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Web Wise: Understanding the Grammar of the Internet

The Internet provides massive amounts of information making it essential to understand how it's organized. We know how to evaluate a book, magazine or other familiar print items. The Internet has a basic grammar and we need to understand it so we won't be manipulated by those who do. 

To evaluate information on the Internet you need to know:

  • Meta-Web information, URLs and links.
  • Who the author of the site is.
  • What the purpose of the site is.
  • How to site a web site using MLA format.
  • How to spot a hoax site or email message

Anatomy of a Web Address

This is the web address of Arthur Butz, a chemical engineering professor at Northwestern University. His site Arthur Butz - http://pubweb.acns.nwu.edu/~abutz/di/dc/camps.html presents a revised version of the Nazi Death Camps.


ŠAlan November-2003

Digital Threads, Links in and Links Out

Scan the links within a site (drag your mouse over the link) to see where the sites links go. By using your knowledge of web grammar you can get an idea of the author's purpose. A pattern of all internal links should be a red flag. Next find out who links into the site. Copy the URL of the site you are evaluating by selecting it and choosing copy from the edit menu. 

  • Go to www.altavista.com. or www.google.com 

  • Click in the search box and type link: (do not forget the colon). 

  • Paste the web address after the colon and click the search button. 

Check it out, AltaVista and Google give you a list of sites that are linked into the site you are evaluating. Tip: if you get no results using the link command try shortening the web address. Look for the types of groups that link into your site. Decide if you trust them or have your doubts about their motives. Remember, you must evaluate the information you chose to use on the Internet, no one else will do it for you!

Author, Author

The second step is to identify the author and investigate their credentials. Why would I want to know who owns a web site? You may want to know who publishes the information you are reading or identify the group that pays for the site. Remember, anyone can publish on the web, there are no Web Police to check on the content or if the authors are lying. Go to http://notmartinlutherking.org. Who is the author or group that created this site?  Ownership of a web site can be found at Network Solutions- http://www.networksolutions.com/en_US/whois/index.jhtml  Type the domain name in the search box and this web site gives you information about who, when and where the site was registered. 

Purpose

Get in the habit of asking what the purpose of the web site is. Many sites try to do several things at once.
    Who is the author? Is he/she an authority you can trust on the subject?
    When was the site last updated? Is it current?
    Why is the site on the Internet? Information? Entertainment? Sales? Persuade/Manipulate?

                       Hoax Sites and Urban Legends
 
You can check your ideas about hoax sites and questionable email messages at http://www.snopes.com/ and http://www.truthorfiction.com 
 Questionable (hoax?) sites to check out: 

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