Internet Primer
Welcome! World Wide Web (WWW) Since 1992, when the World
Wide Web was first launched, it has exploded into mainstream culture.
For many people, the Internet has become synonymous with the Web. The
Web is a gold mine of information for psychology students and faculty,
and more is being added every day. As technology becomes more sophisticated,
Web sites are starting to feature animation, video, and sound. Browsers To get to the World Wide
Web you have to have a computer program called a Web browser. Some of
the more well-known and popular Web browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer,
Netscape Navigator, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple's Safari. You can purchase
a browser from a computer store, get one from your ISP, or download one
from the Web itself. Once you are logged on to the Internet, you simply
click to open the browser and you are ready to surf the Net. Web Addresses The Web is made up of
millions of Web sites (or Web pages). Each Web site has an address, known
as the URL (Uniform Resource Locator). A typical URL looks like this:
http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.
This is the address for the McGraw-Hill Web site. To get to any Web site,
all you have to do is type in the URL in your Web browser. You can analyze a Web site address to figure out who it belongs to and what they do. - "http" stands for HyperText Transport Protocol; it is the language of the Web.
- generally you will see "www" which tells the server that we want to get our information from the World Wide Web.
- the last two parts
of the address are called the domain name. The "domain" indicates
what kind of site it is. In McGraw-Hill’s case, it is ".com"
(pronounced "dot-com"), which stands for "commercial."
Other domains you will probably come across include: ".edu"
= education, ".org" = organization, and ".gov" =
government. When you read the address for a Web site out loud, remember
that every "." is pronounced "dot."
Surfing the Web A key concept to understand
in surfing the Web is "links." Links are highlighted words or
images on a Web page that you can click on to go to other pages. Once
you find a topic that interests you, it is easy to explore just by clicking
on links. Keep in mind that some links will connect you to another page
by the same organization; others will take you to another site completely. A person or organization's
Web site usually consists of many pages. The first page you come to when
you type in a URL is called the home page. This page usually contains
a menu for the entire site and lets you know something about the site's
creators and purpose. The home page contains links to other pages within
that site, and often to other sites of interest. With most browsers you
can go back to a previous link by clicking a button that says "Go
Back." You will not get "stuck" someplace you don't want
to be, so don't be shy about exploring links. Web sites can be developed
by any person or organization on any topic. The amount of information
available on the Web today is staggering and continues to grow. You can
utilize the Web for general research, as an educational tool, as a shopping
mall, to find a long lost friend, get a new job, or answer most any question
you might have; you are limited only by your imagination. Search Engines Now that you have a basic
idea of the workings of the WWW, how do you go about finding Web sites
that may interest you? A good starting point is to use one of the popular
directories on the Web called search engines. A search engine allows you
to type in keywords on the topic that you are interested in. It then retrieves
any sites that contain that word. Some of the larger and more popular search engines are: To use a search engine,
type in one of the addresses listed above. When the home page for that
site comes up you will notice a "search" box in which you can
type a key word or phrase. The search engine will then bring up as a list
of sites all the information that it has available on that topic. Sometimes
you will need to narrow your search; for example, if you type "psychology,"
you may have hundreds or thousands of site listings returned. On the other
hand, if you are too specific, you may not have any sites returned as
a result of your inquiry. This does not necessarily mean that no sites
exist. Bookmarks Once you find a Web site
you will want to return to in the future, you can "bookmark"
it. To bookmark a site, go to that site. After it has finished loading,
choose "bookmark" from your menu bar and your browser will instantly
record the address to that site in your bookmark folder. Anytime you want
to return to that site, you simply open the bookmark folder and click
on the title of that Web site. Different ISPs offer different methods
for bookmarking sites. America Online, for example, uses a system called
"favorite places" that works similarly. Tips for Using the World Wide Web - Be patient. Accessing
Web sites can take time, depending on how elaborate the site is, how
fast your modem can download the information, and what time of day you
might be surfing. You can speed things up a bit by turning off the "auto
load image" option in your browser.
- Keep in mind that "hiccups"
can occur in the transfer process. Sometimes the server of the Web site
you are trying to reach may be down, there may be a lot of activity
on that site, or there may be line noise. Just try again to load the
Web site, or try again later. Because the Web is so dynamic, sites and
links change every day. You might find some links on Web pages that
go nowhere because the link has moved their pages to a new server or
address.
- Remember that while
the Web is a great source of information, not everything on it is true.
It is up to you to evaluate the information you get from the Web: see
the section on Thinking Critically about Psychology Information on the
Internet.
FTP, Gopher, and Telnet FTP stands for file transfer
protocol. FTP sites are software repositories from which you can download
shareware software, demos, images, text, sound, and anything else that
can be transmitted via the Internet. You can access FTP sites from the
Web the same way you would enter any URL (FTP addresses begin with ftp://).
Most FTP sites support anonymous FTP, which means that anyone can log
on to the site with the user name "anonymous," enter their own
e-mail address as the password, then download whatever files interest
them. If you download materials from FTP be sure to scan them with antiviral
software to be sure they are clean, or you could end up infecting your
hard drive with a nasty computer virus. Before the World Wide
Web, gopher was a popular way of storing information on the Internet.
Gopher was developed at the University of Minnesota and is named for their
mascot. Gopher sites are being retired as their contents are moved onto
the Web, but many valuable ones still exist containing psychology-related
information. Again, you can enter the URL for a gopher site (usually beginning
gopher://) the same way you would for a Web site. You’ll see a text-only
menu that you can navigate just like a Web site. Telnet enables you to
log on to another host computer to run one of its computers or to access
information from it. You can telnet to other hosts from most Web browsers
if you have telnet software configured to work with your browser. Mailing Lists Mailing lists (or listservs)
are electronic mailing discussion groups that take place through e-mail.
They are groups of people who "get together" online to discuss
a specific topic. For psychology students, mailing lists offer a way to
participate in lively discussions, stay up on current research, or find
out answers to burning questions. There are mailing lists on nearly every
topic imaginable. Here's how it works: - You find out about
a mailing list dealing with a subject you are interested in discussing
with others (e.g., choosing your major).
- In order to get involved
in a discussion group, you have to subscribe to it. To subscribe, you
send an e-mail to that mailing list's listserv with the word "subscribe"
in the subject line and in the main body of the text. Also include your
e-mail address.
- Usually, the listserv
will then subscribe you to the list and send you instructions on how
to post to the group. Posting means that you send out a comment to the
entire mailing list that you have subscribed to.
- Every time any member
posts to the listserv, all the subscribers get that posting as an e-mail
message in their mailbox.
- Once you have subscribed
you will begin to receive e-mail messages from the mailing list. Be
careful though, some discussion groups have a large following and you
may find your mailbox filling up faster than you can read the messages.
Newsgroups/Usenet Newsgroups, like mailing
lists, are a way of discussing topics over the Internet with other people
who share the same interests. However, newsgroups take place on an entirely
different "network" called Usenet. Usenet is composed of
thousands of discussion areas called newsgroups. Individual comments that
people make to one another on a newsgroup are called articles. You "post
an article" when you want to make a comment. The lines of discussion
within a newsgroup are called threads. To read the discussions on any
newsgroup you must have a software program called a newsreader. Generally, your ISP will
provide you with a newsreader program as part of the software package.
When you open the newsreader it should download any new newsgroups that
have been added. You can look through the entire list and choose which
newsgroups interest you. When you find one of interest, you just open
it up and begin reading the articles. Newsgroup addresses are
called hierarchies. Listed below are some of the standard hierarchies
with an example of each. There are many other categories, some of which
are from foreign countries. - alt—groups
generally alternative in nature (e.g., alt.education.distance, alt.alien.visitors)
bionet - groups discussing biology and biological sciences (e.g., bionet.general,
bionet.immunology)
- comp—groups
discussing computer or computer science issues (e.g., comp.infosystems)
misc - groups that don't fit into other categories (e.g., misc.fitness,
misc.jobs) news - groups about Usenet itself (e.g., news.groups)
- rec—groups
discussing hobbies, sports, music, and art (e.g., rec.food, rec.humor)
sci - groups discussing subjects related to science and scientific research
(e.g., sci.med.nursing, sci.psychology)
- soc—groups
discussing social issues including politics, social programs, etc. (e.g.,
soc.culture, soc.college)
- talk—public
debating forums on controversial issues (e.g., talk.abortion, talk.religion)
Before you make a posting
to a newsgroup, you may want to lurk for awhile, that is, read the discussion
without contributing your own posting. Lurking will give you a sense of
the kinds of postings that are appropriate for that newsgroup and what
the newsgroup culture is like. Newsgroups may be frequented
by people from all over the world, including some experts in the field.
They can be a great source of current information and of community. For
example, a person suffering from a relatively rare disorder may not know
anyone else with the same problems and concerns on campus or in town,
but he or she can frequent a newsgroup specifically for people with that
disorder to learn about other peoples' experiences, the latest treatments,
and just to commiserate. But, as always, be aware that not everything
posted to a newsgroup is necessarily true; you must be a critical thinker. Electronic Mail (E-mail) E-mail is a way of transmitting
messages across a phone line to a specified other person's computer. To
send or receive e-mail you must have a program called a mail browser (some
common ones are Eudora and Microsoft Mail) and an e-mail account. When
you send an e-mail to someone, you type in their e-mail address in the
space provided. E-mail addresses consist of the individual user's name
or identification, the @ symbol, and the name of their server and domain:
username@servername.domainname. After writing your message
in the "body" of the e-mail, you can send it. The message is
transmitted across phone lines to the recipient server which "sorts"
the mail and sends it to the individual's e-mail address. E-mail is generally somewhat
informal and not very lengthy. E-mail can be used for everything from
sending out memos, keeping up with friends and relatives, telecommuting,
and exchanging documents and files. Here are a few things to keep in mind about using e-mail: - Try to check your mail
every day, especially if you belong to a mailing list. It's amazing
how quickly your "mailbox" can fill up with messages.
- Know your netiquette.
- Don't send anything too confidential or sensitive over e-mail; e-mail is easily accessed
by others.
- Proofread your e-mail before you send it.
Netiquette Netiquette is simply the
etiquette of the Internet. Because no one owns or polices the Internet,
it is especially important that all users take responsibility for keeping
communications civilized. Remember that the written communications of
the Internet cannot convey meanings by voice inflection or body language,
and it's easy to be misinterpreted. Here are some good netiquette principles to keep in mind: - Don't assume your correspondents
know you are kidding, or being sarcastic, or anything else.
- Don't be too harsh
or judgmental with those you disagree with. Don't use all capital letters;
this may be interpreted as SCREAMING. Don't gossip or spread rumors
on the Internet. This is a good way to get into trouble. Do proofread
your messages before you send them.
- Do be kind and thoughtful in your correspondence.
- Do be honest; if you put misinformation onto the Net, it could go to thousands of people.
- Do reply quickly to your correspondents.
- Do make messages and postings brief and to the point.
Flaming If you frequent the Net,
and in particular newsgroups, you may get "flamed" or see someone
else get flamed. Flaming is a hostile response that generally occurs as
a result of a disagreement, and is meant to humiliate and upset the target.
Often it is a direct personal attack. Just be forewarned and try not to
stoop to that level. Emoticons Emoticons are a fun way
to express your feelings in electronic communication. They are a series
of keystrokes and symbols that make a sideways picture. Emoticons can
communicate to your reader that you are joking, disgusted, flirting, or
sad--emotions that are otherwise hard to express in typewritten communication.
Here are some examples: - :-) this is the most common emoticon, known as a "smiley"
- ;-) here is the smiley, winking
- :-p here is the smiley, sticking out it's tongue
- (:^) here is a bald smiley
- :-( this is a sad smiley
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