Potpourri
by Dr. W. David Currie

A lot of you have been complaining lately, that like me, you receive so much information via e-mail, pop-ups and questionable news sites that you can no longer tell what is real and what is not.

Well, there's a website to help you sort out the real stories from the “Weekly World News-type” hoaxes that are so commonly propagated by e-mail. Be sure to check out the online Museum of Hoaxes. Don't forget to try the hoax photo test while you are there. You can also get the scoop on all the latest Internet-driven hoaxes by checking out the links listed under the heading “Hoax Watch.” Check it out; you're up-to-the-minute knowledge of hoaxes will impress friends and co-workers.

One website that a lot of college instructors have heard rumors about, but which actually exists, is Rate My Professors. If you are a professor, or teacher, like me, you may be surprised to find that you have been rated on the Internet at <http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/index.jsp> (college level) or at <http://www.ratemyteachers.com> (high school level). By the way, if you don't like your rating or the comments posted about you, legal precedent dictates that you will not be able to get comments posted about you removed. If you are an instructor, and think someone may have posted a rating about you at either of the sites above, be sure to put on your emotional armor before entering! I've heard many professors describe themselves as, for example, the worst mechanic in the world, but I've never heard one admit to being the worst professor in the world.

And now, to conclude with something completely different… Many of us like to receive website design awards as a means or confirming our efforts at continuous website improvement. But have you ever thought about checking to make sure that your website is not on any of the numerous “world's worst website” lists. One site which tracks some of the worst the web has to offer is <http://www.worstoftheweb.com/> run by Buzz, Melvin and Chip. Buzz and the boys will review any site suggested by anyone and they challenge site designers to post their “worst of the web” award icon (here's hoping none of us find our websites there). You might also want to check out one specific “World's Worst Web Site,” where the web host demonstrates nearly every way possible to abuse a web page. No matter how poor our first attempts at website design, we should remember the response one web designer provided to the criticism that his site was a waste of Internet space, namely, “How can a website be a waste of space when the Internet can easily be expanded as needed?”

Recently accused of sending someone a virus, even though your computer is virus free… be sure to do a search for “spoofing” by the Klez 32 worm!