Webring Terms

Here is a list of commonly-used webring terms, if you have one not listed here, please let us know and we'll add it. If you are looking for an explanation of a more general Internet term, have a look in our Glossary of Internet terms.

Click on a link below and you will be taken to the explanation for that term, below each explanation is a link to return here.

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active site, ring member

Is a site that has joined a ring, added the correct HTML fragment to their web page and has been moved from the queue by the ringmaster.

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check sites

Is a function of the webring system that allows a ringmaster to test for valid links on their member site's navigation panels. This helps to ensure that the proper navigation code is in place on all member sites so that the ring doesn't get "broken".

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list, hub

Is a page/s displaying a list of member sites in a ring with a link to, and a description of each site. A link to the ring home page and an example of the ring logo are usually also included. The "hub" is the WebRing.com system's term for the list page.

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navigation bar, navbar, navigation panel, navpanel, ring controls

Is the means of moving around the sites in a webring, it displays controls like Next, Previous, Next 5, Previous 5, Random and List and may contain a ring logo as well. These links provide a means for the ring database to know which site the visitor has come from and the next site to go to.

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navigation code, HTML fragment, fragment, ring code

Is a piece of HTML code that is inserted onto a ring member's registered page, when the page is called by a browser it displays the ring navigation bar.

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Net ring, Netring

Term used to describe the webrings hosted on the commercial webring system operated by RingSurf.

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queue site

Is a site that has filled out a ring's join form, has added the correct HTML fragment and is waiting in the queue for the ringmaster to review the site and add it to the active sites in the ring.

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registered page

Is the page on a ring member site that is nominated to contain the ring navigation panel. Normally this page has related content but it may simply be a page containing all the member's ring navigation panels depending on how many webrings they belong to.

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related content

Webrings are generally organized according to a particular subject or theme, for example, a sewing/embroidery ring would not (normally) allow a site on boating to join, since the site content is not related to the ring.

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remotely hosted (ring system)

A webring system that is hosted and maintained on someone else's web server/site. Webring, Ringsurf, and Bravenet are all remotely hosted webring systems. See also self-hosted

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ring adoption

WebRing is unique among ring host systems in that a ringmaster cannot actually delete any of the rings that he/she creates. Yes, the ringmaster has a 'Delete Ring' button available, but it does not finally, irrevocably delete the ring from the WebRing system.

Instead, the ring is simply removed from the ringmaster's control and is moved to the WebRing Adoption Agency (WRA). The WRA assumes control of the ring until it is assigned to a new ringmaster who becomes the new owner of the ring.

Only in rare cases is any ring on the WebRing system ever really deleted, they are just 'reborn'. This is a consideration that a ringmaster has to take into account upon creating their ring on this system, they should remember that they will never be able to delete it, all they'll be doing is relenquishing control of it.

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ring home

The ring home is a web page created by the ringmaster, sometimes they are created automatically by the ring system. In the WebRing system the home page is known as the ring hub.

Ring home pages can contain the following items:
- the joining requirements for the ring,
- special conditions member sites may have to comply with,
- sample/s of the ring navigation code (with maybe a choice of styles and logos),
- a list of member sites (although there's usually a separate 'List' link for this purpose),
- instructions for ring members about dealing with changes of e-mail address or site URL, and
- basically whatever else the ringmaster wants... ;-)

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ring ID

Is a unique code (either alpha, numeric or a combination thereof) that identifies a webring.

For example, consider the following URL - http://www.webringhost.com/ring=cats&id=1

The ring ID is "cats".

The ring ID is usually the name of the webring. If too long, it is usually truncated.

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ring logo

Is the graphic (usually made by the ringmaster) that is displayed in the ring navigation panel. Logos should not be too large (physically on the web page or in file size) in order to conserve bandwidth.

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ringmaster, ring manager

Is the person in charge of maintaining a webring, they may have initially created the ring or they may have inherited/adopted it. Their duties may include such things as maintaining the ring's home page and joining requirements, ring admin tasks such as admitting new sites and removing "lost" sites, promoting and maintaining the health of the ring and responding to e-mail enquiries.

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ring status - open/closed

The status is controlled by the ringmaster, an open status signifies that the ring is accepting new member sites.

Closed status means new members are not being accepted into the ring.

There are many reasons for closing a ring, one could be because the ringmaster has formed a new (related) ring which is open for new members instead. The closed ring is being wound down, eventually it may be deleted.

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self hosted (ring system)

A webring system hosted on a server in which you have control. Ringlink is an example of a self hosted system that you can set up on your own web hosting account.

See also remotely-hosted

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site ID

Is a unique code (either alpha, numeric or a combination thereof) that identifies a particular site in a webring.

For example, consider the following URL - http://www.webringhost.com/ring=cats&id=1

The ring ID is "cats". Note that right after the ring ID the URL says "id=1".

This identifies the site, this site ID is "1".

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SiteRing, Site Ring

A remotely-hosted commercial webring system operated by Bravenet.

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SSNB - Server Side Navigation Bar, navbar

WebRing system's name for the navigation panel delivered at browse time by the use of JavaScript. The JavaScript code inserts a horizontal "bar" onto the ring member's page containing the webring's name, an optional ring logo, and the ring navigation links.

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JENB - Javascript Enabled Navigation Bar

The Ringmaker program's name for the navigation panel delivered at browse time by the use of JavaScript. The JavaScript code inserts the ring's navpanel on the ring member's web page.

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WebRing

WebRing (spelled as one word with a capital W and a capital R) is the term most often used to refer to the remotely-hosted commercial webring system operated by WebRing.com

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webring

Is a way of inter-linking related web sites so that people can visit one site after the other, eventually returning to the first site. The ring is controlled by a script which, among other things, keeps track of the member sites, sending visitors around the ring, and the ring administration.

There are tens of thousands of webrings covering just about any subject you can think of. You can tell if a web page is part of a ring if it has a navigation panel (usually containing a ring logo) that has links such as Next, Previous, Random, List and Home on it.

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