User:ComradeSlice/A Web of Ignorance
| Web over WiFi (OSI model) | |
|---|---|
| 7. Application layer | |
| HTTP | |
| 4. Transport layer | |
| TCP | |
| 3. Network layer | |
| IP (IPv4, IPv6) | |
| 2. Data link layer | |
| IEEE 802.3 | |
| 1. Physical layer | |
| IEEE 802.11 |
A spectre is haunting the Web -- the spectre of ignorance. For too long have I seen articles on the Web that use very different terms interchangeably. These terms are "Internet" and "Web".
What's the difference?
[edit]There is a huge difference between the Internet and the Web. This is without saying that they don't have anything to do with each other. The Web depends on the Internet.
Let's say you are browsing the Web from your MacBook Pro. You are using the Web over the Internet through a WiFi connection. See the info box for a visual representation of how this would work.
The World Wide Web is an application on the Internet. A pipe is to water as the Internet is to the Web.
Terminology Hell
[edit]Journalists always fall ill to the ignorance of the masses to confuse Internet terms and Web terms. Here is a table of common Web and Internet terms with examples and which family they belong in.
| Term | Example | Layer |
|---|---|---|
| Domain Name | wikipedia.org
|
Internet |
| Website | http://wikipedia.org
|
Web |
| URI[1] | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
|
Web |
| Webpage | index.php
|
Web |
| IP(v4) Address | 208.80.152.201[2]
|
Internet |
| IP(v6) Address | 2001:4860:800f::67[3]
|
Internet |
| Top Level Domain | com, gov, org, edu, uk, mil, us
|
Internet |
The term "website suffix" is completely incorrect. The proper term is "top level domain". The last part of a typical domain name is always a top level domain such as COM, EDU, GOV, and others. They are not suffixes. Think of top level domains as trunks, and second/third level domains as branches. Most registered domain names are on the second level (e.g. wikipedia.org), but some top level domains only allow registration on the third level (e.g. bing.co.uk).
Offenders
[edit]Here is a list of articles on the Web that use incorrect terminology, their authors, and the publication. You can add to this table to improve the accuracy of tech journalists everywhere!
| Title | So called "journalists" | Offensive Example(s) | Publication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web Problems Plague Russia Critics | Alan Cullison | "the Web was simply overloaded" ... "The Kremlin can shut down the Web" | The Wall Street Journal |
| Web could run out of addresses next year, warn web experts | Claudine Beaumont | "Web experts have warned that we could run out of internet addresses" ... "The IPv4 and IPv6 protocols refer to the way in which web addresses are created and assigned." | The Telegraph |
| Web Running out of Addresses | Ben Worthen and Cari Tuna | "The Web is made up of networking equipment" | The Wall Street Journal |
| GE, J&J Among 40 Companies Opposed to Expanding Web Names | Eric Engleman | "Web Names" ... "Web suffixes beyond .com" ... "The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the nonprofit organization managing the Web’s global address system" | Bloomberg |
| Red vs. Blue: Recovery One | Senjek bohmet | "and distributed via Xbox Live and the internet." | Red vs. Blue, Wikia |