Date: Tue, 10 Dec 1996 03:30:44 GMT Server: Apache/1.1.1 Content-type: text/html
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METACRAWLER About Our Service |
Thank you for using MetaCrawler! We hope that it proves to you to be a very valuable service, and we are constantly working to improve it. If you have any questions or comments concerning MetaCrawler, please consult our FAQ below. If it doesn't contain the answer you're looking for, please feel free to send mail.
MetaCrawler is a free World Wide Web search service. MetaCrawler differs from other services in that it doesn't maintain any internal database. Rather, it relies on the databases of various Web based sources. MetaCrawler sends your queries to several web search engines, including Lycos, WebCrawler, Excite, Alta Vista, Yahoo, HotBot, and Galaxy.
MetaCrawler works by querying a number of existing, free search engines, organizes the results into a uniform format, and displays them. With MetaCrawler you also have the option of scoring the hits, so that the sorted list that is displayed can be sorted by a number of different ways, such as locality, region, and organization.
MetaCrawler has many useful features which other services either do not or are unable to provide. These include:
One method for getting accurate results from MetaCrawler is to go to the configuration page and turn on Extra Functionality. This will give you several options not available by default.
Another method is to use MetaCrawler's advanced search syntax: When you create a search, specify groups of words by surrounding them in quotes. Also, specify words or phrases that must appear in documents by prefixing them with a plus sign, and prefix words or phrases that must not appear by prefixing them with a minus sign.
Some advanced search syntax examples:
Please note that not all sources queried support these features. They are, therefore, only suggestions that MetaCrawler will use when tailoring each source's query.
Yes! We are happy to have you link to our page or have a MetaCrawler form on your page, and you're welcome to use our logo to accent that link or form as well! You may copy the logo directly from mc-logo.gif (or mc-anim2.gif for the animated logo). HTML necessary to embed the MetaCrawler form on your home page is here. The general and iface fields are the only ones required by MetaCrawler; defaults will be used for any others if they are not specified.
Please send mail to advertising@metacrawler.com for info.
MetaCrawler is primarily a research tool. However, we are considering options to commercialize this technology. Inquiries on commercializing MetaCrawler should be sent directly to products@metacrawler.com.