General Commercial Webpage Info

Behind the Scenes

or Ignore That Man Behind the Curtain

For web browsers, specific web page addresses are called Uniform Resource Locators or URLs. Whenever you type in a URL, what you are actually doing is typing the path to a specific file. The "http://" tells the browser (Netscape, Internet Explorer, etc.) that you're looking for a web document. The "www.whatever.com" is the computer (or "site") you want to contact. After that there might be something like "/flop/dittle/"; these are directories, like directories (or folders) on your computer. Finally there's the file itself, "page.htm" or "page.html". (HTML is short for HyperText Markup Language--the specification that says how browsers are supposed to display the page.)

(A lot of places have it set up so that all you need to do is specify the directory or even just the computer. These systems have been set up so that if no specific file is given, it looks for one of a certain name. More on this later.)

Typically, the file ends in ".htm" or ".html". These are just text files. If you go to View--Document Source in Netscape, you will see exactly what Netscape sees when it looks at a page. There are special commands (or "tags") in the file that tell a browser to display certain things in specific ways, so that the document appears as it does in the main Netscape window and not as it does when you view the source.

Creating the Buttons to Push

or The Magic Is Gone

Those HTML files didn't just magically appear; they were written by someone at some point.
In the old days (when people walked uphill in the snow both ways) all HTML files were written using text editors. Though some people prefer to do it that way, as the Internet and World Wide Web grew, so did the demand for a HTML file generator that required less work and knowledge of the HTML tags. Now there are programs in software stores that let people put together web pages on their computers just like putting together a letter in Word or WordPerfect.

Moving Day

or Location, Location, Location

It doesn't matter if you create your web pages on your computer using a text editor or something more elaborate. Either way it's not going to do you any good as long as those files are sitting on your hard drive where only you can see them.
In order for the rest of the world to see what you've created, you need to move it from your computer to StarNet's... and it needs to be done so that the world can read those files.
When you set up a commercial account on StarNet, a directory is created on StarNet's computer and all the permissions were set. When this is done, you're given a username and password to access this directory. The details on how this works are in another section.

Note: The username and password you are given will only give you access to StarNet's web server if you are already connected to the Internet. You cannot use that username to dial in to StarNet or get e-mail. Dial-up access/e-mail is a seperate service.

Common Stumbling Blocks

or I Never Promised You a CyberRose Garden

There are a few things to keep in mind...

First, UNIX (which is the operating system StarNet and most ISPs use) is case sensitive. That means that a lower case letter and an upper case letter are not the same. Thus files named "index.html", "Index.html", and "INDEX.HTML" are considered three completely different files.
This fact is relevant to web pages, specifically to images and links. If the html file tells the browser to get the image "Picture.Gif" and the file on the server is named "picture.gif", the image won't appear because, according to UNIX, those are two completely different files. Also, if a page is named "page2.htm", a link (a pointer to another page) that tries to go to "Page2.htm" or "page2.html" will not work.

Second, if you use Microsoft's Front Page, most of the Front Page specific features won't be usable.
Most of those specific features require StarNet's computer to run Front Page's extension software. There are serious reservations concerning system security and system load.
The license agreement for using the Front Page extensions prohibits us from figuring out how the software actually works. In other words, they are little black boxes where info comes in and the result comes out the other end. People who have violated the agreement and figured out how the programs work have found ways to get these programs to do things that they weren't supposed to do--things that could result in system crashes or destroying/rewriting files. This is a major security issue and thus will not be allowed at this time.
With around 10,000 users, if even a small percentage of all those people use the Front Page extensions on their page, it would make the computer noticably slower. If the computer slows down, that means it takes longer for web pages to appear. If it gets particularly bad, it can cause the computer to crash.

Third, you must abide by the Acceptable Use Protocol found online at http://www.azstarnet.com/~grossman/security/aup.html or in the StarNet User Manual. (Basically, "Play nice and don't break any laws.")

Fourth, you have five megs of space on the server for all your files. This shouldn't be a problem for most people. However, if more is needed, each additional 5 megs will mean an additional $2.50/month for StarNet subscribers (those who have a dial-up account with StarNet) or an addition $5/month for non-StarNet subscribers.

You Are El

or I Knew It Was Around Here Somewhere...

So once you have the page up and available to anyone... how are they going to find you? Where do you tell people to go to see your creation?

The first part of the address is the same for everyone, "http://www.azstarnet.com/" (without the quotes).

The next part varies depending on if you have a commercial web page or a non-profit. For commercial pages, add "public/commerce/" to the above. For non-profit hosted by StarNet, add "public/nonprofit/". For non-profits using an existing StarNet dial-up account, it's the tilde (~) and the username for that account. (If you are putting up a non-profit web page using a StarNet dial-up account, you can use the instructions and directions found at http://www.azstarnet.com/service/homepage/ ).

The the next part is the directory name you were given or selected when you started the account. Typically this is some variation of the company/organization name.

The final part is the name of the actual file of the web page. However, remember that bit about most systems having a setup so that a certain file is looked for automatically if none is specified? Well, StarNet has that as well. We follow the standard of looking for a file called "index.html". Again, remember that UNIX is case sensitive so that "INDEX.HTML", "Index.html", "index.htm" or any other variation will not work.
If your first page is named "index.html", all you have to do is give the URL to your site and end with your directory. Our computer will automatically find and send the index.html file to the person who requested it.

Domain-name-ation

or The Shorter the Better

The big thing for web sites now is having your own domain name. For example, StarNet's domain name is "azstarnet.com". It is the name of the computer a company, organization, or person can have on the Internet.
Domain names are popular among companies because it shortens the address of the web page. As you noticed above, the address of a web page can get pretty long: http://www.azstarnet.com/public/commerce/yourcompany/. It would be much shorter and easier to remember if it could be http://www.yourcompany.com/, and that's a domain.

Thanks to the way the Internet works, there doesn't need to be a seperate computer for each domain name. You could set up a web page in a directory on StarNet's computer and then StarNet can set it up so that any request for a domain goes to that web page.
The end result is that you can upload your web page to a directory on StarNet's computer, but anyone going to the page would just see the www.yourdomain.com.
Of course, such services aren't free. The first step is to register the domain name with InterNIC, the organization in charge of keeping track of who has what name. InterNIC charges a $70 fee to register a domain name, which gives you ownership of the domain for two years (after which it costs $50/year to keep the domain--$35/year after April 1st).
Owning the domain is only half the battle though. You need someone to host the domain so that people on the Internet can get to your site. StarNet can do this as well.
To check the prices and fees for these services, send e-mail to sales@azstarnet.com.