At this time there are two major browsers -- Netscape Navigator and
Internet Explorer. If you are a beginner and got this far, you are probably using
one of them. A browser is the software that allows you to navigate the the world
wide web (that's where this website and others exist). Although there are a lot of
differences, there are some basic similarities. Both browsers have "back"
and "forward" buttons on the "button bar" at the top left of your
screen. The browsers keep track of where you have been and allow you to return to
the last page you visited by "clicking" on the back button. If you leave
this site by following a link, you can return here by using the back button. You can
return to the next page visited by "clicking" on the forward button.
Links, are text or
pictures that are "hyperlinked" to other webpages -- on this site or on other
sites -- or sometimes to another place on the same page. They usually appear in a
different color and/or underlined. On this page (for most of you) the links should
be underlined and blue. Hopefully, the picture or text that is linked will tell you
something about where you are going. You probably got here by "clicking" on the
link "How To Use This Site." You can get back here from most pages on this
site by following that link, or you can use the back button and keep backtracking until
you get here. To follow the link to the It Can't Be Too
Basic for Me section, which provides links to some basic internet tutorials, just
click on the highlighted, underlined text.
There are buttons and links that say "feedback" at various places around the
site. Use them to communicate with us. Let us know what you think. Share
your ideas with us.
We have temporarily disabled our internal
search function. We never did make it work well. We hope to have it back up and working
right soon. In the mean time, if you're feeling expansive and want to search for
information about a topic or topics outside this website, click here on Search Engines to learn how.
Our communication
center is a place where people can engage in on line discussions and
conferences about the various topics discussed on the site. Like much of this site,
it is still under development, but take a look, follow the links to the conference center,
and please join in the discussions. We need your participation to make this work.
So, push a few buttons, click on a few
links, surf around the site and check it out. And be sure to give us your feedback.
The "It Can't Be Too
Basic for Me" Section:
Internet
Tour an extremely basic introduction to the Internet that was developed by
Newark Memorial High School Library as a required first step to accessing the Internet at
the library. Very limited. Might be useful as a 5 minute first step by complete novices.
The UC Berkeley library has a good basic
tutorial on Finding
Information on the Internet.
For free online assistance with internet questions
and problems, check out The Internet Help Desk. The
Help Desk contains a wealth of information useful to both new and experienced web surfers.
Acronyms
in Electronic Mail and Postings
In this time-driven world, it is inevitable that frequently
used phrases are quickly translated into acronyms. In the cyber world, most people lack
the technology to send their faces over the Net. As a result, the nuances of in-person
interaction are lost. Many of the acronyms are ways to inject these nuances back into the
conversation. ( As you will note, nuance may be a bit of an understatement for acronyms
like ROFL).
Active newsgroups, especially those dealing with
technology, tend to accumulate these short cuts which can limit understanding by
newcomers. You have 3 options:
- Check out the listof some common acronyms below.
- Ask the person who posted the acronym (keep in mind that you
will be posting to the entire group).
- Some newsgroups post FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions
- your first acronym) and that list may include acronyms commonly used by that group.
Common Acronyms
BG - Big Grin
BTW - By The Way
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
FOAF - Friend of A Friend
FUQ - Frequently Unanswered Questions
FWIW - For What It is Worth
IMO - In My Opinion
IMHO - In My Humble Opinion
LOL - Laughing Out Loud
RFD - Request for Discussion ( often used to create an
offshoot group for a new discussion area)
ROFL - Rolling On the Floor Laughing
UL - Urban Legend
WRT - With Respect To
WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get
YMMV - Your Mileage May Vary
FYI - For Your Information
You may also find that
posters use something called "emoticons." These are little keyboard-created
"graphics" used when graphics cannot be used in the text. They can be helpful in
conveying nuances in informal e-mail communications such as newsgroups.
An example is : -) which is a face when viewed at an angle.
There are various indexes of emoticons -- which can get quite carried away. If
this is a subject that interests you, try these: WindWeaver,
Dave
Barry's Emoticons, BMI
Global's Emoticons. Try not to get carried away.
Cookies
Explained
A cookie is a small bit of information that a server
computer (the computer your web browser is contacting) asks your web browser to store
temporarily. If you accept a cookie, your web browser will remember certain types of
information and the next time your browser contacts the same web server computer, your
browser will give that information back to the server computer.
A cookie is returned only to the server that sent it
originally. Also the cookie screen will usually tell you how long it will be kept.
Why would a
website want to send a cookie? It allows the server computer to
customize the site on a person-to-person basis. For example, if you visit an on-line
bookstore, the cookie will allow you to add your purchases to a "shopping cart"
while looking for other items.
Why would I allow
a cookie to be sent ? In some cases, it will help you in your
interaction with the site. For example, some cookies allow you to re-enter sites that
require registration by acting as pass key to the site. In other cases, it helps the site
to keep track of multiple users. It generally does no harm and helps the web masters at
the sites you are contacting.
Can a cookie get
my e-mail address or other information? Can it spread a virus? No
- to both questions. It can only return the information that relates to your activity on
that particular site.
Why does it come
back after I click "no"? The server computer is programmed
to send it more than once as a means of increasing the number of cookies accepted.
Why should I not
accept a cookie? Some people worry about privacy since a server will
know (for example) the books you chose to order. Mostly, it may be a problem if you accept
huge numbers of them since they take up space on your hard drive. Since most are small,
this is not generally a problem.
Is there a way to
stop or get rid of cookies? There are several. You can buy a screening
program. One is called Guard Dog which looks at incoming cookies and advises you to accept
or reject them. Probably the easiest thing to do is just delete them periodically from
your hard drive. They are often stored in a "cookie" file.
Or most web browsers allow you to refuse cookies (usually
in the advanced set of browser options). If you are using Netscape Navigator, you can
select Edit, then Preferences. When the Preferences window opens up, look under Category
and select Advanced. You will be offered several choices. If you disable the cookies, it
means that you will need to register any time you return to a site with customized
information like this one. The safest and most useful choice is likely to be "Accept
Only Cookies That Get Sent Back To The Originating Server".
A cookie is like
. . . . Ann Tohill of the internet trainers listserv (NETTRAIN)
asked for help with analogies to explain cookies. Here are some responses she
got:
- How about caller ID? The computer
contacting you wants to put info on your system so that the next time
you call, they know who it is.
- How about Columbia House Music? You contact them
and tell them what kind of
music
you like. They send you catalogs with the kind of music you specified.
- A cookie is like a key that gives you access to a
certain part of a
Website.
- A cookie can be like a maitre'd at the
restaurant who asks, "Will you have your usual table Ms. Tohill?"
Interesting Cookie-Related
Websites
Cookie
Central is a website that maintains pretty complete and up to date
information on cookies, their function, their use and misuse.
Edible
Cookies -- This is an excellent catalog of recipes for edible cookies.Willow's Sour
Cherry Bars are particularly good despite the fact they do not have chocolate as an
ingredient.
Now that you have the basics, you may want to go to The Structure of
this Site to get a global idea of how we've organized this little corner of
cyberspace.
