is one that contains only
"text" characters -- numbers, letters, and standard punctuation. Although ASCII text can
contain international characters available in Windows ("upper-ASCII"), these characters are
not commonly supported by Internet services such as email, Gopher, and FTP. In FTP, it's
a command that tells FTP that you will be transferring text files (which is the default).
atob (pronounced "a to b"): A Unix program that turns
ASCII files into binary files. The btoa program does the reverse.
attachments: Files that linked to a specific
email message, just as you might paperclip a clipping to a snail mail
letter.
bandwidth: Information theory used to express
the amount of information that can flow through a given point at any given time. Some points
have narrow bandwidth (indicating not much information can flow through at one time), and
others have high bandwidth (indicating a great deal of information can flow through at one
time). This term is commonly used in reference to "wasted bandwidth," indicating that some
(or most) of the information flowing by a point is of no use to a user. "Wasted bandwidth"
might include overloading a site's network connection (thus curtailing other users' use of the
lines) or including lengthy signature files in Usenet postings or discussion groups. "Wasted
bandwidth" is often relative: What one person views as wasteful might be essential to
someone else.
bang: The exclamation point! Used to separate
machine names in UUCP bang-style addressing, which isn't all that common anymore.
baud: A measure of modem speed equal to one
signal per second. 300 baud equals 300 bits per second (bps), but at higher speeds one
signal can contain more than one bit, so a 9,600 baud modem is not a 9,600 bps modem.
(The terms often are incorrectly used interchangeably). See also bps.
BBS: Bulletin Board System. A computer
system that provides its users files for downloading and areas for electronic discussions.
Bulletin board systems usually are run by and for local users, although many now provide
Internet, UUCP, or FidoNet mail.
Binary: In the context of a file, any file that contains
nontextual data. (Images and applications are examples of binary files.) In FTP, a command
that tells FTP to transfer information as an arbitrary stream of bits rather than as a series of
textual characters.
BinHex: The standard format used by Macintosh
computers for converting a binary file into an ASCII file that can pass through email
programs. (For those of you wondering how to pronounce it, "Bin" rhymes with "tin," and
"hex" rhymes with "sex," and the accent is on the first syllable.) See also uucode.
BITFTP: A program that provides email access to
FTP sites for BITNET users. See also mailserver.
BITNET: An academic large-scale computer
network, primarily connecting academic institutions. BITNET is often expanded as the
"Because It's Time" Network. A friend notes, "Actually, it seems that the definitive answer to
what the BIT stands for is 'It has varied, and depends on who you asked and when.'"
BIX: The online commercial information service called
the BYTE Information Exchange, although I have never heard anyone use the
full name in favor of BIX.
body: The part of an email message where you type
your message, as opposed to the header or the
signature.
BOOTP: Bootstrap Protocol. A
mechanism for a device to acquire its permanent IP address from a server. Originally
intended for diskless workstations that had no place to store an IP address, it is now more
common for IP address management. IP addresses can be maintained on a BOOTP
server.
bounce: What email does when it doesn't go
through.
bps: Bits per second. The measurement
of modem transmission speed. Not comparable to baud after 300 bps.
Brownian motion: With apologies to
Douglas Adams, the best example is indeed a really hot cup of tea. It has something to do
with internal movement within a hot liquid.
browser: A client program that enables one to
search, often somewhat randomly, through the information provided by a specific type of
server. Generally used in relation to the World Wide Web.
btoa (pronounced "b to a")[sp]A Unix program that turns binary files into
ASCII files for transmission via email. The atob program decodes such
files.
BTW Abbreviation for the expression "By the way."
Call For Votes: What you do after discussing
whether a new newsgroup should be created.
CEO: Chief Executive Officer. The head
honcho of a company, who has little time to learn computer systems. CEOs generally earn
a lot more money than you or I.
CERN: The birthplace of the World Wide
Web, although in real life the people at CERN do high-energy physics research.
Located in Geneva, Switzerland. CERN doesn't stand for anything any more, although it
once was an acronym for a French name.
channel: In IRC, an area that theoretically has a
specific discussion topic. See IRC.
charter: The document that lays out what topics a
newsgroup will cover, what its name will be, and other relevant details.
chat script: A simple conversation (you hope)
between your computer and your host machine that allows you to log in automatically. Chat
scripts usually involve a series of send and expect strings. Your host sends a login prompt;
your computer responds with your username. Your host sends a password prompt; your
computer responds with your password.
chiasmus: A term from classical rhetoric that
describes a situation in which you introduce subjects in the order A, B, C, and then talk
about them in the order C, B, A.
CIS: Stands for CompuServe Information
Service, or simply CompuServe. Wags often replace the S
with a $. See CompuServe.
ClariNet: An alternate hierarchy of newsgroups
that uses the same transmission routes as Usenet, but carries commercial information from
UPI and others. You, or your provider, must pay to read ClariNet news.
client: The program or computer that requests
information from a server computer or program. Used in terms of client/server computing.
See also server.
CMS: Short for Conversational Monitor
System. The part of the operating system on certain IBM mainframes with which you
interact. Not at all conversational.
command line: Where you type commands
to an operating system such as DOS or Unix. Command-line operating systems can be
powerful but are often a pain to work with, especially for those used to a window interface.
Compress: Generically, to make a file smaller
by removing redundant information. Specifically, the Unix compress program that does just
that. Files compressed with the Unix compress command end with a .Z
suffix (always a capital Z). Compressed files may be expanded with the Unix
command uncompress.
CompuServe: One of the oldest and largest
commercial online services. Sometimes abbreviated as CIS.
connect time: The amount of time you are
actually connected to and using a computer. Because connect or telephone charges are
based on this amount of time, you want to keep it as low as possible.
CREN: Corporation for Research and
Educational Networking.
cross-posted: What happens to a Usenet
posting when you put several newsgroup names in the Newsgroups line. More efficient than
posting multiple individual copies.
CSLIP: Compressed SLIP. A type of SLIP account
that uses compression to increase performance.
daemons: Small programs in Unix that run
frequently to see whether something has happened -- if so, they act as they were
programmed; if not, they go back to sleep.
DARPA: Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency. Replaced ARPA and had a more military bent. Has since been
renamed ARPA again. See also ARPA.
DEC: Digital Equipment Corporation.
Also known as Digital, this company produces the popular VAX line of
computers and the VMS operating system.
DHCP: Dynamic Host Configuration
Protocol. A mechanism for a device to acquire an IP address from a server. Like
BOOTP, it allows for central management of IP addresses. However, it
is far more flexible in that IP addresses are leased rather than owned. A device may get one
IP address in one session but a different IP address in another session.
dial up: To call another computer via modem. The
term is often lumped together as one word except when used as a verb.
dialup: A connection or line reached by modem, as
in "a dialup line."
digest: A single message that contains multiple
individual postings to a mailing list or newsgroup.
domain: A level of hierarchy in a machine's full
nodename. For instance, tidbits.com is in the com
domain, as are many other machines.
domain name server: A computer that
keeps track of names of other machines and their numeric IP addresses. When you refer to
a machine by name, your domain name server translates that information appropriately into
the numeric IP address necessary to make the connection.
domain name system: The system
that makes it possible for you to think in terms of names such as
penguin.tidbits.com, whereas computers think in terms of
204.57.157.10.
DOS: The ubiquitous operating system that is
frequently enhanced by Microsoft Windows. Currently at release 6.22.
download: To retrieve a file from another
machine, usually a host machine, to your machine.
downstream: Usenet neighbors that are
downstream from you get most of their news from your machine, in contrast to machines
that are upstream from you.
80x86: The class of processors brought to you by
Intel Corporation. These chips are the heart and soul of DOS and Windows. Frequently, the
initial 80 is dropped in casual conversation: "My 486 sports more megahertz than yours."
electronic mail or email:
Messages that travel through the networks rather than being committed to paper and
making the arduous journey through the U.S. Postal Service.
emoticons: A rather silly name for
smileys.
Ethernet: A network specification developed by
DEC, Intel, and Xerox which provides 10 megabits per second transmission speeds
(theoretically). Think of this as 1,000 times faster than a 9,600 baud modem. Most PCs can
use Ethernet by adding an Ethernet expansion card.
expire: After a certain amount of time, Usenet
postings can be set to expire, which means that they will be deleted even if they haven't
been read, so that they don't waste space.
FAQ: Frequently Asked Question. Lists
of commonly asked questions and their answers, often posted in newsgroups to reduce the
number of novice questions. Read a FAQ list before asking a question, to make sure yours
isn't a frequently asked one.
Fax: Slang for facsimile. A technology that
takes paper from the sender and produces more paper that looks just like it at the
recipient's end. You can use fax modems to eliminate the paper step at one end or both, but
they may be less reliable than stand-alone fax machines. Email is cleaner, often cheaper,
and more environmentally friendly, and the results are more useful in other programs.
However, you can't easily send signatures or existing paper documents via email.
Federal Express: A company that can
transport paper mail overnight for a hefty sum of money. Email is far faster and cheaper.
feed: Shorthand for a connection to another machine
that sends you mail and news. I might say, "I have a mail feed from Ed's machine."
Fidonet: A network of cooperating bulletin board
systems that has some links to the Internet.
filename extension: A three-letter
(usually) code at the end of a filename that indicates file type. Common extensions include
.txt for text files, .exe for application files, and
.ini for initialization files.
fileserver or file server: A
machine that provides files via a network. Perhaps because of time spent working on
BITNET, I tend to use it as a synonym for mailserver, or a machine that
returns files that are requested via email.
file site: Another name for archive site or FTP site.
A computer on which files are stored for anyone on the Internet to retrieve.
Finger: A Unix program that helps you find out
information about someone else on the Internet.
firewall: A term for any device that would prevent
undesirables on the global Internet from getting at your or your company's network. It also
often prevents or controls users from getting out to the Internet from your local network.
flame war: A conflagration in which lots of people
jump in on different sides of an argument and start insulting each other. Fun to watch
briefly, but a major waste of bandwidth.
flaming: The act of calling into question someone's
thoughts, beliefs, and parentage simply because you don't agree with them. Don't do it.
followup: An article on Usenet posted in reply to
another article. The subject should stay the same so that readers can tell the two articles
are related.
forms: In the World Wide Web, online electronic
forms that you can fill in if you have a forms-capable Web browser such as Netscape
Navigator 1.0 or NCSA Mosaic 2.0.
Freenet: An organization whose goal it is to
provide free Internet access in a specific area, often by working with local schools and
libraries. Ask around to see if a Freenet has sprung up in your area. The first and
preeminent example is the Cleveland Freenet. Freenet also refers to the specific Freenet
software, and the information services that use it.
freeware: Software that you can distribute freely
and use for free, but for which the author often retains the copyright, which means that you
can't modify it.
FTP: File Transfer Protocol. One of the
main ways in which you retrieve, umm, well, files from other machines on the Internet.
FTPmail: A method of retrieving files stored on
FTP sites via email.
FYI: Abbreviation for the expression "For your
information."
gateway: A machine that exists on two networks,
such as the Internet and BITNET, and that can transfer mail between them.
GIF: Graphics Interchange Format. A
platform-independent file format developed by CompuServe, the GIF format is commonly
used to distribute graphics on the Internet. Mighty battles have been waged over the
pronunciation of this term, and although Robin Williams notes that it's pronounced "jiff" in
her book Jargon, both of my glossary proofreaders flagged it as being
pronounced with a hard g, as in "graphics." I surrender; pronounce it as you
like.
.gif: The filename extension generally given to GIF
files.
GNU: With apologies for the circular reference, GNU
stands for GNU's Not Unix. Developed by Richard Stallman and the Free
Software Foundation, GNU is (or will be, when finished) a high-quality version of the Unix
operating system that is free of charge and freely modifiable by its users. GNU software is
distributed at no cost with source code. Many GNU applications and utilities are mainstays
of the Unix community.
Gopher: An information retrieval system created by
the University of Minnesota. In wide acceptance on the Internet, Gopher is one of the most
useful resources available.
Gopherspace: The collection of all available
Gopher servers.
.gz: An extension used by GNU's version of
ZIP, called gzip.
header: The part of an email message or Usenet
posting that contains information about the message, such as who it's from, when it was
sent, and so on. Headers are mainly interesting when something doesn't work.
home page: In the World Wide Web, the
document that you access first after launching a Web browser.
host: The computer you connect to for your Internet
access.
HTML: HyperText Markup Language.
The language used to mark up text files with styles and links for use with World Wide Web
browsers.
HTTP: HyperText Transport Protocol.
The protocol used by the World Wide Web.
hypertext: A term created by visionary Ted
Nelson to describe nonlinear writing in which you follow associative paths through a world
of textual documents.
HYTELNET: Stands for
HyperTelnet. Essentially a database of Telnet sites and other Internet
resources that can link to other programs when you want to connect to a site you've found.
Interesting, but not as useful as Gopher.
IAB: See Internet Architecture
Board.
IBM: International Business Machines.
IBM remains one of the most powerful companies in the computer industry despite
numerous problems in recent years. Developer of numerous mainframes and operating
systems, many of which are still in use today. Codeveloped OS/2 with Microsoft (which has
since bowed out to concentrate on Windows NT).
IETF: See Internet Engineering Task
Force.
IMAP: Interactive Mail Access Protocol.
A new protocol for the storage and retrieval of email (much like POP, the
Post Office Protocol). It's not in wide use yet.
IMHO: Abbreviation for the expression "In my
humble opinion."
information agent: A software program
(currently only an interface to frequently updated databases) that can search numerous
databases for information that interests you without your having to know what it is
searching. Archie and Veronica are current examples of information agents.
internet: With a lowercase i, it's a
group of connected networks.
Internet: The collection of all the connected
networks in the world, although it is sometimes better called WorldNet or just the net. More
specifically, the Internet is the set of networks that communicate via TCP/IP. If you're still
confused, go back and read chapters 1 through 8.
Internet Architecture Board: A
group of invited volunteers that manages certain aspects of the Internet, such as standards
and address allocation.
Internet Engineering Task
Force: A volunteer organization that meets regularly to discuss problems facing
the Internet.
IP: Internet Protocol. The main protocol
used on the Internet.
IP number: A four-part number that uniquely
identifies a machine on the Internet. For instance, my IP number for
penguin.tidbits.com is 204.57.157.10. People
generally use the name instead.
IRC: Internet Relay Chat. A worldwide
network of people talking to each other in real time over the Internet rather than in person.
IRS: Internal Revenue Service. If you live
in the United States and are not aware of them, you might want to watch out.
ISOC: The Internet Society. A
membership organization that supports the Internet and is the governing body to which the
IAB reports.
JANET: Joint Academic Network.
Great Britain's national network. In true British fashion, JANET addresses work backwards
from normal Internet addresses. They work from largest domain to the smallest, as in
joe@uk.ac.canterbury.cc.trumble. Luckily, most gateways to JANET
perform the necessary translations automatically.
jargon: The sometimes incomprehensible language
used to talk about specialized topics. If you need help with computer jargon, check out
Jargon, by Robin Williams, a lighthearted and detailed trip through this
industry.
Jolt cola: All the sugar and twice the caffeine of
normal colas. First suggested as a joke by comedian George Carlin, later developed and
marketed by Carlin and a food industry entrepreneur.
jordanism: An attempt at sounding intelligent,
but ending up wasting peoples' time and coming off like an idiot.
JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts
Group. A group that has defined a compression scheme that reduces the size of
image files by up to 20 times at the cost of slightly reduced image quality.
.jpg: A filename extension used to mark
JPEG-compressed images. On many sites, the file extension may be
.jpeg.
Jughead: A searching agent for Gopher, much
like Veronica, but more focused.
Kermit: A file transfer protocol actually named after
the popular Kermit the Frog. Kermit is generally slower than XMODEM,
YMODEM, and the top-of-the-line ZMODEM.
Knowledge Navigator: A video of
John Sculley's anthropomorphic vision of an information agent. Information agents probably
will be more successful if they don't look like people, because computers cannot currently
meet the high expectations we have of people.
leaf site: A machine on Usenet that talks to only
one other machine instead of passing news onto other machines.
line noise: Static on a telephone line that causes
trouble for modems and sometimes leased-line connections.
LISTSERV: A powerful program for
automating mailing lists. It currently requires an IBM mainframe, but that requirement may
change in the near future.
local area network: Often abbreviated
LAN. Two or more computers connected together via network cables. A
Windows for Workgroups setup is a typical local area network.
login: The process by which you identify yourself to a
host computer, usually involving a userid and a password.
lurkers: Not a derogatory term. People who merely
read discussions online without contributing to them.
mail bombing: The act of sending hundreds
or thousands of messages to someone you think deserves the punishment for
transgressions against the Internet. Highly discouraged as it chews up bandwidth
unnecessarily.
mailing list: A list of people who all receive
postings sent to the group. Mailing lists exist on all sorts of topics.
mailserver: A program that provides access to
files via email. See also fileserver.
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