Introduction to the Internet: Getting Started Step 4

Communicating with Others Via the Internet

There are several ways in which you can directly communicate with other people on the Internet:

Electronic Mail (Email)

Electronic mail is used by the largest number of people on the Internet although the heaviest traffic lies with the World Wide Web. Email is a way of sending messages electronically from one computer to another. Users can send memos, letters, large documents, and other word-based messages as well as multimedia documents (audio, graphics, video, etc.) directly to another person or to a distribution list of hundreds (messages can be sent to multiple people at once like Christmas letters).

To use email, you must have a modem and telephone line or cable connection to your computer and an email address. An address follows the common format of: username@domain.suffix example: president@whitehouse.gov The username identifies an individual user. The @ symbol ("at") separates the username from the domain. The domain identifies the electronic name of the location of the mail server. The suffix identifies the type of organization operating the mail server. The most common organizations are:   .edu higher education institutions .mil military organizations     .com companies  .org nonprofit organizations     .gov government departments and agencies .net networking organizations and companies

Both Netscape and Internet Explorer have built-in mail programs that let you send mail as well as read, organize, and store mail that others send to you; there are also products available commercially, such as Eudora, that have these same features.

Listservs

A listserv, sometimes called a mailing list, is a virtual discussion group. Listservs are centered around specific topics or professions, such as the teaching of foreign languages, career development, skydiving, home repair, etc.. There are listservs for just about any interest imaginable.

To join a list you send commands to a mailing list server, also called "subscribing," and the server adds your email address to a database of email addresses that are also subscribed to that list. Whenever you or anyone else who is subscribed to the list sends a message to the list address, everyone in that database get a copy of the message. You may choose to respond either to the group at large or individually to a sender or you may just want to listen in (called "lurking).

To locate listservs that might be of interest to you, check these sites: Liszt, the Mailing List Directory ...large database of mailing lists; search by browsing specific topics or by searching with keywords Search the List of Lists ..."one of the largest directories of special interest group e-mail lists (also known as listservs) available on the Internet;" searchable by keyword or phrase Tile.Net/Lists ...massive collection of mailing lists you can join and the information you need to join them; searchable by topic or by browsing the lists by letter, subject, country etc.

Newsgroups

Newsgroups, or usenets, are also discussion groups which you can subscribe to. At first it might seem hard to tell the difference between newsgroups and listservs. In function, they are similar. However, the main difference is that messages sent to the group rather than being sent to the subscribers via email. Newsgroup messages are accessible to you only when you log in to your Internet account and use a newsreader, although some newsreaders can "grab"messages for offline reading. Most newsgroups are unmoderated, too, and accessible to millions of people every day, so the signal to noise ratio is much high than on most mailing lists, where only "subscribed listmembers" can read and post. Messages are usually placed under list topic headings, thus you can in most cases decide which messages to view or download and which to ignore. Because newsgroups are seldolm moderated, they are open, free discussion forums - and anything goes.

There are many different types of newsgroups. The major categories, or hierarchies, are:   comp: computer and computer science soc: cultural, social     news: Internet news talk: disucssion and debate about what's making news     sci: technical or scientific  misc: miscellaneous      rec: recreational alt: newsgroups that don't fit into the other categories (home to many fringe elements, ranging from political extremists to sexually oriented groups to historical revisionists; also includes cutting-edge technical information)

A newsreader program is necessary to access newsgroups. In most cases you will find the necessary program software is made available by your service provider. Both Internet Explorer and Netscape have built-in newsreaders.

To locate newsgroups that may be of interest to you, check these sites: Liszt's Usenet Newsgroup Directory ...large database of newsgroups; search by browsing specific topics or by searching with keywords Tile.Net/Lists ...massive collection of newsgroups the information you need to access them; searchable by topic or by browsing the lists by letter, subject, country etc.

Chat Rooms

A chat room is a location online that allows users to communicate with each other in "real time" or "live" as opposed to delayed time as with email. A user enters a chat room (usually defined by topic such as books, music, travel, parenting, computers, genealogy, real estate, etc.; some sites offer live chatting with celebrities and authors), types a message into the computer and sends it, and it is instantly displayed on the screens of the other users in the chat room. Admission is generally not restricted. You never know who's going to be reading your messages or responding to them, so it is best to be cautious.

Chat rooms are very popular with children and especially with teenagers. Because of the nature of this type of activity, there are risks involved. Children can be exposed to inappropriate material, harassment, and physical molestation (as a result of revealing personal information about themselves online that would allow someone to physically locate them).

Chat Safety   Positive Benefits for Your Child Develop relationships with children and adults around the world Talk to kids and teens with similar interest and concerns, in rooms specifically for kids that are monitored closely by adults Communicate instantaneously with family, friends, teachers, community leaders, etc. Dangers/Risks Offensive language and adult conversation Because of its interactive nature, the most likely activity online through which children will encounter people who want to harm them Too much time online, which limits a child's well-rounded development by taking the place of friends, schoolwork, sports, and other activities     Parenting Tips Accompany your child in chat rooms until he or she learns your safety rules Teach your child to never give out personal information such as his or her name or address, school name or address, or anything else that is personally identifying Explain that people are not always who they say they are Set a rule that your child never arranges an in-person meeting without your presence Limit your child to specific chat rooms or consider blocking out chat entirely What Parental Control Tools Can Do Allow access only to monitored chat rooms or block access to all chat rooms Block private messages between a child and another user Limit your child's ability to give out personal information       The Parents' Guide to the Information Superhighway, 2d ed. The Children's Parnership with The National PTA and The National Urban League, 1998.

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