There's been a lot of talk about "FTP" lately -- maybe...maybe too much talk. FTP is not a rebel protocol. FTP is the "file transfer protocol."
Technically, FTP is a set of rules, commands, services, and syntax used to transfer files between computers on a TCP/IP network (which the Internet is). Many people also use the word "FTP" as a verb to describe the process of transferring files using FTP's services and commands (for example, "I FTP'd those files to our office in Puyallup two days ago, but they still can't figure 'em out"). This is what I do here on the Odyssey. I use the word "FTP" to describe the process of transferring the files that make up our website from our laptop computer (where we create them) to the worldwide web server that stores them on the Internet (where you access them).
Clear as mud, right? Well, keep in mind that I am a trained technical writer. I know how to make simple things unintelligible.