Frequently asked questions

A) Although it is recommended for customer correspondence, your possession of a computer is not required to have a website. Web sites are on specially configured computers called web servers. This is not the same as the common household computer or office computer. The web server is usually connected to the internet via a direct connection, such as an ISDN, T1 or T3.

A) You need access to a web server, most economically by a web hosting company such as TomStratton.com. You also need to build the site. Tom Stratton can provide all that you need to establish your site.

 A) Web Hosting is the function of  a computer configured as a web server that has the files that make up a web site on it's hard drive. One web server will usually have many web sites on it unless it is dedicated to one large site or a site that receives a very large amount of traffic. There are very large websites that utilize more than one server for their operation.

A) ISP stands for Internet Service Provider. An ISP is a company who provides dialup access to the Internet using a modem. An ISP has come to be known as a dial up access company that usually does web hosting as well. You dial a local number to access your provider's computer which is connected to the internet like a web server.

A) America Online, (also known as AOL) and others like it; CompuServe, Microsoft Network, Prodigy; Are online computer services. These differ from ISP's in that they provide service other than strictly Internet Access and an E-mail account. They also have their own information services for travel, business, entertainment, live chat, etc. They also use their own custom software to access their computers, and to provide your access to the internet. Some allow the use of mainstream web browsers like MS Internet Explorer and Netscape along with their access software. These online services are also national or international and have local numbers for most areas. ISP's only provide access to the Internet and E-mail account. Some will provide additional E-mail accounts, for an additional fee or sometimes as a courtesy. Some ISP's are national and provide local access for many areas of the country, but most are smaller, serving the local area, or several counties of an area or state.

A) HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. It is the base language used for creating web pages. It is a set of formatting tags the web browser uses to know where and how to display text and graphics on the computer screen.

 A) JavaScript is a web page programming language. Unlike HTML which is used for creating the layout for a web page, JavaScript is used to enhance web pages with interactivity. It does require a browser that supports Java, most newer browsers do.

A) No. Java is used in a different way than JavaScript. Both are used for web pages but Java is also used to write programs for uses other than the Internet. It is used for developing applications and systems or mini web applications called applets. Applets are small programs used by web pages for special interfaces such as chat rooms, special forms, and other interactive uses. Applets are on the Internet server that hosts the web site, and the page uses the applet.

A) Perl is a scripting language used for processing form input. When you submit a form the data entered is sent to the server where the Perl script will process the information and send the results to the intended receiver.

A) Newsgroups are discussion areas consisting of a huge range of topics. There are tens of thousands of newsgroups. They are an area that you post messages to and others can reply via the given newsgroup or e-mail or both. Newsgroups can be accessed with your web browser or newsreader software. Newsreaders are generally a better for accessing specific newsgroups without having to go through all that are available through your internet provider.

A) Chat rooms are areas of discussion that are live. You enter a given chat room read messages from others as well as typing and sending your own. Chat rooms are an area of the internet that has received a lot of negative press, because some people have found them to be an escape from their everyday lives and sometimes get addicted to them because they can portray themselves as someone else and get caught up in the fantasy.

A) Mailing lists are similar to news groups except they are done only via E-mail. You subscribe to a mailing list that pertains to a particular subject. Subscribers receive all the postings to that list as an e-mail message. You can send an e-mail to the list such as to share information about that subject, answering someone else's question or asking questions of your own.

A) E-Mail is electronic mail. It is a way to send a letter or message to someone who has an E-mail address. To use  E-mail you need access to a computer and an E-mail address. An E-mail account would be included with Internet access. You can also get a free E-mail only account with Juno, who provides their own dialup software to their computers. You can download their software from their website at www.juno.com. You can also have a free E-mail account over the web from Hotmail (www.hotmail.com), Yahoo (www.yahoo.com, mail), Eudora, and a number of other sites.

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