Date: Fri 20-Nov-1998
Date: Fri 20-Nov-1998
Publication: Bee
Author: CURT
Quick Words:
iinfo-webrings-Brand
Full Text:
INTERNET INFO FOR REAL PEOPLE: The Webring
By Bob Brand
"Birds of the feather flock together." This is the underlying theme of
webrings. The overcrowded Web becomes a nightmare for people who developed
hobby-ish websites but find it impossible to attain "top 10" listings on the
major search engines. A way around the dilemma is to join with other
like-minded website creators. In the summer of 1995, 17-year-old Sage Weil
struck upon an idea and the webring was born.
Keep in mind that the major search engines are already overloaded. Only 30 to
40 percent of all websites are indexed. As the Web continues to grow, this is
likely to get worse.
Wild Growth
Webrings became an instant hit. From modest beginnings, the webring concept
has grown to over 66,000 rings linking 900,000 websites. Ring subjects range
from All-Star swimming to Zen Buddhism and everything in between. These rings
range in size from just a few sites to "mega rings" with over 700 members.
Most rings sport 20 to 50 members. The Webring search engine (found:
http://www.webring.org) allows a net-ster to enter a subject and grab the
ring.
Most ring sites were built by non-commercial web developers. As a result, we
often witness the strong influence of tender loving care regarding the theme
of the site but a mixed bag when it comes to HTML quality and style. For
example, a site may contain information rich content, but be hampered by slow
loading caused by large images and a slow webserver. On the other hand,
well-groomed sites can be found, meticulously maintained with up-to-the minute
information, and cutting-edge cyber-effects. In all likelihood, you are likely
to find the best and the worst the Net has to offer.
My Experience
I joined the Homicide, Life on the Street Ring . After contacting the owner, I
was e-mailed the HTML (hypertext markup language) "ring code." I quickly
inserted this to the Homicide article and uploaded the article to the Bee's
server. Next, I reconnected the owner who checked that I had done everything
properly. My site was "activated" as member 38. Since then, several more sites
have joined the Homicide ring.
At the bottom of Webring sites are found navigation hotlinks that allow the
surfer to move quickly around the ring. Links to Previous and Next locations
are only a mouse click away. In addition, the entire index of all the sites on
the ring can be viewed. Unfortunately, some site creators are not careful in
the construction process. This could result in landing at a dead end or a site
that does not load properly.
Tips for Surfing Webrings
Use the navigation links usually found at the bottom of all webring sites. If
you find that the Next and Previous links bring you to sites that waste time,
click the "Next 5" or "List Sites" links. This brings the surfer to lists of
names (and provides a brief description) of other sites on the ring. Should
you arrive at a website that has good quality but has an error, take a few
minutes to send e-mail to the site owner with a brief description of the
problem. It will be appreciated and you might make a new friend who shares
your interest.
Changes Ahead
Sage Weil now attends Harvey Mudd College. He sold the Webring to Starseed,
who recently sold it to GeoCites for $2 million and stock. We should expect
the overall quality of Webring to improve. Sooner or later you will land on a
Webring site. Give it a try.
URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) of interest:
http://www.megsplace.com/Webrings/webrings.html
http://www.webring.org/
http://www.thebee.com/bweb/iifo74.htm
(This is the 129th of a series of elementary articles designed for surfing the
Internet. Next, Voice Attachments is the subject on tap. Stay tuned. Until
next week, happy travels through cyberspace. Previous issues of Internet Info
for Real People (including links to sites mentioned in this article) can be
found: http://www.thebee.com. Please e-mail comments and suggestions to:
rbrand@JUNO.com or editor@thebee.com.)