How does a website know if I am online after I log on?

Question

I am at a favorite website I log on to post a message.
My name appears indicating that I am on line and also at what
forum I am visiting.

A website is nothing more thana server that is running one or more programms

So what is happening when I am viewing a particular page and posting a question ?

Thank You

I think it is amazing

I log in and the next thing
It shows not only my name but what forum I am viewing

Answer 1

It has probably loaded a "cookie" onto your computer. This sits on your computer and is usually harmless. you can clear these out under IE by going to the tools menu then internet options then clicking delete under "Browsing history"