JARGON BUSTING - THE A-Z OF NEW MEDIA

FAQs: Frequently asked questions, the internet's own quirky version of a help file. Back in the days when newsgroups were the most popular and dynamic "communities" online, seasoned veterans grew sick of telling "newbies" the basics, and so created a file to which they could be directed when they wanted a basic grounding in a subject. Now the term has been adopted by more traditional publishers and is often the first port of call for a nervous surfer.



File-sharing: A billing hours goldmine, with peer-to-peer music networks still the source of suits and counter-suits. File-sharing has always been a mainstay of the networks, with protocols such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP), allowing users to anonymously download files from a site. The term is also used on intranets, where files can be read and written to allow collaborative working.



Firewall: The guarantee (sic) of security and data integrity. A set of programmes on a local network designed to stop access in and - occasionally - out. A firewall can also work with a proxy server, which will make network requests on behalf of workstation users.



Flame: Vitriolic and often abusive attacks on someone who has breached netiquette. This can take the form of a single email pointing out the transgression in occasionally witty but more likely crude terms or the bombarding of the offender with messages and junk mail.



Frame: A self-contained panel on a webpage that can change or remain constant independent from the rest of the page. Although effective, it slows down a page's display, interferes with search engines and makes display in some browsers difficult.



Fuzzy logic: An approach to computing based on "degrees of truth" rather than the usual "true or false". It has been used to make smart-focusing camcorders and washing machines that adapt to loads. It has yet to be used in the writing of new media business plans.