Glossary of Terms

In an effort to provide our clients with a better understanding of the more commonly used Internet terminology, we have created this Glossary of Internet Terms, Abbreviations and Acronyms.

 

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Radio button  ::   A round selection (check box) field in software programs and Web forms that when checked, looks like a knob from an old radio.

RAID  ::   Short for Redundant Array of Independent Disks, a method of data protection/backup. Data is stored over a number of servers so that information will still be accessible if a piece of hardware/software crashes.

RAM (Random Access Memory)  ::   Temporary memory that your computer uses to store information. Text copied to the "clipboard" is stored in RAM until it is replaced by new information or the computer is turned off.

Ranking  ::   The order that a web site is listed for a specific search term in a specific search engine. Search Engines utilize a ranking algorithm (mathematical formulas, variables, and set of weights) to determine a site's ranking for a particular keyword or keyword phrase.

Real Audio/Video Stream  ::   RealMedia streams allow for real-time transmission of audio and video files from your Web site. Network Solutions offers RealMedia streams. One stream is equivalent to one current online listener. See also ' Media Streaming ' or ' Streaming Media ' for more information.

Reciprocal Links  ::   A return link on your site to a site that has linked to yours. This is a proven way to build link popularity which is instrumental in getting high search engine rankings.

Recurring Payments  ::   A type of transaction which allows the Merchant to process multiple authorizations for the same Buyer. The two kinds of recurring payments include multiple payments for a fixed amount and repeated billings.

Referrer  ::   The URL of the Web page from which a unique visitor came.

Register  ::   With shareware, when you contact the vendor and pay for the product, you are registering. In return, you will receive either a password to turn off the nag notices or a copy of the full commercial version.

Register Domain  ::   To establish an Internet identity you need to have a domain name. In order to do this, you'll need to register a domain name. To do so, you can go to www.networksolutions.com and type your desired name in the search box and purchase an available domain.

Renew Services (Domain Name)  ::   To protect your domain name registration, it's best to renew your services before the expiration date with a multi-year term. Domain Registrars waive all liability in the loss of domain name registrations due to failure to renew services.

Relevancy Algorithm  ::   The method a search engine or directory uses to match the keywords in a query with the content of each Web page, so that the Web pages found can be ordered suitably in the query results. Each search engine or directory is likely to use a different algorithm, and to change or improve its algorithm from time to time.

Relevant Content  ::   Content or copy that is relevant to the users search request. If you want to rank high for a particular keyword, you need to have relevant content for that keyword on the actually Web page targeting that keyword.

Remote Login  ::   Operating on a remote computer, using a protocol over a computer network, as though locally attached.

Reseller ::   A reseller operates components of a Web hosting operation using services, infrastructure and equipment provided by another Web hosting service. Some resellers operate full-fledged businesses using the hardware, software, network and logistical support of another Web hosting firm, while others simply operate as sales agents for other Web hosting companies, offering discounts and providing low-level technical support.

Resolution  ::   The resolution of an image describes how fine the dots are that make up that image. The more dots, the higher the resolution. When displayed on a monitor, the dots are called pixels. A 640 x 480 screen (resolution) is capable of displaying 640 distinct dots on each of its 480 lines, or about 300,000 pixels.

Retention  ::   The measurement of unique users who return to the same site or page over a given time. PC Data Online, for example, measures it as "the percentage of a site's traffic during the previous month that also came back during the current month."

Robot  ::   A computer program (also known as a spider, bot or crawler) that travels the Internet to locate web pages. It indexes the documents in a database, which is then searched using a search engine. Each search engine uses a spider to build its database.

Robots.txt  ::   A text file stored in the top level directory of a Web site to 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.

ROI  ::   Return on Investment.

Routing  ::   The process used on the Internet to deliver data packets to their intended destination. A router processes the data packet and reads the destination address included in the IP header then determines the next (router) stop that will take the packet closer to its destination. The process is repeated until the packet arrives at its final target.

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