Common Terminology Used on the Internet and in Web Hosting

A – B – C – D – E – F – G – H

I – J – K – L - M - N – O – P – Q – R

S – T – U – V – W – X – Y - Z

D

Daemon - a background process, in the UNIX operating system, that lies dormant waiting to perform some useful task. For example, the sendmail daemon continually runs but becomes active only when email is sent or received.

Data Encryption Key - a string of characters used to mathematically encode a message so that it can only be read by someone in possession of another related key (e.g., PGP Key).

Database – a collection of data formatted by some user-defined standard.

Dedicated hosting – hosting on a web server that is dedicated to one website only.

DHTML - (Dynamic HyperText Markup Language) refers to web pages that use a combination of HTML, JavaScript, and CSS to create features such as letting the user drag items around on the web page, some simple kinds of animation, and many more.

Dial-up - a connection between computers established over a telephone line.

DNS – acronym for the Domain Name System. It is an international network of Internet domain servers, names and addresses. The system translates Internet domain names into IP numbers. A "DNS Server" is a server that performs this kind of translation.

Domain Name – the unique name or URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of a particular website. It is also listed at the right of the @ sign in an email address. Domain Names always have 2 or more parts, separated by dots. The part on the left is the most specific, and the part on the right is the most general. It includes a suffix defining the type of entity, such as .com for commerce, .edu for education, .gov for government, .org for organization and so on.

A given machine may have more than one Domain Name but a given Domain Name points to only one machine. For example, the domain names: netfronts.com, mail.netfronts.com, support.netfronts.com can all refer to the same machine, but each domain name can refer to no more than one machine.

It is 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 email address without having to establish a real Internet site. In these cases, some real Internet machine must handle the mail on behalf of the listed Domain Name.

Domain Registry - an entity that receives domain name service (DNS) information from domain name registrars, inserts that information into a centralized database, and propagates the information in Internet zone files on the Internet so that domain names can be found by users around the world via applications such as the World Wide Web and email.

Dot-com – as an informal adjective describing companies that do business mainly on the Internet.

Download – a transfer of data from another computer to your computer; the opposite of upload.

Dpi – (Dots Per Inch) a measure of print and screen resolution.

DSL- (Digital Subscriber Line) a method for moving data over regular phone lines. A DSL circuit is much faster than a regular phone connection, and the wires coming into the subscriber's premises are the same (copper) wires used for regular phone service. A DSL circuit must be configured to connect two specific locations.

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E

Ecommerce – the process of conducting business communication and transactions over networks and through computers. More specifically, ecommerce is the buying and selling of goods, services, and the transfer of funds through digital communications.

Email – (Electronic Mail) messages sent from one person to another via computer. Email can also be sent automatically to a large number of addresses.

Email address - an electronic mail address. Email addresses follow the formula: userID@domainname.

Emoticon – a typographical cartoon or symbol generally used to indicate mood or appearance. Used to express emotions without words. For example, this winking face ;-) indicates "I'm joking", this sad face :-( expresses sadness or "I'm sulking". If this makes no sense, turn your head sideways and look again. Also known as a "smiley".

Encryption - a procedure that renders the contents of a message or file unintelligible to anyone not authorized to read it. PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) is a commonly-used encryption program.

Ethernet - a very common method of networking computers in a LAN (Local Area Network). There is more than one type of Ethernet.

Extranet - an intranet, not accessible to the general public, but is accessible to computers that are not physically part of a company’s own private network. Or, in other words, to allow vendors and business partners access to a company website. Often an intranet will make use of a Virtual Private Network (VPN). Sometimes the same as an Intranet.

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F

Facilitated Chat - a chat session with a host or facilitator with control over the messages that appear on the chat screen. Usually used when there is a guest speaker. Facilitated chats provide an orderly environment for the guest speaker and ensure that she is not overwhelmed with dozens of questions all being asked at once.

FAQ - (Frequently Asked Questions) a reference document that lists and answers the most common questions on a particular subject.

File Compression - reducing the size of files for ease of storage and transfer. WinZip and UNIX are examples of compression programs, which are valuable to network users because they help save both time and bandwidth.

File Transfer - the process of moving a file from one location to another; occurs between two programs or from one computer to another.

Fire Wall - a combination of hardware and software that separates a Network into two or more parts to secure and protect data.

Forwarding - Sending an email message or post from one person to a third party.

Frames - a feature supported by most web browsers that enables the web author to divide the browser display area into two or more sections (frames). The contents of each frame are taken from a different web page. Frames provide great flexibility in designing web pages, but many designers avoid them because they are supported unevenly by current browsers.

Freeware – free software.

FTP – Acronym for File Transfer Protocol. A very common method of moving files between two Internet sites. FTP is a way to login to another Internet site for the purposes of retrieving and/or sending files. There are many Internet sites that have established publicly accessible repositories of material that can be obtained using FTP, by logging in using the account name "anonymous", thus these sites are called "anonymous ftp servers". FTP was invented and in wide use long before the advent of the World Wide Web and originally was always used from a text-only interface.

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G

Gateway – as a technical term, it is a hardware or software set-up that translates between two dissimilar protocols. For example America Online has a gateway that translates between its internal, proprietary email format and Internet email format. Another, sloppier meaning of gateway is to describe any mechanism for providing access to another system (e.g., AOL might be called a gateway to the Internet).

Gigabyte – (GB) a unit of measurement for physical data. In the metric system, a gigabyte is 1,000 megabytes; in computer binary terms, it is 1,024 megabytes.

GIF – abbreviated version of Graphics Interchange Format, which is a file format for storing images, especially suitable for images containing large areas of the same color. GIF format files of simple images are often smaller than the same file would be if stored in JPEG format, but GIF format does not store photographic images as well as JPEG

Glitch – a small malfunction.

Google - an internet search engine. Google is a play on the word googol, which was coined by Milton Sirotta, nephew of American mathematician Edward Kasner, and was popularized in the book, "Mathematics and the Imagination" by Kasner and James Newman. Google's use of the term reflects the company's mission to organize the immense, seemingly infinite amount of information available on the web.

Googol - it refers to the number represented by the numeral 1 followed by 100 zeros.

GUI – (Graphical User Interface) a set of screen presentations and metaphors that utilize graphic elements such as icons in an attempt to make an operating system easier to use. Unlike UNIX and DOS, which feature a command line interface, the Windows and the Macintosh operating systems present graphical environments for input and output.

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H

Hacker - a slang term for a computer enthusiast. Among professional programmers, the term hacker implies an amateur or a programmer who lacks formal training. Depending on how it is used, the term can be either complimentary or derogatory, although it is developing an increasingly derogatory connotation. The negative sense of hacker is becoming more prominent largely because the popular press has co-opted the term to refer to individuals who gain unauthorized access to computer systems for the purpose of stealing and corrupting data. Hackers, themselves, maintain that the proper term for such individuals is cracker.

Handle – a nickname used in online communications.

Hardwired - a function or capability that is hard-coded into a system. Usually refers to anything that can not be modified or customized.

Hit - in reference to the Internet, hit means a single request from a web browser for a single item from a web server; thus in order for a web browser to display a page that contains 3 graphics, 4 hits would occur at the server: 1 for the HTML page, and one for each of the 3 graphics.

Home Page – can have several meanings. Originally, the web page that your browser is set to display when it starts up. The more common meaning refers to the main web page for a business, organization, person or simply the main page out of a collection of web pages. Many people on the web create home pages about themselves for fun; also known as vanity pages.

Host - any computer on a network that is a repository for services available to other computers on the network. It is quite common to have one host machine provide several services, such as SMTP (email) and HTTP (web).

HTML – (Hyper Text Markup Language) the coding language used to create Hypertext documents for use on the World Wide Web. HTML looks a lot like old-fashioned typesetting code, where you surround a block of text with codes that indicate how it should appear. The "hyper" in Hypertext comes from the fact that in HTML you can specify that a block of text, or an image, is linked to another file on the Internet. HTML files are meant to be viewed using an Internet browser. HTML is loosely based on a more comprehensive system for markup called SGML.

HTTP - (HyperText Transfer Protocol) the protocol for moving hypertext files across the Internet. Requires a HTTP client program on one end, and an HTTP server program on the other end. HTTP is the most important protocol used in the World Wide Web. For example, when you enter a URL in your browser, this actually sends an HTTP command to the web server directing it to fetch and transmit the requested web page.

Hyperlink - a highlighted word or picture within a hypertext document that when clicked takes you to another place within the document or to a completely different document.

Hypertext – a system of linking electronic documents, allowing the reader to easily jump from one text to related texts, and consequentially from one idea to another, in a non-linear fashion.

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I

ICANN – (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) the entity responsible for managing and coordinating the Domain Name System (DNS) to ensure that every address is unique and that all users of the Internet can find all valid addresses. It does this by overseeing the distribution of unique IP addresses and domain names. It also ensures that each domain name maps to the correct IP address. ICANN is also responsible for accrediting the domain name registrars, which means ICANN identifies and sets minimum standards for the performance of registration functions, recognizes persons or entities meeting those standards, and enter into an accreditation agreement that sets forth the rules and procedures applicable to the provision of Registrar Services.

Icon - a small graphic image that represents a file or application. Most icons, when clicked upon, produce a programmed result

Identity Hacking - posing as someone else and posting anonymously or pseudonymously, usually with the intent to deceive.

IMAP – (Internet Message Access Protocol) IMAP is gradually replacing POP as the main protocol used by email clients in communicating with email servers. Using IMAP, an email client program can not only retrieve email but can also manipulate message stored on the server, without having to actually retrieve the messages. So messages can be deleted, have their status changed, multiple mail boxes can be managed, etc.

Inbox - A folder where you receive incoming mail.

ISDN – (Integrated Services Digital Network) a technology offered by telephone carriers that allows for the rapid transfer of voice and data.

internet – (lower case i) any time you connect 2 or more networks together, you have an internet.

Internet – (upper case I) the vast collection of inter-connected networks that are connected using the TCP/IP protocols and that evolved from the ARPANET of the late 60's and early 70's. The Internet connects tens of thousands of independent networks into a vast global internet and is probably the largest WAN (Wide Area Network) in the world.

Internet Explorer – a free web browser from Microsoft.

InterNIC – operated by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), InterNIC provides the public with information regarding Internet domain name registration services.

Intranet - a private network inside a company or organization that uses the same kinds of software that you would find on the public Internet, but that is only for internal use. Sometimes the same as an extranet.

IP Number – (Internet Protocol Number) sometimes called a dotted quad and also known as an IP address. A unique number consisting of 4 parts separated by dots (e.g., 185.123.275.2). Every machine that is on the Internet has a unique IP number - if a machine does not have an IP number, it is not really on the Internet. When a PC accesses the Internet through an ISP, it sometimes receives a temporary IP address.

IRC – (Internet Relay Chat) basically, a huge multi-user live chat facility. There are a number of major IRC servers around the world which are linked to each other. Anyone can create a channel and anything that anyone types in a given channel is seen by all others in the channel. Private channels can (and are) created for multi-person conference calls.

ISP - Internet Service Provider is a company that provides access to the Internet.

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J

Java – a trademark of Sun Microsystems Inc. for a computer programming language. Java is often used to build large, complex systems that involve several different computers interacting across networks, for example transaction processing systems. Java is also becoming popular for creating programs that run in small electronic devices, such as mobile telephones. A very common use of Java is to create programs that can be safely downloaded to your computer through the Internet and immediately run without fear of viruses or other harm to your computer or files. Using small Java programs (called "Applets"), web pages can include functions such as animations, calculators, and other fancy tricks.

JavaScript – a scripting language, developed by Netscape, designed to run inside web pages. JavaScript usually adds features that make the web page more interactive. When JavaScript is included in an HTML file it relies upon the browser to interpret the JavaScript. When JavaScript is combined with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and later versions of HTML (4.0 and later) the result is often called DHTML (Dynamic Hyper Text Markup Language).

JPEG, JPG – acronyms for Joint Photographic Experts Group. JPEG is most commonly mentioned as a format for image files. JPEG format is preferred to the GIF format for photographic images as opposed to line art or simple logo art.

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K

Kernel – the core of an operating system. A kernel manages the machine’s hardware resources (including the processor and the memory), and provides and controls the way any other software component can access these resources. The kernel runs with a higher privilege than other programs (so-called user-mode programs). The power and robustness of an OS's kernel play a major role in shaping overall system design and reliability.

Kilobyte – (KB) a unit of measurement for physical data. In the metric system, a kilobyte is 1,000 bytes; in computer binary terms, it is 1,024 bytes.

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L

LAN – (Local Area Network) a group of computers at a single location (usually an office or home) that are connected by phone lines or coaxial cable.

Leased Line – also known as a dedicated line, it refers to line such as a telephone line or fiber-optic cable that is rented for exclusive 24-hour, 7-days-a-week use from your location to another location. The highest speed data connections require a leased line.

Link - a highlighted word or picture within a hypertext document that when clicked take you to another place within the document or to a completely different document.

Linux - a widely used Open Source Unix-like operating system. Linux was first released by its inventor Linus Torvalds in 1991. There are versions of Linux for almost every available type of computer hardware from desktop machines to IBM mainframes. The inner workings of Linux are open and available for anyone to examine and change as long as they make their changes available to the public. This has resulted in thousands of people working on various aspects of Linux and adaptation of Linux for a huge variety of purposes, from servers to TV-recording boxes.

List Server - an automated mailing list distribution system. List servers maintain a list of email addresses to be used for mass emailing. Subscribing and unsubscribing to the list is accomplished by sending a properly formatted email message to the list server.

Login, Log in - noun or a verb. Noun: The account name used to gain access to a computer system. Not a secret (contrast with Password). Verb: the act of connecting to a computer system by giving your credentials (usually your "username" and "password").

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M

Maillist, Mailing List - a (usually automated) system that allows people to send email to one address, whereupon their message is copied and sent to all of the other subscribers in the maillist. In this way, people who have many different kinds of email access can participate in discussions together.

Managed hosting – hosting on a web server that is dedicated to one website only and includes more service and support by a managed hosting provider. A managed hosting provider will watch over a managed server, troubleshoot problems, perform regular back ups, install patches, etc.

Matrix - a superset of the Internet that includes all networks and computers that can exchange email.

Megabyte - (MB) a unit of measurement for physical data. In the metric system, a megabyte is 1,000,000 bytes; in computer binary terms, it is 1,024 kilobytes.

Megahertz – (MHz) a measure of the speed of a computer processor.

Menu - a list of options, each of which performs a desired action such as choosing a command or applying a particular format to a part of a document.

Metadata - data about data. Metadata describes how and when and by whom a particular set of data was collected, and how the data is formatted. Metadata is essential for understanding information stored in data warehouses and has become increasingly important in XML-based web applications.

Meta Tag - a specific kind of HTML tag that contains information not normally displayed to the user. Meta tags contain information about the page itself, hence the name ("meta" means "about this subject"). Typical uses of Meta tags are to include information for search engines to help them better categorize a page. You can see the Meta tags in a page if you view the page’s source code.

MIME - (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) an extension to Internet email which provides the ability to transfer non-textual data, such as graphics, audio and fax.

Modem – (MOdulator, DEModulator) a device that connects a computer to a phone line. A modem allows a computer to talk to other computers through the phone system. Basically, modems do for computers what a telephone does for humans.

Modem Mantra - the sound a modem makes while connecting with another modem.

Mods - hacker slang for modifications to hardware or software, especially bug fixes or minor design changes.

MOO – (Mud, Object Oriented) one of several kinds of multi-user role-playing environments.

Mosaic – the first www browser that was available for the Macintosh, Windows, and UNIX all with the same interface. Mosaic really started the popularity of the web. The source code to Mosaic was licensed by several companies and used to create many other web browsers. Mosaic was developed at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), at the University of Urbana-Champagne in Illinois, USA. The first version was released in late 1993.

MPEG – (Moving Photographic Experts Group) a format for compressed movie files using similar technology to JPEG.

MUD – (Multi-User Dungeon or Dimension) a (usually text-based) multi-user simulation environment. Some are purely for fun and flirting, others are used for serious software development, or education purposes and all that lies in between. A significant feature of most MUDs is that users can create things that stay after they leave and which other users can interact within their absence, thus allowing a world to be built gradually and collectively.

MUSE – (Multi-User Simulated Environment) one kind of MUD - usually with little or no violence.

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N

Navigation – pertains to the means by which a user can navigate a page or site. Some typical mechanisms include: Navigation bars – a collection of links to the most important parts of a document or site. Site maps – a global view of the organization of a page or site. Tables of contents – lists (and links to) the most important sections of a document.

NDA – (Non-Disclosure Agreement) a contract commonly used by computer companies to protect the confidentiality of unreleased products. Software developers, reporters, and sometimes beta testers are often required to sign these before they are given access to either information about upcoming products or the product itself.

Netiquette – network or Internet etiquette; or the set of informal rules of behavior that have evolved in Cyberspace, including the Internet and online services.

Netizen - derived from the term citizen, referring to a citizen of the Internet, or someone who uses networked resources. The term connotes civic responsibility and participation.

Netscape - a web browser and the name of a company. The Netscape browser was originally based on the Mosaic program developed at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA).

Network – a group of computers or devices that are connected together for the exchange of data and sharing of resources.

Newsgroup - collections of related messages (also called articles) on a particular topic that are posted to a news server by users, which then distributes them to other participating servers. There are thousands of newsgroups covering a wide range of subjects. You must subscribe to a newsgroup in order to participate in it or to track the discussion on an on-going basis. Newsgroups are found primarily on USENET.

NIC - (Network Information Center) generally, any office that handles information for a network. The most famous of these on the Internet was the InterNIC, which was where most new domain names were registered until that process was decentralized to a number of private companies. Also means "Network Interface card", which is the card in a computer that you plug a network cable into.

NNTP - (Network News Transport Protocol) the protocol used by client and server software to carry USENET postings back and forth over a TCP/IP network. If you are using any of the more common software such as Netscape, Nuntius, Internet Explorer, etc. to participate in newsgroups then you are benefiting from an NNTP connection.

Node - Any single computer connected to a network.

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O

Online - 1. Currently connected to a host, opposite of offline. 2. Referring to anything connected to a computer network.

Open Content – copyrighted information (such as this Glossary) that is made available by the copyright owner to the general public under license terms that allow reuse of the material, often with the requirement (as with this Glossary) that the re-user grant the public the same rights to the modified version that the re-user received from the copyright owner. Information that is in the Public Domain might also be considered a form of Open Content.

Open Source Software – software for which the underlying programming code is available to the users so that they may read it, make changes to it, and build new versions of the software incorporating their changes. There are many types of Open Source Software, mainly differing in the licensing term under which (altered) copies of the source code may (or must be) redistributed.

Operating System - the master set of programs responsible for overseeing the basic hardware resources of a computer such as disks, memory, keyboard, screen, and CPU time. UNIX, DOS, Windows, Macintosh, and IBMs are examples of operating systems.

Outbox - a folder where you store mail before it about to be sent.

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P

Password – a code used to gain access (login) to a locked system. Good passwords contain letters and non-letters and are not simple combinations such as virtue7. A good password might be: K5df?9R.

Path - the hierarchical description of where a directory, folder, or file is located on your computer or on a network.

PDF - (Portable Document Format) a file format designed to enable printing and viewing of documents with all their formatting (typefaces, images, layout, etc.) appearing the same regardless of what operating system is used. A PDF document should look the same on Windows, Macintosh, linux, OS/2, etc. The PDF format is based on the widely used Postcript document-description language. Both PDF and Postscript were developed by the Adobe Corporation.

Perl - Practical Extraction and Reporting Language, a robust programming language frequently used for creating CGI programs on web servers. It is usually faster than UNIX shell script programs, it can read and write binary files, and process very large files.

Ping - Abbreviation for Packet InterNet Groper. A connection testing program that sends a self-returning packet to a host and times how long it takes to return.

Plug-In - a (usually small) piece of software that adds features to a larger piece of software. Common examples are plug-ins for the Netscape® browser and web server. Adobe Photoshop® also uses plug-ins.

Pop – (Point of Presence) an access point to the Internet. ISPs typically have multiple POPs. A point of presence is either a physical location, part of the facilities of a telecommunications provider that the ISP rents or a separate location from the telecommunications provider that houses servers, routers, ATM switches and digital/analog call aggregators.

Port - 3 meanings. First and most generally, a place where information goes into or out of a computer, or both. For example, the serial port on a personal computer is where a modem would be connected.

On the Internet, port often refers to a number that is part of a URL, appearing after a colon (:) right after the domain name. Every service on an Internet server listens on a particular port number on that server. Most services have standard port numbers (e.g., web servers normally listen on port 80). Services can also listen on non-standard ports, in which case the port number must be specified in a URL when accessing the server, so you might see a URL of the form: gopher://peg.cwis.uci.edu:7000/ This shows a gopher server running on a non-standard port (the standard gopher port is 70).

Finally, port also refers to translating a piece of software to bring it from one type of computer system to another (e.g., to translate a Windows program so that it will run on a Macintosh).

Portal - usually used as a marketing term to described a website that is or is intended to be the first place people see when using the web. Typically a "Portal site" has a catalog of websites, a search engine, or both. A Portal site may also offer email and other service to entice people to use that site as their main "point of entry" (hence "portal") to the web.

Post - to send a message to a public area like a forum, bulletin board system, or newsgroup where it can be read by many others.

Postmaster - the name given to the person in charge of administrating email for a particular site. Therefore, mail sent to postmaster@netfronts.com should be read by a real live person

PPP - (Point to Point Protocol) the most common protocol used to connect home computers to the Internet over regular phone lines. Most well known as a protocol that allows a computer to use a regular telephone line and a modem to make TCP/IP connections.

PGP – (Pretty Good Privacy) a program, developed by Phil Zimmerman, that uses cryptography to protect files and electronic mail from being read by others. PGP also includes a feature which allows users to digitally "sign" a document or message, in order to provide non-forgeable proof of authorship.

Protocol - usually refers to a set of rules that define an exact format for communication between systems. For example the HTTP protocol defines the format for communication between web browsers and web servers, the IMAP protocol defines the format for communication between IMAP email servers and clients, and the SSL protocol defines a format for encrypted communications over the Internet. Virtually all Internet protocols are defined in RFC documents.

Proxy Server - a server between a client application, such as a web browser, and a real server. It intercepts all requests to the real server to see if it can fulfill the requests itself. If not, it forwards the request to the real server. Proxy servers have two main purposes: improve performance and filter requests.

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Q

QoS - Quality of Service - In circuit-switched networks it refers to the probability of being able to initiate a call to another party. In packet-switched networks it refers to the probability of the network meeting a given traffic contract, or in many cases is used informally to refer to the probability of a packet passing between two points in the network.

Query - a user's request for information from a database or search engine.

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R

RDF - (Resource Definition Framework) a set of rules (a sort of language) for creating descriptions of information, especially information available on the World Wide Web. RDF could be used to describe a collection of books, or artists, or a collection of web pages as in the RSS data format which uses RDF to create machine-readable summaries of websites. RDF is also used in XPFE applications to define the relationships between different collections of elements, for example RDF could be used to define the relationship between the data in a database and the way that data is displayed to a user.

Read Receipt - an optional email feature that notifies you when a recipient has opened the email message you sent him.

Refresh - to clear the screen or part of the screen to re-display the most current version.

Registrar - a company in the business of registering domain names. An accredited registrar is permitted to update the domain name database (maintained by the Registry) directly. Other registrars work through partnerships with accredited registrars. Registrars pay a minimum fee per domain name to the Registry for the right to record the ownership of the domain name.

Remote Hands - if the company requires something to be done to the server, they pay for Remote Hands support and are given remote (over the internet) access to their servers.

Response Time - a measurement of the time between a request for information over a network and the network's fulfillment of that request.

RFC – (Request For Comments) started in 1969, a series of informal notes and standards that guide the development of the Internet. An RFC can be submitted by anyone.

Root – 1. an administrative user account with special privileges. System administrators will log in as root when they need to modify system files, create new user accounts, etc. 2. root directory: The base of a file system tree. 3. root file system: The primary file system off which a computer boots, so named because it includes the root node of the file system tree.

Root Directory - the directory at the highest level of a hierarchy of directories. The "top" directory of a collection of files and/or folders (e.g., c:\ on your computer is a root directory).

Router - a computer (or software package) that handles, directs, and moves packets of information between networks.

RSS - (Rich Site Summary or RDF Site Summary or Real Simple Syndication) a commonly used protocol for syndication and sharing of content, originally developed to facilitate the syndication of news articles, now widely used to share the contents of blogs. RSS is an XML-based summary of a website, usually used for syndication and other kinds of content-sharing. There are RSS "feeds" which are sources of RSS information about websites, and RSS "readers" which read RSS feeds and display their content to users.

RTF – (Rich Text Format) a format for text documents that includes formatting attributes, such as different fonts and typefaces.

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S

Scroll Bar - in a graphical user interface system, the narrow rectangular bar at the far right of windows or dialog boxes. Clicking on the up or down arrow enables you to move up and down through a document; a movable square indicates your location in the document. Certain applications also feature a scroll bar along the bottom of a window that can be used to move from side-to-side.

SDSL - (Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line) a version of DSL where the upload speeds and download speeds are the same.

Search Engine - a (usually web-based) system for searching the information available on the web. Some search engines work by automatically searching the contents of other systems and creating a database of the results. Other search engines contain only material manually approved for inclusion in a database, and some combine the two approaches.

Security Certificate - a chunk of information (often stored as a text file) that is used by the SSL protocol to establish a secure connection.

SEO - (Search Engine Optimization) the practice of designing web pages so that they rank as high as possible in search results from search engines. There is "good" SEO and "bad" SEO. Good SEO involves making the web page clearly describe its subject, making sure it contains truly useful information, including accurate information in Meta tags, and arranging for other websites to make links to the page. Bad SEO involves attempting to deceive people into believing the page is more relevant than it truly is by doing things like adding inaccurate Meta tags to the page.

Server - a computer or a software application that provides a specific kind of service to client software running on other computers. The term can refer to a particular piece of software, such as a Web Server, or to the computer on which the software is running. A single computer may have several different server software applications running on it, thus providing many different servers to clients on a network.

Servlet – a small computer program designed to add capabilities to a larger piece of server software. Common examples are "Java servlets", which are small programs written in the Java language and which are added to a web server. Typically a web server that uses Java servlets will have many of them, each one designed to handle a very specific situation, for example one servlet will handle adding items to a "shopping cart", while a different servlet will handle deleting items from the "shopping cart."

Shared Hosting – the web server is shared between many different websites.

Shareware - copyrighted software available for downloading on a free, limited trial basis; if you decide to use the software, you're expected to register and pay a fee. By doing this, you become eligible for assistance and updates from the author.

Shopping Cart – a software program added to your website that will allow visitors to select items from your online catalog and add them to a "shopping cart". When a customer is finished shopping, s/he "check outs" to complete the purchase. On ecommerce sites, the customer would enter credit card information which would be securely processed. Basic sites do not handle secure payment, so the customer could print the order form and fax or mail it to the merchant with payment information.

Shouting – typing in all capital letters in online communication (e.g., in an email or chat session). It can be considered bad netiquette and should be avoided unless you really mean to shout your message.

Signature, sig – sig is short for signature. A group of lines attached to the end of a message that identifies the author and often includes additional information such as contact information, organizational affiliation, or a favorite quote. Sigs can also include ASCII art. Netiquette suggests limiting your signature to a maximum of four or five lines.

Site – often used to refer to website. It can be a web or FTP server on the Internet. Each website contains a home page, which is the first document users see when they enter the site. The site might also contain additional documents and files. An individual, company or organization manages each site. The site typically has a name, which is part of a network domain written as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). An example of the site name is URL = http://www.wmo.int, which is made up of three parts: the "http", which specifies the protocol, the "www" for specific server name and "netfronts.com", which is the domain.

SLA - Service Level Agreement is a contract between a network service provider and a customer that specifies, usually in measurable terms, what services the network service provider will furnish. Many Internet service providers ISPs provide their customers with an SLA.

SLIP - (Serial Line Internet Protocol) a standard that was popular in the early 1990's for using a regular telephone line (a serial line) and a modem to connect a computer as a real Internet site. SLIP has largely been replaced by PPP.

Smiley - a typographical cartoon or symbol generally used to indicate mood or appearance. Used to express emotions without words. For example, this winking face ;-) indicates "I'm joking", this sad face :-( expresses sadness or "I'm sulking". If this makes no sense, turn your head sideways and look again. Also known as an emoticon.

SMTP - (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) the main protocol used to send electronic mail from server to server on the Internet.

Snail Mail - regular postal mail, as opposed to email. Derogatory when implying postal mail's slowness relative to email.

SNMP - (Simple Network Management Protocol) a set of standards for communication with devices connected to a TCP/IP network. Examples of these devices include routers, hubs, and switches.

Spam, Spamming - an inappropriate attempt to use a mailing list, or USENET or other networked communications facility as if it was a broadcast medium (which it is not) by sending the same message to a large number of people who didn’t ask for it. The term probably comes from a famous Monty Python skit which featured the word spam repeated over and over. The term may also have come from someone’s low opinion of the food product with the same name, which is generally perceived as a generic content-free waste of resources. (Spam® is a registered trademark of Hormel Corporation, for its processed meat product.)

Spyware - a somewhat vague term generally referring to software that is secretly installed on a user’s computer and that monitors use of the computer in some way without the user’s knowledge or consent. Most spyware tries to get the user to view advertising and/or particular web pages. Some spyware also sends information about the user to another machine over the Internet. Spyware is usually installed without a user’s knowledge as part of the installation of other software, especially software such as music sharing software obtained via download.

SQL - (Structured Query Language) a specialized language for sending queries to databases. Most industrial-strength and many smaller database applications can be addressed using SQL. Each specific application will have its own slightly different version of SQL implementing features unique to that application, but all SQL-capable databases support a common subset of SQL. A example of an SQL statement is: SELECT name,email FROM people_table WHERE contry='uk'

SSH – (Secure Shell) developed by SSH Communications Security Ltd., Secure Shell is a program to log into another computer over a network, to execute commands in a remote machine, and to move files from one machine to another.

SSL - (Secure Socket Layer) a protocol designed by Netscape Communications to enable encrypted, authenticated communications across the Internet.

Status Bar – in regards to the Internet, the status bar appears at the bottom of the browser window. It tells you what is going on while you are on the internet. It may tell you the address of the website you are accessing, if the server is being contacted, what is being downloading, etc. The status bar also appears in other computer programs and displays a variety of information relating to the active document.

Style Sheets - a set of statements that specify presentation of a document. Style sheets may have three different origins: they may be written by content providers, created by users, or built into user agents.

Subscribe - to add your email address to an Internet related mailing list.

Sysadmin – (System Administrator) a person who administers a computer system and keeps it working.

Sysop - (System Operator) anyone responsible for the physical operations of a computer system or network resource. For example, a System Administrator decides how often backups and maintenance should be performed and the System Operator performs those tasks.

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T

T-1 – a leased-line connection capable of carrying data at 1,544,000 bits-per-second. At maximum theoretical capacity, a T-1 line could move a megabyte in less than 10 seconds. That is still not fast enough for full-screen, full-motion video, for which you need at least 10,000,000 bits-per-second. T-1 lines are commonly used to connect large LANs to the Internet.

T-3 - a leased-line connection capable of carrying data at 44,736,000 bits-per-second. This is more than enough to do full-screen, full-motion video.

TCP/IP - (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) this is the suite of protocols that defines the Internet. Originally designed for the UNIX operating system, TCP/IP software is now included with every major kind of computer operating system. To be truly on the Internet, your computer must have TCP/IP software.

Telecommunications - the exchange of information by electrical transmission over great distances (e.g., telephone lines); telecommunications technology connects terminals to computer systems.

Telecommuting - using telecommunications to work from home or other locations instead of the organization's premises.

Telnet - a protocol for remote computing on the Internet. It allows a computer to act as a remote terminal on another machine, anywhere on the Internet. This means that when you telnet to a particular host and port, the remote computer (which must have a telnet server) accepts input directly from your computer (which must have a telnet client) and output for your session is directed to your screen.

Terabyte – (TB) a unit of measurement for physical data. In computer binary terms, a terabyte is 1,000 gigabytes.

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.

Terminal Server - a special purpose computer that has places to plug in many modems on one side, and a connection to a LAN or host machine on the other side. Thus, the terminal server does the work of answering the calls and passes the connections on to the appropriate node. Most terminal servers can provide PPP or SLIP services if connected to the Internet.

Thread - 1. a series of postings on a particular topic. Threads can be a series of bulletin board messages (for example, when someone posts a question and others reply with answers or additional queries on the same topic). A thread can also apply to chats, where multiple conversation threads may exist simultaneously. 2. also refers to an independent process taking place in a multi-tasking environment.

TLD - (Top Level Domain) the last (right-hand) part of a complete Domain Name. For example in the domain name www.netfronts.com ".com" is the Top Level Domain. There are a large number of TLD's, for example .biz, .com, .edu, .gov, .info, .int, .mil, .net, .org, and a collection of two-letter TLD's corresponding to the standard two-letter country codes, for example, .us, .ca, .jp, etc.

Toolbar - a row, column, or block of onscreen buttons or icons that, when clicked, activate certain functions of the program. For example, the standard toolbar in Word includes buttons for changing text to italic, bold, or other styles.

Traffic – 1. the amount of information being sent over the Internet or the load of packets carried by a network or portion of a network. Heavy traffic slows down the response time of the individual packets. Also, traffic increases when there are more people connected to the Internet. 2. the volume of visitors to a website. Traffic can be considered the currency of online success, but it is not the only factor.

Triple-dub - an abbreviated way to say "WWW" when reciting a URL.

Trojan Horse - a computer program that is either hidden inside another program or that masquerades itself in order to trick potential users into running it. For example, a program that appears to be a game or image file but, in reality, performs some other function. The term "Trojan Horse" comes from a possibly mythical ruse of war used by the Greeks sometime between 1500 and 1200 B.C. A Trojan Horse computer program may spread itself by sending copies of itself from the host computer to other computers, but unlike a virus it will (usually) not infect other programs.

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U

Unicode - a character encoding standard developed by the Unicode Consortium. The aim of the standard is to provide a universal way of encoding characters of any language, regardless of the computer system or platform, being used. Unicode is a 16-bit character set that assigns unique character codes to characters in a wide range of languages. Unlike ASCII, which defines 128 distinct characters typically represented in 8 bits, there are as many as 65,536 distinct Unicode characters that represent the unique characters used in many languages. Internationalized HTML uses Unicode as its base character set.

UNIX - a computer operating system. UNIX is designed to be used by many people at the same time (it is multi-user) and has TCP/IP built-in. It is the most common operating system for servers on the Internet.

Upload - transferring data (usually a file) from a the computer you are using to another computer. The opposite of download.

UPS - Uninterruptible Power Supply is a device that sits between a power supply (e.g. a wall outlet) and a device (e.g. a computer) to prevent undesired features of the power source. An UPS usually holds a charge for a period of time and helps prevent outages, sags, surges, bad harmonics, etc. to servers and other equipment.

Uptime - the time since last reboot of the front-end computer or computers that are hosting a site. It can be detected by looking at the data that is recorded when sampling a site. To measure, detect how long the responding computer(s) hosting a web site has been running, and record samples over a long period of time. Plot graphs that show the information as a line.

URI - (Uniform Resource Identifier) an address for a resource available on the Internet. The first part of a URI is called the "scheme". The most well known scheme is http, but there are many others. Each URI scheme has its own format for how a URI should appear. Here are examples of URIs using the http, telnet, and news schemes:
http://www.matisse.net/files/glossary.htm
telnet://well.sf.ca.us
news:new.newusers.questions

URL – (Uniform Resource Locator) an addressing scheme used by web browsers to locate resources on the Internet. The term URL is basically synonymous with URI. URI has replaced URL in technical specifications.

USENET - a world-wide system of discussion groups, with comments passed among hundreds of thousands of machines. Not all USENET machines are on the Internet. USENET is completely decentralized, with over 10,000 discussion areas, called newsgroups.

User - a person who uses computer software, service or hardware as opposed to someone who develops computer software or hardware.

User ID, User Name - the name that a particular network uses to identify you. In order to log on to a system, you need to supply both a user ID and a password.

Utility - a software program designed to perform a computer system's routine housekeeping functions, like copying, deleting files, and/or providing techniques to simplify the execution of a program.

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V

Virtual - a commonly used adjective that means having all of the properties of x while not necessarily being x. For example, "virtual Friday" in a workplace is the last day of work before a break, that is to say it is like Friday but may or may not actually be Friday. A "virtual reality" is an artificial environment that appears to be its own reality. On a mainframe, a "virtual machine" gives the user all of the properties and "feel" of a separate personal computer.

Virtual Private Server – a solution that uses a software platform that permits a hosting service provider to multiplex a single dedicated server into multiple "virtual" machines. Therefore, a VPS solution is a private and protected web services infrastructure that operates as an independent server. This option is different from virtual (shared) hosting because only the hardware is controlled by the hosting company, software can be configured and customized by the client, clients can install and run their own applications, virtual root access is available etc

Virus - a chunk of computer programming code that makes copies of itself without any conscious human intervention. Some viruses do more than simply replicate themselves, they might display messages, install other software or files, delete software of files, etc. A virus requires the presence of some other program to replicate itself. Typically viruses spread by attaching themselves to programs and in some cases files. For example, the file formats for Microsoft Word processor and spreadsheet programs allow the inclusion of programs called "macros" which can in some cases be a breeding ground for viruses.

VPN – (Virtual Private Network) usually refers to a network in which some of the parts are connected using the public Internet, but the data sent across the Internet is encrypted, so the entire network is "virtually" private.

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W

W3C – (World Wide Web Consortium) an international consortium of companies involved with the Internet and the web. The W3C was founded in 1994 by Tim Berners-Lee, the original architect of the World Wide Web. The organization's purpose is to develop open standards so that the web evolves in a single direction rather than being splintered among competing factions. The W3C is the chief standards body for HTTP and HTML.

WAIS - (Wide Area Information Servers) developed in the early 1990s, WAIS was the first truly large-scale system to allow the indexing of huge quantities of information on the Internet, and to make those indexes searchable across networks such as the Internet. WAIS was also pioneering in its use of ranked (scored) results where the software tries to determine how relevant each result is.

WAN - (Wide Area Network) any internet or network that covers an area larger than a single building or campus.

Web - short for World Wide Web.

Web Author - a person who develops the content (text) of web pages.

Web Hosting - a service that allows users to post web pages to the Internet. A web host, which is also called hosting service provider (HSP), is a business that provides the technologies and services needed for websites to be viewed on the web.

Web Page - a document, typically written in HTML, designed for viewing in a web browser. A website is made of one or more web pages.

Webliography – a listing of websites; a bibliography of websites mounted on the web with hyperlinks.

Webmaster - an individual who manages a website. Depending on the size of the site, the webmaster might be responsible for making sure that the web server hardware and software is running properly, designing the website, creating and updating web pages, replying to user feedback, monitoring traffic through the site, etc.

Website - the entire collection of web pages and other information (such as images, sound, and video files, etc.) that are made available usually through a single web server. Typically all the of the pages in a website share the same basic URL. The term has a somewhat informal nature since a large organization might have separate "websites" for each division, but someone might talk informally about the organization’s "website" when speaking about all of them.

Whois - a searchable database maintained by the registrar, which contains information about networks, networking organizations, domain names, and the contacts associated with them for respective domains. Also, the set of rules that describes the application used to access the database.

Windows - a series of operating systems that run on top of DOS, providing a GUI environment. Microsoft Corporation claims this term as a trademark.

Windows NT – a version of the Windows operating system. Windows NT (New Technology) is a 32-bit operating system that supports preemptive multitasking. There are actually two versions of Windows NT. Windows NT Server, designed to act as a server in networks, and Windows NT Workstation for stand-alone or client workstations.

Wizard - a software routine or self-activating program that guides you through a simple set-up routine for a particular feature or application.

Worm - a virus that does not infect other programs. It makes copies of itself, and infects additional computers (typically by making use of network connections) but does not attach itself to additional programs; however a worm might alter, install, or destroy files and programs.

WWW - (World Wide Web) World Wide Web (or simply web for short) is a term frequently used (incorrectly) when referring to "The Internet", WWW has two major meanings: First, loosely used: the whole constellation of resources that can be accessed using Gopher, FTP, HTTP, telnet, USENET, WAIS and some other tools. Second, the universe of hypertext servers (HTTP servers), more commonly called "web servers", which are the servers that serve web pages to web browsers.

WYSIWYG – pronounced wizzy-wig and describes a user interface under which "What You See Is What You Get", as opposed to one that uses more-or-less obscure commands which do not result in immediate visual feedback. A WYSIWYG application is one that enables you to see on the display screen exactly what will appear when the document is printed. Editors like Dreamweaver or Frontpage let you create web pages by displaying exactly how it will look in a browser. Knowledge of HTML is not necessary. The use of WYSIWYG editors is problematic because of their use of non-standard, proprietary, and deprecated mark-up.

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X

XML - (eXtensible Markup Language) a widely used standard from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) that facilitates the interchange of data between computer applications. XML is similar to the language used for web pages, the HyperText Markup Language (HTML), in that both use markup codes (tags). Computer programs can automatically extract data from an XML document, using its associated DTD as a guide.

XMLRPC – (XML Remote Procedure Call) a protocol for client-server communication that sends and receives information "on top of" HTTP. The data sent and received is in a particular XML format specifically designed for use with XMLRPC.

XPFE - (Cross Platform Front End) a suite of technologies used to create applications that will work and look the same on different computer operating systems. A widely used XPFE application is the Mozilla web browser and its derivatives, such as the Netscape web browser in version 7 and later. The primary technologies used in creating XPFE applications are Javascript, Cascading Style Sheets, and XUL.

XUL - (eXtensible User-interface Language) a markup language similar to HTML and based on XML. XUL previously defined what the user interface will look like for a particular piece of software. XUL is used to define what buttons, scrollbars, text boxes, and other user-interface items will appear, but it is not used to define how those items will look (e.g. what color they are). The most widely used example of XUL use is probably in the Mozilla web browser, where the entire user interface is defined using the XUL language.

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Y

Yahoo - A leading Internet search engine.

Z

No words starting with Z available at this time.

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Many definitions within this glossary are courtesy of Matisse Enzer.