Internet Technologies At Work
Chapter 3: Communicating
After completing Chapter 3, you will know how to:
- Define the rules of Internet etiquette (netiquette) that enable you to become a good citizen of the Net.
- Configure an e-mail client and use it to send, receive, answer, forward, and file e-mail, filter out unwanted mail, and detect fake mail IDs.
- Subscribe and participate in a listserv mailing list, and set up your own listserv on the Internet.
- Configure a newsgroup reader, participate in USENET newsgroups, and create your own Web-based discussion forum on the Internet.
- Set up a blog to keep an online diary or Web log of events you want to chronicle online.
- Configure an RSS reader to feed you news about new content posted at Web sites that you want to keep up with.
- Enter an IRC chatroom where you can participate in meaningful real-time conversations.
- Configure an instant messaging client to IM your buddies on the Internet.
- Configure your computer for videoconferencing and participate in conversations that let you see and hear your conversants.
- Use the telnet protocol to connect to remote host computers on the Internet.
- Use text-based FTP commands to upload and download files on legacy systems that do not have graphical FTP clients.
End of Chapter Labs
Lab Project 3.1: Creating a Listserv
Listserv provides any school or company with an easy way of communicating or discussing issues of common concern to fellow employees via e-mail. Imagine that your employer has assigned you the task of creating a listserv for your workplace. To create such a listserv, follow these steps:
- Follow this book’s Web site links to one of the recommended sites that host listservs on the Web. Note: Yahoo and Google are particularly good for this.
- Peruse the site’s features and policies. If you do not like what you see, return to step (1) and choose another site.
- Set up the listserv, following the instructions at your chosen listserv hosting site.
- Using your word processor, draft an invitation to send your fellow employees, inviting them to join the list. In this message, write step-by-step instructions for the employees to follow in joining your list. Save the message on your hard drive.
- Following the step-by-step instructions you wrote in step (4), join the list you created in step (3).
- Test the listserv and make sure it works properly. To test the list, e-mail it a message. Use your e-mail client’s “send” feature to send the mail now, instead of have it queue in your outbox. Soon the message you sent should appear in your inbox. Open the message to make sure it arrived correctly.
If your instructor has asked you to hand in this assignment, what you will submit is the draft invitation you created in step (4). Make sure your name is at the top of it, then save it on disk or follow the other instructions you may have been given for submitting this assignment.
Lab Project 3.2: Creating a Discussion Forum
Web-based discussion forums provide one of the most powerful yet easiest ways for the employees of a workplace to communicate on topics of mutual concern. Imagine that your employer has just found out about forums and has asked you to set up a Web-based forum that your fellow employees can use to discuss issues of common concern with your employer. To set up such a forum, follow these steps:
- Follow this book’s Web site links to one of the recommended sites that host forums on the Web. Note: Yahoo and Google are particularly good for this.
- Peruse that site’s features and policies. If you do not like what you see, return to step (1) and choose another site.
- Set up the forum, following the instructions at the forum site you chose in steps 1 and 2.
- Using your word processor, draft an invitation to send your fellow employees, inviting them to join the forum and participate in the discussion. In this message, write step-by-step instructions teaching your co-workers how to participate in the forum. Save the message on your hard drive.
- Test the forum and make sure it works properly. To test the forum, create a new topic in it. The first message in a forum is normally a welcome message that welcomes users to the discussion and states the forum’s purpose.
- Invite one of your fellow students or co-workers to the forum and ask him or her to write a response to the message you wrote in step (5). Log on to the forum and see if you can read this response properly.
If your instructor has asked you to hand in this assignment, what you will submit is the draft invitation you created in step (4). Make sure your name is at the top of it, then save it on disk or follow the other instructions you may have been given for submitting this assignment.
