network number

network address
network number

   <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 {flush}ed.

   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)