The OpenHere Network was originally created as a method to test and demonstrate applications created for the internet using the APL programming language. APL (A Programming Language) was originally created in the 1960's and is used extensively by Fortune 500 companies, especially in the areas which require mathematical research and rapid development.
It was our research into internet application deployment and search technologies which led to the development of the OpenHere Network. Over the last three years, OpenHere has become one of the largest search and index sites on the internet. At present all of the applications which support the OpenHere Network have been created in APL.
We are continually developing and enhancing our search technologies and at present bring one of the most advanced search experiences to our users available on the net. As consolidation in the search engine category has occured, the number of choices available to online search users has been reduced. OpenHere Network presents both a unique database and a unique search experience.
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Policies and Commitments
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We have a commitment to creating and maintaining the most current search results and index on the internet.
To accomplish this we have created policies which are significantly different from the other major index and search
engines on the internet. We provide the ability for each web creator to maintain their own information in the
categories appropriate for their site, free of charge.
In addition, when a web site creator adds or modifies their listing on OpenHere the update occurs in real time.
This unique approach literally makes each web site creator an editor on OpenHere for their part of each related category.
Search engines which now require web site creators to pay to have their listing included, virtually guarantees that those
search engines will have aging content with significant parts of the internet missing.
The internet today is as volatile as ever, and providing independent web site creators the ability to rapidly publish
their sites and maintain those listings in real time best reflects the dynamics of the real internet.
In addition, when a web site creator adds their listing or updates it, that listing is moved to the top of the
related category and returned first in search results for related key words.
This assures that the OpenHere search results always displays those sites whose web masters are most active in maintaining their listings. There is always the question about abuse of a system which provides the ability for category editors. To mitigate any abuse we have editors on staff which monitor the sites being added in real time, and those who abuse the system are simply blocked.
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OpenHere search assistance
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Fundamentals of search
To perform a search on OpenHere, simply enter the words which describe your interest, and then press the enter key. OpenHere employs reasonably sophisticated search algorithms and returns results based on best matches followed by less than optimal matches. All matches are ranked by percentage of match with the words that were entered. In the event that the OpenHere database does not return a 100% match, a MetaSearch is done and results from that are included in the search results.
Single or plural of a word
When a search is performed OpenHere automatically considers both singular and plural versions of the words entered.
Do capital letters matter?
It does not matter if the words are entered in upper or lower case, as all words are considered in lower case only during the search.
Type of search
All searchs automatically are "and" searches. This means that results which contain all of the words entered are ranked as having a 100% match. For instance if model train were entered as the search words, the first results would be for those which contain both model and train. Next would be those results which contain only model and then those which contain only train.
Priority of words
The order in which the words are entered determines the priority or weighting each word is given in the search. For instance, our model train example first considers those records which contain model and then those which contain train.
Noise Words
Words such as "the" "and" "of" etc. are considered "noise words" in that their inclusion in a search will usually not restrict a search significantly. These words are considered at three levels during a search on OpenHere. Site titles and descriptions do not have "noise words" indexed. Site categories do have "noise words" indexed and "noise words" are conisdered during a MetaSearch. So, when a search is performed which includes "noise words" three searches are performed. The results will of course include results from all three searches.
Visual Clues
The words for which you searched are turned bold in the results to assist you in quickly identifying those matches which most nearly meet your needs.
Wild Card searches
Wild card searches are not included in OpenHere search results. However, a Consider also result is provided with each search which includes up to 20 alternate spellings and word constructs for each word in the search words.
Difference between Categories and Sites
Categories are defined as a group of sites related to a particular topic. For instance, we have over 25 top level categories which are each then sub-divided into further categories. For instance, in the Hobbies & Crafts category you will find the Birding category, etc. Sites are the individual site references that create a category. Currently OpenHere maintains over 250,000 topic categories.
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OpenHere Search Technology
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OpenHere supports a number of different searches. They can be found to the right of the search text entry field. The search types are:
Web - Searches the OpenHere database of sites and categories
Dictionary - Search the OpenHere dictionary, created from the Guttenburg dictionary, which provides extensive cross references and alternative spellings.
Whois - does a search for all registered domains which begin with the word(s) entered
Meta - the MetaSearch spiders a number of other search engines and compiles the results onto a single page
Weather - OpenHere provides data on over 30,000 cites and towns in the U.S.A. from the NWS and NOAA.
Understanding Web Search Results
Web search results are composed of three major parts:
Consider also
Site and Category results
Related URL results
Consider also
This result contains alternate spellings and constructs of your search terms which appear in the OpenHere database.
For instance, if you enter model train some terms to also consider might be:
modeling
modelers
modelling
...
training
trained
trainers
trainig
....
You might notice either misspellings or run together words in this result. This reflects the actual words and phrases people
have chosen when creating their web sites. This can be very useful when trying to locate a resource on the web which may not
have been created using a spell checker or has been intentionally altered for branding or marketing purposes.
Site and Category results
Included in the results at the top is a link to the OpenHere dictionary to facilitate looking up the definition or spelling of a word.
Immediately after this is the time required to perform the search. Because the OpenHere search engine is constantly being updated in real time
there are occasions when a search may require 2 or 3 seconds as the most current results are included in the search results.
When the search terms specified are located in the OpenHere database the related categories and sites are displayed. If a particular site
occurs in more than one category, the site and all of its related categories is displayed. This is usually very valuable as it can act
as a guide in finding related information in the OpenHere index system.
For those cases where a 100% match does not occur in the OpenHere database for the search terms specified, a MetaSearch is performed and
those results are included. You can see more MetaSearch results by clicking on the MetaSearch result heading.
At the bottom of the site and category listing is the "alternate viewing" selection. You can change the search results to only show related categories.
This is useful to display all related categories, which is very useful when a category conatins many related links and would otherwise
cause the related categories to be displayed many pages later. Additionally there is the option to do a MetaSearch for the same search
terms.
At the bottom of the page, the percentage matches are displayed. This shows the number of site links which match the search terms and the associated percentage. For instance, if we did a search for model train, we might see 235 - 100%, which would mean that 235 sites match both model and train. Additionally we might
have 335 - 50% which would mean that either model or train are in those links. This provides the scope of the search results.
The ability to move between pages of the search results if provided by listing page numbers just above the percentages. You can jump
between pages or simply use the next or previous links to move from page to page.
Below this we include links to other search engines which makes it possible to do a search on those sites for the same search terms by
simply clicking on a link.
Related domain name results
As most web site developers invest a significant amount of effort in the selection of their domain name, we provide in the third column
of the search results those domain names which match the search terms, or fractions thereof. For instance, if the search terms were
model train the related domains would be based on finding results for modeltrain and its subsets.
Overview of Web Search
By including site links, related categories, alternate spelling and constructs of search terms and related domain names in one
comprehensive search result, OpenHere has created the most advanced search result technology available on the internet.
When this technology is coupled with OpenHere's policies which create current, timely, and accurate data, the result is
a search experience which provides the user with the best results possible.
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OpenHere Dictionary
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As part of the search process, OpenHere has created a cross referenced dictionary.
To search the dictionary, simply enter the words, such as model train and press the "enter" key.
The search results contain several parts. The left hand column contains alternate spellings and contructs for the
search words specified. This is particularly useful when the spelling of a word is not known. Simply enter a small subset
of the word and look at this column for suggestions.
In the middle column you will find each word given in the search defined one after another. Each word is highlighted
in a grey bar with the definition below. Scroll down to find each word and its definition.
Within the definition of a word you will find links to alternative tenses, plurals, etc. There are also links to antinyms and
synonyms. At the bottom of the definiton of each word are also links to words in the "see also" category.
Using these links, and the OpenHere dictionary, it is quite easy to discover just the right word for the occasion.
Because the cross referenced dictionary database on OpenHere is based on the dictionary from Gutenberg, we find that meanings
are less subject to modern revisions. Having the classic definition of words available in many cases provides a much
more clear and concise understanding, and is extremely valuable when attempting to understand the
genealogy of words in our society today.
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OpenHere Whois
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The OpenHere whois search returns the registered domains which begin with the search term specified. Do not enter search terms
delimited by spaces, as spaces are not a valid character in domain names, nor are the + sign, or other punctuation characters.
The results are displayed in link format and you can try clicking on any that you might wish to test. However, in many
cases domains are registered, that is taken by someone, but not at present active.
This is a very useful tool when choosing a domain name. In fact, the OpenHere whois coupled with the OpenHere cross reference dictionary
create a powerful tool when choosing a new domain name.
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OpenHere MetaSearch
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The OpenHere MetaSearch provides the ability to quickly obtain results form multiple search engines. Keep in mind that these results
are not from OpenHere, but from the search engine referenced in the result.
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OpenHere Weather
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OpenHere has extensive weather resources, including current weather summaries, forecast summaries and detailed current weather and weather forecasts.
We provide access to the current weather information for your locality on the OpenHere home page. When you enter your zip code in the weather search field at the top right side of the OpenHere home page you are taken to local information for your zip code, including current weather and forecast information. This page contains information about your local media and related local information for communities close to your zip code.
Whenever you return to the OpenHere home page you will find that a current weather summary for your zip code is displayed on the top right side of the OpenHere home page.
In addition you can navigate to your local weather detailed current information and forecast, complete with any weather advisories by clicking on the Weather option in the top left corner of any OpenHere page. This detailed weather is also available directly from your local news and information page.
When you click on the Weather choice you can then use either the maps of the U.S. states and counties to find your weather information, or you can use the city, state or zip code fields below the U.S. State map to go directly to your weather information.
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OpenHere Navigation
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As well as providing a comprehensive search facility, OpenHere also has created a simple and consistent navigational
system for locating information.
To make the location of information easy and pleasant, OpenHere is divided into about 25 major topic categories, which
are further subdivided into approximately 250,000 sub-topic categories. While this may seem like a daunting number,
mathematically speaking you should be able to locate the information you want within 13 clicks.
To facilitate quickly locating information in the OpenHere index we have created a consistent naviational interface.
You will find the 20 primary OpenHere categories shown across the top of each page in a navigation bar. Clicking on any one of these topics
will take you to the top of the related category. As you move your mouse over a category title in the naviation bar you will notice
that the OpenHere logo in the upper left hand corner of the screen moves out of the way and reveals a description of the
category highlighted by your mouse pointer.
Just below the logo you will notice event type resources. Such as movies, tv, phone numbers and directions. These resources
are provided by third party sites, such as Movies.com. In most cases we try to provide a number of different search alternatives
for these types of resources. In the case of Weather, OpenHere has created its own technology to provide weather information
for over 30,000 cities and towns across the U.S.A. This relies on weather data from NOAA. The e-mail resource is also based
on technology create by OpenHere.
For many of our topic categories we also include current news related to that topic on the top page. Currently we have over
100,000 news stories online, which can be accessed through the "More Headlines" link at the bottom of each news title listing.
Once you are on a topic page, the left hand column contains all of the topic sub-categories. The middle of the page contains
site titles and descriptions and associated links. The links are either in alphabetical order or the most recently added link
is at the top. When one of our OpenHere editors updates a category with new links, the links are placed in alphabetical order.
When a web site creator adds their link to a category, their link is placed at the top of the category, where it will remain first
until someone else adds a newer link or until an OpenHere editor updates the category, at which time all links are alphabetized.
Each time you click on a topic sub-category on the left hand side of the page, a new page is displayed and a further subset
of topic sub-categories are displayed, if available.
In some cases we have related topics listed in the OpenHere index structure more than once. This is primarily because we
have a policy never to remove a category. The reason for this policy is that other search engines and web sites index and link
back to OpenHere, and there are few things more frustrating than finding missing pages while surfing the internet. Of course,
as trends change, some categories are updated less frequently and other categories become more popular. So, if you find
categories which seem to be duplicates, with varying amounts of data, you are right, they are.
At the bottom of each topic page, you will also find some links to other search engines. Clicking on these links will cause a
search to occur on the other search engine based on search terms which match the current topic.
We have also created a reverse index of our topic pages, which can be found by clicking on the alphabetical link to the left
of the search field at the top of each page. This is very useful for those who best locate information using a structure similar
that found in the yellow pages of the phone book, instead of by topic.
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