The Internet has evolved from an an experimental computer network created by the USA's Department of Defense in the 1960's into a global network spanning over 160 countries, linking over 60 million users worldwide. Since the introduction of standards for the World Wide Web were devised and developed at Europe's CERN laboratory, there has been a rapid uptake in the use of the Internet by individuals, governments and corporate organisations.
The Internet is not a single network
but rather a "network of networks" of computers, which all conform to
standards maintained by mutual consent. The
Internet Society
(http://info.isoc.org/) is a voluntary organising body for this
purpose; checking protocols and setting naming standards (domain
names). It does not verify what traffic or service content is being
provided and in this sense, no-one owns the Internet.
The standard format means that any file may be sent to or requested
from anyone who is attached to the network. The system can be used
for discussion, sharing of ideas and research and exchange of large
amounts of information. Email and the world wide web
are simply examples of the types of file which can be sent
between computers. The effectiveness of email as a communications
tool, the development of the web, with it's graphical presentation,
and of the tool to view and access this information, Mosaic, were
instrumental in advancing the popularity of the Internet. Mosaic was
the first example of a web browser and has been developed for
a wide range of computing platforms.
To send and receive emails and to publish information on the
Internet, however, requires a permanent connection. As this means
maintaining an (expensive) open communications channel to the
Internet, intermediaries, known as Internet service providers,
host files, mailboxes other services on a permanently connected
computer, an Internet server. Their customers may then temporarily
'dial up' or telephone the server when they want to retrieve files
from other computers on the Internet, or email messages which have
been sent to them
Optional: About ISPs
Email is probably the most useful example of the transfer of files between computers. It is;
When used in conjunction with mail
attachments and mailing lists, email can enhance collaborative
working, help you to keep in touch with others in the same field and
participate in discussions. While it may not replace face to face
interactions, it can certainly make these meetings more efficient,
giving participants a chance to review agendas, previous minutes and
other material beforehand.
Although email is text-based, you may wish to exchange formatted
text, data, audio or video material, for example to work on a word
processor document with a group of people. This is where mail
attachments can help. As long as the recipient has the same or
compatible software, you can attach a file, such as a drawing or a
spreadsheet, to an email message. The file will then be copied onto
their computer when they pick up their email message. They may then
decide to edit this copy and send it back to you in the same way.
Collaborative working may also be realised through the use of
mailing lists. Computers can be programmed to respond to
specific e-mail messages. You send a message to an email address at
an Internet computer which acts as an electronic forwarding office.
This 'starbursts' your message out to anyone else who has subscribed
to the list. You can keep in touch with many users at once and if any
of them reply, their message will be sent to you, along with everyone
else on the list. Material for this book was discussed and
distributed using this method.
Optional:
Joining a list
Lists can be set up manually, where someone has to update the list by adding and subtracting members, or automatically where computer software does this by reading commands in your email. To subscribe to either type of mailing list, you simply send an email to the coordinating address with the correct information in it. The exact command will depend on what type of manual or automatic list it is. The main automated mailing lists (mail servers) are Listserv, Majordomo and Listproc.
Other services
Mailing lists may offer other services, such as FAQs for beginners and digests of topics discussed for those who just want to keep informed about what's been decided. This keeps down the amount of unnecessary activity on the list.
Moderation
A list may be run by a particular individual or group which vets who joins the list and removes troublesome members.
- Open Discussion List - Anyone can sign up and anyone who is signed up can post to the list.
- Partially Restricted List - Only those authorised by the list administrator can sign up to the list. Once signed up anyone can post messages to the list.
- Closed (moderated) List - For distribution only. Only those authorised by the list administrator can sign up or post to the list.
On the web:
Known as a newsgroup, discussion
forum or conference depending where it resides on the Internet,
forums are places where you can "post" and read articles or
email, with an electronic post box where you can rummage through the
messages. There is likely to be a forum about anything you can think
of - and some you couldn't even imagine!
They can either be open to anyone - as are newsgroups on the
Internet - or limited to subscribers to a particular service like
Compuserve or GreenNet, or still further limited to a smaller or
interest group, people who share a common interest in a particular
topic. Some are moderated; either the content or members are
controlled. Newsgroups are owned by the people who set them up and
have rules of use and etiquette, often appearing as FAQs or resource
files, which should always be followed.
Each participant can join the electronic meeting at any time, without
incurring overheads of travel, meeting costs etc. When a new
participant joins the meeting, he or she can catch up with what has
gone before by reviewing recent activity - most such forums keep the
last few hundred messages "on view" and important sets of messages
can be made available to future participants through an archive. In a
conventional network, if you miss a few meetings you quickly get out
of touch. In the electronic meeting point, all discussion is visible
even to those who aren't able to actively participate.
Note: Usenet is the term for all such distributed discussion
systems. The majority of modern Usenet traffic is over the Internet
but the term Usenet includes many other systems which use different
software and different standards.
Bulletin board systems (or BBSs) are a place for private
email, discussion forums and libraries of files. They can run on the
Internet via a service provider or may be set up independently. For
example, individuals wanting to make information available to friends
directly may provide a computer, modem and a telephone number which
participants then use a modem to dial into, without needing an
Internet account or service provider.
While email is sent to you, a bulletin board is for public 'notices'
- you need to go an look at the notice board to keep up to date. The
increasing use of the world wide web means that bulletin boards are
slowly being superseded.
A proper balance of email, mailing lists, forums and bulletin boards
can greatly improve communications.
On the web:
File archives are a way of making
documents, programmes, pictures and other files available, either to
anyone, or to those with the correct password. These files are
created, updated and read by special software called an ftp client.
The files can then be copied - or ftp'd - to and from any computer on
the Internet. These files may also be accessed through a web-browser
(see below)
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Often confused with the Internet, the
World Wide Web (or Web) provides easy access to the vast range of
networked information people have put on computers all over the
world. It is the multimedia publishing side of the Net and anyone can
'publish' by placing files on a computer connected to the
Internet
To access the vast amount available, you simply send a request to
another computer determined by it's unique address and the file is
returned to your computer. The data is often free, and the cost of
transfer again the price of a local call.
The structure of these documents (or web pages) has been defined
through a language called HyperText Markup Language (HTML). Your
browser understands the HTML instructions which come in a document,
and uses them to display the document or 'page' in an attractive
graphical way. After viewing, these pages can then be printed or
saved locally to be referenced later. The standard format of these
files means you can also use your browser to access file archives,
newsgroups, directory searches, a variety of media such as video,
sound, and image files and so on, although extra software may be
required to interpret them and the transfer of large files, such as
video, will be slow.
A key feature of web pages are hypertext links - the user can follow
a "trail" of information from one computer to others simply by
selecting a highlighted piece of text or an image. Each highlight
corresponds to a new unique address, giving access to a new document.
This may be, for example, a new page, an email address or a sound
file.
Web publishing: Creating Web pages
Until recently, creating a web page meant learning the language,
HTML, that these files are written in. There are now many editors to
choose from which work like a word processor or DTP package, allowing
direct entry of text and formatting. These documents are then sent to
an Internet server, usually using ftp, allowing anyone in the world
access to your this information. Although this is an efficient means
of distributing information, there is an overhead. When a leaflet or
newsletter is sent to print, that is the end of the process. However,
web pages will require continual maintenance to ensure they stay up
to date.
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As it is so easy to publish and as
educational institutes have invested in the opportunity for
information sharing, there is an incredible amount of data available
on the web. Unfortunately, the nature of the web means it is
impossible to index all of this data. However, there are ways of
finding what you want.
You can use a 'search engine' to hunt through the enormous
databases of titles or content of web pages or use menu and subject
driven systems such as Yahoo. The databases contain indexes of words
and phrases associated with URLs and your task is to come up with
words that match this index to list web pages or discussion areas
which might be of interest to you. These search engines are amazingly
powerful - but unless you are careful in specifying your search
criteria you can end up with thousands of 'hits'.
Another option is to enlist the help of someone who has already
organised the data for you and created a gateway page. This
may be a national organisation specialising in a particular field, or
a hobbyist. Either will usually present a list of useful links to
sites of interest.
Finally, if you require an answer to something, you can ask an
expert. This requires monitoring relevant mailing lists and forums
and posing the question there. Beware that you don't waste people's
time by asking for something that might be found in an FAQ list or
file archive.
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Internet Addresses are based on
domain addresses. These take the form:
Generally, the domain-name is the
name of a company or an organisation, here indicated by xxx.
Domain-types relate to the type of organisation:
|
Academic |
Commercial |
Government |
USA military |
(Non profit) |
Network provider |
|
xxx.ac, |
xxx.co or |
xxx.gov |
xxx.mil |
xxx.org |
xxx.net |
The country code is optional; users
in the US and international organisations often omit it, while a
university in the UK would be, for example, xxx.ac.uk
Examples
Our own domain name is "communities" and our Internet domain address
is communities.org.uk. The domain address for the UK
Government's Department of Trade & Industry is dti.gov.uk.
On the web: See Registering
Your Own Domain Name
(http://www.vois.org.uk/etongarages/phillipa3.html) by Phillipa Gamse
for guidelines on registering your own domain name.
Email addresses
To send a message (or email) to an individual you then need a further
identifier for that person, for example dwilcox@pavilion.co.uk
or info@communities.org.uk
Web addresses
To request a web page (or HTML) document from us, you'll need to
specify a URL (Unique Resource Location). For example, this page can
be found at www.communities.org.uk/. This is usually prefixed by
"http://" to indicate that it's a hypertext file, but most web
browsers will default this in for you. www indicates that it's on the
world wide web. The last part of the address is the name of the file
on the communities.org.uk server.
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Requirements for getting online are similar to getting a mobile phone. You'll need the equipment (in this case a computer, a modem and a telephone line) and a service provider (an Internet Service Provider or ISP). As you use the service you'll incur telephone costs, and in the case of an on-line service like America Online or Microsoft Network, you may pay for time using the services
To run email only, a 386 IBM Compatible PC or Mac Plus is sufficient, although some mail packages will also run on a 286. To run a WWW browser, a 486 IBM (Win 3.1) or Mac 68020 (O.S. 7.x), both with 8Mb RAM, is required
At standard entry level, we recommend
purchasing the fastest modem you can afford, or get your hands on. As
a minimum, this is 14,400 bps (bits per second, the speed the data
transfers, also called V32.bis) from£80, although the standard
is now 28,000 bps (or V34) from £120, 33,600 bps are coming in
and there are faster ones coming along all the time, with 57,600 bps
expected in 1997.
Modems can be internal or external to your computer, but external
modems are more mobile, you don't have to take computer apart and
there's less likely to be a conflict. Whatever type of modem you get,
make sure it has BABT (British Approvals Board for
Telecommunications) approval and, if it is external, that a cable is
provided. You may also need an adaptor for your existing phone
line.
On the web: At http://web.aimnet.com/~jnavas/modem/faq.html, John
Navas maintains a 28800 Modem FAQ that might be of help.
All may be downloaded free for charities or not-for-profit groups - your Internet Service Provider should provide details.
An Internet service provider (ISP) is
your link to the Internet. You buy the equipment and then pay them a
monthly or yearly subscription to attach you to the Internet. This
will vary from about £7 per month up to £15 but there will
be variations in what you get for that as some offer extra online
services (for example Which? or Compuserve). They may also charge you
a set up cost, but if you pay this and then decide to change service
you'll lose money. Beware of providers which charge for time on-line
as this can quickly mount up. You'll may also want to check how many
email accounts you get, whether they offer ISDN - and whether that
comes at a higher cost.
A service provider should provide:
www.partnerships.org.uk/articles/basics1.html