EXCESS,
SURPLUS LINES AND REINSURANCE
(ESLR)
Nothing But Net
By: Larry P. Schiffer
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Nothing But Net -- Summer 2000
By: Larry P. Schiffer, LeBoeuf, Lamb,
Greene & MacRae, LLP, lschiffe@llgm.com
WHAT IS A URL AND IS THERE A CURE FOR IT?
As the Internet economy develops so too is a vast new vocabulary. This new language,
which changes and expands daily, finds its roots in technospeak, computerese, and
technical jargon. It is a world full of confusing acronyms and strange word usage that
only ten-year-olds seem to understand. As our clients in the insurance and reinsurance
industry move their businesses onto the Internet, we must become conversant with this new
language.
By a show of hands, how many of you know what a URL is? Not surprisingly, quite a few
lawyers who work daily with clients on e-commerce projects do not know what a URL is and
are, of course, embarrassed to ask. This article will touch on just a few of these
definitions and will suggest a few resources available on the Internet to provide you with
the primer to this new language.
URL -- URL stands for uniform resource locator. A uniform resource locator is
an Internet link or the Internet address for a page on the Internet that appears (most
often) in blue when you see it on your computer screen. It is an instruction to your
Internet browser to send a signal to the computer where that address resides and, if
successful, will result in your browser retrieving the Internet page you are looking for.
If you have been on the Internet at all, you are familiar with URLs. The URL or address
for the ESLR Committee's web page is http://www.abanet.org/tips/eslr/.
Browser -- A browser is a software program like Netscape Navigator or
Microsoft Internet Explorer that is capable of sending and receiving Internet
communications and web pages.
Cookie -- A cookie is a mini-program that comes from a web page and is stored
either temporarily or until deleted by the browser on a user's personal computer. Cookies
are needed to send user information back to web pages where a user has registered personal
information. For example, if you use your computer for banking, the bank's web computer
has sent your log-in information back to your browser to store as a cookie so that when
you log in again the bank's computer will recognize you as a registered user. Some cookies
also collect data for the web site and may result in what some users feel to be an
invasion of privacy.
Domain Name -- A domain name is essentially the Internet address of the web
site. It is a unique name that identifies the web site and often is a trade name of a
company. The domain name for the ABA is abanet.org. Another entity had previously
registered ABA.org so the ABA had to settle on ABAnet.org. Just like traditional trademark
work, it is essential to verify that a domain name is available before launching a client
web site with a name that either cannot be registered or infringes on another company's
web site domain name.
HTML -- This is the common computer language or code used to create web pages.
HTML stands for hypertext markup language. Browsers read HTML code and convert the code to
the web page the browser displays. If you really are adventurous, you can check the HTML
code for a web page by viewing the page source code in your browser (in Netscape, click on
View, Page Source from the menu bar).
These are just a few of the terms being used daily by clients and colleagues (and our
children). There are many books and web sites that provide glossaries to computer/Internet
terms. Two that are quite comprehensive are: http://www.matisse.net/files/glossary.html
and http://www.netlingo.com/inframes.html.
These sites provide a detailed glossary of Internet terms, one without advertising and one
with advertising. Use your browser to go to any Internet search engine and search for
"glossary of Internet terms" and you will find literally hundreds of glossaries
available for you to use. Get to know this new language. Your clients know it and if you
plan to assist your clients in bringing their businesses onto the Internet, you had better
be familiar with its language.
Are there any Internet topics you are interested in learning about? Do you have some
favorite Internet sites? Let us know at
lschiffe@llgm.com.
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