Received: from lists.internic.net (lists.internic.net [198.41.0.15]) by adrift.harbornet.com (8.6.5/8.6.5) with ESMTP id VAA13543 for ; Tue, 5 Nov 1996 21:48:08 GMT Received: from lists (lists.internic.net [198.41.0.15]) by lists.internic.net (8.7.4/LISTS-1) with SMTP id QAA03813; Tue, 5 Nov 1996 16:44:34 -0500 (EST) Received: from LISTS.INTERNIC.NET by LISTS.INTERNIC.NET (LISTSERV-TCP/IP release 1.8b) with spool id 3657786 for NEWSLETTER@LISTS.INTERNIC.NET; Tue, 5 Nov 1996 16:44:28 -0500 Received: (tomn@localhost) by lists.internic.net (8.7.4/LISTS-1) id JAA07276 for newsletter@lists.internic.net; Tue, 5 Nov 1996 09:30:11 -0500 (EST) X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4 PL24alpha4] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-ID: <199611051430.JAA07276@lists.internic.net> Date: Tue, 5 Nov 1996 09:30:10 -0500 Reply-To: Tom Newell Sender: Owner-Newsletter From: Tom Newell Subject: InterNIC News, Vol. 1,Issue 8, Nov. 1996 To: Multiple recipients of list NEWSLETTER Status: RO X-Status: InterNIC News November 1996 Volume 1, Issue 8 * From the Editor * Examining the Future, Clebrating the Past: EDUCOM '96 * Net-Day '96: Connecting Schools to the Internet * Netiquette 101 * Calendar of Events * What's in a Name A Graphical Look at Registration Information * End-User's Corner The Internet: Window to the World or Hall of Mirrors? * The 15 Minute Series - UPDATE For the latest modules, feedback, and FAQs on the 15 Minute Series * Performance Measures InterNIC Statistics for August and September 1996 * User Feedback Tell us what you'd like to see in the InterNIC News * Using this material * Other ways to receive the InterNIC News ***************************************************************************** >From the Editor By Tom Newell, Manager, InterNIC Information and Education Services _________________________________________________________________ wincomp@ntplx.net writes: Hi, Is there any truth to the rumor, that even [if] you have a established domain name you can lose it if you don`t put up a homepage within 90 days? Editor's response: None whatsoever. The InterNIC only requires that a domain name holder provide for primary and secondary name service for the name and makes no review of any other Internet-based service (such as a WWW server, FTP site, etc.). Sincerely yours, Tom Newell _________________________________________________________________ Marc writes: Do you [know] where we could find a listing of the countries corresponding to the abreviations: fr=france, be=belgium and so forth. Tks for any tip. Editor's response: Certainly. It's available at the URL: ftp://rs.internic.net/netinfo/iso3166-countrycodes and is the ISO document which describes 2 and 3 letter country codes. Regards, Tom Newell _________________________________________________________________ jjordan@alston.com writes: The Introduction of the "Lame Delegation Policy" says that it will become effective October 1, 1996. However, the policy itself still shows as a "draft." Is it effective yet? Editor's response: This was previously posted to the rs-info and rs-talk lists, but because we have not been able to find any significant degree of community consensus as to how best to implement the draft policy, the InterNIC has again asked for comments and suggestions before the policy is put into place. To follow the discussion, I would recommend subscribing to rs-talk. To do so, send a message to rs-talk-request@internic.net with the body of the message stating "subscribe rs-talk". Regards, Tom Newell _________________________________________________________________ Send questions and comments to editor@internic.net. We look forward to hearing from you! ***************************************************************************** Examining the Future; Celebrating the Past: EDUCOM '96 By Robin Murphy, InterNIC Information and Education Services _________________________________________________________________ Philadelphia is a city filled with monuments to the past. A city that pays homage to science, technology, and forward thinking. A city that offers both historical reminders and tangible, present-day evidence of how technology can, and has, changed our lives. Philadelphia skyline From October 8-11, Philadephia also served as host to EDUCOM '96. Educators from around the country and around the globe, from institutions large and small, gathered together in Philadelphia to focus on the future and how information technology can help us "transcend traditional boundaries" in education. What better setting than this city, where facing a brave new world is a time-honored tradition? Hosted by the University of Pennsylvania, EDUCOM '96 offered its attendees a variety of venues in which to explore the big questions: How will information technology, education, and the future shape one another? How will they affect our lives? How can technology help us do what we do now, but do it better? Preconference seminars, birds-of-a-feather discussion sessions, vendor workshops, presentations, and project information exchanges provided a variety of perspectives on a wide array of topics that addressed these issues. To help educators make the most of the week-long event, the conference was organized in nine "tracks." Track One addressed the topic of "Technology"; what is available, how to cope with it, how to make the most of it, what should its role in education really be? Track Two, the "Culture" track, looked at the cultural implications of technology, as well as the impact of culture on technology's development and successful implementation. Track Three focused on "The Individual" and questions of information literacy, the responsibilities of the educational community in this regard, and how individual lives are affected by changes wrought by the electronic medium on traditional issues such as copyright and privacy. "Organizations" were the subject of Track Four, specifically how technology can be successfully incorporated into the mission, vision, strategy, and human dynamics of an institution. Global networking poses a host of challenging, and sometimes murky, policy issues for our society, for individuals, and for the educational community. "Social and Legal Institutions and Public Policy," Track Five, examined these issues and how educational institutions can play a role in regulatory and policy development. Track Six, "Higher Education and Industry" acknowledged the shifting role of the research and education community, from innovators to consumers, and considered the problems and promise of public/private partnership. Track Seven, "Boundaries and Barriers" noted that boundaries and barriers can be both good and bad, and explored the effect of the electronic medium on the information we use, how we manage and organize it, and who has access to it. And finally "Hot Topics," Track Eight, provided a forum for topics on the minds of educators but not within the scope of the previous seven tracks, and Track Nine, "Updates," presented current information on Educom's programs and services. Contributions from the corporate sector could be found on the exhibit floor and in vendor workshops. The workshops, which ran on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons for an hour and a half, featured tools and techniques to help educators handle web publishing, distance education, and electronic interactions between students and teachers. Other topics, such as harnessing the Z39.50 standard, developing an information technology and campus networking plan, and growing a scalable network, were the focus of how-to workshops and interactive panels. The exhibit hall presented an ideal opportunity for industry and the educational community to interact. Vendors showcased their "latest & greatest" developments and gathered valuable feedback from their educational market. Educators were able to let industry know what works, what doesn't, what is needed, and, of course, do a little "technology shopping" on the side! On a more formal level, the discussion sessions (divided among the nine tracks outlined above) and the keynote addresses tackled the issues that are on the minds of today's educators. Topics ranged from eternally present budget restrictions, fair use, and Internet overload to "mission-critical" campus email systems, designing high-tech classrooms, the future of browsers, and regulating cyberspace. The relationship between business, industry, and education was further explored through sessions that dealt with collaborative efforts, the consortium approach, and computer literacy in the workplace. Stan Davis, co-author of the recently published The Monster Under the Bed also examined the role that business will play in education during his keynote address, in which he predicted that business will become a major player in the educational arena. Interested in what other institutions are doing? Need a solution to what must be a common problem? Just looking for good ideas? Attendees could choose from among preconference seminars, project information exchanges (also known as poster sessions), birds-of-a-feather discussions, or the campus showcase, which was located in the exhibit hall and highlighted efforts in colleges and universities throughout Pennsylvania. EDUCOM '96 was not, however, all work and no play. To round out a tough day of note-taking, public speaking, or pounding the exhibit floor, attendees could relax at one of the receptions. Whether at the opening reception in the exhibit hall or attending the gala at the Franklin Institute, these events offered educators a chance to speak one-on-one, catch up with old friends, and make new contacts. ENIAC 50th Anniversary logo EDUCOM '96 also recognized the 50th anniversary of ENIAC, the first large-scale, general purpose, electronic digital computer. Developed at the University of Pennsylvania's Moore School of Electrical Engineering, ENIAC, at its unveiling in 1946, was able to add 5,000 numbers or perform fourteen 10-digit multiplications per second. Not too impressive given today's technological capabilities, but certainly a reminder of how relatively quickly the landscape of our society can change. A mere fifty years later, education has been irrevocably changed by technology; where will we be fifty years from now? EDUCOM '96 in Philadelphia offered a learning experience for those whose business is learning; a reminder of how far we've come, and a chance to discuss where we go from here. This file last modified 11/1/96. ***************************************************************************** Net-Day '96: Connecting Schools to the Internet by Rich Landers, InterNIC Information and Education Services NetDay East is part of a national industry-sponsored volunteer program to provide internal network wiring for all schools. NetDay originated in California in March, 1996, and successfully wired over 3,000 schools. Over 40 states are working on wiring their schools this September and October. NetDay East is coordinating efforts in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. The national NetDay goal is to wire at least 20% of schools in participating states, and at least five classrooms and a library or a computer lab in all K-12 schools in the Washington metropolitan area over the next year. NetDay volunteers will install the wiring necessary for network connectivity - the first step in meeting the long-term goal of linking classrooms, school libraries and labs to a central point. Other initiatives will link the central point to the outside world, place computer equipment in classrooms, and provide training. Parents, students, teachers, administrators, community members, and businesses will participate in the Net-Day '96 campaign. NetDay East began during the first weekend in October and is continuing in its efforts to wire as many K-12 schools as possible. Thanks to an overwhelming promotional response by the media, Net-Day has been able to rally over 1700 volunteers. Involved community members run cable through walls and overheads - wiring the schools for Internet access. Although Net-Day East was confined to Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C., the overall Net-Day national campaign is sweeping the country. Volunteering for Net-Day involves pulling wire through walls and overhead ducts. Absolutely no wiring experience is required, although there is a dire need for Category 5 network engineers to lead the technical effort for the schools. NetDay participants use exactly the same technologies, tools, and strategies for our schools that are used to wire our companies and institutions. The general standard is to use Category 5 twisted pair wiring to provide 10Base-T or faster Ethernet networks. This technology supports a wide range of network protocols used by Intel PCs, Apple computers, and UNIX workstations. Individual states or school districts may add or modify to meet local needs. Hundreds of corporations have supported Net-Day with volunteers and substantial donations of "wiring kits." A wiring kit consists of 2,000 feet of wire and all the necessary pieces that it takes to properly install the wire. A wiring kit can connect, on average, five classrooms. The average cost of a wiring kit is $500. NetDay East Statistics As of 10:55AM, October 15, 1996 Region Total Registered Total Sponsors Schools Schools Volunteers All Three 314 168 1716 28 District of Columbia 78 76 559 Maryland 103 38 520 Virginia 133 54 336 The latest Net-Day East Stats: http://206.225.19.2:80/scripts/tc-dc/stats.cfm In addition to the generous corporate donations that Net-Day has been receiving, politicians from every level of government have been supporting Net-Day efforts. At a recent Net-Day training seminar in Reston, Virginia, Senator Charles Robb demonstrated proper wiring techniques while crawling through a dusty overhead space. "The student with access will be at a distinct advantage and better prepared for future employment," Senator Robb said during a post-seminar interview, "and those without access are likely to be left by the wayside. We cannot afford to let our school systems slip behind those of our leading competitors when the technology, that we created, is at our fingertips." NetDay will continue past the month of October for as long as needed, according to the official NetDay coordinators. For more information visit the NetDay web site at http://206.225.19.2:80/netday-east/. _________________________________________________________________ This file last modified 11/1/96. ***************************************************************************** Netiquette 101: Tips from RFC 1855 By Hope Glass, InterNIC Information and Education Services _________________________________________________________________ A stitch in time saves nine Tuesday morning at 7:55 A.M., Suzy comes through the door fumbling with her badge key. With a "plop" she lands into her desk chair and types her password into the Dilbert screen-saver and locks onto the e-mail icon with a click. Her face turns several shades of color as she digests the flaming message displayed on her e-mail screen: Take your gab to talk.bizarre! While in a rush the afternoon before, Suzy had inadvertently posted a mail message, intended for her friend, to a technically-oriented newsgroup (Usenet discussion group). She had spent plenty of time filling in the juicy details of her gossip; unfortunately, Suzy spent less than a second checking her e-mail addressing. Now she had several flames, responses from seasoned users showing their distaste for her post, to contend with. Realistically she knew she would have to regain the respect of the newsgroup. For a couple of weeks, she would be limited to lurking-an Internet term for reading the newsgroup's content without adding to the conversation. Sound familiar? If so, you join the ranks of Internet veterans who occasionally get tripped up "dotting their i's and crossing their t's" in the cornucopia of Internet information. Netiquette 101 is a brief introduction for the newbie (new Internet user) and a short refresher for the experienced Netizen (Net citizen) to enhance daily interaction on the Internet. Be polite, be courteous Remember your second grade school teacher, the one that sent you to the corner for pulling your classmates hair? She was easily offended by your childish shenanigans and your response of, "Well, he pulled mine first." Netizens will also be offended by your lack of Internet culture. Know the rules for basic Internet communication. The Basics Don't write in all capital or all lowercase letters. The former makes it seem like you are SHOUTING, the latter as if you are unsure of what you are saying. If you must emphasize, use the *proper* format. Asterisks to emphasize--underscores to highlight the title of a book: _Moby Dick_. Punctuate appropriately. Writing in a stream-of-consciousness style might be great for you; but hard for your readers. Check before hitting the "send" button that everything is written clearly and concisely. Proper grammar and punctuation influence a person's first impression. Keep this in mind when sending information via the Internet. Don't copy the entire original message when replying. Copying the first message is a waste of bandwidth - the maximum amount of data that can travel a communication path in a given time, usually measured in seconds. Copy only enough of the original message to allow the person to know which message you are responding to. Don't ever copy and forward someone else's message without asking permission from the original sender. Mail on the Internet is not secure. People are fond of saying never write in an e-mail message anything you wouldn't put on a postcard. I would take that one step further and advise if you are writing just to say, "Wish you were here," then maybe you should conserve the bandwidth. Wait for breakfast to settle. Sending a inflamed response to an aggravating message is a bad idea. Above all, avoid responding to a flame--expressing oneself by using insulting or provocative language. How would you like your boss to turn down your request for promotion because he holds in his possession a copy of a flaming conversation you had with a co-worker? When you receive flame bait--take a few deep breaths and calm down. Wait until after you have had your morning "Wheaties" to respond. Check it twice. Avoid the mistake Suzy made above by checking to make sure your message is addressed correctly. Did you "cc" (carbon copy) someone accidentally? Make sure when sending messages that you include a "signature" file which includes your address in no more than 4 lines. Fees anyone? The cost of delivering an e-mail message is, on the average, paid about equally by the sender and the recipient. Unsolicited mail, or "spamming" is neither appreciated nor wanted. Notify your local system administrator or ISP (Internet Service Provider) immediately if you receive unsolicited e-mail advertising. Additional information Summarized above are many of the basics for one-to-one e-mail communication minimum standards developed by the Responsible Use of the Network (RUN) Working Group of the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force). For additional Netiquette Guidelines in the areas of One-to-Many Communication, Information Services, and Security Considerations, check Request for Comments (RFC) 1855. (RFC's are the documents that define a broad range of topics related to the Internet.) May you have productive communications :) _______________________________________________________________ This file last modified 11/1/96. ***************************************************************************** November Calendar of Events _________________________________________________________________ "Bridging the Gap Between Knowledge and Application" Eco-Informa '96 Global Networks for Environmental Information Lake Buena Vista, FL November 4 - 7, 1996 http://www.erim.org/CONF/ECOINF/ECO.html Connected Classroom Conference Sponsored by NEA Anaheim, CA November 6 - 9, 1996 http://www.classroom.NET/CONNEcted/overview.html "Distance Education in Pennsylvania Higher Education" Sponsored by Pennsylvania Association of Universities and Colleges November 12 - 13, 1996 Harrisburg, PA email: ASHunti@aol.com 1996 GILS Conference Sponsored by Government Information Locator Service November 13 - 14, 1996 College Park, MD http://www.dtic.mil/gils/ ACM Multimedia '96 November 18 - 22, 1996 Boston, MA http://www.acm.org/ IEEE Global Internet '96 Sponsored by IEEE Communications Society November 20 - 21, 1996 London, UK http://gaia.cs.umass.edu:80/tccc/internet96/ Networld+InterOP November 25 - 29, 1996 Sydney, Australia _________________________________________________________________ Ongoing/Coming Soon! Classroom Connect Seminars Go to http://www.classroom.net/classrooM/CRCSEM.html for local listing, dates, and times Web World December 2 - 4, 1996 San Diego, CA CAUSE December 3 - 6, 1996 San Francisco, CA http://cause-www.colorado.edu/conference/cause96/c96.html Please visit the InterNIC booth #1109 "Enterprise-wide Information Strategies" Fall 1996 Task Force Meeting Sponsored by Coalition for Networked Information December 6 - 7, 1996 San Francisco, CA http://www.cni.org/tfms/1996b.fall/ 1996 Mid-Winter IETF Meeting Sponsored by Internet Engineering Task Force December 10, 1996 @ 1:00 p.m. PDT San Jose, CA http://www.ietf.org/meetings/SanJose.html Fall '96 Internet World December 10 - 13, 1996 New York, NY http://events.iworld.com/fall96/iw/ Please visit InterNIC booth #830 To submit your calendar listings to InterNIC News, send e-mail to ashleigh@internic.net _________________________________________________________________ This file last modified 11/1/96. ***************************************************************************** >From the Editor By Tom Newell, Manager, InterNIC Information and Education Services _________________________________________________________________ wincomp@ntplx.net writes: Hi, Is there any truth to the rumor, that even [if] you have a established domain name you can lose it if you don`t put up a homepage within 90 days? Editor's response: None whatsoever. The InterNIC only requires that a domain name holder provide for primary and secondary name service for the name and makes no review of any other Internet-based service (such as a WWW server, FTP site, etc.). Sincerely yours, Tom Newell _________________________________________________________________ Marc writes: Do you [know] where we could find a listing of the countries corresponding to the abreviations: fr=france, be=belgium and so forth. Tks for any tip. Editor's response: Certainly. It's available at the URL: ftp://rs.internic.net/netinfo/iso3166-countrycodes and is the ISO document which describes 2 and 3 letter country codes. Regards, Tom Newell _________________________________________________________________ jjordan@alston.com writes: The Introduction of the "Lame Delegation Policy" says that it will become effective October 1, 1996. However, the policy itself still shows as a "draft." Is it effective yet? Editor's response: This was previously posted to the rs-info and rs-talk lists, but because we have not been able to find any significant degree of community consensus as to how best to implement the draft policy, the InterNIC has again asked for comments and suggestions before the policy is put into place. To follow the discussion, I would recommend subscribing to rs-talk. To do so, send a message to rs-talk-request@internic.net with the body of the message stating "subscribe rs-talk". Regards, Tom Newell _________________________________________________________________ Send questions and comments to editor@internic.net. We look forward to hearing from you! _________________________________________________________________ This file last modified 11/1/96. ***************************************************************************** What's in a Name? By Tom Newell, Manager, InterNIC Information and Education Services _________________________________________________________________ Each month the InterNIC intends to use this column to share interesting, and hopefully useful, demographic information related to the domain name system and the registration process. We will include here in table and graphic format, indications of the size of the "name space" available for Internet trainers to use in curriculum development. In this month's column, we provide: + Cumulative Registration Numbers + New Registrations by Month + Domain Name Update Requests by Month + Root Name Server Information If a particular demographic would be of interest, let us know and we will work to include the information in future columns. Suggestions for future material may be sent to meter@internic.net. _________________________________________________________________ CUMULATIVE REGISTRATIONS The figures below describe the total second-level names from the Top Level Domains of .COM, .NET, .ORG, .GOV, and .EDU as well as the two-letter country codes. The numbers reflect the total registrations at that point in time. The actual number of active domains for the TLD's indicated is actually lower accounting for name deletions (non-payment, requested deletions, etc.). Information cut-off date: 9/30/96 Cumulative Registrations (1096) Oct-95 156,943 Nov-95 174,782 Dec-95 198,731 Jan-96 226,144 Feb-96 263,704 Mar-96 306,279 Apr-96 351,708 May-96 400,826 Jun-96 456,378 Jul-96 512,937 Aug-96 579,423 Sep-96 654,702 _________________________________________________________________ NEW DOMAIN REGISTRATIONS BY MONTH The figures below describe the total second-level names from the Top Level Domains of .COM, .NET, .ORG, .GOV, and .EDU as well as the two-letter country codes. The numbers reflect the total registration actions completed for the given month. Information cut-off date: 9/30/96 New Registrations (by Month) Oct-95 20,315 Nov-95 20,612 Dec-95 24,243 Jan-96 31,766 Feb-96 34,933 Mar-96 43,548 Apr-96 45,102 May-96 48,954 Jun-96 55,433 Jul-96 56,243 Aug-96 66,402 Sep-96 75,213 _________________________________________________________________ DOMAIN NAME UPDATE REQUESTS BY MONTH The figures below describe the monthly request rate for modification of information for the second-level names of the Top Level Domains of .COM, .NET, .ORG, .GOV, and .EDU as well as the two-letter country codes. Information cut-off date: 9/30/96 Update Requests (by Month) Oct-95 8,931 Nov-95 8,824 Dec-95 5,277 Jan-96 11,504 Feb-96 15,265 Mar-96 17,961 Apr-96 18,222 May-96 19,950 Jun-96 33,005 Jul-96 25,095 Aug-96 35,192 Sep-96 43,624 _________________________________________________________________ ROOT NAME SERVER INFORMATION The InterNIC/Network Solutions, Inc. operates one of 10 global root name servers in support of the DNS. The information below graphically depicts the aggregated sustained query rate (per second) and the types of queries. The impact of the sustained query rate is the equivalent of the outbound bandwidth consumption of a T-1 (1.55 Mb) connection. For more information related to DNS, see http://rs.internic.net/help/domain/dns.html. Information cut-off date: 10/28/96 [ Chart Available At: http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/nicnews/nov96/demo.html ] ***************************************************************************** The Internet : Window to the World or Hall of Mirrors? Information Quality in the Networked Environment By Jack Solock, Special Librarian _________________________________________________________________ In the previous two articles, we have discussed concepts and strategies for finding Internet resources using the two types of finding aids, search indexes and subject directories. Knowing how to find networked resources is important, but knowing how to judge the quality of those resources is even more important. If the resources that you can now find are of low quality, then the time spent in learning how to find them has been wasted. The Internet and its main distribution arm, the World Wide Web, promise instant access to almost unlimited information resources. The network has broken down many traditional barriers to publishing that exist in the print world. Almost anyone with a network connection can "publish" on the net. The democratizing aspects of this new publishing ability have been hailed by some as an information revolution. A new window on the world has been made available to millions of computer users. Or has it? T. Matthew Ciolek, maintainer of the Coombsweb (Australian National University) Social Sciences Server (http://coombs.anu.edu.au/), which maintains ten World Wide Web virtual libraries (http://www.w3.org/pub/DataSources/bySubject/Overview.html), including the Information Quality Virtual Library (http://coombs.anu.edu.au/WWWVL-InfoQuality.html), thinks not. In a fascinating paper entitled "The Six Quests for The Electronic Grail: Current Approaches to Information Quality in WWW Resources," (http://coombs.anu.edu.au/SpecialProj/QLTY/TMC/QuestMain.html) he compares the Internet not so much to a window to the world as to a "hall of mirrors, each reflecting a subset of the larger configuration." "It is a spectacular place indeed, with some mirrors being more luminous, more innovative or more sensitive to the reflected lights and imagery than others. The result is a breathless and ever-changing 'information swamp' of visionary solutions, pigheaded stupidity and blunders, dedication and amateurishness, naivety as well as professionalism and chaos." Of course, Ciolek is tossing pebbles at a tidal wave; few if any people are going to stop and think critically about the quality of the information available through fantastic new technology. The hall of mirrors analogy is apt, because many web sites contain more pointers to other web sites than native content. Discovering information is referred to as "surfing." And it is not very long before anyone who uses the web starts to feel like a person in a room with mirrors on all the walls. Having fallen so in love with the new technology container that allows us to transmit information, we have forgotten about the contents of the container. Is the Internet worth using as an information medium? The answer, I think, is yes, but with a very strong "caveat emptor" (let the buyer beware). Users should be aware before they start that vast numbers of information sites are worth very little to the researcher or educator. Why? Because the information they contain is unreliable, out of date, inaccessible, poorly organized, or some combination of all of these. This column will attempt to provide users some quality signposts to look for when they are analyzing networked information. Most of these signposts have analogues to print resources, but a few are unique to the networked medium. They fall into the following categories: content, access, and design. Content: "Knowing how to find networked resources is important, but knowing how to judge the quality of those resources is even more important." Content is the key, as the content of a site either makes it or breaks it. Questions you should ask when looking at the content of a site include: 1. Is the site a provider of original content or mostly a pointer site? There is nothing inherently wrong with creating or using pointer sites, but users should be aware of the difference between a site that primarily provides native content and one that functions as a pointer to other sites. In either case, the following questions should be answered at the site. 2. What is the purpose of the site? Is it stated? Does it fulfill that purpose? 3. Who is the author? This should be stated clearly at the site. Once you know who the author is, ask what is the authority of the author? If it is a person, is he or she known in the subject field? If it is an institution, is it known for providing information in the field? 4. Is the content accurate? Objective? In order to ascertain this, you might need to check other networked and non-networked sources. If there are biases in the information, are they noted at the site? For pointer sites, are the pointers relevant to the stated purpose of the site? Are they annotated and selective, or scattered and numerous? 5. Is the content current? Is the site kept up to date? If it is an archive site, what it the source of the information? If it is a pointer site, what percentage of the links work when you click on them? 6. What is the scope of the information? It should be stated at the site, but if it isn't, you must determine how broad and deep the content coverage is. If there are pointers, do they broaden the scope of information, narrow it, or simply add to it? 7. Who is the audience intended to be? Is it a children's site, undergraduate, graduate, etc? Again, this should be clearly stated at the site. Does the site meet the needs of its stated audience? Using these questions as a guideline, users must determine the information quality of a site based on their knowledge of the subject and their intellectual judgement, just as they would an information resource in another format. If you cannot determine the quality of a site, look at it with a skeptical eye. Use other media (books, journals, magazines, encyclopedias, etc.), or ask a librarian or known subject specialist about the topic to find out more. Remember that the Internet is just one of a suite of information resources available to you. Access: This is a variable that has been touched upon in an earlier column (http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/nicnews/archive/july96/enduser.htm l) from the point of view of content providers, but it also should be examined from the point of view of end users. Is the content of the site provided in a way that allows access to the most users? A site that says "best viewed with Netscape 3.0 or Internet Explorer," is a site where quality will not be ascertainable to a great many users because they either do not have the software or the connectivity to view the resource. In cases where multimedia graphics are the content, this is unavoidable. However, as too many frustrated users know, many sites gratuitously use multimedia and graphics. A site that provides quality content should provide it either in a format that is available to the most basic Internet connection, or provide it in many formats (ftp, gopher, email). The Internet allows for interactivity. One of the best examples of this is the CGI based form look up that allows users to query databases for specific information. Again, many users for whom a known quality information resource would be available can be excluded because they don't have interactive capability. A quality information resource will provide this type of information in many formats, so that users without interactive connectivity can also profit from the information. Books are an example of a media that is available to anyone who can read. The container is simple. Open it and turn the pages. What is inside the container can vary almost infinitely, although it does remain static. Internet information containers are not limited to static delivery methods, but as a result of this, can unintentionally contain information that isn't accessible by a large number of users. This is the reason that quality considerations in the Internet world must include access. Design: Again, this is an issue that is more relevant to networked information than to traditional print information. Does the design of the site facilitate easy access to not only the content of the site, but also to the information about the purpose, authority, accuracy, currency, scope, and audience? The first item on any site that users should look for is the "about this site" section. It should be easy to find and should plainly answer the above-mentioned content questions. After content questions have been answered, design questions should be considered. Because the Internet is not a linear medium like print, design is a crucial issue. How many levels down must a user go to find relevant information? Does the design of the site allow content to flow logically to the user? For sites that contain much information, is a search interface provided? Do the internal links of the site work? Are simple navigation methods available on each page? Do they allow for returning to the home page, or the beginning of the current information section? Lack of such navigation aids is an indicator of poor information quality, even if content questions have been addressed. In the end, no one but you can determine the quality of the networked information for your purposes. These are just a few guideposts to help you along the way. Because in the enormous "hall of mirrors" that the Internet has become, there really is a window to the world. But it is up to you to find it. A few more detailed checklists that may help you in your search for quality information. Quality Info. Systems - Catalogue of Potent Truisms, edited by T. Matthew Ciolek. http://coombs.anu.edu.au/SpecialProj/QLTY/QltyTruisms.html Criteria for evaluation of Internet Information Resources, by Alistair Smith of the Department of Library and Information Studies, Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand). http://www.vuw.ac.nz/~agsmith/evaln/index.htm Teaching Critical Evaluation Skills for World Wide Web Resources, by Jane Alexander and Marsha Tate, Wolfgram Memorial Library, Widener University (Chester, Pennsylvania). http://www.science.widener.edu/~withers/webeval.htm Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources, by Esther Grassian, UCLA College Library. http://www.ucla.edu/bruinonline/trainers/critical.html Introduction by Robin Murphy, InterNIC Information and Education Services [Small 15 Minute Series logo] During the past month, InterNIC's Information and Education Services staff took the 15 Minute Series on the road. We traveled first to the Association for Computing Machinery/Special Interest Group for University and College Computing Services' (ACM/SIGUCCS) annual meeting in Chicago, then on to EDUCOM '96 in Philadelphia, PA, followed by the Library and Information Technology Association/Library Administration and Management Association (LITA/LAMA) National Conference in Pittsburgh, PA. It was a pleasure to visit with so many of you from the research and education community over those three weeks. Through papers, talks, poster sessions, and exhibits, we hope we were able to introduce an even greater number of you to the resources available from the InterNIC. Our exhibit booths at EDUCOM '96 and LITA/LAMA provided a wonderful forum for demonstrating the 15 Minute Series, exchanging ideas with trainers on the front lines, and gathering feedback from our users - all of which we plan to put to good use. The interaction with the community we aim to serve was well worth all the "road dust." For those of you who will be attending CAUSE '96 in San Francisco, CA, we will also be there, exhibiting and presenting a poster session. Our exhibit booth is #1109, and our poster session, entitled "InterNIC Support Services: Resources for the Research & Education Community" is scheduled from 4:30 - 6:00pm on Wednesday, December 4th, 1996. Stop by the booth or attend our poster session to learn more about the valuable - and FREE - resources provided by the InterNIC as a service to research and education. Hope to see you there! _________________________________________________________________ The 15 Minute Series - Update by Anna Carts, InterNIC Information and Education Services WHAT'S NEW? New Modules Ten of the twenty modules being developed for release are currently in editorial review. These modules will be released soon, so check the 15 Minute Series often! (http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/15min/) 1. What is netiquette? 2. What is client/server computing? 3. What is the history of the Internet? 4. What was ARPANET? 5. How did the NSF get involved? 6. Who is the InterNIC? 7. Who is the Internet Society? 8. Who is the Internet Engineering Task Force? 9. Who is the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority? 10. What is Netscape? The following ten modules are currently being developed. Look for them in the coming months. 1. What is a computer virus? 2. What is a domain name? 3. What is an Internet Service Provider? 4. What is HTML? 5. What is a web page? 6. What is WAIS? 7. What is a packet? 8. What is Lynx? 9. What is Microsoft Internet Explorer? 10. What is IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6)? New Feature: "Packaged" HTML files A "packaged" HTML file contains all of the files and images required to view a complete module. These files will be in the format of a compressed archive file. Once the file has been properly downloaded and decompressed, a file structure is created that contains all the individual HTML files and image files that make up a particular module. For example, downloading, decompressing and extracting the files for the "What is a Browser?" module will create something similar to the following directories and files on your hard drive: c:\browser\sld01.html c:\browser\sld02.html c:\browser\sld03.html c:\browser\sld04.html (etc.) c:\browser\images\redsq.gif c:\browser\images\leftarrow.gif c:\browser\images\rightarrow.gif As you can see, a directory called "browser" is created and contains the source files for each slide in the module. The name for this directory is created for you, and is taken from a keyword in the title of the module. For example, if you were to download the "What is Electronic Mail?" module, a directory named "email" would be created. In addition, another directory called "images" is created and contains all of the graphics required for the module. The source code in the HTML files uses relative links. In other words, all links in the module point to files within the directory structure of the module. What this means for you is that directory and files names should not be changed. If they are changed, the HTML source code will also need to be modified to reflect the new directory/file names. In the example above, the entire "browser" directory and its files and subdirectories can now be moved to a local web server, or the files can be opened from the hard drive within the browser. Existing Module Updates [Miniature screen shot of module] An astute user pointed out a confusing statement in the "What is Internet Addressing?" and the "What is an IP Address?" modules. These modules indicated that the octet range for IP addresses is 0 to 256, with the intention that the numbers fall between 0 and 256, not include these numbers. However, because 0 is sometimes used and the octet range can allow for either 255 or 256 possibilities, we've changed the wording to say 0 to 255 to more accurately state the case. In addition, due to other user feedback, we have expanded the "What is a URL?" module. This module now explains the port element in a URL. A new slide dedicated to this topic has been added, and some existing slides have changed slightly as a result. Search and Browse Results have a New Look! After completing a search or browsing (http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/15min/15search.html) for modules, the user currently has two choices for obtaining the module: "View HTML" or "Download PowerPoint". We will soon be adding a third choice for downloading the "packaged" HTML version; therefore, the search and browse results will look slightly different. The button that currently reads "View HTML" will soon read "Preview Module Now", and will perform the same function of displaying the module on your browser. Adjacent to this button will be the words "Download entire module as" followed by two buttons that read "HTML" and "PowerPoint". Clicking on "HTML" will initiate the download of the "packaged" HTML file for that particular module. Clicking on "PowerPoint" will initiate the download of the PowerPoint version, as it always has. The new button configuration will look something like this: _________________________________________________________________ 15 MINUTE KUDOS We receive a lot of e-mail thanking us for providing the 15 Minute Series. Unfortunately, we do not have room to print every message we've received, but below is a sampling of the comments. We'd like to thank all of you for your enthusiastic response to our efforts. Keep your comments coming by sending e-mail to 15min@internic.net or by using our feedback form (http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/15min/form.html). * "Wow! What a terrific project! I appreciate learning about these modules..." * "I'm not sure the feedback went thru so I will say it again: thank you for generously sharing all this work ....it will be invaluable." * "Just wanted to send my thanks for a great resource for teaching others about the internet. Thanks!" * "I was delighted to find your treasure trove of Internet instructional files..." * "I think your 15 min section is excellent and wish you the best of luck for its success." * "I really like what you have put together so far. I will be using some for my future training programs." _________________________________________________________________ 15 MINUTE FAQS We are still receiving questions and comments regarding the 15 Minute Series. We really appreciate your feedback. You can contact us via e- mail at (http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/15min/form.html). If you have a question regarding the 15 Minute Series, please review the "15 Minute FAQs" in the October issue of InterNIC News (http://rs.internic.net/nic- support/nicnews/archive/october96/). If you don't find the answer there, please don't hesitate to write us! ***************************************************************************** Registration Services Performance Measures for September 1996 _________________________________________________________________ PURPOSE The following performance measures are provided in accordance with the requirements of Amendment 4 to Cooperative Agreement No. NCR-9218742, Network Information Services Manager(s) for NSFNET and the NREN: INTERNIC Registration Services. PERFORMANCE Communication Received by InterNIC Registration Services Type Number of contacts E-mail to hostmaster@internic.net 210,283 Postal/fax 2,026 Phone 24,806 Information Server Performance Type Connections Retrievals Gopher 404,398 752,773 WAIS 1,063,637 619,849 FTP 832,660 2,411,842 Mailserv 44,040 Telnet 1,367,518 HTTP 31,100,347 WHOIS Queries Client 10,289,645 Server 83,114,159 Second-Level Domain Registration Summary These figures are cumulative from August 1993 through September 1996. Top-level domain Number COM 572,280 EDU 2,921 ORG 38,082 NET 24,648 GOV 431 US 239 Other country 187 Total 638,788 _________________________________________________________________ This file last modified 11/1/96. ***************************************************************************** Registration Services Performance Measures for August 1996 _________________________________________________________________ PURPOSE The following performance measures are provided in accordance with the requirements of Amendment 4 to Cooperative Agreement No. NCR-9218742, Network Information Services Manager(s) for NSFNET and the NREN: INTERNIC Registration Services. PERFORMANCE Communication Received by InterNIC Registration Services Type Number of contacts E-mail to hostmaster@internic.net 221,961 Postal/fax 2,475 Phone 33,497 Information Server Performance Type Connections Retrievals Gopher 449,781 786,680 WAIS 1,155,448 684,007 FTP 885,025 2,558,470 Mailserv 47,370 Telnet 1,446,018 HTTP 31,100,347 WHOIS Queries Client 10,762,500 Server 86,651,217 Second-Level Domain Registration Summary These figures are cumulative from August 1993 through August 1996. Top-level domain Number COM 506,472 EDU 2,843 ORG 33,989 NET 19,971 GOV 458 US 239 Other country 182 Total 564,154 _________________________________________________________________ This file last modified 10/3/96. ***************************************************************************** User Feedback ------------------------------------------------- What would you like to see in the InterNIC News? Our goal is to produce an interesting, informative publication that addresses the needs of the Internet's diverse population, both information providers and information seekers. Tell us what you'd like to see in future issues of the InterNIC News. How can we address your information needs? We also welcome any contributions you are willing to make to this newsletter. The InterNIC staff looks forward to working closely with you to inform the Internet community about your R&E projects, technological developments, and user services. In the future, we plan to publish and answer selected letters to the editor in this space. Write to us, and we'll do our best to address your concerns about this publication. You may contact the editor of the InterNIC News via e-mail at editor@internic.net. In addition to story ideas or contributions, we sincerely appreciate your comments and suggestions on how we can make this newsletter a publication that satisfies the needs of the Internet community. Thank you for your input. Tom Newell InterNIC Support Services liaison@internic.net ***************************************************************************** Using This Material ------------------------------------------------- You are encouraged to use and redistribute the InterNIC News, provided the following conditions are met: Permission to copy or use material from the InterNIC News newsletter is hereby granted subject to inclusion of the following statement: "This article is reprinted with permission from the InterNIC News, published by the InterNIC." This newsletter and its contents may not be sold for profit or incorporated in commercial documents without the written permission of the copyright holder. This material is based on work sponsored by the National Science Foundation under Cooperative Agreement #NCR-9218742. The Government has certain rights in this material. ***************************************************************************** Get the InterNIC News ------------------------------------------------- The InterNIC News will be published monthly. You may visit the InterNIC Support Services Web site to see the latest issue and to peruse back issues (http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/nicnews/). The newsletter will also be made available in a plain-text version, for access at the InterNIC's FTP site (ftp://rs.internic.net/NIC-support/newsletter/) and for distribution via an electronic mailing list. To subscribe to the newsletter distribution list, you may either use our Web-based interface at http://rs.internic.net/cgi-bin/lwgate/NEWSLETTER/, or simply send e-mail to listserv@internic.net with the command SUBSCRIBE NEWSLETTER [YOUR NAME] in the body of the mail message.