Facts
The Internet and technology have their own specialized language and terms. These definitions listed below are to help establish basic understanding of some of these important terms.
Basic Terms
Internet: It is a "network of networks" that consists of millions of smaller domestic, academic, business, and government networks, which together carry various information and services, such as electronic mail, online chat, file transfer, and the interlinked Web pages and other documents of the World Wide Web.
Pornography: Pornography more informally referred to as porn or porno, is the representation of the human body or sexual activity with the goal of sexual arousal. It is the explicit depiction of men and/or women as sexual beings. It is similar to, but distinct from, erotica, though the two terms are often used interchangeably.
Softcore Pornography: Softcore is a form of pornography that is less explicit than hardcore material in depicting or describing sexual behavior. Generally softcore does not depict explicit sexual contact but may include nudity and simulation of intercourse. While both softcore and hardcore feature extensive nudity and sexual situations with the intention of arousing the viewer, the key difference is that softcore does not clearly show any of the following hardcore elements: aroused genitalia, including masturbation, ejaculation, or penetration (vaginal, anal and/or oral). Some softcore, especially in recent years, however, are more explicit in that male and female genitalia are shown on screen. Also, some portray contact with female genitals, either oral or digital.
Hardcore Pornography: Hardcore pornography is a form of pornography that features explicit sexual acts including shots of an erect penis, shots of actual penetration (vaginal, anal, and/or oral), and shots of ejaculation. Generally (although not always), sexual acts in softcore are simulated, while the appeal of hardcore is that the acts themselves are obviously real.
PSP: Stands for Play Station Portable which is a handheld game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment. Because of its access to the Internet and its ability to hold pictures and media files, it can be used to view pornography. Discs are also produced for this device that contain hard core pornography.
MySpace/Facebook/Xanga: MySpace/Facebook/Xanga are social networking Websites offering an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, music, and videos.
Chat Room: A Web page where people gather using software that allows them to talk to one another in real time.
Forum: What today’s message boards are called. You are able to quickly write “real time” messages and replies to a Website or page.
Social Networking: A social network service is social software specifically focused on the building and verifying of social networks for whatever purpose. As of 2005, there are over three hundred known social networking Websites.
Wi-Fi: Wireless access that was developed to be used for mobile computing devices, such as laptops, but is now increasingly used for more applications, including Internet and phone access, gaming, and basic connectivity of consumer electronics such as televisions and DVD players or digital cameras. Allows access to the Internet from any location that has a Wi-Fi access point.
Browser: A browser is software, just like a word-processing or spreadsheet program, that enables you to see Web pages. Netscape and Internet Explorer are the most commonly used browsers.
Cookies: Cookies are information stored on your hard drive containing data about your preferences and prior visits on certain Web pages. Whenever you visit a Website and it seems to "remember you" it's because of cookies.