[WEB4LIB] RE: Browser Back Button Failure - examples needed

[Andrew I. Mutch]

Grace,

You might want to look at this:
[from www.tomalak.org]

NY Times: Trapped in the Web
 Without an Exit. Some side trips
 are the result of mistakes by
 surfers, but many are the work
 of Webmasters who bend and
 twist HTML code into trapping
 people in one spot like overeager
 used-car salesmen. Sites that
 specialize in pornography are the
 most obvious practitioners of
 user manipulation. 

http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/10/circuits/articles/07tric.html

I haven't read the article yet but maybe it will include some examples.

Andrew Mutch
Library Systems Technician
Waterford Township Public Library
Waterford, MI


> -----Original Message-----
> 
> If you know of any URLs for sites where the back button does not take you
> back to your previous site, I would appreciate your sending that URL to me.
> 
> In my introductory Internet classes, I always show the students examples of
> sites that "trap" the visitor.  I can then show them a variety of ways to
> deal with this depending on how the site had "trapped" them.  During my prep
> for a class  yesterday, I discovered that my last two remaining "opened new
> browser" sites  have discontinued the practice.  My examples of frame sites
> that require a right click of the mouse button to go back have also
> diminished in numbers.
> 
> Examples of all kinds (frames where right click in frame to go back is
> needed; new browser window opened, etc.) are appreciated.  It has occurred
> to me that it might be more reliable if I were to create examples of each of
> these myself on our server, but I hesitate doing this on a production
> server.
> 
> Thanks for your help.
> 
> Grace Garbe
> Systems Librarian/Webmaster
> ZAI-AMELEX
> Defense Systems Management College
> Ft. Belvoir, VA
>