Web Page Entanglement

jason writes "tangle is a system for what we call "web page entanglement". tangle creates links between pages automatically based on how users move from one page to another. tangle proxies connect together in a peer-to-peer network for scalability: as users surf the entangled web, they are passed from proxy to proxy. Each proxy serves as an expert for a particular subset of web pages. For example, you can take a look at the entangled version of the GNU homepage as seen through a tangle proxy. tangle alpha2, the first public version, has just been released. See http://tangle.sourceforge.net for more information, or read on..."

jason continues:

"By viewing the web through a tangle proxy, you can see the connections and associations left by those who surfed the web before you. By surfing the web using tangle, you also leave behind connections and associations for others who will surf in the future.

When you exit one page and enter another (by clicking a link or performing a search), a two-way link is created between the pages. As users surf through a particular page over time, tangle keeps track of popular ways to get to the page and popular places to go next. These entry and exit links are displayed at the top of each page, sorted by popularity.

Clicking on one of these entry/exit links tells tangle that you think the link is relevant and useful (like a vote for the link) and increases the link's popularity. In other words, if a user thinks of something relevant while reading a page and performs a search for it from that page, tangle gauges how others react to that association over time.

tangle is similar in some ways to the closed-loop hypertext system Everything2, though tangle works for the web at large.

We have several tangle proxies up and running. The tangle proxy software is also available for download.

A note for the paranoid:
Though tangle keeps track of web usage patterns, the focus is not on tracking the habits of individual users, but on tracking the trends of an entire community of users. tangle is GPL'd open source [source here], so you can see for yourself: clicking a link through a tangle proxy simply bumps up the links popularity---user IP addresses are completely ignored."

Comments

For Christsake don't run this on Slashdot!

[Anonymous Coward]

You'd get the a goatse.cx link on top of every page.

I made an exit link

[Phosphor3k]

Through goatse.cx, and If we all play our part, we can get gnu.org associated with goatse.cx!

Hmm

[serps]

Does this mean that once quantum computers arrive, we will experience quantum entanglement?

Thank you, I'll be here all week :P

Net use tracking.

[bytesmythe]

Well, we know exactly what the first entry link at NineNine's and autopr0n's sites will be.

Help the cause...

[Anonymous Coward]

Click on this link to associate the GNU hippies with Goatse :-)

Ahhh, more pr0n ads!

[stevens]

This appears to use the same idea as referer-links on weblogs. Here's the progression from idea to uselessness:

1. Obtain data from visitors as they browse.
2. Post data obtained form visitors on the same site.
3. Watch as three new internet startups market a tool to spam pr0n links on all the pages that use (1) and (2), above.

Only let your users post shit on your site if you want it to all be pr0n spam or goatse links.

microsoft stuck in the middle

[jdkane]

Hey, I just checked the entangled version of the Microsoft.com site, and all the entry and exist links seem to go to Slashdot, Free Software Foundation, or other places that Microsoft stands against. Looks like Slashdot has done its job. Pretty funny.

Undesired Anomalies?

[whereiswaldo]

This appears as an exit link:

"anarax.net - easier to use than a virgin on prom night"

Not very tasteful for a professional site.

Re:So what's the purpose of this?

[wing.app]

yeah, that's slashdot, modding it up as insightful instead of funny ;)

I'm super paranoid man!

[Call Me Black Cloud]

A note for the paranoid:
Though tangle keeps track of web usage patterns, the focus is not on tracking the habits of individual users, but on tracking the trends of an entire community of users. tangle is GPL'd open source [source here], so you can see for yourself...

Yes, but since this runs on the server, how do I know you're really running the source that's available?.

Or maybe I'm worrying too much, and the check really is in the mail, my information really won't be sold to 3rd parties, that really does happen to all guys at one time or another, and it's not me, it's you.