Evaluative search engines include only sites that have been evaluated for quality. In addition, the credentials of the reviewers and the rating criteria are often unknown. Sites were originally chosen for depth, accuracy, timeliness and neat appearance. They have dropped timeliness and accuracy from rating. Point Communications is a subsiderary of Lycos.
Point looks for the smartest and most entertaining sites.
Nonevaluative search engines, unlike bibliographic databases or evaluative search engines, usually rely on automated means, typically called spiders, robots, worms, or ants, to identify WWW pages for inclusion. Very few WWW databases, evaluative or not, employ the same type of manual and abstracting procedures that the bibliographic databases use. The order in which search terms are entered is generally not important with relevancy ranking. The entire search strategy must be entered in a single statement. Some will even allow you to put a limit on the relevancy score and criteria used.