Megapipe FAQ

This page answers some frequently asked questions about Megapipe's services. Please read over this page before inquiring about technical support.

Corporate Questions

Q.1: What is your policy on privacy?

We don't share your personal information with anyone, unless necessary to cooperate with local, state, or national laws. We don't review content that is hosted by or passes through our servers, unless it is to cooperate with law enforcement or to enforce our terms of service.

Q.2: What do your cookies do?

Very few of our web pages use cookies, and those that do only do so to promote a better experience for our customers. We do not target advertising or content for any third party.

Q.3: What is your policy on unsolicited mail?

We do not tolerate any use of our service for the sending on unsolicited e-mail, or any other type of unsolicited messages. We actively attempt to thwart the passage of unsolicited mail to our customers without disrupting the passage of legitimate e-mail.

Q.4: What is the purpose of this document? Why does it refer me to other pages so often?

For the most part, this document will try to guide you to other places on Megapipe's site or on the Internet at large that can help you with your problem. Simple problems are often answered here. For the most part, this document avoids long-winded solutions, but that is not always possible.

Connections and Hosting

Q.5: Can I dial an ISP with Linux or some other UNIX variant?

Yes, you may use any operating system that supports a PPP Internet connection (any modern OS would). No matter what, we are not responsible for any damage you cause to your system when setting up a connection in an unsupported OS.

We do, however, offer a guide to dialing in with Linux (tested with Slackware 8.x and Red Hat 7.x) on our technical support site. This guide, however, does not apply to broadband connections such as DSL or ISDN. Megapipe does not offer any official support if you follow this guide. Even if there is an error in the guide, Megapipe is not under any circumstance responsible. That said, the guide should carry over to other versions of UNIX at least somewhat, especially to BSD variants like FreeBSD and OpenBSD. It has also been tested on SPARC-64 box running Solaris 8.x and worked with little variation.

Q.6: What is a top-level domain?

A top level domain (TLD) is the suffix to a web site's address. For instance, think of the .net on www.megapipe.net. The ".net" is a TLD.

Q.7: How many TLDs are there?

Every country has its own TLD, so there are hundreds of them. Popular TLDs are .com, .net, .org, .edu, .biz, and .us. The US government manages .gov. The US military manages .mil. International treaties fall under the .int TLD.

Q.8: The .com site I wanted is taken. What can I do?

Short of buying the .com or waiting for it to expire, there isn't much you can do. You need to find a new name or choose a different TLD.

Q.9: How can I create CGI programs with C?

For one, you need a CGI header outputted before you output anything else.

In C: printf("Content-type: text/html\n\n");
In C++: cout << "Content-type: text/html\n\n";

You can manipulate the query string with environmental variables. Assume you're dealing with URL http://www.yourdomain.com/cgi-bin/getinfo?name=John&age=13. The information after the question mark is what will be returned with the command:

getenv("QUERY_STRING");

Q.10: I don't like to use Outlook Express. Can I use something else?

Yes, you may. Pegasus is a good, secure, stable, and free choice. Any POP3 mail client will work, however, including Netscape Mail or Eudora.

Q.11: What is spam?

Spam (sometimes spelled in all caps) is a word used to descibe unsolicited e-mail sent by people on the Internet to promote products and services, which are often of questionable commercial merit. The origin of the word has been said to be an acronym for "stupid person's anonymous message" (sometimes an expletive beginning with A is used in place of the word "anonymous").

Q.12: Can I do anything about spam?

Spam is hard to deal with sometimes. Megapipe does its best to block spammers, but the Internet allows people who spam a great deal of mobility. The best way to avoid spam is to keep your e-mail address out of public view. If you run a Web site and want people to send you e-mail, have them use a form to send you that e-mail rather than publish your address on the Web. Programs called spambots often search the Internet and copy e-mail addresses to be added to a compiled list of e-mail addresses (that spammers probably trade). Newsgroups (internet messageboards) are another way to let your e-mail address out in the open and spammers like to take advantage of them.

Q.13: Are there laws about spam?

While many local, state, and national governments have seen laws about spam proposed, few have actually come to fruition. California and Virginia are two states that have spam laws. There are limitations in what good laws can even do. A spammer can operate on or use infrastruture in a state that has lax laws about spam, often remotely. Spammers may operate outside the jurisdiction of the United States or any other country.

Surfing the Web

Q.14: What's the best Web browser to use?

The best web browser to use is largely a matter of personal preference. Microsoft Internet Explorer has long been the most commonly used, and tends to be pre-installed on many new PCs. Mozilla Firefox is a popular browser. Opera is a commercial browser that works on many platforms. An old favorite among many Web surfers is Netscape.

Q.15: I'm looking for information about ____ on the Web? How do I find it?

The best way to find information on the Web is through search engines. To use a search engine, you simply type what you're looking for into the engine and hit search. There are many search engines to choose from. Megapipe lists search engines at the top of its Destinations page.

Q.16: What is a portal site?

A portal site is a Web site designed to act as a "gateway" to the Internet for users. A portal site will typically include a search engine, some free services, news, and a way for for users to communicate with each other. You can find plenty of portals at the top of Megapipe's Destinations site. Portal sites have a goal of getting you to use them as their start page so that they can deliver advertising content to you. Megapipe's site has also been designed to act as a decent portal for its customers.

Q.17: How do I find stuff on the Web?

The best way to find information on the Internet is to use a search engine. Megapipe lists search engines at the top of its Destinations page.