Kevin Kadow
Ripco Communications Inc.

I'm working on a list of sites that have links to this page.

A

AFS

Acronym for the Andrew File System.

ANSI

American National Standards Institute A private, nonprofit organization operating in the public interest to coordinate U.S. standards. Also, a common terminal control protocol.

Archie

A system for searching FTP site listings, it is available as a Unix command and via telnet.
See also Veronica.

Archive

A single large file from which many smaller files can be extracted, archive files are often compressed. Generally they are used to make it easier to transfer large programs and sets of files. Common archive formats include ARJ, TAR, ZIP, and ZOO.

ARJ

A popular archive program available for MS-DOS and other computers.
See Also: TAR,ZIP, and ZOO.

ARP

Acronym for Address Resolution Protocol, a protocol for translating between IP addresses and MAC-layer addresses in an ethernet. Defined in RFC 826.

ArpaNet

Acronym for Advanced Research Project Administration NETwork. A US Department of Defense project designed as a redudant WAN capable of surviving a nuclear war. Precursor of the Internet

ASCII

Acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange, which specifies the standard 7-bit character set.

BBS

An acronym for Bulletin Board System, a type of computer service where people can read and post public messages, similar to Usenet News but on a much smaller scale.

A system of base-2 arithmatic, binaries numbers have only two possible values, 0 (off, or false) or 1 (on or true).

BINHEX

Acronym for BINary HEXadecimal. A standard for converting 8-bit files into a 7-bit ASCII format for transmission over non-8-bit-clean mediums such as e-mail. BinHex is commonly used on Macintosh systems.
See also: uuencode, bit.

bit

Acronym for BInary digiT. The smallest unit of space in computing, a bit contains a single binary value.
See also: byte.

bps

Acronym for bits-per-second, a measurement of Bandwidth.
See also: T1,T3.

byte

A set of 8 bits that represent a single character.
See also: nybble.

Cache

A cache is a system for storing frequently accessed information for faster response. Cache memory on your motherboard is extra-fast RAM that keeps a copy of the most recently requested bits from regular RAM. A 'caching proxy web server' keeps the most recently requested web documents stored locally, reducing response time from (often very slow) remote web sites.

CCITT

Acronym for the CCITT standards organization.

Chew

A component of network lag, chew is the percentage of packets that are 'eaten' by the network connection. Ideally no packets should be lost, but the Internet is often anything but ideal.

CIX

The Commercial Internet Exchange is a trade association of internet connectivity providers.

client

A client connects to a server, with which it exchanges information.
See also: X-window.

Compress

To make a file smaller by applying a compression algorithm, usually for the purpose of conserving space or speeding up file transfers. This can also refer to the Unix command to compress a file which appends '.Z' to the filename, or to the free GNU enhanced version, gzip.

CTCP

An acronym for Client-To-Client-Protocol, a feature of some IRC clients.

cyber-

Deprecated. A prefix used by newbies and lamers to describe internet related topics, such as "cyberspace".

Delete

see rm.

Directory

The Unix equivalent of a 'folder' on a Macintosh, all files are stored in directories. A directory can be created with the mkdir command and empty directories are removed with rmdir.

DNS

Acronym for Domain Name Service.

Domain

An internet 'domain' is a subsection of the internet. The primary domains of the internet are .COM, .NET, .MIL, and .ORG, which refer to Commercial, Network, Military, and Organization. These domains are administered by the Internic. Each domain has a primary and secondary Domain Name Server associated with it.

Domain Name Server

Each internet domain has two domain name servers, or DNS. The primary DNS for a domain is usually located on one of the machine in that network, you can often determine the server from the output of the nslookup command.

DVORAK

An alternative keyboard layout designed for speed. See QWERTY

Editor

One of several programs in Unix used to create and modify text files, some common editors include vi, ee and, pico.

E-Mail

See Mail.

FAQ

An Acronym for Frequently Asked Questions, these are lists of questions that occur frequently on Usenet newsgroups, they are posted at regular intervals and archived at several sites. You should always read the FAQ (if there is one) for a group before posting a message, or risk being flamed.

Finger

A Unix command that provides information about users logged in, and can also be used to retrieve the .plan and .project files from a users home directory.

Firewall

A firewall is used on some networks to provide added security by blocking access to certain services in the private network from the rest of the internet, in the same way that a firewall in a building keeps fire from spreading, an internet firewall keeps hackers from spreading.

Flame

An offensive or insulting e-mail or Usenet News message, often the result of an error in netiquette.

Font

A character set or typeface family denoting a particular size and style.

FQDN

Acronym for Fully Qualified Domain Name, an address which specifies a specific machine and it's internet domain. "foley" is not a FQDN, however "foley.ripco.com" is.

FTP

An Acronym for File Transfer Protocol, a method of retrieving files to your home directory or directly to your computer using SLIP/PPP. There are thousands of FTP sites on the Internet offering files and programs of all kinds.

FSP

A file transfer system similar to FTP, distinguished by the ability for servers to run on any port without requiring special privledges, and the lower system load from FSP servers than from FTP.

GIF

is an acronym for Graphic Interchange Format, developed by compuserve this is a very popular format for exchanging pictures, it is slowly being replaced by the JPG image format.

GNU

The GNU project's goal is to provide freely redistributable Unix software.

Gopher

An information system available as a Unix command that provides access to many information services, see also WWW.

GUI

Acronym for Graphical User Interface, such as the Mosaic(tm) or the Macintosh and MS-Windows systems.

GZip

A free compression program commonly available as a Unix command for file compression, gzip, which is also available for MS-DOS, compresses files and appends either '.z' or '.gz' to the filename.

Host

Any machine can be a host. The machine you log into is your 'login host', the machine you read news from is a 'news host', etc.

HTML

Acronym for HyperText Markup Language, the underlying formatting for World-Wide-Web documents. A Primer explaining the format is available for beginners.

HTTP

Acronym for HyperText Transport Protocol the system for requesting HTML documents from the World-Wide-Web.

Information Superhighway

Deprecated. A term often used by newbies and Al Gore to describe the Internet.
See also: cyber.

Home

A directory or WWW page that is 'owned' by a user is often referred to as their 'home directory' or 'home page'.

HQX

A popular program for the Macintosh used to convert binary files into the 7-bit BinHex format so they can be sent as text.
See also: uuencode.

ICMP

Internet Control Message Protocol, the standard error and control message protocol for Internet systems. Defined in RFC 792.

IETF

The Internet Engineering Task Force, The IETF is the protocol engineering and development arm of the Internet, the IETF Home Page provides specific information in excruciating detail.

IMHO

Shorthand for In My Humble Opinion.
See also: ROTFL,TMK.

Internet

A loose confederation of networks around the world, the networks that make up the Internet are connected through several backbone networks. The Internet grew out of the U.S. Government ARPAnet project, and is specifically designed to have no central governing authority or 'root', node.

Internic

The Internic provides the primary directory and registration services for the American part of the Internet.

IRC

Acronym for Internet Relay Chat which is a world-wide distributed live chat system.

ISDN

Acronym for Integrated Services Digital Network, a high-speed digital phone system that supersedes POTS.
See also: PRI and the ISDN Glossary

ISP

Acronym for Internet Service Provider, these are the companies that provide access to end users of the Internet, as opposed to NSPs. There are several lists of regional ISPs, including NetUSA.

Jargon

The language used within a particular field. Computer Jargon is compiled in the definitive Jargon File

JPG

An acronym for a variable-compression image format, JPeG supports true color images and lossy compression.

Kermit

A terminal program and file transfer protocol, kermit can be used to download files from a remote system to your home computer. Kermit is distinguished by it's ability to transfer files over telnet and other connections that would corrupt a binary transfer. It is often available as a Unix command.

kilobyte

A Kilobyte consists of 1,024 bytes.
See also: megabyte.

LAN

Acronym for Local Area Network, a lan usually is contained within one or more buildings, as opposed to a WAN.

Lag

The delay in information coming across the network through telnet or other types of connections, usually caused by a slow or error-prone connection somewhere between the two communicating machines. Technically there are two causes of lag, the second being chew.

Lame

A user who behaves in a stupid or uneducated manner, a description often applied to newbies.

leased-line

A leased-line is a dedicated (thus "leased") connection linking two or more points without going through any switching equipment.
See also: T1, T3, ISDN and the ISDN Glossary

Lurk

Following a newsgroup or sitting on an IRC channel and reading the messages without saying anything, as if you were 'lurking in the shadows' staying out of sight.

Lynx

A text-based World-Wide-Web browser, available as a Unix command

ls

Unix command used to list files and directories.

MAE

Originally "Maryland Area Exchange Point", this has become a generic term for any location where numerous providers "peer" (exchange traffic).

MAC Address

The low-level address assigned to a device on an ethernet, MAC addresses are translated to IP addresses via ARP.

Man

The Unix command for viewing the online manual pages, at Ripco online manuals are also accessible from the online help.

Modem

Shorthand for MODulator/DEModulator, a modem allows the transmission of digital information over an analog phone line. A modem dictionary is available that defines all the basic terms.

Mail

Electronic Mail is a means of exchanging private text messages through the Internet and other networks. Common Unix mail readers include Elm, Pine, and MUSH. It is also possible to read mail across a SLIP connection with a client program connected to a popmail server.

megabyte

A megabyte can refer to either 1,024 kilobytes">kilobytes or exactly one million bytes.

MIME

An acronym for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, is a protocol for sending sound, graphics, and other binary data as attachments to Mail messages.

Mkdir

The Unix command to create a new directory.

Moose Poets(tm)

A group of lamers from the groups alt.bigfoot and alt.moose.rights this group, lead by William Cassidy they are known for their spamming activities on rec.pets and other groups.

Mosaic(tm)

A graphical browser available for MS-Windows(tm) and Macintosh(tm), created by the NCSA.

MUD

Acronym for Multi-User Dungeon, a type of text based adventure game accessed with telnet or a specialized client program, such as tintin, tinyfugue, or tinytalk. There are many types of MUD including Diku, MOO, and MUSE. On example is ChicagoMUSE.

MX

Acronym for Mail eXchange. MX is a DNS record used to define the host(s) willing to accept mail for a given machine.

NAP

Acronym for Network Access Point, the major internet providers usually have peering points at one or more NAPs.

Netiquette

The informal set of rules for using the Internet, ignoring them may result in being flamed or mail-bombed. Guidelines for usenet news can be found in news.announce.newusers.

Newbie

Somebody new to the Internet, or to computers in general.

Newsgroup

A message area in the Usenet News, each newsgroup can be either 'moderated' with only postings approved by a moderator publically posted, or 'unmoderated' where all messages are distributed to the newsgroup immediately.

Netscape(tm)

A commercial GUI World-Wide-Web browser for X-Window, MS-Windows and Macintosh, available from Netscape Communications.

NFS

An acronym for Network FileSystem, this is one method of sharing files across a LAN or through the internet.
See also: AFS.

NIC

An acronym for Network Interface Card or for Network Information Center, such as the Internic.

NNTP

Acronym for Network News Transfor Protocol, a system for reading and writing Usenet News articles across a network, this service is defined by RFC number 977.

NSF

An acronym for National Science Foundation, the NSFNet became officially disconnected from the primary Internet on April 30, 1995.

NSP

An acronym for Network Service Provider, these are the companies that provide connectivity to the internet for ISPs and others requiring high speed connections between their LANs and the Internet.

nybble

A "nybble" is four bits (one-half of a byte). Nybble chips are occasionally used to conserve costs where only values from 0-15 will be stored.

ob-/ob/

abbreviation for "obligatory. An oft-neglected facet of netiquette in which the author of a usenet post includes a bit of on-topic material to justify an otherwise off-topic posting. See Jargon's definition

PH

Acronym for PHonebook, a PH client program can be used to access a networked telephone book, such as QI (CCSO Nameserver) database. QI databases are generally used to store phone books, timetables, and other forms of public information.

Proxy

A proxy is somebody you delegate to do something for you, in the Internet, a 'proxy web server' is often used for hosts behind firewalls. The firewalled host sends a http request to the proxy server, which forwards it to the real web server outside, collects the response, and passes it back to the internal host.

Ping

A Unix command which sends UDP packets to a host, and listens for responses. Used to check if a machine on the Internet is alive and reachable, and measure the Round Trip Time (RTT) between the local and remote host. See also traceroute.

Popmail

A program used to remotely read e-mail across a network, often used in conjunction with SLIP. The most commonly used version, Pop3, is described in RFC number 1081.
See also: IMAP, QWK

PPP

An acronym for Point-to-Point-Protocol, an advanced serial packet protocol similar to SLIP.

QI

An acronym for Query Interface, The QI (generally based on the CCSO Nameserver) is a database system that can be accessed by ph client programs to retrieve and edit entries in the server. This is generally used for phonebook services, but can be used in any database application. Further information is available.

QWERTY

The standard english-language keyboard layout. Term comes from the first six letters below the row of numbers.
See also: DVORAK

QWK

A format for offline mail and news reader packets, originally made popular on MS-DOS but available as a Unix command.

RFC

Acronym for Request For Comment, these a broad range of notes covering a variety of topics related to the Internet. RFCs are handled by the IETF and are archived at several sites.

Ripco(tm)

A popular Chicago area bulletin board system and Internet access provider with a long and colorful history, Ripco's spinoff, RCI provides internet access services, including this dictionary (had to get a plug in somewhere :).

Rm

The Unix command. to delete a file from a directory.

Rmdir

The Unix command. to delete a directory.

Rot-13

A simple form of encryption in which the letters A-M are transposed with the letters L-Z, often used in Usenet postings of offensive jokes to prevent people from accidentally reading a disturbing message.

ROTFL

Shorthand for Rolling On the Floor Laughing.
See also:IMHO, TMK.

Router

A router is a special type of internet host that gateways (transfers) packets between two or more networks.

server

A server provides information or other services to it's clients. Most network protocols are client-server based.

Shell

One of several command line interfaces available on Unix machines, some common shells include Bourne shell, ksh, and tcsh.

SLIP

Acronym for Serial Line Internet Protocol, SLIP is a serial packet protocol used to connect a remote computer to the Internet using modems or direct serial lines, SLIP requires an Internet provider with special SLIP accounts or a shell account a SLIP emulator such as TIA(tm) or SLiRP.

SMTP

An acronym for Simple Mail Transport Protocol, which defines a common mechanism for exchanging mail across a network. This protocol is described in RFC number 821. Usually SMTP is incorporated in a MTA

Snail Mail

The U.S. Postal service or other form of ground mail. As opposed to E-Mail

spam

A popular canned meat product. Also, sending unwanted messages to a public forum, possibly a reference to the famous Spam sketch Spam Sketch by Monty Python.

Surfing

The term used by newbies to descripbe exploring the Internet, usually through a World-Wide-Web browser, a metaphor from real surfing.

T1

A leased-line specification providing for 24 frames with an aggregate bandwidth of up to 1.54Mbps.

T3

A leased-line specification providing for an aggregate bandwidth of 45Mbps.

Tar

A program used to create a single file archive from several files, often used to distribute programs for Unix. The Unix command has many options.

TCP/IP

Acronym for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, a Networking standard commonly used on the Internet.

Telnet

A communications protocol for connecting to other computers locally or across the Internet, telnet is available as a Unix command.

TIA

An acronym for The Internet Adapter, a program that allows pseudo- SLIP connections from a normal shell account, TIA is distributed by Marketplace.com. SLiRP is a free program that performs a similar function.
See also: TCP/IP, Internet.

TMK

Shorthand for To My Knowledge
See also: ROTFL,IMHO.

Traceroute

Similar to ping, traceroute shows the route to a selected host (note that the route to a host may differ from the route from a host) with the time required for a packet to get to each intermediate host or router.

UDP

Acronym for User Datagram Protocal, a simple connectionless TCP service.

URL

An acronym for Uniform Resource Locator, URL's are a standardized format for giving a pointer to information available from gopher,WWW, finger and other servers A Primer explaining the use of URL's is available.

Usenet News

A network of systems that exchange articles using the Internet, UUCP, and other methods to establish public message conferences on some or all of over 6,000 topics or "newsgroups. There are many common newsgroups include some that can run on your home computer via SLIP and the Unix newsreaders, tin, trn, and nn.

UUCP

An acronym for Unix to Unix CoPy, UUCP is a protocol used for the store-and-forward exchange of mail, Usenet News and other files, usually over a modem.

UUEncode

A popular method of exchanging binary files in Mail and via Usenet News the uuencode program converts a binary file into a (larger) file of alphanumeric characters that will not be corrupted when sent as a text file. UUEncode is available as a Unix command as well as MS-DOS and Macintosh versions. To convert the file back to the original binary form you can use the uudecode program or the popular Unix extraction program uuconvert

Veronica

A program to track down information from Gopher databases.

WAN

Acronym for Wide Area Network, which is generally a network connecting several physically distant locations, as opposed to a LAN. The Internet is an example of a worldwide WAN.

Webster(tm)

A type of dictionary server available at many educational sites, public servers were common until copyright concerns caused most of them to be closed to outside access.

World-Wide-Web

A distributed hypertext information system that uses HTTP to retrieve text and graphics, often erroneously referred to by the name of one type of browser, Mosaic.

X.25

A packet-switched data network.

X.400

A CCITT standard for mail formats.

X.500

A mail-directory system.

X-Window

A network-based GUI designed for Unix systems, there are thousands of free applications available as source code and compiled executables for X-Window compatible systems, including PC-based X-terminal emulators. X-Windowing systems are interesting in that they reverse the usual client-server metaphor.

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ZIP

A popular archive format often used with MS-DOS systems, there is an unarj program available for Unix.

ZOO

A popular archive format available for most systems, including a Unix Version.

Other items of Interest

• ISDN Glossary of Terms.
• Black Box offers a
• Internet Literacy Consultants(tm) Glossary of Data Communications Terms. David's Amazing ISP FAQ, Glossary section
• The definitive Jargon File
• CyberDorktionary

Comments?

Copyright 1994 by Kevin Kadow
All rights reserved. You are encouraged to make links to this file and the items within.