Glossary

Download: To receive a file from another computer through the Internet.

Frequently Asked Questions: Commonly referred to as FAQs, these are lists of answers to the most frequently asked questions about a specific area of the Internet. They are created and distributed by Internet Experts.

Home page: This is the main page of a Web site and usually includes a menu of what users can find on subsequent levels of the site.

HTML: Hypertext markup language is a coding system used to format documents for viewing on the World Wide Web. Using HTML codes all special characters, such as bold or underline, are "tagged" for output to the screen.

Hyperlink or Link: The way that web pages are linked so that users can easily jump from one to another when they click on highlighted words.

Netiquette: A shortened version of "Net etiquette", or the traditional way of doing things on the Internet. For example, SENDING MESSAGES IN ALL CAPS, is the net equivalent of shouting, and is rude according to netiquette.

Posting: A note or article that is placed, or posted, either in e-mail for mailing lists or in a public place, such as a bulletin board, for a newsgroup.

Search engine: A tool that locates web sites and resources through searches for keywords. 

Shareware: A software product that is distributed on the Internet and is free to use for a limited period of time. Typically, after the software is downloaded and used for a while, the user pays a nominal fee for it.

URL:Stands for Uniform Resouce Locator and refers to the addresing system for the Internet and the Web.

Web Browser: A Web browser enables you to cruise easily around the Web - it's your "ticket to ride." Specifically, a Web browser is an interface to access Web pages. Two of the most used browsers are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Explorer.

World Wide Web: This is the most popular, most quickly growing part of the Internet and most closely resembles the printed page because it gives users a visual, magazine-style interface using hypertext linked documents. Web pages are collections of text and graphics, and with the click of the mouse, you can easily move to another Web site.

www: The generally accepted shorthand for the World Wide Web. Also called w3.