{
  "id": "1996-may-tech-tips-a-guide-to-search-engines-seek-and-ye-shall-find",
  "slug": "1996-may-tech-tips-a-guide-to-search-engines-seek-and-ye-shall-find",
  "url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1996-may-tech-tips-a-guide-to-search-engines-seek-and-ye-shall-find.html",
  "year": 1996,
  "month": "May",
  "monthNum": 5,
  "headline": "Tech tips: A guide to search engines Seek and ye shall find",
  "kicker": "",
  "author_name": "Dan Keating",
  "author_title": "",
  "affiliation": "Miami Herald",
  "summary": "This guide explains the key differences between web indexes and search engines, helping reporters understand when to use each tool: indexes organize sites by general topic and require registration, while search engines scan actual page content and can return deep links to specific information.",
  "keywords": [
    "indexes",
    "search",
    "content"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Technology",
    "Investigative Methods"
  ],
  "technologies": [
    "World Wide Web",
    "Internet",
    "Usenet"
  ],
  "full_text": "A typical area of confusion for new online users especially reporters - is searching. People hear about \"search engines\" and indexes, but seldom recognize the important differences between them, and when to use the different things. Here's a guide:\n\nWhat's out there?\n\nIndexes - They work by general descriptions of content. There are indexes, largely of World Wide Web sites. Yahoo and Galaxy are well organized to quickly get to the kind of information you want. They are comprehensive of major Web sites.\n\nThe owner of a Web site has to \"register\" with the indexes, so they are for finding sites to which someone would want to draw attention. They tend to be sites of major educational, government, organization and commercial interests. They are organized based on the general topic of their content. So if a site is about movies, it'll be organized there. The Web site may or may not have a section about Marilyn Monroe. All you know is that it has movies.\n\nYou find sites by checking the general descriptions. You can also search the index itself, so you can look quickly for a particular business name. But you are searching only the name of the link and description of the link, not the content of what's on the link. Links will almost always bring you to the main homepage for a site. You will also find pointers to some discussion groups and a handful of listservs.\n\nYahoo! http://www.yahoo.com Galaxy http://galaxy.einet.net\n\nInternet Search Engines - They look at the exact content of each: There are \"search engines\" for searching the content of all the Web pages on the Internet. Obviously, it would be impractical for them to scan the entire network after you put in your request. They work by sending out \"robot\" programs that automatically read every page of every Web site they can find (there are things administrators can do to prevent pages from being read). They then index every word on every site.\n\nSo, the search engines have a giant database listing words and where they were found. When you search, it looks in the database and brings back the matching sites.\n\nUnlike an index, you're not just searching for words in the title or description of a site; you're actually searching the contents of every page on a site. And you might get linked to a page deep within a Web site, rather than just the front page. For instance, if you searched for \"Marilyn Monroe\" you might get a link to a reference to her on a page with an address such as \"http://www.moviespot.com/classics/comedy/some-like-it-hot/stars/mm.html\". That is extremely useful for getting exactly to what you want. But you won't be at the \"welcome\" screen for that Web site, so you might have trouble figuring out where you are.\n\nAlso, you are likely to find a lot of obscure things when you search here, since just one reference on a page somewhere might match your search, even if the general contents of the Web site at that link aren't of interest.\n\nSo, when you search these Net-wide engines, you tend to get a huge number of responses and may get buried in them. Lycos http://www.lycos.com WebCrawler http://www.webcrawler.com AltaVista http://altavista.digital.com (my favorite)\n\nUsenet Discussion Group Search - Searching online conversation. The indexes and search engines generally point you at sites where information has been posted.\n\nBut there's a lot of discussion online, too. You can search the content of the discussion on 10,000 usenet groups. If you search for a common term, such as \"Microsoft,\" you'll get buried. But if you're trying to find an expert on some obscure topic, such as \"hermaphroditic mammalian albinos,\" the discussions are probably your best chance.\n\nYou can find out who's talking about something and what they're saying. DejaNews http://www.dejanews.com AltaVista http://altavista.digital.com\n\nWhat do I use?\n\nIf you're looking for a specific site online that is not obscure and whose creators would want it to be found, then you are best off at the indexes.\n\nIf you are looking for the various sites on a general topic, the indexes are by far the best choice. So, if you want to find all the sites online about classical music or computer-assisted design or reproductive rights, you'll almost certainly find a heading on that subject in the index. You'll find the related sites. If you are looking for something that isn't major and whose creator wouldn't register it with the indexes, then try the search engines. Don't do this with general subjects, such as Microsoft or engineering or classical music. But it would be good if you were looking for a page about Seji Ozawa or Arctic seals. Only use the search engines for things that are specific enough and obscure enough that you won't get buried. Sometimes they are useful in searching for combinations of things, such as \"wolf and Yellowstone.\" You probably won't find a Web site under that definition in an index, but there's a good chance of finding a page with those words on them somewhere on the Web. If you are mainly interested in finding an expert or the subject is even too obscure for the search engines, try searching the usenet discussion groups. Searching the discussion groups is also useful for finding more current topics, since it generally takes a while for information to get posted into Web sites. In general, start with indexes because they're fast and efficient. If what you want isn't there, try the search engines. Finally, turn to discussion group searches. Dan Keating can be reached at (954) 985-4571, or send e-mail to dtkeats@ibm.net\n\ndesign or reproductive rights, you'll almost certainly heading on that subject in the index. You'll find the related sites. If you are looking for something that isn't major and whose creator wouldn't register it with the indexes, then try the search engines. Don't do this with general subjects, such as Microsoft or engineering or classical music. But it would be good if you were looking for a page about Seji Ozawa or Arctic seals. Only use the search engines for things that are specific enough and obscure enough that you won't get buried. Sometimes they are useful in searching for combinations of things, such as \"wolf and Yellowstone.\" You probably won't find a Web site under that definition in an index, but there's a good chance of finding a page with those words on them somewhere on the Web. If you are mainly interested in finding an expert or the subject is even too obscure for the search engines, try searching the usenet discussion groups. Searching the discussion groups is also useful for finding more current topics, since it generally takes a while for information to get posted into Web sites. In general, start with indexes because they're fast and efficient. If what you want isn't there, try the search engines. Finally, turn to discussion group searches. Dan Keating can be reached at (954) 985-4571, or send e-mail to dtkeats@ibm.net\n\ndesign or reproductive rights, you'll almost certainly heading on that subject in the index. You'll find the related sites. If you are looking for something that isn't major and whose creator wouldn't register it with the indexes, then try the search engines. Don't do this with general subjects, such as Microsoft or engineering or classical music. But it would be good if you were looking for a page about Seji Ozawa or Arctic seals. Only use the search engines for things that are specific enough and obscure enough that you won't get buried. Sometimes they are useful in searching for combinations of things, such as \"wolf and Yellowstone.\" You probably won't find a Web site under that definition in an index, but there's a good chance of finding a page with those words on them somewhere on the Web. If you are mainly interested in finding an expert or the subject is even too obscure for the search engines, try searching the usenet discussion groups. Searching the discussion groups is also useful for finding more current topics, since it generally takes a while for information to get posted into Web sites. In general, start with indexes because they're fast and efficient. If what you want isn't there, try the search engines. Finally, turn to discussion group searches. Dan Keating can be reached at (954) 985-4571, or send e-mail to dtkeats@ibm.net",
  "provenance": {
    "extracted_by": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
    "extracted_at": "2026-07-05",
    "verified": true
  },
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