Glossary of Internet Terms

Maine Guide to Using the Internet for Substance Abuse Prevention

SELECTED GLOSSARY TERMS

Bookmark: A way of saving a website link on your browser. You can access it later by clicking on it rather than having to retype the URL in the Location Field box. Also called Favorites or Hotlist.

Boolean: A system of logic that is used by search tools as a way of combining search terms using the words (operators) "AND," "OR," and "NOT."

Browser (Web browser): A software program that enables you to view Web documents including their text, pictures and sounds, as well as follow the links on webpages by clicking on them. The most common browsers are Netscape and Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Domain: The part of a Web address that names which folder or directory a file is located in on a computer. It usually contains some form of the organization's name and consists of two or more parts that are separated by dots. It begins after the http:// and ends with the letters after the last dot before a forward slash (/).

Download: To request the transfer of information from the Internet to your computer. This can be in the form of documents/files or programs. Be careful about viruses when downloading files or programs. Make sure you have an up-to-date virus protection program installed on your computer.

E-mail (electronic mail): The transmission of text messages through a network service that allows users to send and receive messages via a computer. Messages can be sent to an individual or a group if you know their e-mail addresses. Files stored in your computer can also be attached to your messages.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions): Lists of commonly asked questions and answers about a specific topic. These are included on many websites and are a good starting place for finding information.

Field Searching: A feature on some search tools that allows you to limit a search by requiring that a word or phrase appear in a specific field of the document such as the title, the URL, or the domain. An example of a title search might be: title:"substance abuse" which would return results in which the term "substance abuse" was included in the title of the document.

Homepage: The page designated as the first page of a website. It acts as a Table of Contents to the website and contains links to the webpages of that website.

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language): This is a standardized formatting language of computer code that is interpreted (decoded) by your browser. It contains the text, pictures, sounds and links that are displayed on your computer screen once it has been decoded.

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol): The standardized rules or method of communication used by the Web to transfer text, images, sounds, video, and other media files over the Internet.

Hyperlink, Hotlinks, Hypertext: Specially formatted text, graphics or buttons in a webpage that, when clicked with the mouse, display another webpage or a different section of the same webpage. These are usually emphasized in some way such as being underlined, being a different color from the rest of the text, or changing color or becoming highlighted when pointed to with the cursor. The cursor changes to the shape of a hand when placed over one of these links.

Internet Service Provider (ISP): A company that, for a fee, provides you access to the Internet.

Listserv: An automatic mailing list server that allows subscribers to participate in a discussion group via e-mail. As a participant you can read all the messages sent to the group, and your replies are received by the entire group.

Metasearch Engine: A type of search tool program that submits your keyword search to several other search tools and retrieves the initial results from all of their databases.

Modem: A device that translates computer signals to allow your computer to send and receive data over phone lines.

Netiquette: The guidelines or rules of Internet courtesy or etiquette. For more information go to the following address: Netiquette by Virginia Shea at http://www.albion.com/netiquette/index.html.

Search Engine: A type of search tool program that is used to search an extensive database of Web documents for the key words or phrases you supply in a search query. It retrieves a list of the Web addresses of documents that contain your search words.

Subject Directory: A type of search tool that is a catalog of websites organized under various category and topic areas that can be reviewed, or searched, by keywords. Some directories screen the files that they include; others accept submissions from anyone. Directories are smaller than other search tools because they are organized by people, not computer programs.

Truncation: A feature of some search tools that allows for variations in the spelling of words. By inserting an asterisk (*) at the end of the root part of a word, the search engine will return document files that contain not just the root word, but any of its alternate spellings or word endings.

URL (Uniform Resource Locator): The unique address of any Web document. It is typed into the Location Field box of the browser.

Website: A Web address that contains one or more webpages. A website usually relates to a specific topic area, organization or product and is maintained by an organization or an individual.

To Learn More: To find the meaning of terms not listed here try Webopedia, a searchable dictionary of Internet terms at the following address: http://www.webopedia.com.