Introduction

For a lot of adults, protecting children on the Internet is an intimidating and confusing task. The Internet is a new technology, and the terminology can be baffling, to say nothing of its actual use. To make things worse, it often seems that the very children we are trying to protect have a better understanding of the technology and how to use it than those trying to protect them do.

While there is no way that we can make you an instant master of the Internet, fully conversant with all the latest technology and lingo, we can help explain some of the terms you might have heard, and some of the concepts that you might not be familiar with.

Bookmarks

Your web browser comes with a list of Web sites that can be accessed at the click of a button. This list can be added to or edited by the user. These sites are considered "bookmarked" for your convenience. Keeping commonly used sites in your bookmark file, rather than typing them in, makes it less likely that you will end up at another site accidentally.

Chat Rooms

Chat rooms are not really rooms, instead they are locations on the Internet where a user may connect, and type a message, and anyone else connected to the same "room" can see the message, and may type their own. Many chat rooms have a theme of some sort that defines the topic of conversation that goes on in them, such as politics, gardening and the like. Most chat rooms use a technology called IRC.

Client-Server

The simplest way to understand these terms is that a Client is a program on your computer that connects to a Server, which is on another computer. Your web browser program is an example of a client, while a computer you post your web page on is a Server.

Cyber

Cyber is a term coined from science fiction that has come to mean almost anything involving computers. Generally, it is simply added before a term to make it sound more modern and stylish.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions. Almost everything online has a list of FAQ (referred to as the FAQ), which consists of the most common questions about a topic, as well as the answers.

Filtering

Filtering is a process by which certain content is kept from the user's computer. The most common use of this technology is in blocking access to web sites, but it can also be used to filter out unwelcome e-mail. Filtering is usually by some criteria, such as an address or certain key words which activate the filter.

Handle

A handle is another term for a pseudonym, specifically one used online. A handle is a key part of developing an online persona, and is much safer than using your real name. Since a handle is often the main thing other people online will see about you, a handle should be chosen carefully.

IRC

Internet Relay Chat. This is a technical mechanic for many online chats. It usually requires downloading a chat "client". The term is generally synonymous with online chat.

MUDs

Multi User Dungeons. MUDS, MUSHes, MOOs, MUXes and many other strange things that start with M work on the same principal as chat rooms, except the environment is larger, so the "rooms" might all be connected as parts of a house, or city, or even an entire world, and once a person logs in, they may move around from location to location. Most MUDs are designed as games, so that in addition to the chat aspect, there is also an underlying game mechanic. For example, a MUD may use a cave network as its setting, and players may cooperate or compete to kill creatures in the caves. Games like Ultima Online are considered the next generation of this technology.

Typo Sites

There are numerous sites on the Web which have URL's (addresses) very similar to more well known sites, and do their business off typographical errors. For example, Amazon.com is a well known online bookstore, but if you accidentally enter the address as Amazom.com you get a bookstore, but not the one you were looking for. Some of the sites which use this method may have questionable content.

URL

Uniform Resource Locator. This is the technical term for a web address, such as http://www.senate.gov/~leahy.