Links in a tangled Web
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb045418 |
| Pages | 492-493 |
| Published date | 01 May 1995 |
| Date | 01 May 1995 |
| Author | Peter Kruger |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Industry Musings
Links in a tangled Web
Peter Kruger
Steinkrug Publications
Ltd,
20 Leaden
Hill,
Orwell,
Royston,
Herts.
SG8
5QH,
UK
E-mail:
flames@flames.cityscape.co.uk
http://www.gold.net/flames/
It seemed like a good test of the Internet — and my knowledge of the World Wide
Web.
The task was to find out which films were showing in Cambridge over the
following
days.
I
remembered seeing
a
reference to a film guide somewhere on the
Web — but the question was where? The World Wide Web is like a room into
which people are constantly piling books in a haphazard and random manner. So
many items had landed in the 'What's New' section since the film guide that I had
completely lost track of where I had seen it. After checking a couple of media lists
and a few local directories I resorted to posting a request for the information in a
local newsgroup. The post was answered straight away. Someone had the informa-
tion in a database and cut and pasted it into
a
reply — perhaps without even looking
at the address
itself.
The address threw up an error and the software I was using to
access the Web told me the file did not exist.
It
wasn't quite back to square one as
at least I had the address of the server
on which the information was stored.
As it was unlikely — although not im-
possible — that the entire database
had moved I used the address which
had been supplied to access the server
directly. And there was the informa-
tion: a comprehensive and highly
structured database containing a com-
plete rundown of films which were to
be screened on every cinema screen in
Britain during the current week. In-
cluded were links to reviews of each
film by up to five different film enthu-
siasts.
The cinema database seemed
like an island of order
in
a sea of
chaos.
Problems tracking down informa-
tion on the World Wide Web will be
familiar
to
anyone who has been using
the Internet during the Summer
months. Few of the starting points and
database listings have undergone
much maintenance during university
vacations. One of the casualties has
been Yahoo, a popular starting point
for many of those new to the Web. The
difficulties encountered during the
cinema database search illustrated one
of the shortcomings of the loose struc-
ture into which even the most well
maintained Web sites have to fit.
Many of those who have published
their work on the Internet have given
out specific page references for each
subject they have covered. As these
references are included in other peo-
ple's works or in directories across the
Internet, the flexibility of the publisher
to change the structure of their work
has been reduced. Regardless of these
difficulties the World Wide Web is a
powerful concept and made still more
remarkable by its implementation of
hypertext. Our fear of technology
makes us to be quick to criticise the
shortcomings of Internet's electronic
reading room. In reality, many of the
problems encountered during searches
for data are not unheard of
in
conven-
tional libraries. In fact, the World
Wide Web at the end of the summer
vacation does have a striking resem-
blance to a lending library
at
the end of
a Saturday morning.
Libraries are inherently unstable
due to the presence of the general pub-
lic.
Browsing researchers with a limit
of five books at any one time will con-
tinue to browse even after they have
made their five choices. If they find a
book which suits their needs better
than one they have already chosen then
a swap is made — often with little re-
gard as to whether the book which is
being replaced is being put back in the
correct location. Of course, the biggest
'bug' in the non-virtual library is the
'it's already out on loan' error —
something which doesn't happen with
the World Wide Web. Still, we are
likely
to
make more fuss over a broken
link to a Web site than we are over a
wasted journey into town to collect a
book which hasn't been returned on
the due date.
Let us first find out why the World
Wide Web seems to be in such a mess
and then move on to ask what can be
done to improve the situation. The In-
ternet is like a war which is being
waged against an enemy which is put-
ting up the minimum of resistance.
The ability to make vast territorial
gains within a short time has left sup-
ply lines weak, and in some areas colo-
nisation is no more than a flag hoisted
over one or two municipal buildings.
The Web presence of
a
number of or-
ganisations is merely a token gesture
and working practises have not
changed to take advantage of the new
regime. The leaders of the popular
revolution have taken control of the
government buildings but,
as
yet,
have
not figured out how to run the state ap-
paratus. They are also wondering how
to reconcile their ideology with the
492 The Electronic Library, Vol. 13, No. 5, October 1995
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