Internet Terms

Expand your mind with an Internet Vocabulary

Technology can be frustrating. Especially if you are not “in the technology world,” many terms can seem like a foreign language!

Below are some of the terms you may encounter that can help you better understand what is going on when you hear them—with a dash of history, too. Knowledge is power, after all, right?

ARPA: This stands for Advanced Research Projects Agency, an arm of the U.S. Department of Defense and the agency that created the ARPANet.

ARPANet: A network started in the 1960s by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) to connect several research institutions and laboratories. The goal was twofold: first, to coordinate research among similar labs, and second, to create a completely decentralized network. The Defense Department wanted a network that could withstand a nuclear attack on the U.S. Because the Net is decentralized, there is no central computer to knock out.

In recent years, this has been both a burden and a help. On one hand, no censorship can occur (except as unwritten rules enforced by the users themselves). On the other hand, the growth of the Internet has made it increasingly difficult to find anything. Unlike the local phone company, it is nearly impossible to find complete “white pages,” since there is no central governing body to catalog the Net’s features. (By the way, the ARPANet was turned off in 1986. It was a miracle of decentralization that, when ARPANET was shut down, no one but the system operators knew about it.)

ASCII: The American Standard Code for Information Interchange, a standard way of representing text. ASCII text contains no formatting. This makes it handy for sending among computers on multiple platforms, e.g., between IBMs and Macs. ASCII is the standard language of Internet email and newsgroup text, among other things.

Blog: Blogs started primarily as an online diary; a personal chronological log of thoughts published on a Web page; also called a Weblog, Web log. Typically updated daily, Blogs often reflect the author’s personality and are now commonly used by businesses.

Browser: A program used to view World Wide Web pages. Most Web browsers also can access WAIS, Gopher, FTP, and telnet. The browser reads the HTML and other programming codes to display the pages as you see them.

Cache: Your browser’s cache file remembers every Website you visit. This enables you to keep clicking on the browser’s “BACK” button to return to the pages you were at previously. It is a good idea to get in the habit of clearing out the Cache at the end of every session. Many browsers also allow you to determine the Cache size.

CERN: The European Center for Nuclear Research, the organization that created the World Wide Web in 1989.

CSS: Stands for Cascading Style Sheets. CSS describes how HTML elements are to be displayed on a website.

DNS is the Domain Name System, a standard way of stating Internet addresses. Depending on what the address refers to, there are specific ending addresses (called “top-level domains,” such as “com” ).

Emoticon (“Smiley”): Certain characters that help express emotion in email. The most common is :-). With a bit of imagination and a tilt of your head, you may see that this is a smiley face. Now, systems and cell phones have a library of emoticons and images that allow them to express different emotions.

It is essential to use emoticons to relay the tone of your email. If you crack a joke and don’t utilize a smiley, the other party may not know you are joking and may misinterpret your email. Remember that those you email do not have eye contact, tone of voice, or body language commonly used to set the tone in a conversation.

FAQ: Stands for Frequently Asked Questions and is a common term used on the Internet. The FAQ is the first place to check out when visiting a site for information. Most likely, many of your questions, which previous visitors have asked, will be listed for your reference.

Flame: A harsh message from one person to another, generally in a public or private forum or newsgroup. The harshness in these messages is usually not an intelligent commentary on a debate opponent’s opinion. Usually, it is just an insult hurled by a jerk. Massive “flame wars” can often erupt around volatile issues. It is always best to avoid these situations. What we learned from our Mothers applies here: “If you can’t say something nice… “

Freeware: Free software. Also, see shareware and public domain.

FTP: File Transfer Protocol. This is one standardized way of transmitting files on the Internet. As with most services on the Internet, there are specific FTP servers containing numerous types of files. You can upload or download files from your hosting server using login credentials. Over time, FTP has become a verb. For example, people will say, “FTP it to your server”.

Home Page: A space on the World Wide Web. Many people and businesses refer to their Websites as their Home Pages. Although recently, the home page has become more likely to be used in the context of a personal noncommercial website.

HTML: Hypertext Markup Language, the standard way all World Wide Web pages are written. It can be read using Chrome, Safari, and Microsoft Edge browsers.

HTTP is the Hypertext Transfer Protocol. Much like FTP, HTTP is another way of sending files across the Net. HTTP is specifically used to send World Wide Web pages across the Net.

HTTPS: Instead of HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), this Website uses HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). Using HTTPS, the computers agree on a “code” between them, and then they scramble (encrypt) the messages using that “code” so that no one in between can read them. This keeps your information safe from hackers.

IRC is an Internet Relay Chat that conducts live chats on the Net. It is similar to a CB radio in that people can choose whichever channel they want and then chat with whoever is on it. This can mean thousands of people chatting simultaneously, which sometimes can be unmanageable. Many websites now offer Chats without additional software or plugins.

Link: Whenever text on a Web page is in a different color than most text and is underlined, this is referred to as a Link to another area at that Website or another site on the Web. When you click on a link, your browser will take you to the designated place the link calls out. You will notice that most links will change to a different color once you click on them. This visual cue lets you know you have “been there, done that.”

Lurker or Lurking: A Lurker reads postings in forums or Newsgroups without responding or participating. They just lurk in the background. It is a good idea to be a Lurker initially before posting to understand the rules and personality of the group. We don’t want to step on any toes now unnecessarily, do we?

Mailing List: When folks think of a “mailing list,” they think about a list of names to market to. However, from the start, a mailing list was a discussion based on topics, much like a newsgroup. The main difference between a mailing list and a newsgroup is that a mailing list is executed entirely by email, while newsgroups are not. People send messages about topics to a central computer, and then the mailing list program distributes the message to everyone else on the list.

MIME: Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, a protocol for attaching non-text files (e.g., graphics or programs) to email messages. The only caveat to sending a MIME message is that the person receiving the message must also have a MIME-compatible mail program (or MIME decoder). Not all mail programs support MIME.

NCSA: The National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Netizen: A term used to describe a respectful Internet user who is aware of the culture and rules governing the Internet.

NETiquette: The Internet is a self-governing society — for the most part. Knowing what is tolerated and allowed by the Internet Community will help you avoid being flamed (see above). If you tour this Website and absorb the information contained herein, you will be fine. 😉

Newbie: A derogatory term on the Net, meaning an inexperienced and obnoxious new user. The term refers to the brand of user unschooled in the Internet’s traditions, who takes little time to learn them and acts rudely.

Newsgroups / Groups: Another area on the Internet where you can post questions or join discussions. Google Groups is where most folks tap into the Internet Newsgroups. Some quick rules to remember:

When joining a new newsgroup, watch the flow of messages for a few days to discern the group’s customs before contributing messages. This is called lurking.
Do not promote any product where it’s not allowed. Since the Net’s inception, users have worked very hard to avoid commercialization where possible, and they do not appreciate breaking this unwritten rule in groups. Send an unsolicited email or post a commercial pitch, and be prepared for the fallout.
Keep messages short and on topic.
Never post the same message to multiple groups, especially if it’s a file; some users read many groups daily and don’t appreciate reading the same message or getting the same file more than once.

NSF: The National Science Foundation, the agency that founded the NSFNET.

NSFNet: One of the “backbone networks” of the Internet.

PHP: PHP (recursive acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) is a widely used open-source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for web development and can be embedded into HTML. It is the scripting language that runs WordPress.

PPP: An abbreviation for Point-to-Point Protocol, a standard for connecting modems, specifically, to the Internet. It is the successor to SLIP.

Phishing: Phishing is a scam that uses spam to deceive consumers into disclosing their personal information. Phishing is considered a two-step scam. First, it steals a company’s identity and then uses it to victimize consumers by stealing their credit identities.

Public Domain: While freeware is cost-free, the actual code for public Domain Software is available to anyone who wants it. Public Domain software has been refined and modified possibly hundreds of times by people who have the ability to improve it.

Search Engine: A Search Engine, such as Google, is like the online version of the Yellow Pages. By learning each search engine’s criteria for searching the Web, you can effectively type in keywords that allow the search engine to pull up a list of all the Web pages that list the information you are looking for. Each search engine operates differently, and each has a section at its site that instructs you on using its features for the most accurate outcome.

Server: A central computer from which a particular service takes place. For example, there are FTP, Gopher, and WAIS servers. Clients access servers.

Shareware: Software for which users must pay a fee after a certain trial period. The trial period is usually 30 days, and the fee is typically lower than the cost of commercial software. Most unregistered shareware is only available in a less-powerful version, with the full version available upon registration. The Doctor strongly recommends that if you like the software and plan on using it – pay for it!

SLIP: An abbreviation for Serial Line Interface Protocol. SLIP is a standard for connecting modems, specifically to the Internet. PPP has rapidly succeeded.

SNAIL MAIL: The online reference to U.S. Postal Mail.

SPAM: This term refers to multiple emails sent to those who are not interested in what they have to offer. Compare spam to the junk mail you receive in your snail mailbox. The Doctor strongly suggests you never send unsolicited emails to anyone. You WILL get flamed; you may even lose your ISP account as many Internet Service Providers will disconnect you when they receive complaints about you Spamming. Other Netizens will complain to your ISP. The Internet Community does not tolerate this practice as a whole.

SSL: SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is the standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. This link ensures that all data between the web server and browsers remains private.

STATUS BAR: This bar at the bottom of your browser’s window always indicates the status of your request. It indicates the percentage of the page, file, or graphic downloaded. It will reflect as “Done” when the downloading is completed.

TCP/IP is the standard for communication among computers connected to the Internet. It stands for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. While it is a relatively slow protocol, it works wonders for intercommunication among different systems.

Troll: A Troll is an annoying troublemaker. These onliners enjoy posting inflammatory material to Blogs and discussion boards just to upset people. They then sit back and watch everyone get mad and start posting emotional replies. I guess it makes them feel important. Pro Tip: Ignore trolls.

Unix: A standard for network operating systems. Unix has been around since 1969 and comes in many flavors.

URL: Universal or Uniform Resource Locator. A standard way of representing services on the Internet. A URL usually consists of a scheme name (such as HTTP), followed by a colon, two slashes, and then the address of the site to which you would like to connect.

USENET Newsgroup: A place on the Internet where people can discuss any topic that comes to their heads. There are approximately 40,000 newsgroups, ranging from “alt.baking” to “alt.fishing” to “chi.general”.

UUEncode/UUDecode: A method of putting binary files (graphics and programs) into an Internet email or newsgroup message.