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Inline Online
Inline/Online: Fundamentals of the Internet and the World Wide Web, 2/e
Raymond Greenlaw, Armstrong Atlantic State University
Ellen Hepp, The University of New Hampshire

Newsgroups, Mailing Lists, Chat Rooms, and MUDs

Chapter 10 Key Terms

This glossary contains a list of important terms used in the text. Both the terms and their meanings are presented. This list is not intended to be exhaustive. For example, many of the HTML concepts are not included, but can easily be traced through the index.
article  A message that is sent to a newsgroup. Posting is a synonym for article.
(See 434-435, 631)
Caesar ciphers  A class of simple encryption schemes in which letters of the alphabet are rotated in a circular fashion. ROT13 is an example of a Caesar cipher.
(See 439, 633)
chat room  An on-line forum where you can discuss your favorite subject interactively with other people located anywhere on the Internet.
(See 459-462, 567, 633)
closed list  Amailing list for which the list owner either accepts or rejects subscriptions. It is not possible to subscribe automatically to a closed list. List membership is filtered, and only postings from subscribers are accepted. Private list is a synonym for closed list.
(See 450, 633)
cross-post  The process of simultaneously submitting the same article to two or more newsgroups.
(See 437, 634)
cryptography  The science of encoding and decoding information. See also encryption.
(See 439, 555, 634)
digest  A collection of related articles, usually edited, that is posted as a single article to a newsgroup.
(See 437, 635)
digested list  A mailing list in which postings are grouped by topic and sent out as batches instead of individually.
(See 450, 635)
distance learning  Any form of teaching in which the instructor(s) and students are not located in the same room.
(See 462, 635)
edited list  A mailing list in which items posted may be edited by the list owner or moderator.
(See 450-635)
encryption scheme  A method of encoding information to make it private and secure.
(See 438, 636)
expired news  Old news that has been removed from a system.
(See 436-437, 636)
flame war  A series of nasty, electronic responses that are part of the same newsgroup thread.
(See 440, 455, 636)
follow-up  A newsgroup article posted in response to a previous newsgroup article.
(See 435, 637)
kill files  A filter based on names or topics you specify, for the purpose of blocking those newsgroup messages matching your criteria.
(See 438, 640)
list owner  A person in charge of a mailing list. Synonyms are list administrator, list coordinator, and list manager.
(See 450, 640)
LISTPROC  A popular mailing list server program.
(See 451, 640)
LISTSERV  A popular mailing list server program.
(See 451-453, 640)
lurker  A person who has subscribed to and reads a mailing list, but does not post messages. Such a person is said to lurk.
(See 450, 641)
moderated newsgroup  A newsgroup that has a moderator.
(See 437, 641)
Multi-User Dungeon or Dimension (MUD)  A real-time interactive game that takes place in an imaginary environment where multiple computer users can play simultaneously.
(See 462, 464, 611, 642)
Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP)  The protocol that is used for distributing news articles.
(See 437, 611, 642)
newbie  A person who only recently joined a mailing list.
(See 450, 642)
news administrator  A person who is in charge of running a news server.
(See 437, 42)
newsfeed  A news server that provides recent articles to a news client. The term also encompasses the process of delivering the news articles.
(See 437, 642)
newsgroup  An on-line forum that allows users from all over the world to participate in a discussion about a specific topic.
(See 2, 55, 103, 125, 432-448, 570, 642)
news moderator  A person associated with a specific newsgroup who reads and critically evaluates all articles submitted for posting to the newsgroup and then decides which articles should be posted.
(See 437, 642)
newsreader  A program that serves as the user interface for newsgroups and allows a user to read, post, subscribe, and unsubscribe from the newsgroup. News client is a synonym.
(See 436, 438-441, 642)
news server  A computer that saves, forwards, and manages news articles. Normally each organization runs its own news server and limits access to just its customers or user community.
(See 437, 442-444, 643)
open list  A mailing list to which anyone may subscribe. Such a list typically accepts posts even from users who are not subscribers.
(See 450, 643)
packet switching  The technology employed to route messages over the Internet.
(See 101, 110, 433, 643)
post  The process of sending an article to a newsgroup; also, an article that is sent to a newsgroup.
(See 435, 452-454, 644)
search engine  A search tool that allows a user to enter queries. The program responds with a list of matches from its database. A relevancy score for each match and a clickable URL are usually returned.
(See 200-206, 461, 646)
s-mail  See snail mail.
(See 3, 30, 459, 560, 647)
snail mail  Regular postal mail; also referred to as s-mail.
(See 3, 647)
subscribe  The procedure you follow to join a newsgroup. Once sub-scribed, you will receive the new postings of the newsgroup. The subscription is also used to track which messages in a group you have seen. In most cases, subscriptions do not cost money.
(See 435-436, 647)
Telnet  A program that allows you to log into a remote computer.
(See 55, 463, 648)
thread  A collection of one or more follow-up articles, together with the original posting in a newsgroup.
(See 435, 648)
unmoderated newsgroup  A newsgroup that has no moderator.
(See 437, 649)
unsubscribe  The process of removing your name from a newsgroup to which you have previously subscribed.
(See 437, 649)
way-station  A news server that functions as a newsfeed for at least two (and usually many more) other sites.
(See 437, 650)