Newsgroups: bit.listserv.infonets
Date:         Sun, 30 Aug 1992 21:49:55 PDT
Reply-To:     Info-Nets@Think.Com
From:         "Rick Gates" <LB05GATE@UCSBUXA.BITNET>
Subject:      First Internet Hunt

Note1: Please respond to me, not to the list
Note2: This message is posted to several lists.

           A CHALLENGE FOR ALL INTERNET USERS !!!
           --------------------------------------

If you want to look for evidence of the 'information explosion'
you need go no further than that dynamic mass of data, images,
discussion, advice, complaints, software, and ideas known
collectively as the Internet.

How will we manage this ever growing, constantly changing 'thing'
that we've created?  My answer is: we won't.  Because we can't.

Rather than attempting to fit the Net into a rigid, deterministic
box of our (someone's?), own design I think we're better served
by learning how to navigate it's framework.  We need to teach
ourselves how to use what some have called cyberspace.

How will we use the Net in the future?  Will librarians provide
electronic information services?  Will researchers access
information directly, or will they use others as intermediaries?
Who will these 'others' be?

In order to get a better feel for how we'll use the Net in the
future, I think it's critical to understand how we use the
Internet today.

I think many Net users, particularly many in libraries, view the
Internet as a path to secondary tools that can lead us to the
primary information that resides in print. While this 'finding
aid' function of the Internet is certainly a major one, I am
discovering that more and more primary information is available.

This leads me to my challenge to Internet users.  I have designed
a contest that I term the Internet Hunt.  The Hunt consists of 10
questions on a variety of subjects, *all* of which can be
answered using the tools of the Internet.  Most of the
information asked for is primary information.

Here are the ground rules:

1. Each question carries a number in parentheses.  This number is
my best guess on how tough that question is to answer.  The scale
is 1 (easy), to 10 (hard).  Total points for all questions is
listed after the last question.

2. Answer as many questions as you can.  (I don't know if anyone
will answer all 10.)

3. All answers must be mailed to me.  My standard signature will
be at the bottom of this message.

4. No answers will be accepted after midnight Sunday Sept 6.
That gives players approximately 1 week.

That's all there is to it.

Determining the winner:

1. Whoever answers all the questions first shall be declared the
winner.

2. In the event that nobody answers all the questions, the player
with the highest point total shall be declared the winner.

3. If there is a tie for highest point total, the player who
responded first shall be declared the winner.

The prize:

The winner shall have his/her name posted prominently on all the
listservs to which this contest has been posted.

(This will no doubt bring to the winner the glory of victory, the
envy of his/her peers, and adulation of the teeming millions.  In
turn, this will doubtless lead to a rocketing, lucrative career,
the development of ruthless and powerful contacts, and an early
retirement basking on the beaches of St. Croix.)

A few preferences:

If you could also attach a name, where you work, and what you do,
that would be quite nice.

Finally:

Even if you don't play, please feel free to let me know what you
think of the questions, and how I've weighted them.

The Hunt:
---------------------------------------------------------------
1. (4) I'm leaving for Japan tomorrow.  Approximately how many
yen can I get for my dollar, give or take a few yen ?

2. (7) A hurricane just blew in!  Where can I find satellite
photos of it's progress?

3. (6) I'm taking a job as a social studies teacher at a high
school in Denver, Co.  Where can I find a list of local
environmental organizations that could come speak to my classes?

4. (4) My wife just got a job at the University of North
Carolina.  My specialty is computer/data processing work.  Where
can I find a list of jobs in that area of the state?

5. (2) How many copies of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" does
the University of Nevada at Las Vegas hold?

6. (6) Bill Clinton made a speech somewhere on Earth day this
year.  Where can I find the text of it?

7. (7)  I just read an interesting paper by a Bradley Smith in
the Chemistry Department at the University of Western Australia.
Is it possible to get an email address for him?

8. (2)  Someone told me that there's a collection of software
specifically for libraries stored somewhere in Canada called
libsoft.  How do I get ahold of this software?

9. (4)  Where can I find news, discussions, and perhaps
eyewitness reports out of what used to be Yugoslavia?

10. (6)  Could you tell me how I can find the Washington address
for the congressman from my district?

Maximum points: 48
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Rick Gates                              (805) 893-7225
Dir. of Library Automation
Univ. of California                     lb05gate@ucsbuxa.ucsb.edu
Santa Barbara, CA  93106
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU