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Popular Navigational Aids

As the Web grows exponentially, finding your way around is becoming increasingly difficult. Several services have sprung up to address this very complex problem. Each uses a very different approach, since there is no comprehensive registry of sites (as in gopher) or a standard way of documenting the contents of a site (as in FTP/Archie).

Almost all of these services admit that they are not yet comprehensive, but some have the capability to be so. The best navigation service should make it easy to find almost anything on the Web (once all the data is entered). Many of them require public support to be successful; perhaps the winners here will get it.

Definitions of the characteristics is here

Indexes

AliWeb (http://web.nexor.co.uk/aliweb/doc/aliweb.html)

Martijn Koster, Nexor

A Web analogue of Archie; catalogs voluntary IAFA-compliant indexes of server contents.

Paradigm: Host-specific file indexes
Level: Page-Service
Storage: Distributed (indexes maintained at individual sites), Central access
Maintenance: Private (indexes maintained by site sysadmins)
Global: Yes

Internet Meta-Index (http://cui_www.unige.ch/meta-index.html)

Oscar Nierstrasz, U. Geneva Informatics

An index of indexes, really a single interface to many varied indexes (including some here).

Paradigm: Pointers to other indexes
Level: Varied (Service, Host, Site)
Storage: Distributed (pointers to several scattered indexes)
Maintenance: Mostly Private (depends on individual index)
Global: Yes (including WAIS, FTP, Gopher as well as WWW)

JumpStation (http://www.stir.ac.uk/jsbin/js)

Jonathan Fletcher, Stirling U.

Robot-generated index of <TITLE> and <H#> tags.

Paradigm: Web Robot
Level: Page
Storage: Central
Maintenance: Private (automatic with robot)
Global: Almost (some sites will use robot-exclusion techniques)

W3 Catalog (http://cui_www.unige.ch/w3catalog)

Oscar Nierstrasz, U. Geneva Informatics

One of the useful first navigation aids; basically it indexes all the semi-comprehensive lists that are out there.

Paradigm: Agglomeration of scattered catalogs
Level: Varies, usually Service/Document or Host
Storage: Distributed (indexes several scattered lists)
Maintenance: Mostly Private (depends on individual lists)
Global: Perhaps indirectly

WorldWideWebWorm (http://www.cs.colorado.edu/home/mcbryan/WWWW.html)

Oliver McBryan, U. Colorado CS

Fairly close to comprehensive already, gaining in popularity. Indexes titles, url's, and reference links.

Paradigm: Web Robot
Level: Page
Storage: Central
Maintenance: Private (automatic using robot)
Global: Almost (some sites will use robot-exclusion techniques)

Hierarchical Directories

Project DA-CLOD (http://schiller.wustl.edu/DACLOD/daclod)

Sam Sengupta, Washington U.-St. Louis

Publicly-extensible hierarchy. Makes comprehensiveness very possible, but could have problems with anarchic structure. Also includes index.

Paradigm: Service Type or Subject (contributor's discretion)
Level: Usually Service or Host
Storage: Central
Maintenance: Public (anyone can submit through forms)
Global: Close, but probably not (no push for it)

Galaxy (http://galaxy.einet.net/galaxy.html)

EINet

A rare commercial venture into the navigation field. Very structured, with topics containing explicit entries as well as search results from Veronica and other indexes. Has an index as well as tree structure.

Paradigm: Subject-based classification
Level: Service (some host)
Storage: Central
Maintenance: Private
Global: Yes (including gopher and WAIS)

Joel's Hierarchical Subject Index (http://www.cen.uiuc.edu/~jj9544/)

Joel Jones, U. Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Hierarchy based on Brittanica Propaedia. Very incomplete.

Paradigm: Subject-based classification
Level: Service (some host)
Storage: Central
Maintenance: Private
Global: Yes (but very unlikely)

Mother-of-all-BBS' (http://www.cs.colorado.edu/homes/mcbryan/public_html/bb/summary.html)

Oliver McBryan, U. Colorado CS

Probably the most technically advanced service. Anyone can change structure through forms. In my opinion, the closest working service to Tim B-L's original vision. Free access is already making the hierarchy anarchic.

Paradigm: Service Type or Subject (contributor's discretion)
Level: Usually Service or Host
Storage: Central
Maintenance: Public (user submission through forms)
Global: Yes

The Virtual Tourist

Brandon Plewe, SUNY/Buffalo

One of the more unique approaches, really started in November with the Norwegian Home Page.

Paradigm: Graphic Maps by Geographic Location
Level: Site
Storage: Distributed (global/regional maps with pointers to regional catalogs)
Maintenance: Mostly Private (depends on catalog maintainer)
Global: Yes

Definitions:

Paradigm:: The conceptual framework for organizing the service
Level:: The detail of information that is catalogued, from detailed to general:
Full-text < Page (i.e. title) < Service/Document < Host (HTTP Server) < Site (i.e. campus)
Storage:: The catalog can either be central (all stored at the host) or distributed
Maintenance:: Either private (by storage admins only) or public (automatic through forms)
Global:: Whether the service has the potential to be comprehensive.

Brandon Plewe - plewe@acsu.buffalo.edu