I n t e r n e t C o m m i t t e e f o r t h e
Order of Preachers

1.3 - Terminology

Internet:

The collective name for the computers all over the world that are interconnected and all speak the same language. It was made with two important features:

It's purpose is to allow people who are very far apart to communicate easily with each other.
It doesn't matter where those people are. Once connected, you are "online" with everyone else in the world.

The language these computers speak is called TCP/IP, and the services are things like email, chat, and http. Because of it's design, it is also commonly called the "World Wide Web" or simply, the "Web".

Email:

Electronic letters sent over the internet. They remain in one computer somewhere in the world (your "POP server") until you retrieve the via the internet.

Chat:

A way to have a conversation by typing. I type and you type and we all see what everyone is typing as they type it.

HTTP:

What all the fuss is about. HTTP is a way to pass around HTML documents.

HTML:

Hypertext Markup Language. A standard way to make documents that look like Time magazine on steroids. You can make "links" so that when you "click" on them, you are taken to another article, or hear a sound, or see a movie, or send an email... .

PPP or SLIP

A way to make a temporary connection to the internet through a modem and a telephone call. The trick is to find a local telephone number which will give you PPP access to the internet. Then you can check your email in Mexico City from Calcutta for the price of a local telephone call.