Address - Code by which the Internet identifies you. The format is username@hostname, where username is your username, login name, or account number, and hostname is the name of the computer or Internet provider you use. The hostname may be a few words strung together with periods.

Anonymous FTP - A way to use the FTP program to log on to another computer to copy files when you don't have an account on the other computer. When you log on, enter anonymous as the username and your address as the password. This gives you access to publicly available files.

ANS - Advanced Network Services. ANS runs one of the largest, high-speed networks on the Internet. Run by Merit, MCI, and IBM.

Archie - A system that helps you find files located anywhere on the Internet. After Archie locates the file, you can use FTP to get it. Archie is both a program and a system of server computers that contain indexes of files.

Authentication - Verifying the identity of a person or computer process.

Backbone - A high-speed line or series of connections that form a major pathway within a network. The term is relative, since a backbone in a small network will likely be much smaller than many non-backbone lines in a large network.

Bandwidth - How much "stuff" you can send through a connection. Usually measured in bits per second (bps). A full page of English text is about 16,000 bits. A fast modem can move about 15,000 bits in one second. Full-motion, full-screen video would require roughly 10,000,000 bps, depending on compression.

BBS Bulletin Board System - A computerized meeting and announcement system that allows people to carry on discussions, upload and download files, and make announcements without being connected to the computer at the same time. There are at least several thousand BBSs around the world. Most BBSs are very small and run on a single IBM clone PC with one or two phone lines.

Browser - A client program (software) that is used to search through information provided by a specific type of server.

Chatting - Talking in real time to other network users from any and all parts of the world.

Client - A software program that is used to contact and obtain data from a server software program on another computer, often across a great distance. Each client program is designed to work with one or more types of server programs.

Com - When these letters appear in lowercase type at the end of an address, they indicate that the host computer is run by a company rather than a university or government agency. It also means that the host computer is most likely located in the United States.

Cookies - A mechanism for server-side connections to store and retrieve information on the client side.

Cyberspace - A virtual universe of computers, programs, and data.

Delphi - An online information provider that includes access to Internet services. If you have an account on Delphi, your Internet address is username@delphi.com, where username is your Delphi account name.

DNS - The Domain Name System. A system for translating computer names into numeric Internet addresses.

Domain name - The unique name that identifies an Internet site. A given machine may have more than one domain name, but a given domain name points to only one machine. It is also possible for a domain name to exist but not be connected to an actual machine. This is often done so that a group or business can have an Internet e-mail address without having to establish a real Internet site. In these cases, an Internet service provider's machine must handle the mail on behalf of the listed domain name.

Edu - When these letters appear at the end of an address (info@mit.edu), they indicate that the host computer is run by an educational institution. It also means that the host computer is most likely located in the United States.

e-mail - Electronic mail. Messages, usually text, sent from one person to another via computer. E-mail can also be sent automatically to a large number of addresses by using a mailing list.

FTP - File Transfer Protocol. A method of transferring one or more files from one computer to another over a network or phone line.

Finger - A program that displays information about someone on the net. On most UNIX systems, this command tells you who is logged on right now. On most Internet hosts, it tells you the name, possibly some other information based on the person's Internet address, and the last time they logged on.

Firewall - A filter for messages. A system that has a firewall lets only certain kinds of messages in and out from the rest of the Internet. If an organization wants to exchange mail with the Internet, but does not want other Internet members "Telnetting in" and reading those files, its connection to the Internet can be protected by using a firewall.

Gateway - A computer that connects one network with another when the two networks use different protocols. The UUNET computer connects the UUCP network with the Internet, providing a way for mail messages to move between the two networks.

GEnie - An online service run by General Electric. If you have an account on GEnie and your mail name is ABC, your Internet address is ABC@genie.gies.com.

GIF - Graphic Interchange Format. The file format commonly used to distribute graphics files on the Internet.

Gopher - A system that lets you find information by using menus. To use Gopher, you usually Telnet to a Gopher server and begin browsing the menus.

HTTP - Hypertext Transfer Protocol. The method by which World Wide Web pages are transferred over the network.

Host - A computer on the Internet you may be able to log on to. You can use FTP to get files from a host computer, and use other programs (such as Telnet) to make use of the host computer.

HTML - Hypertext Markup Language. A system used for writing pages for the World Wide Web. HTML allows text to include codes that define fonts, layout, embedded graphics, and hypertext links.

Hypertext - A system of writing and displaying text that enables the text to be linked in multiple ways, available at several levels of detail. Hypertext documents can also contain links to related documents, such as those referred to in footnotes. Hypermedia can also contain pictures, sounds, and /or video.

IETF - The protocol engineering and development arm of the Internet. The IETF is a large, open, international community of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the evolution of the Internet architecture and the smooth operation of the Internet. It is open to any interested individual.

Internet - The vast collection of interconnected networks that all use the TCP/IP protocols and that evolved from the ARPANET of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Internet connects roughly 60,000 independent networks into a vast, global Internet.

IP - Internet Protocol. The transport layer protocol used as a basis of the Internet. IP enables information to be routed from one network to another in packets and then reassembled when they reach their destination.

IP Number - A four-part number separated by periods (for example, 145.111.234.1) that uniquely identifies a machine on the Internet. Every machine on the Internet has a unique IP number; if a machine does not have an IP number, it is not really on the Internet. Most machines also have one or more domain names that are easier for people to remember.

IRC - Internet Relay Chat. A system that enables Internet users to talk with each other in real time over the Internet rather than in person.

ISDN - Integrated Services Digital Network. A way to move more data over existing regular phone lines. ISDN is only slowly becoming available in the USA. ISDN can provide speeds of 64,000 bits per second over a regular phone line at almost the same cost as a normal phone call.

JNET - A communications program which operates on a DEC VAX computer providing DEC systems with the ability to communicate with IBM computers via BITNET.

Joint Academic Network [JANET] - A networking organization supported by the Science and Engineering Research Council in the United Kingdom.

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) - A graphic file format typically used on the World Wide Web.

Jughead - A program that helps you find specified information in Gopher directories. Similar to Veronica, but more focused.

JUNET - A network of universities in Japan which supports electronic mail and news. JUNET users can be reached via UUCP and the Internet.

JvNCnet - Princeton University's John von Neumann Computer Network which connects universities in the eastern US and Europe.

LAN - Local Area Network. A group of connected computers, usually located in close proximity (such as the same building or floor of the building) so data can be passed among them.

Leased line - Refers to a phone line that is rented for exclusive 24-hour, 7-days-a-week access between your location and another location. The highest speed data connections require a leased line.

Listserv - A family of programs that manages mailing lists by distributing messages posted to the list, adding and deleting members automatically.

Login - A noun or a verb. Noun: The account name used to gain access to a computer system. Unlike a password, the login name is not a secret. Verb: The act of entering into a computer system; for example, "Login to the WELL and then go to the GBN conference."

Message - A piece of e-mail or a posting to a newsgroup.

Microsoft Explorer - A Windows-based, WinSock-compliant program that lets you access information on the World Wide Web. This is an improvement on Mosaic by Microsoft.

Mirror - An FTP server that provides copies of the same files as another server. Some FTP servers are so popular that other servers have been set up to mirror them and spread the FTP load to more than one site.

Modem - MOdulator, DEModulator. A device that you connect to your computer and to a phone line to allow the computer to talk to other computers through the phone system. Modems convert the computer's digital signals into analog waves that can be transmitted over standard voice telephone lines. Modem speeds are measured in bits per second (bps)--also sometimes expressed as Kilobits (thousands of bits) per second. For example, 28.8 Kbps and 28,800 bps are the same thing--28,800 bits per second.

Mosaic - A Windows-based, WinSock-compliant program that lets you access information on the World Wide Web. Microsoft's version of Mosaic is called The Internet.

Name resolution - The process of mapping a name into its corresponding address.

Netnews - Another name for Usenet. Often refers to Usenet News when being received via the Internet, via NNTP.

Netscape - A Windows-based, WinSock-compliant program that lets you access information on the World Wide Web. This is an improvement on Mosaic.

Network - Any time you connect two or more computers together so they can share resources, you have a computer network. Connect two or more networks together and you have an internet (small "i").

NNTP - Network News Transfer Protocol. A protocol defined for distribution, inquiry, retrieval, and posting of news articles.

Newsgroup - A distributed bulletin board system about a particular topic. Usenet News (also know as Netnews) is a system that distributes thousands of newsgroups to all parts of the Internet.

Node - A computer on the Internet, also called a host. Computers that provide a service, such as FTP sites or places that run Gopher, are also called servers.

OARnet - One of the regional networks originally set up to work with the NSFNET, headquartered in Ohio.

ODI - a small program used on DOS and Windows PCs to connect network software to a particular network card. Defined by Novell. Similar to NDIS or packet driver.

Open Book Repository - A collection of on-line text, including the text of books, journals, and other reference materials, maintained by the Online Book Initiative at obi.std.com.

Operating System - The basic software that runs on a computer and its responsible for all the ordinary things a computer has to keep track of, such as files and disks and printers. Windows, UNIX, VMS, and System 7 are all operating systems.

Packet - A chunk of information sent over a network. Each packet contains the destination address, the sender's address, error-control information, and data.

Page - A document, or collection of information, available by way of the World Wide Web. To make information available over the WWW, it is organized into pages. A page may contain text, graphics, video, and/or sound files.

Ping A network management tool that checks to see whether you can communicate with another computer on the Internet. It sends a short message to which the other computer automatically responds. If the other computer does not respond to the ping, you usually cannot establish communications.

POP - Point of Presence. A physical site in a geographic area where a network access provider, such as UUNET, has equipment to which users connect. The local phone company's central office in a particular area is also sometimes referred to as their POP for that area. (As an example, AT&T's POP for the Seattle area is in downtown Seattle.)

POP - Post Office Protocol. A system by which a mail server on the Internet lets you grab your mail and download it to your PC or Macintosh. Most people refer to this protocol with its version number (POP2, POP3, and so on) to avoid confusing it with Point of Presence.

PPP - Point-to-Point Protocol. A scheme for connecting two computers over a phone line (or a network link that acts like a phone line). Similar to SLIP.

QWK-format - The Format of a file which contains bulletin boards system mail from selected conferences that will be transmitted for off-line reading. Most BBS's have doors for accessing off-line readers that see the QWK-format.

RCP - Remote Copy, a UNIX command that lets you copy files from one computer to another.

Rec - A type of newsgroup that discusses recreational topics, such as rec.humor.funny (jokes that are sometimes funny) and rec.gardens.

Recursive - Sort of like reincarnation, only more technical. Commands that call themselves are called recursive. If you want to list all the files in a hierarchical file structure, for example, the list command you use might first list all the files at the top level and then call itself to list the files in the directories or folders below it. If it finds more subdirectories in these subdirectories, it calls itself again to list the layer below. And so on until a specific end condition is met.

Refresh rate - the time required for a display pixel to turn on or off after the pixel has been addressed by the corresponding circuitry. Also called response time. Measured in hertz or milliseconds.

Regular Expression - Not one would think of as regular. For UNIX hackers and those who love to encode the ordinary into arithmetic representation. Many kinds of conditional searches (meaning, under these conditions, do this) can be represented by using mathematical expressions.

RFC [Request for Comments] - The set of documents which defines the internal operation of the Internet Region - In a bulletin board system network a region is a geographic area that contains nodes that exchange messages in a defined manner.

RelayNet International Message Exchange - A bulletin board network which provides participating hubs and nodes with a mechanism to exchange messages through common conference areas that are relayed via a central NetHub.

Request For Discussion [RFD] - A period of time during which comments on a particular subject are solicited.

Resolver - A program which connects user programs to domain name servers.

REUNIR - The name of a university research network connecting sites in France RIME - RelayNet International Message Exchange. A multi-tier communications network which exchanges massage among member bulletin board systems.

RMS - The file-handling part of a DEC operating system.

R/O message - Receiver Only - A massage directed to a single individual.

Route - The path that a massage takes from its source to its destination.

Router A special-purpose computer (or software package) that handles the connection between two or more networks. Routers look at the destination addresses of the packets passing through them and decide which route to use to send them.

Routed Massage - On a bulletin board system network a message meant to be delivered to a specific board.

RTFM - Read The, Uh, Friendly Manual. A suggestion made by people who feel that you have wasted their time asking a question you could have found the answer to another way. A well- known and much-used FTP site named rtfm.mit.edu contains FAQs for all Usenet newsgroups Read The, Uh, Friendly FAQ.

STT - Secure Transaction Technology. The STT specification is a software technology designed to provide a secure method for handling credit card transactions across electronic networks.

Server - A computer that provides a service to other computers on a network. An Web Hosting server, for example, lets people on the Internet store their Web Sites.

SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol A protocol used to transfer e-mail between computers.

SNMP - Simple Network Management Protocol. The Internet standard protocol developed to manage nodes on an IP network.

SLIP - Serial Line Interface Protocol. A software scheme for connecting a computer to the Internet.

Socket - When your computer is on the Internet via a SLIP connection, a socket is a conversation your computer is having with a computer elsewhere on the net. You may have one socket for an FTP session, another socket for a Telnet session, and another socket taking care of getting your mail.

TCP/IP - Transfer Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. The system that networks use to communicate with each other on the Internet.

Telnet - The command and program used to login from one Internet site to another. The Telnet command/program gets you to the "login" prompt of another host.

Terminal A device that allows you to send commands to a computer somewhere else. At a minimum, this usually means a keyboard and a display screen and some simple circuitry. Usually you will use terminal software in a personal computer--the software pretends to be ("emulates") a physical terminal and allows you to type commands to a computer somewhere else.

UNIX - A computer operating system (the basic software running on a computer, underneath things such as word processors and spreadsheets). UNIX is designed to be used by many people at the same time (it is "multiuser") and has TCP/IP built in.

URL - Uniform Resource Locator. The standard way to give the address of any resource on the Internet that is part of the World Wide Web (WWW). A URL looks like this: http://www.matisse.net/seminars.html. The most common way to use a URL is to enter into a Web browser program, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator.

USENET - An informal group of systems that exchange "news." USENET predates the Internet, but today, the Internet is used to transfer much of USENET's traffic.

UUCP - UNIX-to-UNIX copy A file-copying facility between UNIX systems, on which mail and USENET news services were built. While UUCP is still used (and is somewhat useful), the Internet provides a better way to do the same job.

Veronica - Very Easy Rodent Oriented Net-wide Index to Computerized Archives. A program that uses word searches to locate articles in Gopherspace. Developed at the University of Nevada, Veronica is a constantly updated database of names of almost every menu item on thousands of Gopher servers. (See also: Gopher)

Viewer - A program used by Gopher, WAIS, or WWW client programs to show files with contents other than text. You would use a viewer to display graphics or video files, or to play sound files.

VRML - Virtual Reality Markup Language. A standard by which the internet uses for delivering 3-dimensional virtual reality over the the Web.

WAIS - Wide Area Information Servers. A system that lets you search for documents that contain specific information that you are looking for.

WAN - Wide Area Network. Any internet or network that covers an area larger than a single building or campus. (See also: Internet, LAN, network)

Windows Socket - (WinSock). Windows Sockets is a standard way for Windows-based programs to work with TCP/IP. You can use WinSock if you use SLIP to connect to the Internet.

WWW - World Wide Web. A hypermedia-based system for accessing information on the Internet.

W3C - The World Wide Web Consortium. The World Wide Web is the universe of network-accessible information. The World Wide Web Consortium exists to realize the full potential of the Web. W3C works with the global community to produce specifications and reference software. W3C is funded by industrial members, but its products are freely available to all.

X.25 - A protocol defining packet switching. The thing that TCP/IP is much better than X.25.

X.75 - The way you splice X.25 networks together.

X.400 - A Consultive Committee for International Telephone and Telegraph standard which facilitates communications between messaging systems.

X.500 - A consultive Committee for International Telephone and Telegraph standard which defines a directory system used for permitting E-mail users to obtain an E-mail address.

Yahoo - A popular search engine on the Web, arranged in hierarchical order.

Ymodem - An extension of the Xmodem file transfer protocol which permits multiple files to be transported between locations between the invocation of one command.

ZIP - The extension of a file compressed using PKZIP, a shareware program from PKWare Inc. of Wisconsin. Also a term used to reference compressing a file.

ZIP file - A file that has been created by using WinZip, PKZIP, or a compatible program. It contains one or more files that have been compresses together to save space. To get at the files in a ZIP file, you usually need WinZip, PKUNZIP, or a compatible program. Sometimes you may get a self-extracting file, which is a ZIP file that contains the unzipping program right in it. Just run the file (that is, type the name of the file at the command line), and it will unzip itself.

Zmodem - A file transfer protocol which permits simultaneous transmission in both directions and the resumption of the transmission from where a previous transmission was suspended due to line noise or another type of interruption.

Zone - In a bulletin board system based network a zone is a large geographic area that can cover one or more countries or continents.

Zone Coordinator - A person responsible for maintaining the node list of a zone for a bulletin board based network and sharing that list with other zone coordinators.

Zone Mail Hour [ZMH] - A common hour in a BBS FidoNet network zone when all boards are available for transmitting and receiving NetMail. During the ZMH a BBS does not accept human calls, fire requests, or EchoMail transfers.