These are bulletin boards focusing on a particular subject. People add messages to these boards, contributing to a particular thread of conversation or starting a new one. Usenet is an elaborate system of hundreds of newsgroups.

Used to program functionality into MOO's and MUD's, this computer language allows programmers to isolate objects (a tree, a pencil, a person, etc.) in an environment and endow them with functions or traits that are then able to interact with the environment or with other objects. For instance, a programmer could create a dominatrix's whip, which is long and black and made out of goat hide. The dominatrix could use the whip to inflict pain or pleasure on other members of the environment. The whip would be the object, ascribed with those particular qualities. In fact, the dominatrix would also be an "object" in terms of this sort of programming language. Object-oriented languages are powerful and flexible, allowing programmers to adapt an object over time.

In an e-mail address or URL, a .net suffix denotes that the address is part of an non-profit organization on the Internet.

This is what you are when you are jacked in, wired up, plugged in, or any of the other wonderful ways of being connected to the Internet.

Short for Point-to-Point Protocol, PPP is one of the programs available to make your humble little computer a full-fledged, direct participant of the Internet community. This software, a high-speed modem and a standard phone line is all you need. In general, you need this sort of connection (or a SLIP connection) to be able to access the Web with a graphical browser. Ask your Internet provider (a BBS, online service or whatever you are using to connect to the Net) if they have these sorts of accounts available.

Because the Internet is not one entity but a intersection of many different networks, the only way all these different networks can function together is by adopting protocols for transferring and processing data. Protocols are sort of like languages and sort of like laws. One of the most important protocols is TCP/IP.