Monitoring Link Usage

[Thomas Dowling]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: web4lib at library.berkeley.edu
> [mailto:web4lib at library.berkeley.edu]On Behalf Of Chris Stuart
> Sent: Tuesday, June 16, 1998 8:47 AM
> To: Multiple recipients of list
> Subject: Re: Monitoring Link Usage
>
>
> Hi, I use a Web Acceslerator when browsing. This is supposed to download
> all the links from a page whilst I'm viewing it. Then, if I
> follow a link
> from that page the linked page should already be in my
> disk/memory cache.
> Doesn't this mean that you can never really gather reliable
> data about the
> number of 'hits' to a particular link on a page? After all, I don't
> necessarily follow all the links from a page that are downloaded by my
> 'Web Accelerator'
> Sorry if I'm being stupid!
>
> Chris

You aren't being stupid at all.  There is a fundamental disconnect between
web log files and actual web usage.  Some things are under-counted; some
things are over-counted.  We all pretend that things more or less average
out.  All you can really do is run a report from a good log analysis
program, look your boss unflinchingly in the eyes, and say, "These are the
usage statistics."

Thomas Dowling
OhioLINK - Ohio Library and Information Network
tdowling at ohiolink.edu