In using the A2BCD rule to evaluate this website we can see the
A) the site is accessible; all of the links work, and they don't just link to other parts of the same web page.
A) the site has authority; they reference many Dr.'s, newsletters, journals and other religious authorities that can be verified when you follow their links. ie: when you follow the info for one of the editors, Prof. Joe Bransford Wilson, it takes to first to a page that was apparently never finished, http://people.uncw.edu/wilsonj/, but as you follow the next link, http://www.uncwil.edu/, you find that he is in fact a professor there (currently on leave) by putting his name in the search box, which leads you to: http://search.uncw.edu/search?access=p&entqr=0&ud=1&sort=date%3AD%3AL%3Ad1&output=xml_no_dtd&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF-8&client=default_frontend&proxystylesheet=default_frontend&site=default_collection&q=Bransford+Wilson&x=5&y=10
B) This site not only talks about budhism, but it also links to another page that references many other religions, so it is not biased. http://www.ciolek.com/WWWVLPages/BuddhPages/OtherRelig.html this page allows the user to click on the other religions and learn more about them as well.
C) The content is accurate and fair, although it hasn't been updated recently. But for this site that really isn't necessary because the religion isn't exactly changing all of the time, so it is ok that it was last updated in November of 2006 (however, the "other religions" page was updated May of 2007)
D) The design isn't exactly aestheically pleasing, but it's perfect for a site that is providing information.
So, overall, I would definitely say that this site is a credible site, plus, it does come up first in a google search.
2. Now evaluate this site http://www.miskatonic-university.org/
While this is a fun site and does a good job of trying to portray a real university, it is not in fact a real university. Miskatonic University was the setting for many of H.P. Lovecraft's literary works. (http://catalog.chaosium.com/product_info.php?products_id=747) So, in using the A2BCD rule for evaluating this website, the job is quick; there is no Authority, as it is fictional, even the supposed President, Dr. Alfred L Smith is simply the website admin and obvious fan of Lovecraft's work. The links aren't all accessible, the content is loose and inconsistent, however the design isn't bad.
3. Is this email true or false? Where did it come from?
In a zoo in California, a mother tiger gave birth to a rareset of triplet tiger cubs. Unfortunately, due to complications in the pregnancy, the cubs were born prematurely and due to their tiny size, died shortly after birth.The mother tiger after recovering from the delivery, suddenlystarted to decline in health, although physically she was fine.The veterinarians felt that the loss of her litter had causedthe tigress to fall into a depression. The doctors decided that if thetigress could surrogate another mother's cubs, perhaps she would improve.After checking with many other zoos across the country, thedepressing news was that there were no tiger cubs of the right age tointroduce to the mourning mother. The veterinarians decided to trysomething that had never been tried in a zoo environment.Sometimes a mother of one species will take on the care of adifferent species. The only "orphans" that could be found quickly, werea litter of wiener pigs. The zoo keepers and vets wrapped the piglets intiger skin and placed the babies around the mother tiger.
This email was not true, it was just a cute story, however the pictures were true and someone decided to circulate this cute little fabrication. This website explains the real story behind the pig orphans and the "greiving" tiger mother. http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/tigerpig.asp
4. What is the difference between a blog and a discussion forum?
I found the best answer to the question on the following site: http://www.commoncraft.com/archives/000768.html He says;
"Locus of Control
Perhaps the most compelling difference in weblogs and message boards is the locus of control. Weblogs are individual or small group resources- the control of content and value is driven by a single person or small group. Message Boards are group resources- the control of content and value is shared equally across all users.
Authoring of New Topics
The locus of control matters most in defining who can post new topics, which drive the content of the resource. In weblogs, this role is centralized, with new topics being presented by a defined and focused person or small group. This centralization facilitates focus and direction on behalf of the webloggers. In many message boards, all members usually have the ability to create new topics. This decentralization allows for more emergent and unpredictable directions that may reflect the group's desires as a whole.
Intent
The centralized vs. decentralized nature of the technologies fit nicely into two distinct intentions. With weblog authorship being centralized inside a community, they can easily become news sources, where trusted individuals provide accounts of events and information. The decentralized nature of message boards works well to accumulate group input and facilitate collaboration and group decision making.
Responses
Weblogs and Message Boards both allow for responses from the community- new topics can be responded-to by others. Weblog topics have comments and message board topics have replies. This subtle difference in syntax reveals a difference in the roles. The word comment for weblogs implies that the author does not need further participation to reach a goal- comment if you want. Reply, on the other hand, implies that participation is explicitly requested by the poster. A discussion is not a discussion without a reply.
Tools
The appearance of weblogs has brought a number of new tools to users and most facilitate the ability to read and link weblogs together. They include: Trackback, RSS, Aggregation, Permalinks, Cross linking, etc. While these are currently in the domain of the weblog, I believe they will soon be integrated into message board tools.
Chronology
The order and presentation of topics across message boards and weblogs relate another difference. Weblogs are consistenly arranged with the most recently posted topics at the top of the page, regardless of new comments. With a message board, the posting of replies can govern the presentation of the originating topic- topics with new replies are often presented at the top (but not always, of course). This illustrates the relative importance of replies in message board discussions. Replies can keep a discussion alive and at the top of the page for months or even years in some cases.
Personal Connections
Due to consistent and centralized authorship, weblogs can allow online community members to develop personal connections with the webloggers relatively quickly. Message boards, on the other hand, offer a broader look at a larger number of members as they interact with one another in a group setting.
Pollution Control
Since a weblog depends on a single person or select group, the likelihood of off-topic or inappropriate topics (or responses) is greatly reduced. Further, as discussed previously, weblogs do not depend on responses to provide value. So, in situations where spam or flame wars are a problem, weblogs can turn-off comments and depend on new topics from the webloggers for value. Being group resources, message boards do not have the luxury to turn off replies, but do prevent problems with moderation of each new topic or response.
Content Buckets
How topics are archived and organized provides another look at the differences. Often, each new topic in a weblog is assigned to a category that is used to organize the topics for future reference. A single weblog may have many categories that archive and organize posts that were originally presented on the weblogs’ front page. Message boards are often presented with multiple starting points for creating a new discussion. The member chooses the appropriate location to post a new topic, depending on subject matter. In this way, message boards create multiple “front pages”, spreading the presentation of new topics across locations/content buckets in the community.
A look at the future:
This is my current thinking. In the future, I think well see a blending of the best parts of each tool. While they may continue to fill disparate rolls, I think message boards will begin to integrate weblog tools like trackback and RSS/aggregation (some are now). We’ll see online communities that are made up of multiple weblogs, where discussions occur across weblogs in a single domain instead of in a message board format. This may look like a microcosm of the blogosphere we see today. I’ll save more on this for another post that may also bring wikis into the fray."
6. According to your Netiquette reading, what IS bandwidth? How does one respect other peoples' bandwidth?
"Bandwidth is the information-carrying capacity of the wires and channels that connect everyone in cyberspace" it is also refered to as "time." The example they give in Netiquette talks about when a person posts the same question 5 times to the same news group, that is wasting people's time, or bandwidth. So, we should all just KISS; keep it simple stupid.
7. Find a blog explain what he/she is discussing and how you found it. (copy and paste URL)
I actually found a blog that had been translated from german on http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/100-things-ive-learned-about-photography originally at this address: http://kwerfeldein.de/
I found this blog by going to google's blog search engine and typing in photography tips
He talks about the 100 things he's learned in photography.
8. If you were to guess where the College Democrats Web site at USU would be what would be your first guess? What about the College Republicans?
I honestly wouldn't have a clue, but if I had to guess, I would say you could probably find their links in the Political Science Dept. site
