AMERICA ONLINE AnswerMan Conference, Thurs., Feb. 8, 1996 9 P.M. ET Host: Kevin Savetz (Savetz) Topic: The Best and the Worst of the Web. ___________________________________ CJ Ellen: Good Evening and welcome to AnswerMan. Your host is Kevin Savetz (Savetz), the AnswerMan. Savetz: Hi folks. CJ Ellen: Kevin, what do you have for us tonight? Savetz: There are millions and millions of Web pages. By some estimates, something like 13 millions of them. Some are wonderful, places you want to visit again and again. Some aren't so exciting. Most of them are mediocre,in fact. And then there are some really horrible Web pages. Web pages that are so bad, they're interesting (sorta like the B movies I like to stay up late to watch.) Savetz: Tonight I'll point you to some Web sites that show you the best (and worst) of the Web. We'll also discuss (if you want!) what makes a great web site, and what makes them bad. Everyone thinks they're qualified to review Web pages--hey, everyone has an opinion, right? So there are a lot of "best picks", and "my favorite links" pages. I tried to find some pages that are more meaningful selections of good stuff. Savetz: "Cool site of the day" is at http://cool.infi.net/ Each and every day, the creator of this site picks a "cool" Web page for you to peruse. Sometimes it's educational, sometimes it's a business, sometimes it's not even useful, but it's always cool. CJ Ellen: Kevin, what does "cool" mean? Savetz: GNN, the Global Network Navigator, recently gave out its 1995 Best of the Net awards. These are truly the best of the best Web pages, and all deserve a look. You can find a list of the winners at http://gnn-e2a.gnn.com/gnn/wic/botn/index.html Savetz: A "cool" web page is one that sparks interest, one that deserves more than a passing glance. A cool web page warms the hearts of the people who see it; it causes fighting between factions; it makes and breaks hearts. A cool site changes lives, it gives people a reason to exist. CJ Ellen: Ah, "cool" means positive impact? Savetz: Checking out a cool site is better than working, better than sleeping. A cool site is indeed a positive impact. CJ Ellen: Kevin, recently I was surfing the Net and found some BLACK pages. They used to be white. What does that mean? Savetz: Starting this morning, Ellen, thousands of Web sites turned to black background with light-colored lettering. (Usually it's the other way around.) The black pages are a protest by members of the Internet community against the telecommunications bill signed today by President Clinton. The bill contains strict provisions limiting free speech on the Internet. Savetz: According to the new law, you can go to jail and pay a big, big fine if you put anything on the Net which can be considered "indecent". The law goes far beyond disallowing pornography. It can be used to limit honest discussion about women's rights, health issues, homosexual lifestyles and more. So the black pages are a protest against the new law. For more information, you can visit http://www.vtw.org and http://www.eff.org CJ Ellen: I also saw other pages with Blue Ribbons on them. What does that mean? Savetz: Yes, the blue ribbons are a similar thing. People wearing or displaying the ribbons on their Web site are part of "The Blue Ribbon Campaign". A blue ribbon is chosen as the symbol for the preservation of basic civil rights in the electronic world. CJ Ellen: Kevin, we have a question from User 11311: Question: What are we going to do about all the porn. on the Web? Savetz: I have no idea. Congress just did something about it. They outlawed it. But frankly, I don't think that's the right answer. For two reasons. First, my personal belief is that the right to free speech is more important than the right to keep dirty pictures away from people. Technology exists to protect children from porn: software programs that keep kids from seeing dirty pictures or discussions of a sexual nature, for instance. So a law is not needed. Savetz: Secondly, I'm not convinced that this law will do any good. It's pretty easy to learn to post anonymously to the Usenet and via email. People can already share dirty pictures totally anonymously on the Internet. What's the point of a law if it's impossible to catch someone in the act? Besides, the actual percentage of porn available on the Net is minimal compared to private BBS's So...what do we do about it? If you don't like it, avoid it. It's actually easy to avoid smut if you don't want to see it. Savetz: Back to the topic. There are a couple more excellent sites that will point you to other excellent sites. I am fond of PC Magazine's list of the top 100 Web sites. It's updated as needed, and is a great roundup of good stuff, categorized into meaningful sections. It's at http://www.zdnet.com/~pcmag/special/web100/ Savetz: Another interesting site is the Webcrawler Top 25: a list of the 25 most linked sites on the Web, that is, the sites that are pointed to by the most other sites. It's pretty interesting, although it hasn't been updated since October. Its at http://www.webcrawler.com/Webcrawler/Top25.html CJ Ellen: Kevin, ready for another question? Savetz: Sure. CJ Ellen: Teitsberry has a question about buying a computer for a teenager: Question: How would you respond to a parent who is afraid to buy a teenager, a very bright and gifted young man, a computer and modem for fear of Internet/WWW? Savetz: Wow. I'd be flabbergasted, frankly. I think the benefit of offering a computer and modem to a kid heavily outweighs any potential problems that could arise. If it's porn the parents are concerned about, rest assured that the teen can get the goods faster and easier at the corner drug store in magazines. Savetz: If it's something else, like cracking the Pentagon, (my own mother didn't want me to get a modem because she just saw War Games and thought I'd get into that situation :-). The answer to both situations, is to watch over your kid's computer use. You shouldn't let your kid watch TV at all hours, unmonitored. So if you're concerned, computer with your kid, too. (Besides, you might learn something from him/her :-) CJ Ellen: We have a question from Athenee: Question: What is the best search engine on the Net? Savetz: That's a matter of personal preference, Athenee. My favorite search engine is currently Inktomi (http://inktomi.berkeley.edu). Alta Vista is probably my second choice. It's at http://altavista.digital.com. If you're wondering how to search the Web, go to keyword ANSWERMAN and look at the ANSWER OF THE DAY. The current answer is a detailed explanation of how to search the web, including pointers to many excellent search tools. That info will be there till tomorrow morning, so scoot over there tonight. CJ Ellen: Kevin, we have a comment from Teitsberry, who asked you about teenagers and computers: Comment: Great answer. I'll pass it along. Savetz: Thanks, glad to help. CJ Ellen: Smokeylady asks: Question: What makes a great Web page? Graphics, layout, ??? Savetz: Heh. Ask 10 people and you'll get 10 answers, more if one of them is a lawyer :-) IMO, interesting content makes a great Web page. Nice graphics and interesting layout certainly help, but _content_ is the name of the game. Corporations that put big online ads for their products don't get a lot of interest, but companies that put useful information online are usually applauded. Savetz: Even if you aren't General Motors, if you're creating a personal Web page, try to put something there that others will care about. Pictures of you with your cat on your head probably aren't interesting to most. Maybe an essay about a recent trip, or photos of your gall bladder, or your poetry WILL be interesting, though. Savetz: One last thing before we wrap it up. I promised to point to some of the worst sites on the Net. :-) My favorite is Mirsky's Worst of the Web at http://mirsky.turnpike.net/wow/Worst.html. Mirsky's is a great collection of the baddest garbage that there is. His commentary makes it even better. Or worse. Savetz: Mediocre site of the day: http://pantheon.cis.yale.edu/~jharris/mediocre.html. Sorta interesting. Another favorite is Useless Web Pages at: http://www.primus.com/staff/paulp/useless.html. A huge, huge index to useless sites. Great fun. Savetz: Well, that's it for tonight. Check out keyword ANSWERMAN for all your Internet questions. There's a new glossary of Internet terms, the ASK ANSWERMAN message board for your questions, and lots of other good stuff. CJ Ellen: Thanks, Kevin. Goodnight, everyone. Savetz: Goodnight!! OnlineHost : Copyright 1996 America Online, Inc.