Bulletin board is an electronic message center. Most bulletin boards serve specific interest groups. They allow users to read messages left by others and to leave their own as well.

Chat room is a location on the Internet where users can discuss topics of common interest by sending typed messages back and forth. The messages appear to other users as soon as they are typed.

Client is a user's computer.

Cookie is a piece of data placed on a client's hard drive by a server. It can be used for a variety of purposes. One such purpose would be to store a name and password so that a user would not have to enter this information every time he or she returned to the same Web site.

Download is to receive data or software over the Internet and store it so that it may be used later.

E-mail, or electronic mail, is a way of sending a message over the Internet to another specific user or group of users.

Firewall is a combination of hardware and software that prevents a visitor to an organization's Web site from gaining access to other information stored on the organization's computer network, such as corporate records or employee information.

Forum, or newsgroup, is an online discussion group in which participants with a common interest can exchange open messages.

Home page is the starting page of a Web site. It generally includes tools and indexes to help visitors navigate through the rest of the site. In many ways, a home page functions as an electronic table of contents.

Hyperlink is a programmed connection from one Web site to another. It usually appears on a Web site as a highlighted or underlined word or phrase. When a user clicks a mouse on the passage, the client connects to the related Web site.

Hypertext markup language, or HTML, is the programming language most commonly used by the World Wide Web.

Hypertext transfer protocol, or HTTP, is the set of rules governing the transfer of files between a server and a client. HTTP electronically oversees the connection of clients to Web sites.

Internet service provider or ISP is a business that provides a client with the means to connect to the Internet and maintains exchanges of information between clients and servers.

Modem is a device that converts a computer's digital information to signals that can be transmitted over telephone lines. It also converts signals it receives back to digital information.

Net is a common abbreviation for Internet.

Network is a communication system that links two or more computers.

Online service is a business that provides Internet access plus a wide range of exclusive content and features, such as chat rooms, games, and news reports.   Examples include America Online (AOL), Earthlink and MSN.

Search engine is a program that allows a user to locate information on the Internet by typing in key words or phrases. The search engine then returns addresses of Web sites that most closely match the request.  Examples include Google, Yahoo, MSN Search, Alta Vista.

Server, or host, is a computer that provides requested resources, such as information or software, to a client via a modem or network connection.

Surfing is the process of visiting a number of Web sites in rapid succession.

Uniform resource locator, or URL, is an electronic address that identifies a Web site.

Web browser, or simply browser, is a piece of software that allows a user to access Web sites.  Examples are Internet Explorer, Firefox, Netscape Navigator, Mozilla.

Web site is a collection of information at a specific address on the World Wide Web.

World Wide Web, or WWW for short, is a part of the Internet that includes text, graphics, video, animation, and sound.