Preface (1 of 3) -- What this book is for

     With this book, you will be able to use the Net to:

     = Stay in touch with friends, relatives and colleagues around the
       world, at a fraction of the cost of phone calls or even air
       mail.

     = Discuss everything from archaeology to zoology with people from
       around the world.

     = Tap into hundreds of information databases and libraries
       worldwide.

     = Retrieve any of thousands of documents, journals, books and
       computer programs.

     = Stay up to date with wire-service news and sports, and
       government weather reports.

     = Play live, "real time" games with dozens of other people at once.

     And you will have become the newest member of this ever growing
community. If you stay and contribute, the Net will be richer for it --
and so will you.
     But it will take a sense of adventure, a willingness to learn and an
ability to take a deep breath every once in awhile.
     Visiting the Net today is a lot like journeying to a foreign
country.  You know there are many things to see and do, but everything at
first will seem so, well, foreign.
     When you first arrive, you won't be able to read the street signs.
You'll get lost.  If you're unlucky, you may even run into some natives
who'd just as soon you went back to where you came from.  If this weren't
enough, the entire country is constantly under construction; every day,
it seems like there's something new for you to figure out.
     Here's where you take a deep breath.  Fortunately, most of the
natives are actually friendly.  In fact, the Net actually has a rich
tradition of helping out visitors and newcomers.  With few written guides
for ordinary people, the Net has grown in large part one person at a time
-- if somebody helps you learn your way around, it's almost expected
you'll repay the favor some day by helping somebody else.
     So when you connect, don't be afraid to ask for help.  You'll be
surprised at how many people will try to direct you around.
     And that leads to another fundamental thing to remember:

                You can't break the Net!

     As you travel the Net, your computer may freeze, your screen may
erupt into a mass of gibberish.  You may think you've just disabled a
million-dollar computer somewhere -- or even your own personal computer.
Sooner or later, this feeling happens to everyone -- and likely more than
once. But the Net and your computer are hardier than you think, so relax.
You can no more break the Net than you can the phone system.  You are
always in the driver's seat.  If something goes wrong, try again.  If
nothing at all happens, you can always disconnect. If worse comes to
worse, you can turn off your computer.  Then take a deep breath.  And
dial right back in. Leave a note for the person who runs the computer to
which you've connected to ask for advice.  Try it again. Persistence pays.