The Online World Part 47

Snail mail ---------- A pejorative term referring to the national postal service in different countries.

String search ------------- A method for searching a database. Works like the search function in a common word processor program.

On online services, your commands will often search the full doc.u.ment (including the t.i.tle, subt.i.tles, keywords, and the full text). Sometimes, string searches just return a line or a few lines around the hit. In other cases, they return the full screen or the full doc.u.ment.

Sysop ----- Common name used on bulletin boards for System Operator. This is the person in charge of maintenance and helping users.

System ------ Generic name for a computer with connected equipment or for an online service or bulletin board.

Talk ---- A command on the Internet, which may remind of IRC, but is a single link between two parties only.

TAPCIS ------ A program for automatic access to CompuServe. It lets callers read and respond to personal email and forum message threads offline, and download files. Contact: Support Group, Inc., Lake Technology Park, McHenry, MD 21541, U.S.A. Also: TAPCIS Forum. Internet mail: [email protected] On CompuServe: 74020,10. Registration: US$ 79.00.

TCP/IP ------ Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. Set of communications protocols that internetwork dissimilar systems connected to the Internet. TCP/IP supports services such as remote login (telnet), file transfer (FTP), and mail (SMTP).

Telnet ------ A program on the Internet that allows logins to another computer to run software there. Telnet allows a user at one site to interact with a remote system at another site as if the user's terminal was connected directly to the remote computer.

With telnet, you can browse menus, read text files, use gopher services, and search online databases. Sometimes, you can join live, interactive games and chat with other callers. Usually, you cannot download files or list file directories.

Telnet is not available to users who have email only access to the Internet.

To telnet a remote computer, you must know its name. This can either be in words, like "vm1.nodak.edu", or a numeric address, like "134.129.111.1". Some services require that you connect to a specific "port" on the remote system. Enter the port number, if there is one, after the Internet address.

For a list of SPECIAL INTERNET CONNECTIONS, send email to [email protected] You can also get it by ftp or gopher to csd4.csd.uwm.edu, and through alt.internet.services on Usenet.

Terminal emulator ----------------- A program that allows a computer to emulate a terminal. The workstation appears as a given type of terminal to the remote host.

TRICKLE ------- Servers on the Internet offering the SIMTEL20 shareware and public domain files by email (uuencoded). These servers include:

[email protected] (Turkey) [email protected] (Belgium) [email protected] (Israel) [email protected] (Italy) [email protected] (Germany) [email protected] (Austria) [email protected] (Colombia)

For more information and a list of TRICKLE servers, send a message to one of these addresses with the command "/HELP" in the body of your text.

TTY --- Abbreviation for TELETYPE, a special type of writing terminal (electrical/mechanical). Also, known as 'dumb terminal'.

TTY mode -------- This is when a communications program emulates a TTY machine, which only involves printing characters and recognizing the linefeed, carriage return and backs.p.a.ce characters.

Unix ---- An operating system that supports multi-user and mult.i.tasking operations.

Uploading --------- The act of transferring data from your computer's disk (up) to an online service and storage there.

Usenet ------ A global bulletin board, of sorts, in which millions of people exchange public information on every conceivable topic. For more information, see appendix 1.

UUCP ---- See appendix 1.

Veronica -------- A service on the Internet. Maintains an index of gopher items, and provides keyword searches of those t.i.tles. The result of a search is a set of gopher-type data items, which is returned to the user as a gopher menu. The user can access any of these data items by selecting from the returned menu.

WAIS (Wide Area Information Servers) ------------------------------------ A kind of indexed online search tool to locate items based on what they contain - usually keyword text searches. It is a powerful tool for concurrent searches of large databases and/or newsgroups on the Internet.

Example: Telnet QUAKE.THINK.COM (or Telnet 192.31.181.1). Login as "wais".

WAN --- Wide Area Network.

The 'whatis' database --------------------- Archie (see above) also permits access to the whatis description database. It contains the names and brief synopses of over 3,500 public domain software packages, datasets and informational doc.u.ments located on the Internet.

Whois ----- An Internet program that lets users query a database of people and other Internet ent.i.ties, such as domains, networks, and hosts, kept at the NIC (see above).

For example, Whois lets you scan through a registry of researchers in the network field to find an Internet address, if you have only the last name or part of it. It will give you the person's company name, address, phone number, and email address. It had around 70,000 listings in December 1992.

To access the WHOIS, telnet to rs.internic.net. When greeted by the host, type "WHOIS" and press RETURN. It also has a gopher service (type "gopher" go access, instead of "wais").

WWW (World Wide Web) -------------------- is much like Gopher in that it provides top level access down to other services on the Internet. WWW uses a hypertext interface with cross links between things. You can use highlighted words to jump off onto another track.

WYSIWYG ------- What You See is What You Get.

X.25 ---- A CCITT standard communications protocol used internationally in packet data networks. It provides error-checked communication between packet data networks and their users or other networks.

Rather than sending a stream of bits like a modem, an X.25 router sends packets of data. There are different packet sizes and types. Each packet contains data to be transmitted, information about the packet's origin, destination, size, and its place in the order of the packets sent. There are clear packets that perform the equivalent of hanging-up the phone. There are reset, restart, and diagnostic packets. On the receiving end, the packet a.s.sembler/ disa.s.sembler (PAD) in the router translates the packets back into a readable format.

X.400 ----- The CCITT and ISO standard for electronic mail.

X.500 ----- The CCITT and ISO standard for electronic directory services.