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Run idnits with the --verbose option for more detailed information about the items above. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 INTERNET-DRAFT R. Plzak 2 draft-ietf-uswg-fyi4-bis-01.txt SAIC 3 A.T. Wells 4 UWisc-Mad 5 E. Krol 6 Univ IL 7 May 1999 9 FYI on Questions and Answers 10 Answers to Commonly AskedNew Internet User Questions 12 Status of this Memo 14 This document is an Internet-Draft and is in full conformance with 15 all provisions of Section 10 of RFC2026. 17 Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering 18 Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups. Note that 19 other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet- 20 Drafts. 22 Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months 23 and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any 24 time. It is inappropriate to use Internet- Drafts as reference 25 material or to cite them other than as "work in progress." 27 The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at 28 http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt 30 The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at 31 http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html. 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 a more technically sophisticated Internet user. Those 42 desiring a more in-depth discussion are directed to FYI 7 that deals 43 with intermediate and advanced Q/A topics. A conscious effort has 44 been made to keep this memo brief but at the same time provide the 45 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 this FYI Q/A: Chris Burke (Motorola), John Curran (BBN Planet), 52 Albert Lunde (NWU), and April Marine (Internet Engines, Inc.). Last, 53 but not least, thanks are extended to Patricia Harper and Charlotte 54 Nurge. These ladies from South Riding, Virginia, consumer tested 55 this document. 57 2. Questions About the Internet 59 2.1. What is the Internet? 61 People use computers to perform a wide assortment of tasks. A 62 connected group of computers is known as a network. Because people 63 are connected via this network, they can use their computers to 64 exchange ideas and information. Some computers are connected 65 directly to the network while others (primarily those in homes) are 66 connected via a telephone line and a communication device known as a 67 modem. By connecting networks together with specialized computers 68 known as routers, people on one network can engage in activities with 69 people on other networks. This INTER-connected group of NETworks is 70 known as the INTERNET. 72 2.2. What Can I do on the Internet? 74 There is a large variety of activities that users can do on the 75 Internet. These activities include surfing, searching, sending mail, 76 transfering programs and documents, chatting, and playing games. 78 SURFING 80 Surfing is one of the most popular Internet activities. To surf, a 81 user needs a program known as a web browser. The web browser enables 82 the user to connect to a location that contains information. Many 83 locations contain links to other sites that contain related 84 information. These links are usually identified by underlined text 85 that is of a different color from the rest of the text in an article. 86 By clicking on one of these links the user is then connected to that 87 information. This information may be at the same location or may be 88 at a different location. This new information may, in turn, have 89 links to other information. So just like a footnote or reference in 90 a print publication, links can be used to find related or non-related 91 information. 93 SEARCHING 95 Searching involves using a special program known as a seach engine. 96 There are several of these engines that are located at various search 97 sites. The popular web browsers have location information about 98 these search sites. Searching is similar to using a card catalog in 99 a library. Just as a person would look up a topic in a card catalog 100 and find one or more references to that topic with library location 101 information, a search engine provides the user with a list of sites 102 that may contain relevant information. This list is actually a set 103 of links to these sites so that all the user has to do is click on 104 the link to go to the location. Just as different library card 105 catalogs will contain different reference cards, different search 106 engines will provide different reference lists. 108 E-MAIL 110 E-mail is another very popular activity. It is very similar to 111 sending letters through the post office or notes and memos around the 112 office. It is used to exchange messages between two or more people. 113 Because email can be misunderstood or abused, users should be 114 familiar with email netiquette. For more information see Netiquette 115 Guidelines [FYI 28, RFC 1855]. 117 Many people also participate in mailing lists. Usually a mailing 118 list is dedicated to a particular topic or interest. Some mailing 119 lists are used to provide information to subscribers, such as product 120 update information for something an individual may have purchased 121 while others are used for discussion. In the latter instance people 122 participate in the discussion by sending email to a "list" address 123 which in turn distributes it to all members of a list. Abuse of mail 124 lists is probably the biggest source of junk email (also known as 125 "spam"). Everyone should take care that they aren't the source of 126 junk mail. 128 FILE TRANSFER 130 Programs and documents are transferred in several ways. The most 131 common way this is done between individual users is to attach the 132 program or document to an e-mail message. Programs and documents are 133 usually transferred from sites to users using the save feature of a 134 web browser or the file transfer protocol (FTP). Such transfers 135 enable users to obtain a variety of programs, documents, audio files, 136 and video files. 138 CHAT 140 Chat takes place between one or more persons who are on the Internet. 141 Chatting is very similar to going to a party. Just as people 142 congregate in small groups and discuss things, chatters meet in chat 143 rooms to discuss a topic. Chat rooms are generally sponsored or 144 operated by an organization that has an interest in the topic area. 145 For example, an online news organization would have a chat room for 146 chatters to discuss current events. To chat one person writes a 147 message which can be read, as it is being written, by the others who 148 can respond to it in turn. First time chatters should be aware that 149 just as at a party where some people never say anything, so there may 150 be people in the room who are just listening. Also, just like at a 151 party, some people may portray themselves to be someone different 152 than who they really are. Lastly, remember that chatters come and go 153 to chat rooms the same way people move about groups at a party. 155 GAMES 157 Some people use the Internet to play games. These games can be role 158 playing games, action/adventure games, or online versions of old 159 standbys like chess. Some games require the user to purchase a copy 160 of the game and install it on their computer, while others are played 161 by going to a game site. Just like other forms of game playing, 162 Internet game playing can be challenging, entertaining, and an 163 enjoyable social experience. Don't be afraid to have fun. 165 OTHER ACTIVITIES 167 Other popular activities include electronic shopping, banking, and 168 investing. Many retailers describe and display pictures of their 169 products on the Internet enabling people to buy on line. Shopping 170 also includes purchasing services such as an airline ticket or 171 ordering groceries. Many banks allow people to transfer funds, check 172 available funds, pay bills and other such activities while on the 173 Internet with an account number and ID. Lastly, many people invest 174 while on the Internet in everything from stocks and bonds to real 175 estate. One word of caution, if you are using a credit card, check 176 to see if there are security features in place to protect your credit 177 card information. Reputable sites should tell you how they are 178 protecting your information. If you are in doubt about how your 179 information will be protected, don't use your credit card at that 180 site. 182 2.3. What is an Address? 184 Two commonly asked questions these days are "What's your e-mail 185 address?" and "What's the URL?" Generally, the first question is 186 asking where to send information, while the second is asking where to 187 get information. The answer to the first question is usually 188 something like myname@company.com. The answer to the second question 189 is usually something like "http://www.newspaper.com". What do these 190 answers mean? 192 E-MAIL ADDRESS 194 As stated previously an e-mail address is something like 195 "myname@company.com", pronounced "MYNAME at COMPANY dot COM". An 196 email address consists of two parts that are divided by an "@" sign. 197 The portion to the left is like the name line on a letter, it 198 identifies a particular person and usually is composed of the 199 person's name. Typical names look like this: 201 john_doe 202 john.doe 203 jdoe 204 doej 206 The name is assigned by the system or network adminstrator who is 207 managing the email system and follows rules that have been 208 established by the company providing the e-mail service. Sometimes 209 the name portion of the e-mail address is referred to as a mailbox. 211 The portion to the right of the "@" sign is the name of the computer 212 system that is providing the e-mail service. This name is usually 213 the name of the company that owns the computer system followed by a 214 "dot" and an abbreviation that represents the "domain" or group of 215 names which the organization falls under. Examples of these "top 216 level" domains are "edu", "com", and country codes such as "fr" for 217 France and "jp" for Japan. When an e-mail is sent the portion of the 218 address to the right of the "@" sign is used to find the destination 219 computer of the email. 221 URL 223 A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is commonly used to identify a 224 computer that provides world wide web service. It usually looks 225 something like "http://www.newspaper.com". This address also 226 consists of two parts. In this case the two parts are separated by 227 the "//". The portion to the left means find the world wide web 228 service that is located at the computer identified to the right of 229 the "//". The portion to the right is the name of the computer that 230 is providing the world wide web service. Its name is composed of 231 parts that are similar to those described for the name of an email 232 computer. Sometimes the portion on the right contains additional 233 information that identifies a particular document at the web site. 235 For example, http://www.newspaper.com/sports/article1.html would 236 identify a specific article in the sports section of the newspaper. 238 2.4. Are There Any Rules of Behavior on the Internet? 240 In general, common sense, courtesy, and decency govern good Internet 241 behavior. There is no single formal rulebook that governs behavior on 242 the Internet. FYI 28 that was mentioned previously is a good guide. 243 Many activities such as game sites, chat rooms, or e-mail lists may 244 have rules of their own. What may be acceptable behavior in one chat 245 room may be totally out of bounds in another. It never hurts to 246 check the water temperature before jumping in the pool. Users should 247 use the same precautions before joining in any online activity. 249 E-mail in particular can lead to misunderstandings between people. 250 Users should remember that the reader only has the text to determine 251 what is being said. Other conversation cues such as "tone of voice" 252 and body signals like winking are not present in the text. Because 253 of this, users of the Internet have developed cues to put in the 254 text. Text techniques such as capitalization and symbols known as 255 emoticons (also called "smilies") are used. 257 A typical smiley looks like this :-) 259 Additionally, acronyms have evolved over time (for example IMHO - In 260 My Humble Opinion). More information about this can be found by 261 searching. Use keywords like "netiquette" and "emoticon" with your 262 search engine to find more information. 264 Users should also be aware that their particular programs such as 265 word processors or e-mail might produce documents and messages that 266 are not readable by everyone. Very often, a reader must have the 267 same program in which a document was written in order to read it. 268 So, before sending an attached document, it is a good idea to make 269 sure that the intended receiver of your document has the capability 270 to read it. If in doubt, send a text (ascii) version of the 271 document. 273 2.5. How Does the Internet Work? 275 Each of the activities mentioned in the section describing what one 276 can do on the Internet requires that computers exchange information. 277 Computers take turns sending and receiving information. When a 278 computer is sending information, it is known as the "source"; when it 279 is receiving information, it is known as the "destination." (The 280 same computer can be both a source and destination at different 281 times. This is especially clear when one thinks of sending and 282 receiving e-mail.) 283 Every computer on the Internet has a unique Internet "address" that 284 identifies it from among the millions of computers. The Internet has 285 specialized computers between the source and destination located at 286 network inter-connection points. These computers are known as 287 "routers." The routers understand how to use a computer's address to 288 appropriately point information from one computer to another over the 289 Internet. 291 In an exchange of information the following occurs: 293 * The source finds the address of the destination. 295 * The source contacts the destination and says "hello". 297 * The destination responds back with a "hello" of its own. 299 * The source tells the destination that it has information to 300 send. 302 * The destination tells the source that it is ready to receive the 303 information. 305 * The source breaks the information into small pieces called 306 packets and sends each packet on its way to the destination. 308 * The routers guide each packet to the destination. 310 * The destination takes the packets and puts them back together to 311 form the information. 313 * The destination tells the source that it has received the 314 information and asks the source if it has anything more to send. 316 * If the source says no, the destination will say "good bye" 317 unless it has something to send back. If it does, it will break 318 the information into packets and send them. 320 * Once both end users are done "talking", they say both say "good 321 bye". 323 Clearly our simplified introduction to this section did not explain 324 many steps in this process, such as how a computer discovers the 325 address of another computer or how packets are divided and 326 reassembled. Fortunately, these are specifics that people using the 327 Internet never really need to deal with! 329 2.6 Who Runs the Internet? 331 No one. The Internet is a cooperative effort among Internet Service 332 Providers (ISPs), software companies, volunteer organizations, and a 333 few facilities that tie the whole thing together. The ISPs and 334 software companies are completely independent and most of them 335 compete with each other. The ISPs provide internet service to people 336 much the same way that they obtain telephone service from a telephone 337 company. ISPs agree to connect their networks to each other and 338 transmit information following an established set of rules 339 (protocols). The software companies agree to manufacture programs 340 (such as email or web browsers) that also follow protocols. There 341 are other organizations that keep things straight. Some assign 342 Internet addresses in much the same manner as telephone numbers are 343 assigned, others keep track of names used by Internet users and 344 groups, and a large volunteer organization called the Internet 345 Engineering Task Force (IETF) develops the protocols computers follow 346 to make network communications succeed. 348 3. Security Considerations 350 The question "is the Internet secure?" can be a confusing one for 351 people, who will hear many assurances that it is secure and many 352 scary stories saying it is not secure. There are a few basic rules 353 of thumb to remember that will address most concerns. 355 First, make it a rule never to share account passwords with anyone. 356 Learning a password is the easiest way for someone to break into a 357 system. Most people feel that their files are not that interesting 358 to anyone, but someone may be able to get a foothold from one 359 innocuous account to other places in the same computer system. Many 360 good security practices can be found in the User's Security Handbook 361 [FYI 34, RFC 2504]. 363 Second, understand that there are means for people to track the 364 information a user sends via email, the files one downloads, and the 365 sites visited on the web. The system administrators and network 366 engineers who oversee a sites' computers require access to 367 information that an individual may think is secret. In practice, no 368 responsible system administrator or network engineer will violate a 369 person's privacy out of personal curiosity. However, if someone less 370 legitimate attains illegal access to a system, they also will have 371 access to this information. This situation is not a problem for most 372 people, but it should be understood that things like email sent a 373 year ago or a log of users web pages browsed may still exist in some 374 system's backup archive tape and can be easily resurrected and 375 published widely. 377 Third, before giving personal information over the Internet, such as 378 filling in a form on a Web page, users should realize that there is 379 no assurance of confidentiality or privacy. It could be compared to 380 faxing such information to a party that you've never dealt with 381 before. While many organizations on the Internet are responsible 382 with information received via the web and email, this cannot always 383 be determined in advance. 385 4. References 387 [1] Guttman, E., Leong, G., and Malkin, G., "Users' Security 388 Handbook", RFC 2504, FYI 34, Sun Microsystems, COLT, Bay Networks, 389 February 1999. 391 [2] Hambridge, S., "Netiquette Guidelines", RFC 1855, FYI 28, Intel 392 Corporation, October 1995. 394 5. Authors' Address 396 Raymond Plzak 397 SAIC 398 1710 Goodridge Drive 399 McLean, Virginia 22102 401 Phone: (703) 821-6535 402 EMail: plzakr@saic.com 404 Amy Tracy Wells 405 Internet Scout Project 406 University of Wisconsin-Madison 407 Computer Sciences Department 408 1210 W. Dayton St. 409 Madison, WI 53706 411 Phone: (608)263-2611 412 Email: awel@cs.wisc.edu 414 Ed Krol 415 University of Illinois 416 1120 DCL 1304 Springfield 417 Urbana IL 61801 419 Phone (217)333-7886 420 Email: krol@uiuc.edu 422 6. "Full Copyright Statement". 424 "Copyright (C) The Internet Society (date). All Rights Reserved. 426 This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to others, 427 and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it or assist in its 428 implmentation may be prepared, copied, published and distributed, in whole or 429 in part, without restriction of any kind, provided that the above copyright 430 notice and this paragraph are included on all such copies and derivative 431 works. However, this document itself may not be modified in any way, such as 432 by removing the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or 433 other Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of developing 434 Internet standards in which case the procedures for copyrights defined in the 435 Internet Standards process must be followed, or as required to translate it 436 into languages other than English. 438 The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be revoked 439 by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns. 441 This document and the information contained herein is provided on an "AS IS" 442 basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING TASK FORCE 443 DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO 444 ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY 445 RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A 446 PARTICULAR PURPOSE. 448 Appendix A 449 Glossary of Terms 451 Emoticon Combination of punctuation marks used to provide sense of 452 the senders tone of voice in an e-mail message 453 IETF Internet Engineering Task Force [see text for a description] 454 Internet An interconnected group of networks 455 ISP Internet Service Provider [see text for a description] 456 Network A connected group of computers 457 Router A specialized computer that connects networks together and 458 guides information packets to their destination 459 Spam A slang term for junk e-mail 460 URL Uniform Resource Locator [see text for a description] 461 Web Browser A program that provides the capablility to read 462 information that is located at a world wide web site