"FAQ" Frequently Asked Questions

Dialup

• What phone number do I dial?
• I have a "56K" modem, why can't I ever connect at 56Kbps?
• Why do I get disconnected when I'm dialed in?
• I'm being told that "the line is busy". Are all the modems full?

DSL

• Why is my DSL speed slower than what I ordered?
• Can I connect more than one computer to my DSL line?

Web

• How do I get started building my own Web Page?
• What is a Search Engine or a Portal?

Email

• Email attachments: What are they for and how do I use them effectively?
• When I try to get my mail, it takes a long time before it starts downloading

Dialup

• I have a "56K" modem, why can't I ever connect at 56Kbps?

  Answer: This is a complex question. Please see our 56K page.

• Why do I get disconnected when I'm dialed in?

  Answer: To begin, the ONLY time you will be disconnected by Worldlink is after 15 minutes of complete inactivity (10 minutes on National Dialup), or after five hours of continuous connection. If the disconnect happens at any other interval, then it is due to a failure of the modems (yours and ours) to maintain a connection across the phone network. Random disconnects are almost always due to telephone line noise. Complete disconnection is an extreme case of problems that also cause low connect speed. Please read our 56K page for a discussion of causes and solutions.

• I'm being told that "the line is busy". Are all the modems full?

  Answer: Usually not. Worldlink continuously monitors our dialup usage to ensure users don't get busy signals from us. Note that there are two common types of busy signals. A "slow busy" indicates that the number you are dialing is busy. Whereas a "fast busy" indicates that there is no capacity on the phone network to complete your call. Network busy signals occur most often from 5pm to 12am in residential areas. The dialer program on most computers can't tell the difference between a fast or slow busy signal. The best way to check to see if the number is acutally busy is to pick up the phone and dial it. If you do get the "slow busy" signal, please send email to support@w-link.net and let us know what phone number of ours you received the busy signal on, the time and date it happened, and how long it was busy for.

DSL

• Why is my DSL speed slower than what I ordered?

  Answer: This is another complex issue that has no easy answer. The internet in general is slower at peak times, usually around 10:00am - 5:00pm and again from 8:00pm - midnight. At these times routers get more traffic, and web servers get more hits, placing a greater load on them and slowing them down.
  
  
  

  Bottlenecks

  DSL bottlenecks can happen at any one of three places: within Worldlink's network, upstream from us, or downstream from us. If the problem is upstream from us, i.e. the internet, then there is really nothing that can realistically be done. If the problem is downstream from us, then that is something your local DSL provider (Qwest or Verizon) can look into. Sometimes our equipment gets overloaded or in rare instances goes down completely. Although that is rare, it is something that could happen and we are usually aware of it right away and working to fix the problem.
  
  
  

  So can I tell where the bottleneck is?

  There is a utility program call traceroute that will tell you that route that the data takes to and from a server and your computer. The program queries each router and will return a time that it takes to get to that router and back. To run this program on a windows computer, click Start, Run, then type "command". Type in "tracert servername", then enter. The first hop from your computer is to our gateway. If this hop is extremely high, say over 500ms, then that indicates a problem downstream from Worldlink. If one or both of the next two hops is much higher than the first, this may indicate that our eqiupment has some heavy loads. Anything beyond that is really out of our control.
  
  
  

• Can I connect more than one computer to my DSL line?

  Answer: Yes. See our Home Networking resource.

Web

• How do I get started building my own Web Page?

  Answer: Go to our Web Page Building resource.

• What is a Search Engine or a Portal?

  Answer: Click Here

• What are Newsgroups?

  Answer: Newsgroups are much like a large pot of e-mail messages divided into categories and subjects. Messages are thrown into the pot, organized by the date in which they are put in there, and they sit there waiting for someone to come along and read them. The "pot" is the actual newsgroup and the messages are known as "posts" or simply "messages". You choose which pot of messages you want to visit and then select which individual message you want to read.

  Newsgroups are organized into many different catergories with the name describing the subject matter. An example would be alt.fan.dan-quayle for die-hard fans of the ex-Vice President. Another example is news.annouce.newusers for newcomers to the newsgroup realm.

  Information on setting up newsgroup access.

• Email attachments: What are they for and how do I use them effectively?

  Answer: Usually people use the "attach" feature to include pictures, documents and software along with their email messages. This can be especially convenient if it's done right. Here are some guidelines that will make it work for you.

• When I try to get my mail, it takes a long time before it starts downloading it, why is that?

  Answer: The most common reason is that your email program is set to "leave messages on the server" even after download. The reason it take so long is that every time you go to get email, it reads all your email including all the old email you have left on the server. Once it reads it all, it will then download the new ones to your machine. The best way to speed it up is to set your email program to delete old email on the server. It is best to not let it build up. Depending on the amount of email you get, it is best not to leave it on the server for more than a week. If you receive a lot of email, a day or two should be the maximum.