<networking> 1. The network portion of an IP address. For a
class A network, the network address is the first byte of
the IP address. For a class B network, the network address
is the first two bytes of the IP address. For a class C
network, the network address is the first three bytes of the
IP address. In each case, the remainder is the host
address. In the Internet, assigned network addresses are
globally unique.
See also subnet address, Internet Registry.
2. (Or "net address") An electronic mail address on the
network. In the 1980s this might have been a bang path but
now (1997) it is nearly always a domain address. Such an
address is essential if one wants to be to be taken seriously
by hackers; in particular, persons or organisations that
claim to understand, work with, sell to, or recruit from among
hackers but *don't* display net addresses are quietly presumed
to be clueless poseurs and mentally flushed.
Hackers often put their net addresses on their business cards
and wear them prominently in contexts where they expect to
meet other hackers face-to-face (e.g. science-fiction
fandom). This is mostly functional, but is also a signal
that one identifies with hackerdom (like lodge pins among
Masons or tie-dyed T-shirts among Grateful Dead fans). Net
addresses are often used in e-mail text as a more concise
substitute for personal names; indeed, hackers may come to
know each other quite well by network names without ever
learning each others' real monikers.
See also sitename, domainist.
[Jargon File]
(1997-05-10)
Nearby terms:
Netware Input/Output Subsystem « NetWare Link State Protocol « network « network address » Network Addressable Unit » Network Address Translation » Network Address Translator
