Table Of Content

i This page intentionally left blank iii A Guide for the Serious Searcher Randolph Hock Foreword by Gary Price Medford, New Jersey iv The Extreme Searcher’s Internet Handbook: A Guide for the Serious Searcher Copyright © 2004 by Randolph E. Hock. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any elec- tronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief pas- sages in a review. Published by CyberAge Books, an imprint of Information Today, Inc., 143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford, New Jersey 08055. Publisher’s Note:The author and publisher have taken care in preparation of this book but make no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assume no responsibil- ity for errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of the use of the information or programs con- tained herein. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Information Today, Inc. was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with ini- tial capital letters. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hock, Randolph, 1944- The extreme searcher’s Internet handbook : a guide for the serious searcher / Randolph Hock ; foreword by Gary Price. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 0-910965-68-4 (pbk.) 1. Internet searching--Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Web search engines--Hand- books, manuals, etc. 3. Computer network resources--Handbooks, manuals, etc. 4. Web sites--Directories. 5. Internet addresses--Directories. I. Title. ZA4230.H63 2004 025.04--dc22 2003020596 Printed and bound in the United States of America. Publisher: Thomas H. Hogan, Sr. Editor-in-Chief: John B. Bryans Managing Editor: Deborah R. Poulson Copy Editor: Dorothy Pike Graphics Department Director: M. Heide Dengler Book Design: Erica Pannella Cover Design: Jacqueline Walter Indexer: Nancy Kopper D E D I C A T I O N To Pamela, Matthew, Stephen, and Elizabeth v This page intentionally left blank T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S C O N T E N T S List of Illustrations and Tables ................................................................xi Foreword, by Gary Price............................................................................xv Acknowledgments.....................................................................................xvii Introduction..................................................................................................xix About The Extreme Searcher’s Web Page..........................................xxv Chapter 1 Basics for the Serious Searcher............1 The Pieces of the Internet....................................................................................................1 A Very Brief History.................................................................................................................2 Searching the Internet: Web “Finding Tools”..............................................................6 General Strategies.................................................................................................................10 A Basic Collection of Strategies....................................................................................12 Content on the Internet.......................................................................................................14 Content—The Invisible Web..............................................................................................19 Copyright.....................................................................................................................................22 Citing Internet Resources..................................................................................................23 Keeping Up-to-Date on Internet Resources and Tools.....................................24 Chapter 2 General Web Directories and Portals..................................................................25 Strengths and Weaknesses of General Web Directories.................................25 Selectivity of General Web Directories......................................................................26 Classification of Sites in General Web Directories..............................................26 Searchability of General Web Directories................................................................27 Size of Web Directory Databases.................................................................................27 Search Functionality in Web Directory Databases..............................................27 When to Use a General Web Directory......................................................................27 The Major General Web Directories............................................................................28 Other General Directories.................................................................................................39 General Web Portals.............................................................................................................40 Summary.....................................................................................................................................45 vii viii THE EXTREME SEARCHER’S INTERNET HANDBOOK Chapter 3 Specialized Directories...................................47 Strengths and Weaknesses vs. Other Kinds of Finding Tools.......................47 How to Find Specialized Directories............................................................................47 What to Look for in Specialized Directories and How They Differ.............50 Some Prominent Examples of Specialized Directories.....................................51 Chapter 4 Search Engines........................................................61 How Search Engines Are Put Together.....................................................................61 How Search Options Are Presented...........................................................................62 Typical Search Options.......................................................................................................63 Search Engine Overlap.......................................................................................................69 Results Pages..........................................................................................................................69 Profiles of Search Engines...............................................................................................70 AllTheWeb..................................................................................................................................70 AltaVista......................................................................................................................................78 Google..........................................................................................................................................86 HotBot..........................................................................................................................................99 Teoma........................................................................................................................................104 Other General Web Search Engines........................................................................108 Specialty Search Engines...............................................................................................110 Metasearch Engines..........................................................................................................110 Keeping Up-to-Date on Web Search Engines....................................................111 Chapter 5 Groups and Mailing Lists............................115 What They Are and Why They Are Useful..............................................................115 Groups.......................................................................................................................................116 Using Google to Find Groups and Messages.......................................................119 Yahoo! Groups.......................................................................................................................123 Other Sources of Groups................................................................................................127 Mailing Lists............................................................................................................................128 One More Category—Online Instant Messaging.................................................131 Some Netiquette Points Relating to Internet Groups and Mailing Lists.......................................................................................132 Chapter 6 An Internet Reference Shelf...................133 Thinking of the Internet as a Reference Collection.........................................133 Some Sites All Researchers Should Know About.............................................134 CONTENTS ix Encyclopedias.......................................................................................................................135 Dictionaries.............................................................................................................................137 Almanacs..................................................................................................................................138 Addresses and Phone Numbers.................................................................................139 Quotations...............................................................................................................................140 Foreign Exchange Rates/Currency Converter...................................................142 Weather....................................................................................................................................143 Maps...........................................................................................................................................143 Gazetteer.................................................................................................................................143 ZIP Codes................................................................................................................................144 Stock Quotes.........................................................................................................................144 Statistics...................................................................................................................................144 Books.........................................................................................................................................146 Historical Documents........................................................................................................151 Governments and Country Guides.............................................................................151 U.S. Government..................................................................................................................152 U.S. State Information......................................................................................................153 U.K. Government Information.......................................................................................153 Basic Resources for Company Information..........................................................153 Associations...........................................................................................................................156 Professional Directories..................................................................................................157 Literature Databases........................................................................................................158 Colleges and Universities................................................................................................159 Travel..........................................................................................................................................159 Film..............................................................................................................................................161 Reference Resource Guides.........................................................................................161 Chapter 7 Sights and Sounds: Finding Images, Audio, and Video....163 The Copyright Issue...........................................................................................................163 Images.......................................................................................................................................164 Audio and Video...................................................................................................................175 Chapter 8 News Resources..................................................181 Types of News Sites on the Internet.........................................................................181 Finding News—A General Strategy...........................................................................182 News Resource Guides....................................................................................................183 Major News Networks and Newswires....................................................................185