Glossary of Internet Service Related Terms

RAM

Random Access Memory. A computer's working memory, where programs store information when they are running. The bigger it is, the less time your computer will have to wait to get data from the hard disk drive

Ranking

A term used to describe the position of a site in a search result done on a keyword phrase. Often used in a phrase, such as, 'top search search engine ranking', this would relate to a site showing up in the first 10 or 20 results from a search done on a particular phrase.

Re-Submission

Repeating the search engine registration process one or more times for the same page or site. Under certain circumstances, this is regarded with suspicion by the search engines, as it could indicate that someone is experimenting with spamming techniques. However, occasional re-submission of changed pages is not a problem.

Refresh Tag

A meta tag that will let you either periodically refresh the current page or switch to another page. It is formatted like this: The above meta tag will switch to the URL after 10 seconds. Change the number to change the time delay, or delete it to make the change immediate. Delete the URL to make the refresh occur in the current page.

Registrant

The individual or business who registers a domain name. The registrant is accountable for the fees and conditions specified by the registrar.

Registrar

A business that is given permission to register domain names on behalf of anyone wishing to obtain one. Registrars must be accredited by ICANN, and are only given permission to registrar certain top level domains. Registrars collect fees, maintain record information, and manage registration, re-registration, and expiration of domains.

Registration Term

The number of years (from 1-10) that a domain name is registered for is referred to as the registration term.

Registry

A large, constantly changing file in Windows 95, containing details of how your computer is set up, and all the programs stored on the hard disk.

Reseller

A web hosting or domain name reseller will build their own web site and company logo to sell the hosting or registration services of a larger company.

Resolution

Monitor resolution refers to the number of picture elements or pixels that make up an image. More pixels mean finer detail.

Resolve

The term used to describe the process by which domain names are matched with corresponding Internet Protocol (IP) numbers. "Resolution" is accomplished by a combination of computers and software, referred to as name servers that use the data in the Domain Name System to determine which IP numbers correspond to a particular domain name.

RFC

Request for Comments. Online documents that have to do with technical standards for the Internet.

RGB Mode

Short for red, green, and blue, RGB is a color model commonly used to display color in video systems, film recorders, and computer monitors. It represents all colors as combinations of red, green and blue light. RGB mode is the most common color mode for viewing and working with digital images on a screen

RGB Mode

Short for red, green, and blue, RGB is a color model commonly used to display color in video systems, film recorders, and computer monitors. It represents all colors as combinations of red, green and blue light. RGB mode is the most common color mode for viewing and working with digital images on a screen.

Robot

A robot is a program that is designed to automatically go out and explore the Internet for a specific purpose. Robots that record and index all of the contents of the network to create searchable databases are sometimes called spiders or Worms. WebCrawler and Lycos are popular examples of robots.

Robots.txt

The file name utilized by the robot exclusion protocol. Web robots download this file from the server’s document root and parse it for instructions on what to index and not to index. It can deny access by robots to certain pages or sub-directories of the site. Only robots which comply with the Robots Exclusion Standard will read and obey the commands in this file. Robots will read this file on each visit, so that pages or areas of sites can be made public or private at any time by changing the content of robots.txt before re-submitting to the search engines.

ROI - Return On Investment

Return On Investment. The amount of value received relative to the amount of money invested. ROI is a method of measuring the success of an ad campaign.

Root

In a web site, the root directory is the root for the site, NOT the root directory for the disk (usually C:\). The server root is the highest level directory that is read by the server, and therefore the highest level directory that can be accessed by remote browsers. The root is set by the server software, and all directories for the site must be subdirectories of the root. In a domain name- The top of the Domain Name System (DNS) hierarchy. Often referred to as the "dot."

ROTFL

An abbreviation for rolling on the floor laughing, ROTFL is used in various online communications, such as e-mail messages or postings to newsgroups or BBSs. It usually appears in brackets like this: and is a way of adding a humorous touch to a response.

Router

A router is a piece of hardware or software that connects two or more networks. A router functions as a sorter and interpreter as it looks at addresses and passes bits of information to their proper destinations. Software routers are sometimes referred to as gateways.

RSS - Rich Site Summary

RSS is an acronym for Rich Site Summary, an XML format for distributing news headlines on the Web, also known as syndication. First started by Netscape as part of the My Netscape site. RSS started off in an RDF format, but is now just an extension of that.