* The asterisk is used as a wildcard with commands to mean "all." For example, if in UNIX you wanted to remove a bunch of files that begin with th, such as this.01, this.02, and this.03, you could enter rm th*.0* and all the files that begin with th would be removed. The asterisk frequently appears as shorthand as well. To refer to MOOs, MUDs, and MUSHs efficiently, people often write M*s.
Alias Sometimes people use this as a synonym for your login name. In that sense, it is short for the phrase, ALso Identified AS. However, alias is also a UNIX command. You can create an alias for something you do often. For example, typing alias daedalus telnet MOO.daedalus.com 7777 at your prompt creates an alias called daedalus, which performs the same function as typing telnet MOO.daedalus.com 7777.
ARPANet Advanced Research Projects Administration Network. The system that laid the groundwork for the Internet. It was developed by the Department of Defense as a way to allow scientists working on defense projects to transfer data more rapidly. It was also intended as a network that could survive a nuclear war, a feat accomplished by ensuring that there was no central, controlling computer.
Article A synonym for an e-mail message posted to Usenet, sometimes referred to as a post.
ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange. This code is used for writing numbers, letters, and symbols without formatting particular to one word processing or editing program. A useful equivalent found on most word processors is the option to save a file as text only.
Bandwidth The amount of data a line can move. As we move to fiber optics, we increase bandwidth--that is, more data can be moved at faster speeds.
BBS Bulletin Board System. An electronic meeting place organized by software that allows users to exchange mail, hold discussions, and swap files. Some BBSs offer Internet access, such as America Online, Prodigy, and CompuServe.
Bit Binary digIT. The smallest part of computer data. Binary systems rely on a combination of 1s and 0s to create a bit. Bits combine to form bytes. Bits are also used as a way to measure bandwidth (how much information can be moved); a modem, for example, may operate at 9,600 bps, or bits per second.
Boolean Searching Named after the nineteenth-century mathematician George Boole, Boolean searching is based on a theory of sets of information and the relationship among those sets. The main terms in Boolean searching are AND, OR, NOT, and NEAR. See Chapter 13 for more details.
Browser A program that allows you to "see" and use Internet tools. For example, Mosaic is a World Wide Web browser that lets you navigate and see what's on the Web.
Byte About 8 to 10 bits make a byte. Bytes combine to make other data, such as words.
CMC Computer Mediated Communication. This refers to tools used via a computer to communicate with others. CMC is generally broken down into two broad categories, synchronous (real-time) and asynchronous. E-mail, BBS postings, Usenet, and file sharing are examples of asynchronous. That means the communication happens over time. A message posted to a discussion list is not likely to be read by everyone on the list the second you post it.
Real-time or synchronous CMC includes CUSEEME (real-time videoconferencing) software, MOOs, MUDs, IRCs, and, in some classrooms, products such as Daedalus's Interchange, Norton's Connect, or Houghton Mifflin's CommonSpace.
Cookies Some people hate them, and other people don't mind them. Cookies are text files that web sites write into your hard drive when you connect. The site refers to the cookie as you move around on it. Passworded sites use cookies so that you don't have to log in each time you choose a new page or log back in the next day. Some people don't like cookies because they can be set to track information that people consider private, such as which pages they looked at. Amazon.com, for example, uses cookies to see where you go on its site. When you revisit the site, it offers you a front page and suggests books based on the information gleaned from the cookies.
Cyberspace Coined by William Gibson in his novel Neuromancer, this word is usually used to describe the Internet or other virtual environments (such as BBSs and MOOs). The metaphor implies limitless, formless, and ultimately unknowable space that invites us to explore it. Compare that to a metaphor like the information superhighway, and you can begin to see how metaphors really go a long way in determining how we think about and use computers.
Domain Name System Sometimes referred to as DNS, it is a method for identifying an Internet host computer. The domain name uses words and abbreviations to correspond to router numbers assigned to the domain. The ending tells you what type of site the domain is. Common endings are:
Ethernet A networking method that allows computers to share data. Ethernet is used to describe a range of network wiring methods and speeds. In essence, Ethernet is like the switching station at a busy railroad terminal. It determines the speed and order of data movement.
FAQs Frequently Asked Questions. FAQs list and answer the most common questions on a particular subject. Usually the subject is a Usenet group or discussion list, but it can also be about software or an Internet site.
Flame In computer mediated communication (CMC)--e-mail and chat rooms--a flame, at its worst and most obvious, is an invective, acrimonious, ad hominem, intolerant and scurrilous message. However, many times, mild disagreements are taken as flames when no flaming was intended. Often flames occur because a message meant as ironic or sarcastic is mistaken as intentional.
FTP File Transfer Protocol. A protocol, or method, for transferring a file from one computer to another via the Internet. FTP allows a user to log on to another Internet site to retrieve a file there. Many internet sites provide publicly accessible archives that anyone can access by using the login name anonymous.
Gopher A menued system for accessing information on the Internet. Usually accessed by typing gopher at your account prompt, the software allows universities and other sites to link to other information and also to organize their own information for visitors and people on campus.
Host A computer that is directly connected to the Internet. For most of you, it is the computer at your school on which you have your account. When you use your account, you are accessing the host and are allowed to run certain programs and services that are stored on the host, such as gopher or an e-mail program.
HTML HyperText Markup Language. The coding language that creates hypertext documents for use on the World Wide Web. HTML works by inserting directions in and around text for web browsers to follow when they access a page.
HTTP HyperText Transport Protocol. The protocol for linking to files in hypertext format. HTTP is the main protocol used on the World Wide Web.
Hypertext A system for organizing information in nodes and links. In hypertext, a node is a segment of information; on the World Wide Web, nodes are called pages. Within a page, a writer can create a link. The link can lead to another page; another Internet service or site such as gopher or FTP; or a graphic image, audio clip, or video clip.
Internet The "too vast to accurately count" connection of computers and computer networks around the world. When you are on the Internet, you are on the network that evolved from the ARPANet project and are accessing it via a machine that follows TCP/IP protocols.
internet Short for internetwork. Any two or more networks that are connected are internetworked and thus form an internet. Some internets are connected to the Internet. There are many internets, but there is only one Internet.
IP Internet Protocol. The rules that determine how information travels on the Internet and how the collection of computers is networked. Often found in other acronyms such as TCP/IP.
IP Number A particular number assigned to an Internet host. No two hosts share the same number. Since numbers are hard to remember, most numbers receive a corresponding domain name. However, more than one domain name can be linked to a number.
IRC Internet Relay Chat. A huge, largely ungoverned, Internet-based chat system. It works by accessing IRC servers (and there are a number of them). The servers are linked to one another. Once linked, a user can create a channel or join already created channels. Any message a user writes and sends to the channel will be seen almost instantaneously by other users who are on the same channel. Likewise, the user will see any messages other users send. In this way, users can swap messages or chat. The servers relay the messages. IRC is an example of synchronous or real-time computer mediated communication (CMC).
Java A programming language developed by Sun Microsystems, Java makes it possible for software writers to create applets, small software applications that can run on any kind of machine. When you access a web site, the applets can be downloaded to your computer.
JavaScript Special coding that is inserted into HTML files to give them greater functionality--for can share resources constitute a network.
Newsgroups Discussion groups on Usenet.
NIC Network Information Center. Any office that manages network information. In colleges, similar duties might be assigned to the OIT (Office of Institutional Technologies) or UCS (University Computing Services). That is, not every site uses the term. The most famous, and perhaps most important, NIC is InterNIC, which registers new domain names for computers as they come onto the Internet.
NNTP Network News Transfer Protocol. Not something you'll ever have to worry about, but you might see it referred to. It's the method used to send Usenet messages.
Node Any single computer on a network. In some hypertext lexicons, nodes refer to units of information.
Packet A collection of data. Information is broken into packets, usually about 1,500 bytes long, which traverse the Internet independently. Each packet has the address of where it came from and where it's going. Packets share data lines with other packets, much the way commuters share a subway ride. As packets arrive at their destination, they regroup to form the entire set of information.
Password What you need to know to log on to some systems. A good password is your best protection against someone using your account. Good passwords use a combination of letters and nonletters. They should not be too simple, like Sick1, and should not contain numbers significant to a user, such as a birth date or license plate number. A random combination of letters, numbers, and symbols (where allowed) works best, such as H7&B3-Q.;
PINE Program for Internet News and E-mail. A very popular program for sending e-mail and reading Usenet news. It was designed for beginners but can be set for more advanced uses by experienced users. PINE is also sometimes referred to (though not officially) as Pine Is Not Elm to distinguish it from Elm, an earlier and still popular e-mail program.
Port This has two meanings. One refers to the physical input/output sockets you see on the back of your computer: one might be for a modem, one for a keyboard, one for a printer. Another use of port is to identify a particular internet application. For example, many MOO addresses contain a port number. You'll usually see it in the instructions: telnet some.MOO.com 7777. In this example, the 7777 represents the port number.
Portal Sites Sites that try to make their pages your first stop on the Web. Many of these evolved out of search engines or web indexes. For example, Yahoo began as a gopher index, became a web index with a search engine, and is now a portal site. AltaVista, Excite, the Go Network, and others have followed suit. The sites offer amenities such as free e-mail accounts, the ability to tailor their content and first page to your liking, and other services.
Post An individual article sent to a group discussion (also known as posting).
RTFM Read the [fine old Anglo-Saxon word] Manual. A common abbreviation in computerdom, usually used by one annoyed by too many questions.
Search Engine A generic term used to describe any Web-based method for inserting terms into a search window, whether the search is specialized, Web-wide, or in a prescribed database. Keep in mind that engines vary not only in what they search but also in how you can use them.
Server Software that allows a computer to run programs or make information available to other computers. The term refers to the software or the machine on which the server software is stored.
Signature A file, usually about five to six lines long, appended to the end of e-mail or Usenet messages. The file will contain the sender's name and e-mail address at a minimum, but it also often includes snail mail address(es), quotes, disclaimers, and, every once in a while, a copyright claim (also known as sig. or sig.file).
Smiley Smileys, or smiley faces, sometimes called emoticons, provide a visual clue to a writer's intent. Common examples include :-) for happy, :-( for sad, and ;-) for just kidding or humor intended.
TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. These combined protocols define the Internet. To be on the Internet, your computer must have TCP/IP software. Don't fret; this is becoming easier to do as modems become faster. The most recent generations of computers usually include this software in the bundling.
Telnet A method for connecting to a remote computer and using software or accessing information on that computer.
Terminal A terminal lets you send commands to a computer that is somewhere else. Usually your keyboard and display screen and monitor will use software that allows it to emulate a terminal (called, naturally enough, terminal emulation software).
Timeout What will happen when one computer fails to answer another. If, for example, you telnet to another computer, there may be a wait for the connection to go through. However, if the connection is not made in a set amount of time, you will be timed out and will find yourself at the prompt from which you launched the telnet command.
UNIX The most common operating system for servers on the Internet, UNIX has TCP/IP built into it and was designed for multiusers. You do not have to use UNIX to use the Internet, but chances are you will run into it in your travels.
URL Uniform Resource Locator. The method for writing addresses to any resource that can be accessed via the Web. The beginning of the URL indicates the resource type: http = hypertext; gopher = gopher; mailto = allows e-mailing; news = connects to Usenet; telnet = allows user to telnet; ftp = connects to FTP server.
Usenet A collection of discussion groups that exchange messages. Usenet is worldwide, decentralized, sometimes archaic, diverse, and accessible on the Internet, although it does predate the Internet. Last time we checked, more than 10,000 newsgroups were on Usenet. Your site may not subscribe to them all.
WAN Wide Area Network. Any network that extends beyond a single building or campus.
Web Forums Web-based bulletin board systems that let you read other users' messages and post your own. Many services and companies offer free forum posting. For some web sites, hosting forums is a way to generate income because when people visit the site, the page is framed in advertisements. Deja.com, RemarQ, Forum One, and others seek to make a profit online by hosting communities.
WWW World Wide Web. A hypertext-based system for navigating the Internet and using all its tools: gopher, FTP, http, telnet, tn3270, Usenet, e-mail, MUDs, MOOs, and so on. World Wide Web also refers to the various servers that allow text, video, audio, and graphics files to be combined in hypertext.
Nick Carbone, Writing Online, Third Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Reprinted by permission.