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(14 May) While there are plenty of parody Web sites, or sites that for one reason or another, serve to teach students about the pitfalls of blind reliance on information, not all of them are appropriate for getting the point across to law students or new lawyers. These groups for the most part comprise savvy, educated people with better-than-average technical skills. It might be fun to show them sites that proclaim the first male pregnancy, or that declare cats react negatively to men with dark beards, but it's not educational. Helping these groups understand that Web-based research demands constant diligence with respect to the quality of information available, requires illustrating the point with sites that appear valid at first blush.
Some of the Web sites I use for this purpose include:
BuyDehydratedWater.com
Except that the concept of dehydrated water makes no sense, this site helps get the point across. It is a particularly well-designed site that pokes fun at useless products. Note that I said it is "well-designed" -- not well-written.
The site looks like a professional blog. It bears a PayPal Verified logo at the top of the page and Google Ads at the bottom. It has an online store, an FAQ, testimonials, and more.
But once the group begins to read the text, it should quickly become apparent that the site is a joke.
Stop drinking tap water. Stop drinking well water. Refuse to touch water from desalination plants. And remember that mountain spring water is a disaster waiting to happen. Do you know how many people and animals urinated in your spring water, upstream? (Home page)
"What in the world is this dehydrated water stuff? Let me guess, next you're going to come out with caffeine free caffeine, right?" Response: It's a very simple yet complex process; take water and dehydrate it. The end product is dehydrated water. I'm not sure about the caffeine free caffeine thing. It doesn't seem to make sense. I'll run it by our Marketing Department to see what they think. Thanks for the idea. (Testimonials)
Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division
This is another well-designed Web site for its purpose, which is to prove how gullible people can be. In fact back in 2004, it fooled one California city into considering a ban on the use of foam cups because the manufacturing process uses dihydrogen monoxide. City officials scheduled the matter for a vote before learning they had based their concern on bad information.
How could the joke have been carried so far? The name of the bogus entity sounds impressive unless, of course, you have a handle on chemistry. A logo at the top left-hand side of the home page appears to be that of a government agency. The site makes it clear it takes credit cards and PayPal. The use of red font for select text supports the site's message that a danger exists.
But the danger is not an environmental one. It's gullibility.
The home page is well-written:
Welcome to the web site for the Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division (DMRD), currently located in Newark, Delaware. The controversy surrounding dihydrogen monoxide has never been more widely debated, and the goal of this site is to provide an unbiased data clearinghouse and a forum for public discussion.
But when law students delve into the site by following links for the "controversy" or "alerts and advisories," suspicions should surface. For instance, a graphic implies that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a front for the CIA. Doubts may also surface if someone questions the non-existent federal agency, the U.S. Environmental Assessment Center.
GATT.org
GATT.org is a parody Web site, which has been a thorn in the side of the World Trade Organization for many years. Run by an anti-corporate activist group known as The Yes Men, the site has fooled at least one group of lawyers.
Several years ago, the Center for International Legal Studies visited GATT.org and used the "Contact Us" link to send a speaker invitation to the World Trade Organization. What ensued, The New York Times later described as a "long and winding cyberhoax."
In a nutshell, the association unknowingly arranged for someone from the parody site to speak at its annual conference. The speaker/imposter offended several attendees. A staged pie-throwing incident followed the presentation, and the fiasco later culminated in the faked death of the speaker/imposter. (More details here.)
The site is not as well-done today as it was several years ago. Perhaps the joke grows stale. But it still bears the WTO logo and the hazardous "Contact Us" link. If students fail to read the text, they may be fooled.
HAVIDOL®
If you don't pronounce the phony brand or chemical (avafynetyme) names of this drug, you might believe it's the real deal. The Web site looks better than some of those for existing drugs.
But don't read the fine print on the home page. It's a dead giveaway.
HAVIDOL is not for you if you have abruptly stopped using alcohol or sedatives. Havidol should be taken indefinitely. Side effects may include mood changes, muscle strain, extraordinary thinking, dermal gloss, impulsivity induced consumption, excessive salivation, hair growth, markedly delayed sexual climax, inter-species communication, taste perversion, terminal smile, and oral inflammation. Very rarely users may experience a need to change physicians.
The Case for Skepticism
These sites serve as good examples when teaching the importance of skepticism in Web-based research. The design of each site looks professional. While there are small clues that something is up - the bogus government logo at DHMO.org, for instance -- many law students and new lawyers won't pick up on them right away.
The clue at each site is the writing. Once the group starts to read, the chuckling -- and learning -- will begin.
This article's permanent location is here.
RELATED: Evaluating the Quality of Information on the Internet
The Virtual Chase, 12 May 2008
RELATED: Teaching Information Evaluation Skills
The Virtual Chase, 14 August 2006
(13 May) The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month ruled that a law firm did not violate the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act when it sought a Florida resident's vehicle registration information. "[T]he law firm's work met one of 14 exceptions to the law amended in 2000." The exception, or permissible use, which allowed the law firm access, encompasses investigations in anticipation of litigation.
SEE: Thomas v. GEORGE, HARTZ, LUNDEEN, FULMER, JOHNSTONE, KING, AND STEVENS, P.A.
Opinion, 06-16158, 24 April 2008
RELATED: How To Conduct a Background Check
The Virtual Chase, 15 October 2007
(Lawyers and clients use the phrase, background check, as a catchall for many types of investigative research involving people or companies.)
RELATED: The Art of Public Records Research
The Virtual Chase, 27 November 2007
(Corporate clients' need for information from public records runs the gamut from validating a businessperson's credentials to gaining a competitive edge in the marketplace.)
(14 May) This article imagines "what a Daubert hearing for an e-discovery search engine would look like." It's based on the presumption that such hearings are coming.
Federal district court judge, John M. Facciola, has issued several rulings on search engines and electronic data discovery. In two recent cases, he "held that any challenges to or defenses of search methodology in producing e-discovery must be scrutinized under Rule 702."
Please note: The link to the Sedona Conference working paper referenced in the article connects you to the wrong document. For the working paper on search retrieval methods, see the reference below.
SEE: The Sedona Conference® Best Practices Commentary on Search & Retrieval Methods
The Sedona Conference, August 2007
RELATED: The Search for Better E-Discovery Tools
TVC Alert Research News, 23 April 2008
(8 May) Information consultant Gwen Harris shares her recent observations about changes in the way select major search engines handle stemming. Stemming refers to word variants, usually (but not always) in the word ending, unlike truncation, which involves changes in the word ending.
Gwen notes that Yahoo, Ask and Live now support stemming. To prevent stemming in these search engines as well as Google use the plus sign (+) immediately prior to a word.
Gwen comments on a few other changes as well, including Yahoo's dropping support for the Boolean, AND and AND NOT.
RELATED: Web Searching with Advanced Commands
The Virtual Chase, 15 October 2007
RELATED: Searching Dirty to Find What's Hidden
The Virtual Chase, 27 August 2007
(8 May) The FBI last November served the Internet Archive with a secret order (National Security Letter) to reveal "the name, address and online activity of a patron." The Internet Archive challenged the order.
"As part of their settlement, the FBI agreed to drop the gag order and the archive agreed to withdraw the complaint. The case was unsealed Monday. Yesterday, redacted versions of key documents were filed, allowing the parties to discuss the case."
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(19 Apr) Technical Services Librarian, Paul Joseph, shares a presentation that illustrates how to use del.icio.us to create library resource pages or research guides. Paul shows you how to handle the resource once while incorporating it in - or publishing it to - multiple Web pages. This is a very cool time-saving tip!
RELATED: Del.icio.us Bookmarks for The Virtual Chase
Interpol: Comprised of 186 member countries, INTERPOL "facilitates cross-border police co-operation, and supports and assists all organizations, authorities and services whose mission is to prevent or combat international crime." The Web site provides news about international crime incidents, Red Notices or notices about fugitives "wanted by national jurisdictions (or the International Criminal Tribunals, where appropriate)," fact sheets, guides, annual reports and other publications, select databases and other electronic products (Red Notices, Stolen Works of Art) -- not all of which is available to the general public, and more. (et)
Stolen Works of Art (INTERPOL): International crime organization INTERPOL offers news and other information about stolen works of art. The Web page covers 1) the most recent stolen works of art reported to INTERPOL, 2) works of art recovered by the police during their enquiries and for which owners have not been identified, 3) works of art recorded in the INTERPOL database and CD-ROM which have been recovered, and 4) the latest INTERPOL posters showing the most sought after stolen works of art. News stories often appear in several different languages (English, Spanish, French).
Member countries have access to the database. "The CD-ROM is designed for police and customs services, museums, auction rooms, antique dealers, collectors and art lovers in general, and lists about 31,500 works of art and cultural property items such as paintings, sculptures and tapestries, with search possibilities based on different criteria: title of the work, name of the artist, description of the work or its dimensions and technique used. The CD-ROM is available in English, French and Spanish." (et)
INTERPOL Wanted: International crime organization INTERPOL provides Red Notices or notices about fugitives "wanted by national jurisdictions (or the International Criminal Tribunals, where appropriate)." From this page, review the sub-menu on the left. You may display all recent notices, or search for specific notices. Search criteria includes name, nationality, physical description, offense and keywords. The information returned includes the individual's full name, date of birth, gender, place of birth, offense type and photo. There are slight variations of this information depending on the member country. (et)
VINCheck (Stolen Vehicles): The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) offers this public service for determining if a U.S.-based vehicle has been reported as stolen. The "database contains vehicles which have been reported stolen by cooperating NICB members, but not recovered. To perform a search a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is required. A maximum of 5 VINCheck searches can be conducted within a 24 hour period."
Please note: NICB has not independently verified the information in the database. Many stolen vehicles do not appear in the database. NICB recommends that you verify with your local law enforcement agency that a stolen vehicle report is active before taking any future action regarding a vehicle in the database. (et)
Canadian Stolen Vehicles & Bicycles: The Canadian Police Information Center provides a database of information about stolen vehicles and bicycles. You may search by Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), license plate number and province of issue, or bicycle serial number. The CPIC recommends that you verify information you find with local law enforcement. (et)
Research News Archive
8 May 2008
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Cite as: TVC Alert Research News, 14 May 2008, Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, http://www.virtualchase.com/tvcalert/transfer.asp?xmlFile=may08/14may08.xml
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Created: 14 May 2008
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