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Note that other groups may also distribute 18 working documents as Internet-Drafts. 20 Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months 21 and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any 22 time. It is inappropriate to use Internet- Drafts as reference 23 material or to cite them other than as "work in progress." 25 To view the entire list of current Internet-Drafts, please check the 26 "1id-abstracts.txt" listing contained in the Internet-Drafts Shadow 27 Directories on ftp.is.co.za (Africa), ftp.nordu.net (Northern 28 Europe), ftp.nis.garr.it (Southern Europe), munnari.oz.au (Pacific 29 Rim), ftp.ietf.org (US East Coast), or ftp.isi.edu (US West Coast). 31 "Copyright(C) The Internet Society (1998). All Rights Reserved." 33 Abstract 35 This memo provides an overview to the new Internet User. The 36 intended audience is the common Internet user of today, thus it 37 attempts to provide a more consumer oriented approach to the Internet 38 rather than going into any depth about a topic. Unlike its 39 predecessors, this edition seeks to answer the general questions that 40 an unsophisticated consumer would ask as opposed to the more pointed 41 questions of the more a technically sophisticated Internet user. 42 Users desiring a more in-depth discussion are directed to FYI 7 that 43 deals with intermediate and advanced Q/A topics. A conscious effort 44 has been made to keep this memo brief but at the same time provide 45 the new user with enough information to generally understand the 46 Internet. 48 1. Acknowledgements 50 The following people deserve thanks for their help and contributions 51 to thei FYI Q/A: Albert Lunde (NWU). 53 2. Questions About the Internet 55 2.1. What is the Internet? 57 The Internet is the worldwide group of networks that are connected 58 together. It consists of the computers used by users that are 59 connected to these networks, the specialized computers (routers) that 60 are the interconnection points between these networks, and the 61 communications lines. Most home users connect to a network via a 62 telephone line and a communication device (modem). A company known as 63 an Internet Service Provider (ISP) connects this network to the 64 Internet. The Internet was put together from normal telephone 65 communication products which are offered by telephone companies, but 66 they are used in a different way which allows everyone to share them 67 which makes the whole thing cheaper. 69 The Internet is structured much like any other business. You buy 70 your service from a retail ISP. Your ISP takes its profit and buys 71 bulk services from a bigger provider who does the same thing. This 72 may happen a couple of times until there gets a point where there are 73 places where the big providers all connect together and communicate 74 with each other. There are only a few of these in each area of the 75 world and they pay a fee to connect at these points. The connection 76 points are connected together by international providers, so that if 77 you connect to the Internet at one point, you can get anywhere in the 78 world. 80 2.2. Who Runs the Internet? 82 The Internet is operated as a cooperative effort among the ISPs, 83 software companies, volunteer organizations, and a few facilities 84 that tie the whole thing together. The ISPs and software companies 85 are completely independent and most of them compete with each other. 86 The ISPs agree to connect to each other and transmit information 87 following an established set of rules (protocols). The software 88 companies agree to manufacture programs (such as email or web 89 browsers) that also follow protocols. These protocols are developed 90 by a group of volunteers (Internet Engineering Task Force IETF) that 91 come together regularly and discuss how the Internet is running and 92 how to standardize new services. 94 But, there are things that must be unique in the Internet, just like 95 your phone number must be unique in the world. To keep these things 96 straight there are groups identified in the community which allocate 97 addresses (IP Registries ARIN, RIPE, APNIC), allocate names (domain 98 registries), and generally keep track of things (ICANN). This is 99 keeps the Internet working well, adding new services, and running on 100 a wide variety of computers. 102 2.3. What Can I do on the Internet? 104 There are a variety of applications and activities on the Internet. 105 These include the ability to surf, use search tools, send mail, 106 transfer programs and documents, and chat. 108 Surfing is one of the two most popular activities. To surf, a user 109 uses a program known as a web browser. The web browser enables the 110 user to connect to a location that contains information. From one 111 location a user can follow various links by clicking on them to 112 explore the Internet. Like following a footnote or reference in a 113 print publication, links can be used to find related or non-related 114 information. 116 Typically surfing begins by connecting to a site that contains a 117 search engine. Since the Internet contains many, many different kinds 118 of material on a wide variety of topics, finding exactly what you are 119 looking for can be challenging. This is where search engines come in 120 since they can help you locate specific information. But, remember 121 just as using a dictionary versus the yellow pages to locate 122 information on automobiles will yield very different results, so too 123 will different search engines. 125 E-mail is the second most popular activity and is very similar to 126 sending letters through the post office. It is both an application 127 and an activity which allows for the exchange of messages between two 128 or more people. Additionally, many people use e-mail to join and 129 participate in what are known as listserv discussions or mail lists. 130 A listserv is simply a forum wherein people exchange e-mail and is 131 typically on a defined topic i.e. home buying, politics, or even 132 running the Internet. 134 Programs and documents are transferred in several ways. The most 135 common way this is done between individual users is to attach the 136 program or document to an e-mail message. Programs and documents are 137 usually transferred from sites to users using the save feature of a 138 web browser or the file transfer protocol (FTP). This enables users 139 to obtain a variety of programs, documents, audio files, and video 140 files. 142 Another application and activity known as chat takes place with 143 another person or persons who are also on the Internet. Chatting is 144 very similar to going to a party. Just as people congregate in small 145 groups and discuss things, chatters meet in chat rooms to discuss a 146 topic. Chat rooms are generally sponsored or operated by an 147 organization that has an interest in the topic area. For example, an 148 online news organization would have a chat room for chatters to 149 discuss current events. To chat one person writes a message which 150 can be read, as it is being written, by the others who can respond to 151 it in turn. Persons who enter a chat room but dont enter the 152 discussion are said to be lurking. Chatters come and go to chat 153 rooms the same way people move about groups at a party. 155 Some popular activities that have recently sprung up include 156 electronic shopping, banking, and investing. Major and specialty 157 retail stores around the nation and many around the world describe 158 and display pictures of their products on the Internet for people to 159 buy directly or indirectly. Shopping can also include purchasing 160 services such as an airline ticket or ordering groceries. 161 Additionally, many banks allow people to transfer funds, check 162 available funds, pay bills and other such activities while on the 163 Internet with an account number and ID. Lastly, many people invest 164 while on the Internet in everything from stocks and bonds to real 165 estate. 167 2.4. How Does the Internet Work? 169 The Internet allows people to conduct activities, whether it is web 170 browsing, e-mail, a file transfer, or a chat session between two 171 computers (source and destination) that can be located anywhere. To 172 make this happen several things occur. An activity is started, the 173 address of the destination is identified, a path to the destination 174 is created, an activity session is started, and then the activity 175 takes place. This is done by a variety of programs that follow 176 standards (protocols) of Internet activity. 178 Lets look at how this would happen for an e-mail session. The user 179 creates a message using an e-mail program. The user identifies the 180 destination by specifying an e-mail address. Since humans are more 181 comfortable with names the e-mail protocol specifies that this 182 address is the name of the user at the destination. It looks like 183 jones@ietf.org. However, the computers that move information about 184 the Internet use numeric addresses called Internet Protocol (IP) 185 addresses. IP addresses are used to move (route) the message along 186 the best path to the destination. Thus the name has to be translated 187 into an IP address. The name-to-address mapping system called the 188 Domain Name System (DNS) does this. Once the address has been 189 determined, a set of protocols called routing protocols find the best 190 path to the destination. Then an activity session is created between 191 the source and the destination computer. The e-mail protocol checks 192 the destination to make sure that it will accept the message. 193 Finally the message is transmitted. As it moves from the source to 194 the destination it may cross several networks that belong to several 195 ISPs. All of this activity takes place within the time it takes to 196 read this paragraph! 198 2.5. Are There Any Rules of Behavior? 200 In general common sense, courtesy, and decency govern good Internet 201 behavior. There is no single formal rulebook that governs behavior on 202 the Internet. However many e-mail discussion lists and chat rooms 203 have an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). Before you join in one of these 204 activities check and see if there is an AUP, make sure you understand 205 it, and then follow it. The IETF has published RFC 1855 (Netiquette 206 Guidelines) and is publishing other RFCs that deal with subjects such 207 as advertising and Internet junk mail (spam). 209 Users should also be aware that their particular programs such as 210 word processors or e-mail might produce documents and messages that 211 are not readable by everyone. You should make sure that the intended 212 recipient can read what you are sending them. 214 As in any group, the users of the Internet have, over time, developed 215 language short cuts. These primarily take the form of acronyms and 216 emoticons (smilies). Lists of these acronyms and emoticons can be 217 found by surfing. 219 3. Security Considerations 221 It is important to realize that not Internet user is a good netizen. 222 Therefore, users should learn to protect themselves. The IETF has 223 published several RFCs that provide security information and 224 guidance. Additionally, users can protect themselves from sites and 225 documents that have unwanted content by using baby sitting software. 227 4. References 229 References to be inserted here. 231 5. Authors' Address 233 Raymond Plzak 234 SAIC 235 1710 Goodridge Drive 236 McLean, Virginia 22102 238 Phone: (703) 821-6535 240 EMail: plzakr@saic.com 242 Amy Tracy Wells 243 Internet Scout Project 244 University of Wisconsin-Madison 245 Computer Sciences Department 246 1210 W. Dayton St. 247 Madison, WI 53706 249 Phone: (608)263-2611 251 Email: awel@cs.wisc.edu 253 Ed Krol 254 University of Illinois 255 1120 DCL 1304 Springfield 256 Urbana IL 61801 258 Phone (217)333-7886 260 Email: krol@uiuc.edu 262 6. "Full Copyright Statement". 264 "Copyright (C) The Internet Society (date). All Rights Reserved. 266 This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to others, 267 and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it or assist in its 268 implmentation may be prepared, copied, published and distributed, in whole or 269 in part, without restriction of any kind, provided that the above copyright 270 notice and this paragraph are included on all such copies and derivative 271 works. However, this document itself may not be modified in any way, such as 272 by removing the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or 273 other Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of developing 274 Internet standards in which case the procedures for copyrights defined in the 275 Internet Standards process must be followed, or as required to translate it 276 into languages other than English. 278 The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be revoked 279 by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns. 281 This document and the information contained herein is provided on an "AS IS" 282 basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING TASK FORCE 283 DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO 284 ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY 285 RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A 286 PARTICULAR PURPOSE.