Thanks.
Rachel
----------
> From: William Langham <blangham@westnet.com>
> To: watpa@westnet.com; fccsla@westnet.com
> Subject: Serch Engine Report
> Date: Thursday, July 02, 1998 6:57 PM
>
> i have been subscribing (it's free) to Danny Sullivan's Search Engine
> Report for a couple of months now. If you are unfamiliar with it, it
> provides reviews and insight to the current state of the searxchengine
> world. I have found it very helpful. The attached Report describes some
> interesting enhancements for Kid-Friendly Searching From Lycos, Disney,
Ask Jeeves to enable relatively
> safe searching for youngsters. Check it out1
>
> Bill
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Wed, 1 Jul 1998 23:27:53 +0000
> From: Danny Sullivan <danny@CALAFIA.COM>
> Reply-To: search-engine-report-request@LISTSERV.INTERNET.COM
> To: SEARCH-ENGINE-REPORT@LISTSERV.INTERNET.COM
> Subject: SE Report #20, Part 1 of 2
>
> THE SEARCH ENGINE REPORT
> July 1, 1998 - Number 20 - Part 1 of 2
>
> By Danny Sullivan
> Editor, Search Engine Watch
> http://searchenginewatch.com/
>
> ===================
> About The Report
> ===================
>
> The Search Engine Report is the e-mail companion to Search Engine
> Watch, http://searchenginewatch.com/. It keeps you informed of changes
> to the site and general search engine news.
>
> The report has 31,500 subscribers. You may pass this newsletter on to
> others, as long as it is sent in its entirety.
>
> If you enjoy this newsletter, consider showing your support by
> becoming a subscriber of the Search Engine Watch web site. It doesn't
> cost much and provides you with some extra benefits. Details can be
> found at: http://searchenginewatch.com/about/subscribe.html
> ===================
>
> Kid-Friendly Searching From Lycos, Disney, Ask Jeeves
>
> A few months ago, I got a message from a teacher desperate to find
> some kid-friendly search services. She had done a search on a
> seemingly innocent topic in front of her classroom, only to have sites
> pitching pornography appear in the top results. She was anxious to
> avoid a repeat performance.
>
> There's good news for her, along with other educators and parents who
> want search results appropriate for children. Three new services offer
> children a safer way to search the web.
>
> Two were introduced in June: Lycos SafetyNet and the Disney Internet
> Guide, or DIG for short. Another new comer is Ask Jeeves For Kids,
> which launched in March.
>
> Lycos SafetyNet is a system that uses filtering technology to help
> prevent possibly objectionable web sites from appearing in its
> results. This is a first among the major crawler-based search engines.
>
> Crawler-based services like Lycos, AltaVista, Excite and Infoseek
> create their listings by visiting web pages and indexing the text they
> find on them. The problem with this is that they can be easier to
> trick than web guides compiled by humans, such as Yahoo and LookSmart.
>
> For example, some porn sites place misleading text on their pages to
> fool search engine crawlers into thinking they are relevant for
> popular topics. In other cases, a site may indeed be relevant for a
> term, but relevant to adults, not children.
>
> To see this in action, perform a search for "toys," "chicks" or "spice
> girls" on any of the major search engines, and you'll probably see
> some adult sites among the top results. You may also see some
> adult-oriented banner ads.
>
> A Cyber Dialogue study conducted for Lycos found 67 percent of those
> surveyed wanted the ability to block adult sites from search results
> when their children are using the computer. In response to this and
> other concerns, Lycos created SafetyNet. It was quietly launched a few
> weeks ago, but Lycos made a public announcement on June 29.
>
> Activating SafetyNet is easy. You visit the SafetyNet home page and
> fill out a small form, which includes assigning a password for
> altering SafetyNet settings.
>
> At its basic setting, SafetyNet will filter objectionable material
> from the top search results and prevent adult-oriented ads from
> loading. At a higher level, SafetyNet will also block access to Lycos
> chat areas, e-mail and message boards.
>
> SafetyNet settings are stored in a cookie on the computer, so that it
> remembers whether filtering has been switched on. It can be turned off
> at any time, as long as the proper password is provided. Click on the
> SafetyNet logo, which appears in the upper-right hand side of the
> search results screen, to reach the SafetyNet control panel.
>
> The system works by detecting pages that contain words and word syntax
> common to adult or objectionable material. These pages are then pushed
> to the end of the results, where they are unlikely to be found.
>
> For example, a Lycos search for "kate winslett" without SafetyNet
> brings up numerous sites offering nude pictures of the actress in the
> top results. With SafetyNet on, these nude sites disappear from the
> top ten.
>
> Lycos readily admits that SafetyNet is not perfect. Some objectionable
> sites may still slip through, and a smart kid can certainly figure out
> how to delete the cookie. Also, access to its dynamically created
> directory remains, where some adult content could be listed.
>
> "Originally, we wanted a foolproof system," said Lycos Product Manager
> Rajive Mathur. "But on the Internet, there's no way to get that
> without sending an army of people to scrub each result."
>
> The key is that SafetyNet greatly lessens the odds of an unexpected,
> and unwanted, surprise. It gives parents and others an easy, first
> line of defense, which they can further supplement with a software
> filtering solution, if desired.
>
> Overall, SafetyNet is an excellent enhancement for those parents and
> educators who use Lycos already, because they consistently like the
> results it returns. It offers a way to make their favorite service
> kid-friendly.
>
> SafetyNet is also a good alternative for those who've tried searching
> at kid-friendly directories such as Yahooligans but failed to find
> what they wanted. That's because Lycos, being a crawler-based service,
> may have more comprehensive coverage for particular types of searches.
>
> For best success, it's also important to understand when not to use
> SafetyNet.
>
> When SafetyNet is on, you can't search for some words at all. Search
> for "sex," and you'll be told nothing could be found. Look for "sex
> education," and you're essentially doing a search for "education," as
> the term "sex" will be ignored. Likewise, birdwatchers looking for
> information on "blue tits" are really only searching for "blue."
>
> So, when looking for material with possible adult connotations, or
> when using terms that include sexual or possibly objectionable words,
> push the kids out of the room and turn SafetyNet off. You'll get much
> better results. With it on, you'll probably get frustrated.
>
> Likewise, turn SafetyNet off if your searches don't seem to turn up
> any good matches. You may be using a term that is filtered out because
> of connotations you don't realize exist.
>
> In contrast to Lycos SafetyNet, Disney has taken a tried-and-tested
> approach of handpicking sites for inclusion in its new DIG service.
>
> This is filtering by humans, rather than machines. The advantage is
> that humans usually do a better job in categorizing the web, so you
> can expect the Disney guide to be a good starting place for kids to
> explore the web. The same is true for Yahooligans, the
> long-established children's directory from Yahoo.
>
> Directories are an especially good place to begin searching when your
> topic is broad, such as "travel" or "sports." This is because you'll
> find often discover categories that help you narrow your focus.
>
> The Disney guide is produced in partnership with Inktomi, which
> provides results to HotBot and powers supplemental results to Yahoo
> and Snap. However, Inktomi is doing something different with Disney.
> Its technology is being used both to provide matching pages from a
> select set of web sites and to also help organize those sites into
> categories, according to Kevin Brown, Inktomi's marketing director.
>
> This categorization is something Inktomi has not previously done with
> its other partners, but the company can't say more about it at the
> moment, Brown said.
>
> It's also uncertain what will happen in the wake of Disney's new stake
> in Infoseek. It seems likely that Inktomi will continue to power DIG,
> especially in light of the specialty service it is providing.
>
> The third entry is based on Ask Jeeves, a unique search service that
> lists questions its thinks you want answered in response to a search,
> then takes you to web pages that answer those questions.
>
> For example, enter "world cup," and it will display results like
> "Where can I find the latest news about the 1998 World Cup" or "Where
> can I find a list of the all-time best players in international
> soccer." Clicking on the Ask Jeeves logo next to each question takes
> you to a relevant web site with the answers.
>
> Ask Jeeves For Kids follows the same model, but results are oriented
> for children. My favorite response was when I tested a search for
> "sex." Ask Jeeves responds with "Where do babies come from?"
>
> The regular Ask Jeeves service also acts as a metacrawler, presenting
> results from several of the major search services below its own
> answers. Ask Jeeves For Kids provides the same functionality, but it
> filters out any objectionable sites that are on SurfWatch's block
> list.
>
> Lycos SafetyNet
> http://personal.lycos.com/safetynet/safetynet.asp
>
> Disney Internet Guide (DIG)
> http://www.disney.com/dig/today/
>
> Ask Jeeves For Kids
> http://www.ajkids.com/
>
> Yahooligans
> http://www.yahooligans.com/
>
> Children's Search Engines
> http://searchenginewatch.com/facts/kids.html
>
> Still want more? This new Search Engine Watch page lists additional
> sites of interest to kids, parents and educators.
>
>
> ===================
> End of Part 1
> ===================
>
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>
> This newsletter is Copyright (c) Mecklermedia, 1998
>
>