Sojourner's
Web Service

Page One
Definitions

If you're reading this, you already have the basic necessitities for building a Website: a computer, a modem and at least a basic knowledge of the Internet. So, let's take it a few steps further by getting some information which will be helpful as you build your Website. For those of you who already know it all, you may skip this section.

What the Internet is basically about

First, don't be intimidated by the Internet. It's not being featured on the next edition of X-Files, and it's not the Beast of Revelation (at least, I don't think so). Essentially, it's a bunch of computers tied together by telephone lines. Once upon a time, aeons ago in computer time, that was all there was. Now, this is facilitated by companies (ISP) who have big, powerful, fast computers; rather than dialing directly into someone else's computer, you dial into the computer of one of these companies, which computer then accesses the computer hosting the information you want and brings the information you want to your computer. No doubt, since you're reading this, your ISP is currently connected to my ISP, unless you've downloaded this into your computer and are reading in offline. We won't get into that for now.

Definitions

The Internet, as with most things, has developed its own terminology, and one of the biggest difficulties newcomers to Web building have is trying to understand that terminology. So, without further ado, let's look at some of the words and phrases you're likely to read or hear, not only from big professional Web services, many of whom want to keep their work a secret so that you'll have to turn to them for help, but also from little freelancers like me who just don't stop to think when talking or writing about what they're doing.

Download:
pulling something from another computer on the Internet into your own computer.
Homepage:
the first page of a Website. It usually contains an introduction and something akin to a table of contents for the rest of the Website, or at least it should.
Internet Service Provider (ISP):
the people to whom you pay money for the privilege of getting online, although if you look closely enough you'll find some people who won't charge you; just be sure to read the small print. If you don't want to leave your computer running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, you'll need one of these. Since you're reading this, you probably already have one. In due course, you'll put your Website on the computer of your ISP. That's called uploading, which we'll talk about later.
Keywords:
these are important for your Website, which you'll learn more about when we get into the nuts and bolts of building. For the moment, just understand that these are the words that most people will think of when looking for a particular Website. They're sort of the Internet equivalent of psychological association tests.
Offline:
off the Internet. Okay, you can use the 'phone now.
Online:
on the Internet. Now you can't call anyone on the telephone.
Search engine:
the programs that you access by clicking the 'search' icon in your toolbar above. You type in a word or words in the box, click go, and the search engine rummages round in cyberspace for you, locating Webpages containing those words as keywords.
Surfing:
looking round on the Internet. This is normally facilitated by using search engines.
Upload:
pushing something from your own computer onto another computer on the Internet.
URL:
don't worry about what it stands for; just realize that it's the long, confusing list of words, dots and slashes that you see in the box marked 'address' above. It's also that long, confusing list of words, etc. that you see everywhere these days, often preceeded by www or http or something else equally alien-sounding.
Webpage:
what you're looking at and scrolling up and down on -- an individual section of material stored under an URL. This section can be short, comprised of only what you see before you, or it may include material which seems to go on for ever. The key is that you don't have to go anywhere else on the Internet, only down or up on the same location.
Website:
that conglomeration of Webpages under a particular name.
Okay, that's enough for tonight. I've got to get back to work on my Masters Thesis -- which, by the bye, has nothing to do with computers.

If you need me,
e-mail me.

From here you can either
go home, where it's green and safe, or
go forward, into new, uncharted territory.
The choice is yours.