Off Topic - Bad Info

Bradley Miller bradmiller at dslonramp.com
Thu Jul 11 15:36:51 CDT 2002


Has anyone been following the latest on the Consumer Reports article on
search engine disclosure for paid placement of entries?   It mentions that
60% of the people using search engines didn't realize that some results
could be bogus, or paid for ads.  There was an editorial in the local
newspaper (Blue Springs Examiner) going on about how it's about time that
someone police the internet and the info on there because so many people
take it as gospel.  My thoughts are, nobody does the same for them
(newspapers/magazines/books) so why target the net?  The net just allows
more people to do free-speech, but because it's in a book doesn't mean it's
any more credible information.  

For example: Glancing through a book on cars and it mentions one particular
car and attributes the engine to another manufacturer.  GRRRR!  This is
totally bogus info, but now how many people will know/remember/etc... this
book and then go "it says so right here in this book so it must be so".  I
suppose I should know better from the revisionist history books that gloss
over important events in our schools . . . 

-- Bradley Miller




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