bandwith The data transmission capacity of a network.
commercial service General term for large online services (e.g., America Online, CompuServe, MSN)
cracker A person who maliciously breaks into a computer system in order to steal files or disrupt system activities.
dial-up access Computer connection made over standard telephone lines.
domain name The worded address of an IP number on the Internet, in the form of domain subsets separated by periods. The full address of an Internet user is: userid@domain name
email Electronic mail, as opposed to the regular or “snail” mail
FAQ “Frequently asked questions.” A file of questions and answers.
freeware Free software.
FTP “File transfer protocol.” The standard used to transfer files between computers.
GIF Common file format for pictures first popularized by CompuServe, standing for “graphics interchange format.” Pronounced with a hard g.
gopher A menu-based guide to directories on the Internet, usually organized by subject.
hacker A computer enthusiast who enjoys exploring computer systems and programs, sometimes to the point of obsession.
home page The opening page of a Web site.
hypertext An easy method of retrieving information by choosing highlighted words in a text on the screen. The words link to documents with related subject matter.
Internet The largest network of computer networks in the world, easily recognizable by the format of Internet email addresses: lib218@yahoo.com
Internet provider Wholesale or retail reseller of access to the Internet.
IRC “Internet relay chat.” A service that allows real-time conversations between multiple users on a variety of subject-oriented channels.
ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network; a means for moving data across telephone lines that permits transmission speeds of 128,000 bits per second.
mailing list Group discussion distributed through email. Many mailing lists are administered through the listserv program.
newsgroup Public bulletin board on the Internet. The more than 10,000 newsgroups are organized by subject and collectively known as Usenet.
Net, the A colloquial term that is often used to refer to the entirety of Cyberspace: the Internet, the commercial services, etc.
netiquette The rules of cyberspace civility. Usually applied to the Internet, where manners are enforced exclusively by fellow users.
Netscape The company that makes the dominant Web browser, Navigator.
newbie A newcomer to the Net, to a game, or to a discussion.
real time The Net term for “live,” as in “live broadcast.” Real-time connections include IRC.
search engine A program that searches the World Wide Web by keyword or keywords and retrieves relevant sites. Some examples include: Lycos, Alta Vista, Yahoo and Google.
shareware Free software, distributed over the Net with a request from the programmer for voluntary payment.
smiley Text used to indicate emotion, humor, or irony in electronic messages – best understood if viewed sideways. Also called an emoticon. The most common smileys are: :-) and :-(
spam The posting of the same article to multiple newsgroups regardless of the appropriateness of the topic.
TCP/IP The “transmission control protocol” and the “Internet protocol.” The basis of a full-fledged Internet connection.
URL “Uniform Resource Locator.” The World Wide Web address of a resource on the Internet.
Usenet A collection of networks and computer systems that exchange messages, organized by subject in newsgroups.
Web browser A client program designed to interact with World Wide Web serves on the Internet for the purpose of viewing Web pages.
Web page A hypertext document that is part of the World Wide Web and that can incorporate graphics, sounds, and links to other Web pages, FTP sites, gophers, and a variety of other Internet resources.
World Wide Web A hypertext- based navigation system that lets you browse through a variety of linked Net resources, including Usenet newsgroups and FTP, telnet, and gopher sites, without typing commands. Also known as WWW and the Web.
Source: Wolff New Media
