BuildingBackLinks 2.33 KB
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      BuildingBackLinks -- /DesignIssues
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    <h1>
      Building back-links
    </h1>
    <h2>
      Why back links?
    </h2>This <a name="1" href="Topology.html#14">discussion on
    link topology</a> differetiates between systems with
    mon-directional and those with bidirection links. In practice,
    a system
    <p>
      in which different parts of the web have different
      capabilities cannot insist on bidirectional links.
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    <p>
      Imagine, for example the publisher of a large and famous book
      to which many people refer but who has no interest in
      maintaining his end of their links or indeed in knowing who
      has refered to the book. In this case the link may be only of
      use to the person who made it.
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    <p>
      However, there are cases in which the back-links are of great
      interest, and so they may be generated off line.
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    <h2>
      How?
    </h2>One way is for a <a name="2" href=
    "../Terms.html#daemon">daemon</a> to read all of the documenst
    on a particular domain, and make a database of the links, then
    redistribute to the servers the back links.
    <p>
      Another way is suggested by Phillip Hallam-Baker who
      "wondered about a tag being added to the get protocol to
      indicate where the text was being accessed from. This could
      then be used by intelligent servers to create back links - if
      this was desired. This would allow the wed to grow dynamicaly
      since I would know that logging onto any "key" W3 server I
      would be able to travel to all those parts of the web I was
      meant to..."
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    <p>
      This method would also provide intersting statistics on the
      use of particular links, which would enhance the usage
      logging.
    </p>
    <p>
      _________________________________________________________________
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    <address>
      <a name="0" href=
      "http://www.w3.org./hypertext/TBL_Disclaimer.html">Tim BL</a>
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