AltaVista's "Way-cool topics map" (was: IRS...)

[Joe Barker]

I agree that LiveTopics is a wonderful resource.
But have any of you tried using it in AV Advanced Search?  It adds terms 
with AND or excludes with AND NOT, fulling confusing Boolean searches of 
any complexity at all.
I teach this stuff all the time, and have come to recommend that people 
use Live Topics to expand their vocabulary and concepts.  But then revise 
their Boolean search carefully deciding when to OR, when to use 
parentheses, and where to insert terms suggested by Live Topics.

Or do all of you only use and/or teach the Simple Search?  I think 
Advanced is best.

I'd appreciate your comments on this opinion and on using Simple vs. 
Advanced.

Joe Barker, Teaching Library, UC Berkeley.

On Wed, 23 Apr 1997, Thomas 
Dowling wrote:

> >But Steve Harter is absolutely right--Alta Vista's LiveTopics has really
> >transformed web searching for us. It's odd how it snuck up on us with so
> >few of us noticing.
> 
> Dunno about anyone else, but I missed it because I've developed a blind
> spot to any paragraph with the phrase "Way Cool" in it.
> 
> Thomas Dowling
> OhioLINK - Ohio Library and Information Network
> tdowling at ohiolink.edu
> 
>