[Web4lib] Nielsen's Top 10 - 2005 version

[Andrew Mutch]

Gillian,

One of my favorite examples of an unreliable site is the "Lake Michigan
Whale Watching". Unlike the examples you listed below, this site goes out
of its way to appear to be legit. In fact, it was convincing enough that
it made its way into an educational publication in an article "'Thar She
Blows!' In Michigan?" that discussed the whale watching in Lake Michigan,
all based on this web site. As you expect, this caused much embarassment
for the publication and a lot of laughs around Michigan. It would provide
a good contrast with bad examples to show that even sites that appear to
be on the up-and-up can still be completely unreliable.

Here's the site and a short discussion on the article that followed:

http://www.geocities.com/lakemichiganwhales/

http://www.classroomhelp.com/lessons/web/WHALES/retraction.htm

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


> I've been following this discussion with interest, but I have a slightly
> different need when discussing "bad web pages". I try to teach my
> patron-students in library computer classes how to recognize "bad pages"
> that are either - a) unreliable information sources or b)untrustworthy
> shopping sites.
>
> Of course, we discuss all the standards of 1)who wrote the page, 2)the
> reason/motive for them to have written the page, 3) the source(s) of the
> information given, 4) contact info (especially when money is involved)
> etc... but I'd love to find some really clear examples of "bad" pages from
> this point of view. I can find tacky sites, misinforming or untruthful
> sites, and sites that lack contact info, but I am having a hard time
> finding
> a single site that has multiple failings that would be handy to use in
> class!
>
> Can anyone suggest one that would also NOT be TOO likely to offend patrons
> in a public library?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Gillian Wiseman
> Electronic Resources Librarian
> Waco-McLennan County Library
> gwiseman at ci.waco.tx.us
>
>
>
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