Gnome Terms

As you surf the Net, you may feel a little disenchanted by a lack of any real substance. Where the heck are all the people who share my interests? First off, there's a ton of "worthy" stimuli online, but it takes a lot of digging. That's why you have me -- I'm the Gnome with a pick-axe. To really find your digital clique, though, you may wish to check out the newsgroups. A newsgroup is essentially a threaded discussion list based on a specific subject matter (theoretically). Topics range from local news to computer hardware to folk music to any darn thing. Windows users can sign up for newsgroups using the Outlook Express news client; your ISP may carry a set of Usenet (Internet) newsgroups, but every one of you can sign up for the free forums at news.lockergnome.com. While newsgroups are a great way to confab with others who are just like you, it's not a bad idea to just sit back and watch during your first few visits to get a feel for the tone of the discussions (and to make sure you don't repeat a question that's already been asked forty-seven times). That's called lurking, folks. Also, be sure to play nice -- or the other members won't want to play with you at all. That's like being kicked out of the sandbox, I tell ya.

Netsplit
Have you ever been talking to someone on the street and suddenly they just up and disappear? Yeah, me neither, and yet it can happen when you're connected to an IRC (Internet Relay Chat) server. There you are talking to GnOmEbOy7 and suddenly, GnOmEbOy7 is gone. Where did he go? Call McGruff, the Crime Dog! Chill out; he didn't go anywhere. Your connection to him was severed; you smacked into a netsplit. The two (or more) servers lost contact with one another. You can still be connected with other users; to get back to the whole gang, quit your session and rejoin it immediately. It doesn't matter which client you use, netsplits can happen with anybody at any time. Just remember, you only lost a connection; the actual human beings are still alive and kicking... or are they? I hope this isn't another government conspiracy. I've got crop circles on my screen saver now.
Newsgroups
As you surf the Net, you may feel a little disenchanted by a lack of any real substance. Where the heck are all the people who share my interests? First off, there's a ton of "worthy" stimuli online, but it takes a lot of digging. That's why you have me -- I'm the Gnome with a pick-axe. To really find your digital clique, though, you may wish to check out the newsgroups. A newsgroup is essentially a threaded discussion list based on a specific subject matter (theoretically). Topics range from local news to computer hardware to folk music to any darn thing. Windows users can sign up for newsgroups using the Outlook Express news client; your ISP may carry a set of Usenet (Internet) newsgroups, but every one of you can sign up for the free forums at news.lockergnome.com. While newsgroups are a great way to confab with others who are just like you, it's not a bad idea to just sit back and watch during your first few visits to get a feel for the tone of the discussions (and to make sure you don't repeat a question that's already been asked forty-seven times). That's called lurking, folks. Also, be sure to play nice -- or the other members won't want to play with you at all. That's like being kicked out of the sandbox, I tell ya.