Go-DP?!

Infoseek, now known as the Go Network, recently changed their user interface, giving branding recognition to the Go Network. The way the engine works hasn't changed. Site popularity is now a major factor in ranking.

In a much-criticized move which many feel is an attempt to simply "copycat" ODP, they have implemented a community-based group of editors which appears to echo that used on the Open Directory Project.

The system works somewhat differently, but definitely affirms the ODP official belief that "Humans do it better."

Being that I am not a "GO Guide," I have to rely here on information from people I know who signed up. The majority of them stayed only a couple of days before throwing their hands up. It must be pointed out, however, that most of these people were ODP editors, and they just didn't think that Go did it better.

If there is anyone out there reading this who is a GO Guide and would like to inform me of the positive points of this program, please do so! Email me at articles@laisha.com.

In the meantime, I can outline the facts that I have at my overworked fingertips.

Part of the job as a GO Guide is to search the web in an effort to find the best Web sites on the Internet for categories, rate them, and enter them into the directory.

Anyone can become a GO Guide, as there is no application process, per se, but all edits are gone over by editors more senior. Rising through the ranks is accomplished by peer review after an editor has some editing under his or her belt.

Infoseek, clusters search results from the same site, returning only one result per site. A searcher can ungroup the results to see the individual pages. This technique prevents pages from the same URL dominating the top positions.

For more information about GO Guides, go here.