Internet Travel Tips

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Welcome to the Internet!

The Internet is a worldwide network of computer networks. If your computer is connected to the Internet, you can send and receive messages on electronic mail , search World Wide Web sites for information on all kinds of topics, and more. Millions of people travel on the "Information Highway" every day.

Three major Internet services are:

World Wide Web (or "the Web")
An information system of web sites, where sites are linked via hypertext. Links appear as pictures, or words that have been highlighted in differently coloured text. Clicking on a link takes you to the new web site. There are millions of web sites on every topic. They contain information in words, pictures, video, and sound formats.

Electronic Mail (or "E-mail")
Messages sent via the Internet. You must have an e-mail address in order to send and receive mail.

Newsgroups
These are sites where messages on a certain topic are posted . All visitors to the newsgroup site can read these messages. If a newsgroup has a moderator, then the messages are reviewed by the moderator before being posted. Not all newsgroups have moderators.

There is a huge amount of information available on the Internet. Web sites are created by many types of people: governments, organizations, companies and individuals. Messages can be posted to newsgroups by anyone. The information you find may be wrong, incomplete, out of date, or unpleasant. Nobody is in charge of checking information before it is up on the Internet. It is up to you to make sure that what you find is true or up to date. Net Nanny^TM , a filtering software that limits access to inappropriate material, has been loaded on Internet computers used by Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation consumers and their families. Net Nanny^TM gives very good protection against getting offensive, unwanted Internet content, but some unwelcome material may slip by it. You must also check to be sure that what seems to be good information really is reliable, truthful and of good quality. It is always a good idea to review health information found with your health care professional. Here are some basic questions to ask yourself when you are at a web site or newsgroup site, to help you judge the value of information found there.

• Who owns the Web site?
  All web sites are owned or created by someone. A web site should tell you who created it, and give enough background about the owner (whether a person or an organization or a company) to help you decide if they are a trustworthy and reliable source for information on this topic. There should be a way to get in touch with the Web site owner to ask questions about the site. 
  
• Who wrote the information?
  A web site may have articles and information written by many different people. Does the web site list the authors or sources of each of the articles? Does it give their credentials or education in the subject area? For example, is the writer on a health topic a health care professional (such as a doctor or a psychologist) or not? If it is a newsgroup site, is there a moderator who controls what is posted on the site? What are his or her qualifications?
  
• Is the information up to date?
  The Web site should show you the last time the web site owner added new information to the web site. Each article should be dated, so you can tell when it was written or updated.

World Wide Web Searching Tips

• If you find a web site that provides good information on your topic, check to see if it has a list of links to other sites on the same subject. This is a quick way to browse, linking from one web site to another.
• If you are typing in words for a search, remember: check your spelling; use specific terms that describe exactly what you want to find; put all phrases such as " blood pressure" in quotation marks so that the words will be searched as a single phrase; and use only lower case letters, to increase the number of matches found.

• Be careful in the personal information you provide on the Internet - home phone numbers or addresses/family information/financial information should not be given out to people you don't know. Children should never give out this information without checking with an adult family member.
• If you download anything from the Web, always run it through a virus checking program .
• KEEP PASSWORDS SECRET!

Netiquette

This is the name for the rules that have been set up for Internet users of e-mail and newsgroups. Follow these rules to make your electronic communications more effective and enjoyable.

• Don't write something you wouldn't say to the person's face. Try not to send heated messages (which are called "flames") even when provoked.
• TYPING A SENTENCE IN CAPITAL LETTERS = shouting, and should only be used when expressing a strong opinion. However, some people have to type in capitals because of the adaptive equipment that they need to use to access their computer. In general, write the same way you would in a letter.
• Your message is not private. Don't write anything you wouldn't put on a postcard!
• Don't forward any message received before checking with the original writer first.
• Try to respond promptly to your messages.

Please read this Disclaimer carefully.

Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation is not responsible for the kind of information or the accuracy or quality of information that can be accessed and obtained through the Internet. Internet sites are not monitored, and the information may not be reliable. Anyone using this information does so at their own risk.

AHSC reserves the right to monitor, filter and/or review, at any time, all Internet utilization via AHSC's Internet access. Users engaged in inappropriate activity (accessing or sending material that is obscene, defamatory and/or illegal) will lose Internet access privileges.

Last Updated: 2005-03-21