Welcome to the Internet

Welcome to the Peace Region Internet Society

Table of Contents:

1. Welcome
2. Kids on the Internet
3. Getting Started
4. Using the PRIS Internet Services
5. Surfing the Web
6. E-Mail
7. Newsgroups
8. Creating Your Own Web Space
9. FTP
10. Getting Help
11. Your Account
12. Reference

You also join a unique electronic community where people from around the world share information and opinions freely. This community is generally warm, friendly, and comfortable. At times it is also candid and frank.

The Internet is not owned by any single agency: it is a world-wide collaboration between companies, communities, and countries. The Peace Region Internet Society provides free Internet access to your library, and supplies access to many community associations, public schools, and colleges in the region.

Your PRIS membership gives you full Internet access, including the World Wide Web, electronic mail, and electronic discussion groups.

Here are some of the things you will be doing with your Internet membership:

• Corresponding with friends and family via e-mail, or interactively, on-line.
• Doing research for work and school projects,
• Joining listservs and discussion groups which publish the latest articles in your field of expertise,
• Banking at your current bank, from home,
• Researching and trading the stock and commodities markets,
• Shopping for clothing, computers, and hobby items in the world's largest stores,
• Reading your favorite newspapers and magazines,
• Planning family trips, booking destination resorts, travel itineraries, and finding travel bargains,
• Promoting your own business to the world.

To gain access to the Internet community, you may need to develop new skills and to get new tools. Your first challenge will be to get your computer "Internet Ready", and to configure your software so that it can connect to PRIS. This is the topic of Parts 2. and 3. Remember that PRIS staff members are available to assist you with this.

Your second challenge will gain the skills and tools for information retrieval from the Internet. Since there are very many software packages available, PRIS staff offers only limited support for this process. Sections after Part 4 will serve as a starting point for you, and they will steer you toward comprehensive information sources on the Web, and to courses available in the community.

If all goes well, we can hope to get you connected to the Internet in about 30 minutes. Learning how to use your Internet connection to its greatest advantage will take you a lifetime.

Schoolwork. In a study of 600 children between the ages of 10 and 18, 64% said their primary use of the Web was gathering information for school.

Some people think that the Web is an inherently hostile place for our children. You may have heard some horror stories about kids spending unsupervised time in the wrong parts of their cyber playgrounds. But the Web is also the largest, most convenient public repository of knowledge and opinion the world has ever known.

Banning kids from the Internet is like locking them out of the library. Let's get out the library keys, show them the way through this huge center of knowledge, and steer them clear of the isolated dangers. As a bonus, you'’ll probably learn more about computers, the world, and your kids, with your kids being the teachers.

Blend the following suggestions with sound judgment and love for your children.

• Encourage your children to get on-line.
• Let your children know that you regard the Internet as an educational tool.
• Teach them to be careful with strangers. All the normal rules of behaviour when meeting strangers apply. Be friendly but cautious.
• Teach your kids to guard their anonymity, and to not share their password with anyone.
• Surf as a family. Be there to share their experiences and answer their questions. The Web is global, so you may need to answer questions about cultural differences between communities, and you may need to provide guidance if your kids stray into inapp ropriate areas.
• If you are concerned about your child's curiosity, consider placing your computer in a public area of the house, such as the family room or den.
• Use the right tools. There is material out there that is very unsuitable for your children. We need to acknowledge that and deal with it. Software that blocks access to ‘adult’ sites is available. Get some technology to help you protect your kids. Newer browsers come with filters...ask PRIS staff if you need more information than you can find on the Web. This software helps, but is no substitute for being there.
• Talk to your kids about what they see on the net. Let them know it is a cool topic of discussion, and that they can come to you with questions and opinions about the Internet.
• Learn the rules of the road. Help your kids learn "netiquette" - the language, the people, the customs of the Web. Remind them that a breach of appropriate behaviour could cost them access to your account, and could even lead to the closure of your account. PRIS staff will be happy to change your password for you, should you wish to increase your level of control over your account.

You are responsible for your own children, of course, but using these guidelines can help your family reap the potential benefits of being at the edge of the information frontier. Research reports have shown that grades go up among kids who have access to computers when they use the Internet appropriately. So let's get started.

First, you will have to ensure that you have the necessary equipment. You will need a computer with one of the following operating systems

• Windows 3.1 with at least 8 megabytes of memory, and at least a 486 processor
• Windows 95 with at least 16 megabytes of memory, and at least a 486 processor
• Windows NT with at least 16 megabytes of memory, and at least a 486 processor
• OS/2 with at least 8 megabytes of memory, and at least a 486 processor
• Mac System 7.3 or higher, with at least 8 megabytes of memory.

Secondly, you will need a modem to establish a connection from your computer through a telephone line. The absolute minimum modem speed required for a workable connection is 9600 baud, but most people consider the minimum acceptable speed to be 14,400 bau d. At this time, PRIS supports connect speeds up to 33,600 baud. The graphically rich environment of today's Internet will mean that you will definitely appreciate the fastest modem speed you can afford. At this time, PRIS does not support 56,000 baud.

When considering what brand of modem to purchase, PRIS will offer little guidance.The difference between a 'good' modem and a poor one, is that often the better modem will be able to withstand a poorer telephone connection, meaning that you are far less l ikely to get 'dropped', particularly if the quality of your telephone line connection is questionable.

Learning About your Computer

You will need a basic understanding of the operating system which you are using on your computer. If your computer is new to you, and you do not know how to manipulate windows, find, copy and retrieve files, or start applications, you will have difficulty installing or operating your Internet connection. There are excellent tutorials built right into your computer, and we suggest that you familiarize yourself with these before calling for PRIS support.

• With Windows 3.1, within the Program Manager look for
• With Windows 95, Click Start ->Help ->Contents ->Introducing Windows
• With OS/2 refer to your "Help" folder
• With Mac, from the Launcher, Select "Tutorial" or "Guide"

Finally, you will need software specifically for your Internet connection. The basic software you require is:

1. a TCP/IP protocol stack, which 'translates' between ‘Internet language’, and ‘Computer Language’. (eg Trumpet Winsock for Windows 3.1, The Windows 95 dialer, or the MacTCP, FreePPP, or Open Transport for Macintosh machines)
2. a Web Browser, such as Netscape, or Internet Explorer.
3. an e-mail program, such as Eudora, Pegasus, or Internet Mail. Fortunately, e-mail programs are often bundled with the web browser these days.
4. a newsgroup reader such as Free-Agent, which is also frequently bundled with the web browser.

Most new computer systems come complete with all the software you require. If you have the necessary software, PRIS will provide you with detailed instruction sheets guiding you through the configuration process.

If you have Windows 3.1 or an older Mac, PRIS will be happy to provide you with the appropriate installation disks. The software should be regarded as a 'starter kit' to get you on-line. Once you are on-line, you will find virtually all the software you w ould ever want available on the Internet. See http://www.pris.bc.ca/pris/localser/software.html.

Installing the Software

Detailed installation instructions for your particular operating system are included on a separate sheet. If you encounter any errors or difficulties, refer to the "Troubleshooting" section at the end of this guide. If the information in this guide does n ot help you to overcome these difficulties, please read our "Support Policy", and give us a call for assistance.

Acceptable Use Policy

Please read the "Acceptable Use Policy" to ensure that you are familiar with the guidelines of what PRIS members consider polite use of the Internet. These guidelines may change from time to time and we request that you review the latest version on World Wide Web. Your membership with PRIS is contingent upon your abiding by this policy.

Using Your Internet Connection Fairly

In fairness to other PRIS members, we wish to ensure that members are using their connect time constructively:

Once you have dialed up PRIS, and have successfully connected to the Internet, you are most likely to access the World Wide Web with a tool called a 'browser', such as Netscape or the Internet Explorer. The browser permits you to access, view, or save in formation from millions of computers (servers) around the world using one familiar interface. Now for a bit of Internet jargon:

HTML is short for Hypertext Markup Language. HTML is a standardized text-based computer language, which all browsers (and people) can understand, and which provide instructions to the browser on how to display the information stored in files on servers.

Hypertext is a process that allows special connections or ‘hot-links’ to be embedded in the contents of a web page. Clicking your mouse on one of these links (which are usually a different color than the rest of the page) will transport you to more information on related topics. For example, while viewing information on dogs, you may see the phrase "Huskies", and clicking on that word may take you to a document containing details about Husky dogs. It is as simple as that, and these hot-li nks will be your principal method of navigating through the Web. These links often take you to entirely different servers.

URL: While the information on dogs could have been stored on a Canadian Kennel Club computer in Toronto, the Husky information could have been coming from the University of Alaska. In order to make such a system workable, the Internet uses a special type of addressing system known as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). If you know the exact URL of a piece of information, you type it into the "Location" box of your browser, and your browser will retrieve and display the information for you. Clicking on a hot-link will accomplish the same thing. The URL tells you about the kind of information you will be getting (Protocol), the location of the information (Domain Name), the specific file name (Path and Filename), and the way to display the information being retrieved (Extension). A complete URL usually looks something like this:

http://www.pris.bc.ca/pris/file1.html

• Protocol: The protocol tells the browser what type of server you will be connecting to:

• Domain Name: After the protocol definition, the URL states the location of the server housing the desired information (in the example, ‘www.pris.bc.ca’). Sometimes, by looking at the name, you can get an idea of where the information is coming fr om: in this case (ca: Canada, bc: British Columbia, pris: Peace Region Internet Society). Other addresses are less descriptive, such as gov: government (US), edu: education (US), org: organization/society, or com: commercial.
• Path and Filename: In some cases these are omitted from the URL, in which case the server decides which file it will display. This is usually an introductory or index page to the server or organization. For example, the URL http://www.pris.bc.ca will bring you to an orientation page for PRIS members. When you are after a specific file on the PRIS server, you add the name of the file using standard UNIX notation, separating directories with a forward slash(/). In our example would have been retrieving the file ‘pris/file1.html’ from the PRIS server.
• Extension: The final part of the URL (.html) tells your computer how to handle the information it is receiving. Addresses ending in .html or .htm will be web pages, .txt will be text files, .jpg or .gif will be pictures, which your browser will know how to display. Some endings will cause your browser to launch other programs: .wav will launch a program knowing how to create sounds, .zip will cause a compressed or zipped file to be automatically expanded upon receipt, .avi files will be played as movies. Other extensions will be unrecognizable to your browser, and it will ask you if you wish to save the files to your hard drive. You can optionally tell your browser what actions to take with particular extensions or file types.

Domain Name Servers and IP Addresses: Once we have given the browser the URL of the information we are interested in retrieving, how does the information get requested, and sent back to your computer? The first job the Internet does is to translate the Domain Name in the URL to a numerical address known as an IP (Internet Protocol) address. It looks up the ‘name’ in a ‘phone book’ to get the equivalent of a street address associated witath thame. This lookup process is performed by the Domain Name Server (DNS), which you gave when you originally set up your Internet software. This phone book is actually spread out all over the Internet, and is constantly updated to reflect the ever-changing web world.

If all goes well, the Domain Name Server will reliably report back an IP address each time you specify the name of a server. If it does not, either:

Many PRIS members will discover that their most useful Internet application will be e-mail. Once a few friends know that you have an e-mail address, you will invariably be surprised how quickly word spreads, and soon you will be sharing correspondence wit h family and business contacts all over the world. Have a daughter in University? Chances are that you will be e-mailing more often than you phone, with no more long distance bills. Need to order a part for your classic motorcycle? Your fastest response w ill probably come from an e-mail request. Unfortunately, you will probably discover that bills may also come by e-mail (including your PRIS membership fees). Businesses have discovered that you will probably check your e-mail more frequently than you chec k your Canada Post Box.

Addresses: E-mail addresses are based on the Domain Name System described previously. The standard format address is 'somebody@host' for example, johndoe@pris.bc.ca for John Doe, a member of PRIS.

Sending e-mail:

You may send e-mail in a number of ways:

1. You could click on a "send message to me" invitation on a web page.
2. If you are in a browser, you could type "mailto:johndoe@pris.bc.ca" in the ‘location’ or ‘goto’ box.
3. You can use the mail features of your web browser,
4. You could download a special mail program from the web, such as Eudora Lite, or Pegasus. These dedicated mail programs generally offer advanced features such as the ability to filter or sort messages. For more information on these other programs, che ck our help pages.

Once you have sent a message, it usually takes about 15 seconds to deliver a message to its destination. On occasion, a message is undeliverable for a number of reasons:

• If the ‘host’ part of the address is valid, but the host is down, then PRIS will hold onto your message, and try to re-send it at frequent intervals for 3 days, hoping that the host will become operational again. If it cannot be delivered in that tim e, the PRIS server will return the message to you at that time, and explain the problem.
• If there is an error in the address which you supplied, you will usually get a return message in a matter of minutes, again, with an explanation of the problem. Quite often, you will discover that you made a simple spelling mistake in the address. (re member that a ’'D'’ is a totally different letter from ‘'d'.). You may have to call that person to get the correct address, or you may be able to look it up in a voluntary registration service such as those shown on our People Page.

Remember that most well behaved mail systems will always notify you when a message was undeliverable, but crashes do occur occasionally. If you must have confirmation that an e-mail was received, request that the sender acknowledge its receipt. …Do not count on computer infallibility.

Binary Files and Enclosures.