Anchor The HTML tag that indicates the place in a document to which a link will take the reader. Each of the terms in this glossary has an anchor.
APC The Association for Progressive Communications formed in 1990, is an international association of national and regional social change networks which facilitates international communications among organizations and individuals working in the peace, environmental, international development, health, education, and public interest communities.
Applet Applet is a Java programme that can be incorporated into an HTML page and operated in a Java-enabled browser
Browser A Browser is a software programme for showing World Wide Web pages. Also called a Client. Examples are Mosaic, Netscape, Internet Explorer. Different browsers can display the same Web page in different ways depending on the browser's design and the users preferences for font size, style, colour etc.
Bulletin Board System A Bulletin Board System, or "BBS", is a host computer which can be dialled and accessed by anyone with a modem. Usually BBSs are hobbyist-operated for local public access, often for the sharing of software programs. The term "bulletin board" is sometimes used to refer to computer conferences because of its ability to be used for the posting of news items. The term does not, however, convey the interactive nature of true conferencing, which allows for following discussions.
Conferences Conferences are electronic meeting places dedicated to a particular subject. Users visit conferences to participate in discussions or group projects, without having to communicate in the same place or at the same time. Conferences can be used to post many types of information, including news, newsletters, statistics, etc. An "electronic conference" provides a many-to-many communication medium, as opposed to the person-to-person nature of electronic mail. Also called newsgroups, echoes, bulletin boards and forums.
CPU Central Processing Unit is the main part of a computer.
E-Mail Electronic mail is the transfer of messages between you and other users in a network, or users in other network systems. E-mail is similar to an ordinary letter; you supply the address of the recipient(s) and the text of the message. It is different in that delivery takes place in minutes or hours rather than days. Electronic mail provides private communications, whereas electronic conferencing provides group communications.
FIDONET This is a worldwide network of small host BBS networks based on the FidoNet software. It has a distributed e-mail capability, with rudimentary shared conferences called echoes.
FTP File Transfer Protocol is an application, running over the Internet, which allows documents (or files) to be rapidly transferred from one computer to another over a network, without consideration for the distance between them. Normally you would need a password on the remote computer to take information out of it. However, thousands of sites on the Internet offer "anonymous FTP" by anyone, anywhere, without need for a password. This system is particularly valuable for national and international organizations disseminating information in their areas of expertise.
GEONET A commercial network of host computers, mainly in Europe, that offer e-mail and databases. Poptel, the GeoNet host in England, offers a gateway to the APC Networks.
GOPHER A distributed, worldwide, information system operating over the Internet. Over a thousand organizations, working in a participatory mode, make available information in their area of expertise, using gophers. They charge nothing for information made available. For instance, the National Institutes of Health in the U.S.A. make available the latest information on about a hundred types of cancers and their treatment
Home Page An entry or index page which contains metainformation and links to facilitate access to information on other World Wide Web pages.
HTML Hypertext Markup Language is the tags used to structure Web pages so that a browser can display it in a way that is also influenced by the browser's design and the users preferences for font size, style, etc.
HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol is the basic protocol of the Web used to transfer hypertext documents.
HYPERTEXT Text that contains links and anchors so that the reader can call up another document by selecting a hotspot containing the address of the document. The World Wide Web makes it possible to call up documents stored on any server in the world.
INFOTERRA The Global Environmental Information Exchange Network, established in 1975 by a decision of the third session of the Governing Council of UNEP. The main direction given to INFOTERRA was to develop a mechanism to "facilitate the exchange of environmental information within and among nations". Homepage
INTERNET A world-wide research network sharing a common addressing scheme and using the TCP/IP software protocol for data transfer between hosts. It is composed of many individual campus, state, national, and regional networks. Numerous organizations including private enterprise now have web sites.
LAN Local Area Network is a physical network technology that operates at high speed over short distances (up to a few thousand meters). LANs link computers within offices, buildings, and multi-building sites like university campuses.
Link A connection between one hypertext document and another.
Mailing Lists and List Servers A means by which a message from an individual can be sent to a large and widespread group of people sharing the same interest. A host computer, called a List Server, maintains a list of all the addresses of that particular interest group and gives the list a name. Anyone wishing to add to the group discussion merely has to mail their message to the list name and the host computer automatically redistributes it to everyone individually.
Meta-information Information about information. For example, a directory of all electronic newsletters and electronic conferences of potential interest to SIDS.
MIME Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions is a specification for multimedia documents.
Modem A device used to connect a computer to another computer through the telephone system. A modem is similar to a telephone handset in that it can dial a number, answer a call, and hang up; but the 'conversations' it carries are computer-to-computer. Modems have different maximum speeds, which are indicated by their baud rate. Modems enable your computer or terminal to communicate (read messages, exchange files, etc.) over telephone lines.
Network Specifically, a network is a set of linked host computers having compatible software for data transmission (TCP/IP on Internet, for example). See LAN and WAN.
Newsgroups or Conferences over Usenet The forums for group communication on Usenet are called newsgroups.
Node A computer that is attached to a network; also called a host, or a site.
Packet The unit of data sent across a packet switching network.
Packet Switching Network Any network that functions via transmission of packets of data, usually across leased lines. Most countries have their own public packet switching network operated by the telephone company; also called X.25 networks after the X.25 transmission protocol used.
PACTOK A low-cost electronic mail network designed to serve the NGO movement in the Asia-Pacific region. It takes its name from the region in which it operates and the Papua New Guinean pidgin word meaning talk. Homepage
PEACESAT A public service telecommunications network that links educational institutions, regional organizations, and governments in the Pacific Islands region. The missions of PEACESAT are (1) facilitate the development of programs to use telecommunications and information technology; (2) conduct telecommunications applications and technical experiments using satellites in the Pacific Island region; and (3) provide a platform for public service satellite communications for the Pacific Island region. Homepage
PPP Point to Point Protocol is a protocol that allows a computer to use the TCP Internet Protocol with a standard telephone line and high speed modem.
Router A system that transfers data between two networks that use the same protocols but may have different physical characteristics.
SDNP The Sustainable Development Network Programme of the UNDP has been very succesful in establishing computer mediated communications nodes to support sustainable development in Developing Countries. More information about the SDNP is available through the URL
Search Engine A computer program that locates World Wide Web pages which contain certain key words or phrases.
Service Provider An organization that provides connections to a part of the Internet.
SLIP Serial Line Internet Protocol is a protocol that allows a computer to use the TCP Internet Protocol with a standard telephone line and high speed modem. It is being replaced by PPP.
Sun Spare Workstation A small computer offering computer graphics and networking capability. Typical of other similar workstations available from most major computer manufacturers.
TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol is a set of protocols, used by the Internet to support services such as remote login (TELNET), file transfer (FTP) and mail (SMTP). Telnet * The Internet standard protocol for gaining access to an account on another host computer on Internet. Many hosts have public access accounts which anyone on Internet can use.
TELNET The Internet standard protocol for gaining access to an account on another host computer on Internet. Many hosts have public access accounts which anyone on Internet can use.
URL The Uniform Resource Locator is the address of the document or page. The browser or client sends a message to the server which contains the page which is then sent back to the client.
UUCP/Usenet A world-wide cooperative network of hosts using the UUCP data transfer protocol. UUCP generally refers to the e-mail function of the network, while Usenet provides a series of 'news groups' analogous to Network conferences.
WAN Wide Area Network is a synonym for a network that spans across a large area, usually city-size or larger.
WWW World Wide Web is a hypertext information and communications system in which Web clients can access hypermedia information on servers.