\section{Where do we find slang on the Internet}\label{sec:where}
In this section I am going to deal with the question where slang is commonly
used on the Internet. This will inevitably include some explanations of
technical terms, which will help understanding later sections.
\subsection{World Wide Web}\label{sec:where:web}
Talking about the World Wide Web the first thing to note is that, while often
being used synonymously, the World Wide Web and the Internet are two different things.
While ``the Internet is the worldwide, publicly accessible network of
interconnected computer networks'' (\cite{ewp:Internet}), the World Wide Web is
just a service provided by some of the computers in this network.
Overly simplified the Web is what you see when you start up your
Web browser\footnote{An application to view websites. The most common ones are
the Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox}.

The websites on which slang is found are of various types. They range from
news sites (mainly those who are related to technical news,
e.g.\ \url{http://www.slashdot.org}) over everything where people can comment on
content (e.g.\ blogs, \url{http://www.youtube.com}, \url{http://www.flickr.net})
to community sites (e.g.\ \url{http://www.myspace.com}, \url{http://mugshot.org},
forums).

Of course there are many intermediate types of sites where you'll find slang.
If one looks hard enough, he might eventually find slang on any kind of website,
the list above just includes the most outstanding types.

In some cases the types of sites diffuse. A perfect example for this are blogs.
``Blogs'' (or Weblogs) are a collection of many different things a person might want
to express and share. Their content can range from complete articles to random thoughts and is
often a mix thereof.

Many people write about what has happened during their day in their area, or give
statements on recent events. Thus blogs serve as news-sites. At the same time people
share opinions on their blogs and sometimes even use them to discuss things with
other bloggers\footnote{A person who writes a blog}. This makes blogs serve as
community sites, too.

Finally, many blogs allow readers to comment on the blog posts. So as you can see
all afore-mentioned types apply to a blog.
\subsection{Usenet and mailing-lists}\label{sec:where:usenet}
Media over which slang spreads also includes the Usenet and mailing-lists.
The Usenet is one of the oldest forms of communication on the Internet.
Conceived in 1979 it existed long before the Internet became a mass media.
People post so called ``articles'' to newsgroups which are stored on
a server and then mirrored to other servers spread over the globe.
Interested persons can than get articles from a Usenet server nearby
(\cite{ewp:Usenet}).

Mailing lists are very similar. People still send text (e-mails in this case)
to a server. This server than sends the e-mail to a list of people who have
registered on the server.

Because both, Usenet and mailing lists, reach a large number of people, slang terms
can spread very well and very fast if someone introduces them on either.
The first answer you'll find when looking for the origin of a certain slang term
often is ``This originated on Usenet''.
\subsection{Instant Messaging}\label{sec:where:IM}
Instant messaging (IM) is probably one of the most widespread forms of
communication on the Internet. There are different providers of instant messaging
services (e.g.\ ICQ, MSN, Yahoo!, AOL) who actively advertise their services.
The basic idea behind instant messaging is, that everyone registers with one of
the providers. After that he connects to the providers server and is then able
to see who else has registered and is currently connected.
Users can then send messages to other users of the same network.
As long as the user the message was send to is connected he will instantly
receive the message and can answer.

While it is possible to create Multi-User-Chatrooms (MUCs) using some of the services,
communication over an instant messaging service most often takes place between only two people.
\subsection{Internet Relay Chat / Chat Rooms}\label{sec:where:chat}
The Internet Relay Chat (IRC) and Chat Rooms are multi-user-chats.
In the IRC world there are servers (e.g.\ irc://irc.freenode.net) with multiple chat rooms.
These each have a different topic.
Chat rooms are often so called ``web applications'', which are send over the
Web and then connect back to the server they came from.
The main difference between IRC and Chat Rooms is that web chat rooms are very often just single
rooms related to one specific topic, which is somehow connected to the website they came from
(e.g.\ ACMEs bowling club may have a web site which has a chat room about bowling),
while IRC servers have many rooms which often deal with a wide range of topics. They
may however all be related to a broader topic, e.g.\ technology.