Web Walking Wise: Net Nouns

There is nothing more frustrating to a new user of the world wide web, then being in Cyberworld with absolutely no clue to Cyberlanguage.

If you have experienced this, don't feel bad, it happens to almost everyone who has ever gassed up and ventured on to the Information Highway. I know that the first time I entered the Cyberworld, I had immediate feelings of comradery for the Griswold family on vacation.

If you still think a finger is a digit on your hand, read on:

FINGER: An Internet protocol used to find out more information about an Internet user. This is a software that allows you to know more about with whom you are chatting.

IRC (Internet Relay Chat): The Internet's version of a CB radio, IRC is a software that lets you join a channel and converse in real-time with other people on the same channel. Most channels focus on specific topics of conversation. (If you ever had a CB radio in your car and went by the names "Texas Tornado" or "Wild Rose," you will LOVE IRC.)

VERONICA: A database that employs keywords and subject headers for information searches within Gopher space. (Jughead is also another database that exists in Gopher space. Do you recognize a baby boomer somewhere in here???)

GOPHER: a browsing and searching system that lets you find and retrieve text.

SEARCH ENGINE: A utility that locates resources via searches for keywords and subject headers. Look for WebCrawler, Yahoo, Lycos, Alta Vista, and others. To get you started, look up Yahoo at http://www.yahoo.com or Net Search at http://home.netscape.com/home/internet-search.html/. (When you locate your search engines, set them up as bookmarks because you will use them all the time to search for information).

URL (Uniform Resource Locator): Describes the location and access method of a resource on the Internet. All web sites have URLs. Pine Tree ISD's website address is: http://www.etnet.net/pinetree. This address is interpreted by net users as follows:

  • (1) http: is an abbreviation for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. This is an internet protocol the Web uses to send information to the client (YOU), so the client browser (Netscape) can view Web (www.) pages.

  • (2) The next phrase indicates the location of the webpage. In this case the .net of etnet.net indicates the webpage is located on a network (net) which is identified by the name "etnet." (.com indicates a business server; .edu indicates an education server; such as a university; .gov indicates a government server, etc.)

  • (3) The final part of the address designates the name of the homepage that is written in html (HyperText Markup Language). HTML is a coding method used to format documents for the World Wide Web. Web browers (i.e., Netscape) display text, graphics, and links on a Web page by translating HTML tags.

    If HTML fascinates you, ClarisWorks 4.0 has an HTML primer as an option for your selection. The primary software to use in designing a webpage is PageMill. Download the Page Mill demo and try your creative expertise.

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