Internet Basics
URLs
Every Web page has its own address called a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). Much like the address on an envelope with a name, street address, city, state, and zip code, each part of a URL provides information about the Web page.
Domain Names
The domain name tells you the type of organization sponsoring a page. It is a three-letter code that is part of the U R L and preceded by a "dot." Here are the most common domains.
| .edu |
educational institution Even though a page comes from an educational institution, it does not mean the institution endorses the views published by students or faculty members. |
| .com |
commercial entity Companies advertise, sell products, and publish annual reports and other company information on the Web. Many online newspapers or journals also have .com names. |
| .gov |
government Federal and state government agencies use the Web to publish legislation, census information, weather data, tax forms and many other documents. |
| .org |
non-profit organization Nonprofit organizations use the Web to promote their causes. These pages are good sources to use when comparing different sides of an issue. They tend to have a bias and it is important to identify what this is. For example, https://www.cta.org/ Links to an external site. is a Teacher Union's webpage and so they would be advocating for educational change from the teacher's perspective and also from a organized labor perspective. |