Ask Alice

Ask Alice
This database deals with questions about the Internet.
Last modified by Neil Fraser, 1/6/98.

***NEW: i.html What is the Internet?
INTER*NET* SERVICES*
WHAT* INTER*NET*

The Internet is a global network of computer networks. It is a distributed
system, meaning that there is no central computer, and nobody controls it.
The Internet serves as the platform upon which several very useful
communications applications are run:
<DL>
<DT><A HREF="i_email.html">E-Mail</A>
<DD>Electronic mail. Person to person, or via mailing lists.
<DT><A HREF="i_www.html">World Wide Web</A>
<DD>Very popular hyperlinked graphical interface.
<DT><A HREF="i_usenet.html">Usenet</A>
<DD>Newsgroups about every possible topic.
<DT><A HREF="i_ftp.html">FTP</A>
<DD>Upload and download files between computers.
<DT><A HREF="i_gopher.html">Gopher</A>
<DD>An infinite number of menus and documents.
<DT><A HREF="i_telnet.html">Telnet</A>
<DD>Simple text-only connection to programs like MUDs and MOOs.
<DT>Other
<DD>Less commonly used services such as <A
HREF="i_finger.html">Finger</A>, <A HREF="i_irc.html">IRC</A>,
RealAudio, IPhone, Cu-See-Me and ICQ.
</DL>

***NEW: i_email.html What is E-Mail?
(WHAT|HOW)*MAIL*

Electronic Mail, better known as e-mail, is the most widely used <A
HREF="i.html">Internet service</A>. E-mail is the primary method of
communications between individuals on the Internet.

To send an electronic message, the first thing that you need is the <A
HREF="i_getaddy.html">electronic address</A> of the person to which you
want to send mail. Then use your electronic mail program (like pine, elm,
pegasus, eudora, etc) to write and send your message.

Most e-mail addresses belong to a specific person (such as
[email protected], which is the Prime Minister's e-mail address). Other
e-mail addresses belong to <A HREF="i_listserv.html">list servers</A> (like
[email protected]).

***NEW: i_listserv.html What is a List Server?
LIST*SERV*
MAIL* LIST*
!SCHOOL*NET

Most e-mail addresses belong to individual people. When you sent e-mail to
those addresses, its owner receives the mail in his or her electronic mail box a
few moments later. However, there is another type of e-mail address called a
list server that forwards all incoming mail to a group of people how have
subscribed to the list.

Most list servers operate like this:
<OL>
<LI>You send e-mail to the list server's administrator (or to an automatic
robot that has been set up), requesting that you be added to the list of
subscribers.
<LI>Then whenever you (or anyone else) sends e-mail to some central
address, that e-mail is redistributed to everyone on the list. Each person gets
a copy e-mailed to his or her address automatically.
<LI>If get tired of the discussion you can request that your name be
removed from the list.
</OL>

***NEW: i_getaddy.html How do I find an e-mail address?
E*MAIL* ADDRESS*

To find the e-mail address of someone on the Internet, try using <A
HREF="http://www.yahoo.com/search/people/email.html">Yahoo's People
Search</A> service. If this doesn't result in a match, try one of the other
services available (Yahoo will show you where they are).

If you know what machine they have their Internet account on (e.g.
@carleton.freenet.ca), you could try using finger to locate them. Some
machines will allow you to <A HREF="i_finger.html">finger</A> them with
a users first or last name (e.g. [email protected]) and they will return
a list of matching users. Unfortunately most machines are paranoid and will
refuse all finger requests.

If all else fails, the easiest way to find the e-mail address of someone on the
Internet is to call them, or to send them a letter asking them for their e-mail
address. It is low-tech, but it works.

***NEW: i_www.html What is the World Wide Web?
WWW*
WEB*

The World Wide Web is currently the most popular <A HREF="i.html">Internet
service</A>. It has a simple interface that allows one to chose links from
one page to another. Web pages can have text, pictures, sounds and movies
arranged on the same page.

In order to view the WWW one must use a <A
HREF="i_browsers.html">web browser</A>. All common web browsers
also allow one to access the <A HREF="i_gopher.html">Gopher</A> and
<A HREF="i_ftp.html">FTP</A> archives at the same time. You are
currently using the Web right now.

Since there are billions of pages on the Web it can be very hard to find
content one is intersted in. Fortnately there are numerous
<A HREF="i_search.html">search engines</A> that can locate information for us.

***NEW: i_browsers.html Web browsers.
LYNX*
MOSAIC*
NETSCAPE*
EXPLORER*
HOT*JAVA*
BROWSER*

A web browser is a program that you can run on your computer that will
display pages from the World Wide Web. You are using a web browser right
now to look at this page. There are many popular web browsers:
<DL>
<DT><A HREF="http://lynx.browser.org/">Lynx</A>
<DD>Lynx was one of the first web browsers. It is text-only, so it can't
display pictures, however it can run on almost any computer. Most <A
HREF="i_freenet.html">FreeNets</A> use Lynx because it doesn't require a
very powerful computer.

<DT><A HREF="http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/Mosaic/">Mosaic</A>
<DD>Mosaic was the first popular graphical web browser. It was created by
NSCA so that people could use the new WWW Internet protocol to its full
advantage.

<DT><A HREF="http://home.netscape.com/">Netscape</A>
<DD>Netscape is a browser that extended the WWW with a large number of
custom tags. It is one of the most popular graphical browsers since many
web sites are designed to look best when using Netscape.

<DT><A HREF="http://www.microsoft.com/ie/">Explorer</A>
<DD>Microsoft's Internet Explorer is the most recent addition to the list of
popular web browsers. It is virtually identical to Netscape's browser at the
moment.
</DL>
Other browsers include HotJava (first to use Java), the Emacs W3 browser (text-only),
and Arachne (graphical browser for DOS). Most of these browsers may be downloaded
from the Internet for free, see
<A HREF="http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Software/Internet/World_Wide_Web/Browsers/">Yahoo's browser list</A>
for more details.

***NEW: i_usenet.html What is Usenet?
DISCUSSION GROUPS*
NEWSGROUP*
USENET*

Usenet is an <A HREF="i.html">Internet service</A> made up of thousands
of newsgroups. A newsgroup is a public discussion area allowing interested
participants to read and respond to messages posted by other interested
participants. Generally, there will be a few topics of discussion going on at
the same time, but they all share some common theme. There are
over 10,000 newsgroups in Usenet, and there are more being added
all the time. There is a newsgroup dedicated to every theme one can possibly
imagine, from Japanese cartoons to nuclear proliferation.

There are two types of newsgroups: moderated and
unmoderated. A moderated newsgroup does not allow people to
post directly to the newsgroup. Rather, the postings go to the newsgroup's
moderator who determines whether or not to pass the posting to the entire
group. An unmoderated newsgroup allows a reader to post directly to the
other readers.

In order to access Usenet you need a news reader. Netscape and Explorer both
include news readers with their product. In UNIX the 'tin' news reader is most
popular.

***NEW: i_gopher.html What is Gopher?
WHAT* GOPHER*

The Gopher is a text-only <A HREF="i.html">Internet service</A>
document delivery service, or in simpler terms, a method of navigating
through the Internet in a menu based system. Gopher provides a simple
method of distributing and retrieving information.

The World Wide Web has largely replaced the old Gopher standard since the
Web can incorporate pictures into its pages. Most web browsers (such as
the program you are using now) will allow you to Gopher. An example of
a gopher site is the <A HREF="gopher://gopher.tc.umn.edu/">University of Minnesota</A>.

There are a pair of search engines called
<A HREF="i_veronica.html">Veronica</A> and
<A HREF="i_jughead.html">Jughead</A> which search for content on the Gopher.

***NEW: i_ftp.html What is FTP?
FTP*
FILE* TRANSFER*

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is an <A HREF="i.html">Internet service</A>
enabling transfers of files from one computer on the Internet to another
computer on the Internet. FTP is a quick and reliable means of transferring
files across the Internet.

In order to FTP to a remote computer on the Internet, you need an FTP
client program. Most web browsers (such as the program you are using
now) will allow you to FTP. In are also several programs that are designed
specifically for FTP, such as WS-FTP, QVT/FTP, CuteFTP and Fetch.
These programs generally have better interfaces and are free to download
from the Internet (use <A HREF="http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Software/Internet/FTP/">Yahoo</A> to
find them).

Related topics:
<UL>
<LI><A HREF="i_anonftp.html">Anonymous FTP</A>.
<LI><A HREF="i_ascbin.html">ASCII vs. Binary FTP</A>.
<LI><A HREF="i_archie.html">Archie FTP search</A>.
</UL>

***NEW: i_anonftp.html What is Anonymous FTP?
ANON*

There are two ways to conduct an FTP session:
<OL>
<LI>If you have an account of the server you are FTPing to, you can use
your user ID and password when starting the FTP connection. This means
you should gain access to all your files in your home directory, as well as
anything else your account is authorized to view.
<LI>Anonymous FTP does not require an account, login, or password on
the remote computer; you can simply use anonymous as your login,
and your email address as your password. Obviously you could type in
anything in place of your e-mail address, but it is customary to use it so that
the people who run the site can compile statistics regarding the use of their
site. Anonymous FTP will only let you access publicly available files on that
server.
</OL>
Some poor FTP clients (particularly <A HREF="i_browsers.html">web
browsers</A>) are incapable of logging into an FTP site using a proper name
and password, so they often automatically use
anonymous. Not all machines allow anonymous access.

Related topics:
<UL>
<LI><A HREF="i_ftp.html">What is FTP</A>?
<LI><A HREF="i_ascbin.html">ASCII vs. Binary FTP</A>.
<LI><A HREF="i_archie.html">Archie FTP search</A>.
</UL>

***NEW: i_ascbin.html ASCII vs. Binary FTP.
FTP* (ASC|BIN)*
(ASC|BIN)* FTP*
ASCII*
BINARY*

There are two different modes one can use when uploading or downloading a
file using FTP.
<DL>
<DT>Binary (8-bit).
<DD>This mode is required when transferring compressed files, executable
programs (or 'binaries'), graphics, sounds, or anything else that isn't in plain
text format. If you transfer one of these files in ASCII mode, the resulting
file will be a garbled mess that will not function.
<DT>ASCII (7-bit).
<DD>This mode is only used when transferring plain text. This includes
TXT and HTML files. If you transfer one of these files in Binary mode, the
file will still contain all the text, but it may all be on one line, or the line
breaks may all have ^M at the end. This is because different operating
systems (DOS, Unix, Mac) use different codes to specify a line-break.
</DL>
If in doubt, use Binary mode when transferring files. Most good FTP clients
will automatically figure out which mode should be used.

Related topics:
<UL>
<LI><A HREF="i_ftp.html">What is FTP</A>?
<LI><A HREF="i_anonftp.html">Anonymous FTP</A>.
<LI><A HREF="i_archie.html">Archie FTP search</A>.
</UL>

***NEW: i_telnet.html What is Telnet?
(WHAT|HOW)* TELNET*

Telnet is the oldest and simplest <A HREF="i.html">Internet service</A>.
It is a direct text-only connection to another computer. Once a connection
has been opened, text typed by the user will be sent to the remote host or
network site and text sent from the site will be printed on the user's screen.
Telnet, like all other Internet services, is available on many platforms.
Versions for DOS, Windows, Mac, and UNIX can all be downloaded for free
from the Internet. Good Telnet programs include
<A HREf="http://starbase.neosoft.com/~zkrr01/html/netterm.html">NetTerm</A>,
<A HREF="http://www.qpc.com/">QVT/Term</A>,
<A HREF="http://www.lysator.liu.se/~zander/ewan.html">EWAN</A>, and
Unix's xterm.

There are a number of problems which one can encounter when using Telnet.
Sometimes the Backspace key doesn't work (try using the Delete key or
Ctrl-Backspace instead). Sometimes what you type doesn't appear on the
screen (try toggling the local echo option in your Telnet program).
Sometimes pressing Enter doesn't do anything (try changing what the enter
key transmits - CR, LF or CR+LF). These problems, plus the lack of
graphics, have relegated Telnet to the more technical corners of the Internet.

Today, Telnet is primarily used for logging into remote UNIX accounts, or
where <A HREF="i_slip_ppp.html">SLIP or PPP</A> is unavailable, or
when connecting to <A HREF="i_mu.html">MUDs or MOOs</A>.

***NEW: i_irc.html What is IRC?
IRC*
RELAY*CHAT*

IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is an <A HREF="i.html">Internet service</A>
that allows two or more people to chat with each other. IRC requires the
use of an IRC client. See the <A HREF="http://www.funet.fi/~irc/">IRC
homepage</A> in Finland for more information.

More modern and versatile alternatives to IRC include
<A HREF="i_mu.html">MUDs or MOOs</A> and Web-based chat rooms.

***NEW: i_finger.html What is Finger?
FINGER*

Finger is an <A HREF="i.html">Internet service</A> that allows one to
request a brief description of a particular person. The results of a finger
might include where they live, what their interests are, when they had last
logged on, and their e-mail signature file.

To finger someone, all you need is their <A HREF="i_getaddy.html">e-mail
address</A>. Then use one of the many <A HREF="http://moo.schoolnet.ca/finger">finger
gateways</A> that are available.

Unfortunately most organizations are paranoid about the potential security
risk of giving out personal information like this. As a result most computers
will refuse finger requests.

***NEW: i_freenet.html What is a FreeNet?
FREENET*

A FreeNet is a community based network, providing basic Internet services
to users from within the community. They do not charge for the Internet
access they provide, but will accept donations. There are many operational
FreeNets in Canada and the US. Some of the larger Canadian cities with
FreeNets include <A HREF="http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/">Ottawa</A>,
<A HREF="http://www.torfree.net/">Toronto</A>, <A
HREF="http://www.freenet.hamilton.on.ca/">Hamilton</A>, <A
HREF="http://www.freenet.edmonton.ab.ca/">Edmonton</A> and <A
HREF="http://www.vcn.bc.ca">Vancover</A>. Montreal is the only large
Canadian city without a FreeNet.

***NEW: i_domain.html URLs, DNSs, and IP Addresses.
IP*ADDRESS*
DOMAIN* NAME*
DNS*
URL*

Every computer on the Internet has a unique serial number or IP
address such as "204.138.115.211". Humans aren't good at remembering
numbers, so most Internet computers also has a human-readable
domain name such as "moo.schoolnet.ca". There are dozens of
computers on the Internet that only do a single job, they translate domain
names into IP addresses. This is called the DNS (Domain
Name Service). Without the DNS one would always
have to type in a bunch of numbers every time one sent e-mail or looked up a
web page. There are several available
<A HREF="http://www.bankes.com/nslookup.htm">DNS gateways</A> which will do
DNS lookups (names to numbers) and reverse DNS lookups (numbers to names).

A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the
address of a particular document on the Internet. A URL is made up of the
type of protocol used to get the document (http, gopher, ftp, news, telnet, etc), the
domain name of the server it is on (moo.schoolnet.ca, altavista.digital.com),
an optional port number, and finally the path and filename of the document
itself. 
Here are some sample URLs:
<UL>
<LI>http://www.schoolnet.ca/index.html
<LI>telnet://moo.schoolnet.ca:7777
<LI>ftp://ftp.schoolnet.ca/pub/
<LI>gopher://gopher.schoolnet.ca:419/11/Frequently.Used
</UL>

***NEW: i_access.html How do I get on-line?
INTERNET* (COST|FREE)*
HOW *MUCH* (MONEY|COST)*
HOW* CONNECT*
GET* ON*LINE*
(GET* ON|CONNECT|ACCESS)* INTERNET*
PRICE* INTERNET*
WHAT* COST* FOR* INTERNET*

The equipment necessary to use the Internet is very basic, but is somewhat
dependent on who gives you Internet access, and on what type of access you
get.
<OL>