Appendix 6: Technical terms for the Internet

Appendix 6: Technical terms for the Internet

Agents (also known as Bots, Robots, Worms or Spiders)

These are software programs that gather information or perform some other service in your absence at a pre-scheduled time within chosen parameters.

Attached file, Attachment or Enclosure

A file or number of files added to an e-mail message. An attachment is not included in the text of the e-mail, but is a file carried with the e-mail. This can prove useful for sending documents with complicated formatting such as Word documents.

Most popular e-mail programs, such as Micro soft Outlook, Notes or Netscape Mail, allow attachments. It is usually done simply by clicking the attach button (often shown as a paperclip), then browsing the files on your computer until you find the one you wish to send.

Banner

A banner is a rectangular box with a graphic contained within it. They typically appear in search engines and portal sites and are clickable, taking the user to the site that they are promoting.

BBS (Bulletin Board System)

This is the electronic equivalent of a pinboard. The software program allows you to read the notices left by others and respond to or post fresh messages. A series of messages under the same topic is referred to as a thread .

Binary file

A document that contains more than just text, such as an image, or a file with formatting such as a spreadsheet or word-processing document.

Browser

A browser is the program that you use to read...