In the lecture for week 7, students were informed about the World Wide Web. One of the things that I found intriguing was the very fact that there was a difference between the World Wide Web and the internet (the internet being a large network of computers and the WWW being almost like a ‘catalogue’ in that network). I really had no idea there was any difference between the two until now. We were also told that it was developed by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989 to assist in sharing research information. The lecture also included the domain name system and what you might expect from certain domain names (.com for commercial, .org for non-profit etc). We were also given some alternatives to Internet Explorer as well as some short-cuts we can use on the keyboard.
Workshop
In the workshop for week 7, students were asked to look at three sites and record information about them that might prove them to be ‘spoof’ sites.
The first site was www.haggishunt.scotsman.com and is a site dedicated to hunting a mythical creature called a ‘haggis’. To try and make the creature seem real, the authors of the site have included a ‘haggisclopedia’ which includes everything from history of the animal to zoology. They have also included cameras in ten ‘haggis hotspots’ and prizes for people who spot a haggis on these cameras. It is obvious that the site is a spoof for the following reasons:
• It is common knowledge that haggis is a traditional Scottish meal (made with a sheep’s stomach, meat and oatmeal) and is not an actual animal.
• The haggii displayed on the site are clearly fakes. They display a platypus head on the body of something similar to a hedgehog or beaver.
• The unprofessional sentences in parts of the site which, if the site were not a spoof, would be expected to be the most professional pages on the site. For example, on the zoology page, under the ‘Natural Enemies’ section, midges are listed. The author then goes on to say that they are ‘the natural enemy of every living thing’. To view the page with this information included, view the screenshot below.
• There are no pictures of people with a caught haggis. As the site is dedicated to hunting haggii, I have to wonder why there are no pictures of a dead haggii as on other hunting sites (http://www.ausafari.com.au/wild_boar_hunting_north_queensland.htm for example).
The second site we were told to analyse is www.molossia.org. It is a site for the Republic of Molossia and includes pages of information on the republic’s history and culture. The site has many clues to suggest that it is a spoof site. Some of these include:
• The ‘Ark Molossia’ page is quite unusual considering the site is of a republic. I just find myself doubting that a republic would have pictures and information on cats and dogs. To see the Molossia Ark page, view the screenshot below.
• There is no world map on the site that identifies where the Republic of Molossia is. For a site to promote a republic, I would expect for it to show me where in the world it is situated.
• The navy for the Republic of Molossia includes an inflatable lifeboat, two inflatable kayaks and a boy who looks no more than 12 years old.
• The author states that the name ‘Molossia’ comes from the Spanish word ‘morro’, meaning a small rock or hill. The author then goes on to say that ‘ssia’ is added ‘because it sounds good’. I find it hard to believe that a republic would admit that they created the name because they liked the way it sounded.
The third website that students were asked to visit was www.martinlutherking.org.
Before Entering the Site
I believe that this site will include achievements that Martin Luther King Jr. made throughout his life. As the site is probably based more or less on him alone, it will probably include where he was bought up and at what schools he studied. I believe his death will also be included and the killers (if known (my knowledge on Martin Luther King is quite limited)) will be named.
After Entering the Site
My first impression of the site is that it is a spoof site. I believe this because there is a link titled ‘Rap lyrics’ while King obviously had nothing to do with rap music. The bit of information on the top left hand side of the page suggests King behaved in an unruly way, not unlike many rap artists today. While I think this site may be offensive to some, it is just in the name of fun. Upon closer inspection, I was very surprised at the information included on this web site. The site suggests that Martin Luther King plagerised his works to the point where less than half of some of his works included sentences that contained five or more words that were his own. The site also suggests that King was a violent man. To view the page with that information included on it, view the screenshot below.
After I have viewed this site, I believe it was made maliciously to persuade people that Martin Luther King Jr. was a bad person.
Readings
The first reading for this week included information on different search engines. This is useful to me as a university student as I don’t have to limit myself to Google. If there is information that I cannot find on Google, I can either better my search by making it more specific to the information I am looking for or change search engines altogether.
The second reading for this week was a timeline from 1945-1995 on the history of the World Wide Web. I find it difficult to understand most of the information on this site and it does seem rather trivial in relation to the World Wide Web in my eyes, but I know it’s not and I expect to understand and appreciate it more as my knowledge on the topic grows.
The third reading for this week included history of the internet. It gives information about the development of computers, how ARPANET was transformed into the internet and finally into the WWW, the history of email (electronic mail), the development of search engines and basic net information (number of people who the internet and what countries they are from etc.)
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