[WEB4LIB] Re: checking link content

[Dan Lester]

I'm aware of such tools, and they're a step in the direction needed,
assuming there IS a need to have something checking to see if a linked
site turned into a porn site.  I don't assume there IS such a need,
however.

Using a service like this one would produce vast numbers of false
alarms, unfortunately.  Even if they told you that www.caldwellid.org
had changed, you wouldn't know, without actually visiting it, whether
the Chamber of Commerce had updated it or it had turned into porn.
(FYI, instead of buying their old name back, they simply bought the
better www.caldwellidaho.org )  But if a service like this were
modified to parse the text of the changed page and only notify you if
it contained "dirty words" or other telltale signs, then it could be
of some use to those who worry about such things.

dan


Tuesday, December 11, 2001, 7:49:01 AM, you wrote:

TK> Not sure if anyone mentioned this, but MindIt
TK> <http://mindit.netmind.com/> checks pages for changes.  Originally,
TK> intended I think to alert you to any updates occurring on the site. 
TK> Would probably work for this problem as well.  It's a free service with
TK> the main drawback being that you need to enter each site one by one
TK> which is time consuming.  They may have a version available for purchase
TK> that would allow batch loads (?).  




-- 
Dan Lester, Data Wrangler  dan at RiverOfData.com 208-283-7711
3577 East Pecan, Boise, Idaho  83716-7115 USA
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