This is the Help page. The text titles above are on most pages throughout this web, just click on them. There are several ways you can navigate from within a web site. One way is by by pointing and clicking on hyperlinked text (usually light blue in color) or on images (when you point at an object, your cursor changes from a arrow to a hand). Another common way to navigate the Web is through your browser itself. You are using a browser to view this page. Most web browsers have buttons you use to travel relative to your current position, or to return to a specific page. Several universal buttons follow:

The "Back" button allows you to backtrack along your chosen path one page at a time.

The "Forward" button allows you to return to the last page you accessed before travelling "Back". These two buttons (forward and back) let you move within your current path with ease.

This button, when pressed, will reload the page you are currently on.
This can be useful if you come across pages with broken links containing images or you simply want to refresh your view of a particular page.

This button will take you to the starting page that appears when you first launch your Browser. You can configure this button to automatically load your favorite page.

WHAT IS HYPERTEXT?

Most of us are familiar with the concept of 'hyperspace' in science fiction. It is the domain beyond the know three dimensions where 'faster-than-light' space travel is possible. Hypertext can be conceptualized the same way, in that it allows for hyperspatial dimensioning of - not space, - but text. Text represents the wide range of information resources across the Web. The elegance that is inherent within a hypertext system is its ability to organize information: Consuming information no longer must be accomplished sequentially by reading from start to finish. The use of hypertext provides the opportunity to restructure this organization by marking keywords within text to point to other documents.
For example: the keywords, or anchor text in the sentence - In order to defeat the Evil One, you must prove yourself worthy, would be the two words - 'Evil', and 'One'. If this were an active example, you could click on those two words, and organize it so that clicking on them would bring up information as to who the evil one was.

In conclusion, a hypertext environment provides for the organization of information into definable subtopics that both suits the needs of the information provider, and allows for the user to access only the relevant information on a particular topic.

UNIFORM RESOURCE LOCATORS

Uniform Resource Locators (URL's) are addresses for locating a particular document amidst the vast amount of information available on the Web.
All documents available on the Web have their own unique URL. This makes it easier to locate specific information -- if you know the URL for a favorite spot on the Web, all you have to do is click on the open button on your browser. Then, just type in the URL, press enter, and your on your way. You may also bookmark or earmark (much like folding a corner of a page in a book) your favorite sites with most browsers.

Here is a breakdown of the individual components for all URL's.

Here is a sample URL:

http://leweb.loc.gov/global/congress.html

Starting from the left, you have what is called the protocol for this particular file transfer. There are several different protocols in common use.
http:// - Standing for Hypertext Transfer Protocol, it is one of the more common protocols used on the Web. Any document with this protocol will be a Hypertext Web based file.
ftp:// - Stands for File Transfer Protocol. This is the standard for downloading all types of files to run on your computer.
gopher:// - Gopher transfers have become less prominent with the explosion in popularity of the Web, but there are lots of good resources that can still be accessed in this fashion.
news: - This protocol allows access to USENET Newsgroups, and is not used in conjunction with the standard URL format. A newsgroup can, however, be accessed via the same command lines used to open URL's.

leweb.loc.gov/ - This section of the URL is called the domain/subdomain. It reflects the actual computer, or server name that the document is stored on. Briefly, ".gov" sites are government info, ".com" sites are commercial enterprise, ".ca" sites are Canadian, etc.
global/ - From the root directory on the machine 'leweb.loc.gov', the specified file resides in a directory called 'global'. (Back to sample URL or use your up arrow key) The actual name of the file to be accessed is 'congress.html'.
Notice that with this breakdown, the slashes seperating directories are slanted forward and not back.

A FEW WORDS ON SEARCH ENGINES

Search engines are large databases containing loads of catalogued URL's.
There are some databases that allow you to donate your own URL's via eMail or forms, but by and large the majority have chosen to automate this cataloging process. Adding each URL by hand has become inefficient in the face of the massive amount of information coming on-line every day. The solution that most database managers have adopted, is to create programs, or scripts that surf the Web independently, and return any new URL's they find. Because of their independent nature, these programs have come to be known as bots (robots).
When searching for any information, the user usually has the choice of how the desired information is to be served them -- by subject, document title, or even by the number of times a word occurs in a single document. Most browsers have a menu bar button called SEARCH. Click on yours now and search for something.

On Line Emotion - Emoticons

Communicating on the Internet allows people to express thoughts and feelings with an openess and frankness unusual in face to face or phone conversations. The trouble is that on-line conversations are really a cross between a letter and a phone call. The potential for misunderstandings, without the tone and expression of a voice, or signals given by body language, are considerable. Email, newsgroups, the 'Net' - all rely on the written word - and the written word is easy to misinterpret (ask lawyer$!). A shorthand version of expressing moods has emerged on the Net and together with certain behavioral rules form nettiquette. The shorthand for moods uses standard (QWERTY) keyboard symbols and they are known as EMOTICONS aka 'smileys'.

There seems to be a never ending supply and they can get rather irritating at times. Applied properly, however, they serve a useful purpose. What follows is a 'dictionary' of emoticons.

Full & Abbreviated Versions

:-) Happy :)
(-: Left Handed/Australian (:
:-( Sad :(
;-) Winky ;)
#-) Oh, what a night! #)
:-O Yelling/Shocked :O
:-| Frowning :|

For those wanting a more 'aesthetically pleasing' emoticon you can use the profile version... some examples are below:

:^) :^] ;^)

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Perhaps, a semi-colon too far
So, when words absolutely fail you...

~~:-[ Net Flame
:-$ Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
:-P Sticking Out Tongue
:-@ Screaming/Swearing/Very Angry/About To Be Sick
:) Drunk/Clown
>;-> Wicked Grin
:-# Been Smacked In The Mouth/Wears A Brace/Kiss
R-) Broken Glasses
(:-) Bald
:-))) Is Very Fat
:-{} Wears Lipstick
@:-) Wears A Turban
>:-> Leering
$-) Yuppie/Just Won A Large Sum Of Money
:,( Crying
:=) Two Noses
8:] Gorilla
8-) Wears Glasses
B:-) Wears Sun Glasses On Head
:-T Keeping A Straight Face/Tight Lipped
:-y Said With A Smile
:-| Disgusted/Grim/No Expression
:~-( Crying/Shed A Tear
:'-( Crying
:~(~~ Crying
:-Q A Smoker
:-! A Smoker
%-\ Has A Hangover
|-o Bored
:-X A Kiss/Lips Are Sealed
(:-D Has A Big Mouth
(:+) Has A Big Nose
:-{) Has A Moustache
:- Just Ate Something Sour/Bitter Taste/Kiss
[:-) Is Wearing A Walkman

Definitely, off the wall!

Some people can't have anything else to do!

(:-)     Bicycle Helmets
:-)'     Tends To Drool
=:-)     Punk
+-:-)    The Pope
O:-)     An Angel
*<:-)>   Santa
o-<:-{{{ Santa
*<|:-)   Santa/A Clown
5:-)     Elvis Presley
:-%      Banker
:-:      Mutant Smiley
(-:|:-)  Siamese Twins
7:-)     Fred Flinstone
:/7)     Cyrano de Bergerac
C):-O
C):-O
C):-O
C):-O    A Barbershop Quartet
3:-o     A Cow
8:-)     A Pig/A Little Girl
:\/      A Woodpecker
]:->     The Devil
,-)      A One Eyed Winky
|-(      Lost Contact Lenses
#:-)     Matted Hair/Fur Hat/Crewcut/Messy Hair
&:-)     Curly Hair
C=:-)    A Chef
><:>==   A Turkey
@}->--   A Rose
=|:-)=   Uncle Sam/Abe Loncoln
7:)      Ronald Reagan
+<:-|    Monk/Nun
:_)      A Boxer/Had a Fight/Nose Is Sliding Of Face
>>:-)    Devil/Horrible User
>>>>(:-) A Hat Salesman
{        A Psycho
(:I      An Egghead
b:-)     A Baseball Fan/Has A Cap On
(-)      Needs A Haircut
;-(*)    Feels Sick
*****:-) Marge Simpson
[:]      A Robot
:-[      A Vampire/Count Dracula/Pouting/Sarcastic
:-F      A Bucktoothed Vampire/Has Major Dental Problems
:=)      Orangutan/Has Two Noses
:-?      Smokes A Pipe
:-8(     Condescending
8-#      Death/Dead
>>:-<<   Mad
;^)      Smirking
>>:-1    Klingon
:-----}  Liar/Pinnochio
!-(       Black Eye
)        Cheshire Cat
(:-D     Blabber Mouth
A Schizo *#*!^*&:-) phrenic
:-'|     Has A Cold/Flu
:$)      Donald Trump
:-.)     Marilyn Monroe/Madonna
:-)  8   Dolly Parton
:-|:-|   Deja'vu
><*:oDX  A Clown
C|:-=    Charlie Chaplin
: .)     Cindy Crawford
 =)      Adolf Hitler
~:o      A Baby
===:-D   Don King
8(:-)    Mickey Mouse/Walt Disney
(|-|  F  Robocop
3:*>     Rudolph the Reindeer
P-)      A Pirate
%-~      Picasso
':-)     Has One Eyebrow

Here are so called TLA's - three letter acronyms (yes they are not all three letters) included the most common ones.

TLA's

Anything to avoid RSI (repetitive strain injury)

<g>     Grin
ROFL    Rolling on the floor, laughing
LOL     Laughing out loud
IMHO    In my humble opinion
IOHO    In our humble opinion
IMO     In my opinion
BTW     By the way
RTFM    Read the f****** manual

I hope this help section is useful and you enjoyed the list of emoticons. Please scroll to the top or use this link Back to Top and click on the flashing Feedback button and tell me what you think.