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Websites of Knowledge?

Posted by Cliff on from the online-references dept.

AvantLegion asks: "Every now and then, I stumble upon a website that is just a veritable tome of knowledge - be it of a certain theme (like Snopes.com) or more general information (Everything2.com). Free documentation databases are invaluable, but rarely seem to come up very early in Google searches. What websites out there do you consider to be indispensable sources of knowledge? (save the obvious Slashdot jokes). Where do you look up information besides combing through search engine results?"

38 of 105 comments (clear)

  1. The Straight Dope by slacy · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Straight Dope

    They've got a good search engine, and answers to all kinds of interesting questions. I've spent many an evening browsing through the archives...

  2. Old School Technology - Newsgroups by dthable · · Score: 3, Informative

    I still look at groups.google.com (mainly because I can't get access to an NNTP server at work). I still find answers on newsgroups that I really can't find anywhere else. (Try using a MS JDBC client....good luck finding anything on MSDN.)

  3. MSDN by CokoBWare · · Score: 3, Interesting

    For a M$ junkie like me, I do find MSDN to be invaluable for developer reference when I need some definitive answer for an API I don't have handy.

  4. Two by fredrikj · · Score: 2, Informative

    I use dictionary.com a lot. It's not only useful for translating words (I'm not a native English speaker) and looking up synonyms, but also has a decent scope of information about technical terms.

    Then there's of course Eric Weisstein's World of Science for everything related to physics, chemistry and mathematics.

  5. The All Music Guide by miket01 · · Score: 2, Informative

    AMG is my first stop for anything pop music related, excepting lyrics. I'd be interested in hearing about a good lyrics database that doesn't bombard me with pop-ups.

    1. Re:The All Music Guide by mishac · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Maybe you should just use a better browser, like Mozilla or Firebird, so you don't have to see the popups.

    2. Re:The All Music Guide by N1KO · · Score: 2, Informative

      This site has lyrics and lets people post comments on what they mean. I'm not sure about the popups since my browser kills them.

  6. Security Tome by servicepack158 · · Score: 2, Informative

    If information assurance is ur bag, www.infosyssec.com is a pretty great resource. Lots of links to good stuff. Their news site www.snpx.com is good too. and Funny.

  7. IMDb by epsalon · · Score: 4, Informative

    The Internet Movie Database has everything there is to know about movies and TV series, and the people involved in them. An invaluable resource to all movie viewers.

    --

    Make even shorter URLs - 8LN.org

    1. Re:IMDb by Otter · · Score: 2, Informative
      Seconded -- IMDB is a must, especially when you're, say, watching Independence Day and wonder, "Hey, isn't that Lieutenant Getraer from CHiPs?"

      For a more specific entertainment niche, I got to Setlist.com for (duh) setlist information.

      The best geography/government site: the CIA World Factbook. I'm not sure how the CIA landed that responsibility but it's very well done.

      And, of course, for Americans the IRS forms site is a must.

      --
      What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
    2. Re:IMDb by rute20740 · · Score: 2, Informative

      On the same token, but for music, there's All Music Guide. I've found lots of information about even the most obscure bands on there. They also link you to other similar bands, or other projects the members have been in. A must for anyone who is into music.

    3. Re:IMDb by mattsucks · · Score: 3, Funny

      Seconded -- IMDB is a must, especially when you're, say, watching Independence Day and wonder, "Hey, isn't that Lieutenant Getraer from CHiPs?"

      IMDB wouldn't really help, because at that point I'd be paralyzed with the shame of my intimate knowledge of CHiPs and thus unable to get to the computer.

    4. Re:IMDb by mattsucks · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Well, dammit, now I'm thinking. I was just trying to be funny before (time will tell if i succeeded).

      As the TV becomes the computer becomes the home theatre becomes the DVD player becomes ... this kind of data integration will be a killer app. Want to know what other shows a cast member has been in? Move the cursor over the person on the screen and mash the Info button. Since everything is integrated, a little bit of pattern recognition goes into effect, a request to some webservice is generated, and you get a popup with a list of that actor's other roles. Heck, you wouldn't even need pattern recognition. The digital video stream could include "what actor is where on screen at what time" info, kinda like a big dynamic <map>.

      Now if Microsoft would hurry up and get all this done we'd truly be in multi-media heaven (aaahahaha, i kill me ;-)

  8. Yaxay.com by executebusiness.com · · Score: 2, Informative

    I happen to like yaxay.com for images and PHP info. If you're into culture, although sometimes annoying, I like Kuro5hin.org.

  9. How Stuff Works by Dfiant · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I like browsing articles at howstuffworks.com. I go there looking for something specific and end up spending hours reading the articles. They're not overly technical, but not so simple as to be inaccurate either. It's something I can share with others and not confuse them right out. ;-)

  10. Wikipedia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    From their homepage:
    Wikipedia is a multilingual project to create a complete and accurate open content encyclopedia.

    All the articles are under the GNU Free Documentation License.

  11. You're missing the obvious ones by eggstasy · · Score: 4, Informative

    Wikipedia
    How Stuff Works

  12. Mathworld by Ann+Coulter · · Score: 4, Informative

    has everything you want to know about math. Scienceworld has some cursory scientific information as well.

  13. arXiv.org e-Print archive by asa · · Score: 3, Informative

    http://arxiv.org/ is invaluable if you're interested in scientific publishing. It's been around for more than a decade and I know of no better research archiving and dissemination project. I imagine that it was designed for a specific community (researchers) but, as nothing but a spectator, I've found it to be a great source of information and worth visiting regularly.

    --Asa

  14. Don't confuse knowledge with information by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Most of the examples I've seen in the comments so far are full of information. It is up to you to turn that information into knowledge. I'd say that websites containing actual knowledge as opposed to information are few if not nonexistent.

    Sorry to be so pedantic, but the speaker at my college graduation said something along the lines of, "seek knowledge, not information" and it's the one thing from his speech that has stuck with me. Use information to gain knowledge, and use knowledge to gain wisdom. It is only through the power of the willing human mind that each transforms into the next.

    But anyway, back to your regularly scheduled links full of cool information...

  15. They're even tech sites! by Asprin · · Score: 3, Informative


    webopedia.com
    whatis.com

    --
    "Lawyers are for sucks."
    - Doug McKenzie
  16. Re:When I look for stuff... by orangesquid · · Score: 2, Informative

    (Hah. thehun is a blessing and also a curse, because there are a million imitators that suck.)

    But yeah, for information, there's TONS of stuff out there. I've actually found that the best way to find a really cool page is to start with something specific, punch in a very careful and exact google query, look at the first 10 or 20 hits, and find the one that seems to be the most all-around informative, and bookmark it. If you're really clever, you can categorize your bookmarks, but I'm lazy and I don't (grep is my friend).

    --
    --TheOrangeSquid Is it any wonder things seem so awry? We swim in a sea of confusion and don't have to think to survive
  17. Alternative dictionary site by larien · · Score: 3, Informative

    As an alternative for dictionary.com, try www.m-w.com

  18. My favorites by fm6 · · Score: 3, Informative
    The Portland Pattern Repository is a fascinating reference site, even if you're not a programmer. It's also of interest as the very first WikiWiki site.

    Then again, it's sort of redundant to mention the PPR in this story, since it tends to turn up in Google searches.

    Bartleby.com has all kinds of reference books available, and lots of other stuff online. Like all of the Harvard Classics.

    I'm suprised I'm the first to mention Project Gutenberg. Maybe people don't think of it as a reference site, since mostly it's good for downloading whole public-domain texts. But various volunteers (including me) are now in the process of proofreading the famous Britannica 11th Edition for inclusion in the Gutenberg set. At the current rate, it'll be done in about a year. But perhaps with more volunteers...

  19. Movies and maths by xyrw · · Score: 2, Informative

    For movie reviews, rottentomatoes.com is pretty good.

    Mathworld is great for maths- related information. A website from the makers of Mathematica-- one reason why ideologically I prefer Mathematica over Maple, even though my uni uses the latter. Wolfram is simply more involved in education.

  20. All Music Guide by CaptainStormfield · · Score: 3, Informative

    I love the All Music Guide. This is a very useful database of artist bios, discographies, album reviews, and recommended albums for particular artists.

    --
    "The dinosaurs died because they didn't have a space program." - Niven
  21. Basic and not so basic net lore. by jedo · · Score: 3, Informative

    searchlore.org
    serachlores.org
    Beware if you -- from Redmond
    anywhere is this site. The firest pages are safe tho.

  22. Another one by spumoni_fettuccini · · Score: 2, Informative

    I use several of those listed above and would like to add this one to the list. It covers a broad range of topics.

    --
    -- Some days you're the dog; some days you're the hydrant.
  23. Re:The "Beginning of knowledge" by xutopia · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://www.skepdic.com/ http://www.2think.org/ May I recommend you also read Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan. It's the missing 67th book.

  24. Great Source for free online computer books by Alpha_Nerd · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Here are many free books related to math and computer science.

  25. Some random links .. by stevey · · Score: 2, Informative

    There are several sites that I look at regularly for different programming things.

    When I did windows development Code Project was a lifesaver, nowadays that's been replaced by the venerable Perl Monk

    For online books I'd browse through The Assayer, and for zany reference nothing beats How Much Is Inside .. Stuff!

  26. Re:The "Beginning of knowledge" by chriso11 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Amusing. Of course, that reference also states that pi=3.0 (1 King 7:23). It also condones slavery and misogony, and is biased against handicapped (e.g. Leviticus 21:16-21; also see Exodus 4:11). Limited use in scientific (Deuteronomy 14:7, 1 Chonicles 16:30, Isaiah 13:10), mathematical, legal, and ethical (Genesis 19:8) analysis. That is problem with most reference over 300years old. I would say it is of limited use overall. Don't waste your time on it.

    --
    No, I don't trust in god. He'll have to pay up front, like everybody else.
  27. Sports information by angle_slam · · Score: 2, Funny
    Most of my favorite information sites have already been listed, so I won't provide links to them (Webopedia, allmusic.com, imdb.com). But I don't believe I saw any sports information sites. So here are a few historical statistic sites:
  28. General ones by ArsonPerBuilding · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/ its like the Hitchhikers Guide, but for our real world.
    www.howstuffworks.com has been stated, and is a staple of mine.

    --
    1 tequila 2 tequila 3 tequila floor
  29. FAQs.org by I+Am+The+Owl · · Score: 4, Informative
    FAQs.org is a large repository of USENET group FAQs. I find it indispensible when looking for an overview of particular topic, such as the comp.compression FAQ or the comp.graphics.rendering.raytracing FAQ. All kinds of interesting articles are to be had on that site alone, it's a fun read.

    Also, I find that Security Focus has a huge backlog of very useful and interesting information for those concerned with computer security. In that same vein, dbaseiv.net [Google cache, the site seems to be down right now] is shaping up to be a huge repository of computer security knowledge.

    The Linux Documentation Project is full of HOWTOs relating to Linux, if you've got a Linux problem that you need to work out (though HOWTOs make for really boring recreational reading).

    This is just what I can come up with off the top of my head, I'll probably post a reply to this when I remember more.

    --

    --sdem
  30. people's homepages... by quiddity · · Score: 3, Informative
    i think there must be a good selection of useful user "home" pages. would make a good thread, or posting in itself. from mine:
    --web

    currency converter - findsounds.com

    how stuff works - infoplease

    about.com - librarian's index

    rebecca's reference - tom mayo's links
    -words:

    acronym/abbr -lookup -finder -bm

    trans -babelfish -worldlingo -google bm

    bartleby

    phrontistery

    pseudodictionary

    jargon file
    --music

    epitonic - pitchfork

    sonomu - electraum

    gnod - audioquarium --books:

    amazon - abebooks - bookfinder

    gutenberg & onlinebooks

    loc.gov - lambiek comiclopedia - rebecca's books

    --
    .
    . hmmm
  31. Looking up at the sky by FlexAgain · · Score: 2, Informative

    If you want any info on the Sun, other stars, satellites, planets, Iridium Flares, etc ...

    Heavens Above is a good place to start.

    --
    Actually it is rocket science...
  32. Also dict.org by Anitra · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I was going to recommend dict.org, but then I went and looked at dictionary.com again. Seems they pull from pretty much the same databases/dictionaries (in English anyway), everything from Webster's to "WordNet" to the Free Online dictionary of computing. Heck, they even (both) have dictionaries of Biblical names & terms! Wow.

    I can see why you'd prefer dictionary.com, though. They have better foreign language support, and a thesaurus; dict.org has several different algorithms for searching (that you can choose from), and you can also narrow your choice to a single dictionary with dict.org.

    --

    Have you read the Moderation Guidelines Addendum?