ONLINE-ADS>> Re: Site abuse? What's a guy to do?

Donovan White (dwhite_at_olinfo.com)
Fri, 11 Oct 1996 11:00:39 -0400

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Bob Wyman <bobwyman_at_healthgate.com> wrote:

> One of his services is a "Free Medline" search...
>
> While he's got his own search form up on his site (with no
> advertising on it), the backend to his search form is *my* machine
> here at HealthGate. Whenever folk do a search on his site, my machine
> is the one that goes grunting through the 8.5 million documents that
> make up the Medline database... The problem is that we use
> advertising revenue to pay for the tremendous costs involved in
> keeping this database running but our advertising revenue is limited
> when sites like Green's build front-ends to our engine (there are a
> number of sites that do this -- primarily outside the US).
>
> What is right?
> Should Green be obligated to at least mention my company as the
> provider of the backend for his search form? (i.e. a bit of
> advertising for my site?)

Nope. Really bad precedent setting if this were required.

> If Green sells advertising on his search form, should I get a
piece
> of the revenue?

Nope. Same bad precedent to set. Shades of Georgia.

> If I sold an exclusive sponsorship for the database, would I be
held
> liable if the advertiser discovered that you could get to my engine
> through a side door (Green's site) without seeing the ad?

The scales just tipped real heavy on the side of doing something about this
problem. Not getting something you never had doesn't compare to losing
money you do have.

> Should I be able to compel Green to carry ads that I sell?

Nope. You don't want to set this precedent.

> Currently, my ads appear on the "search results" pages that
appear
> after Green's "search form." This, at least, gives me some revenue
> from his activity. However, would it be legal, ethical, etc. if he
> were to front-end in such a way that he "scraped off" my ads and
> inserted his own?

Could be legal, may be ethical, but doesn't address your real problem -
he's able to access your service with his front end.

The solution would be to set your server up so that only your page produces
search results, outside pages that use your search form code come back
with, at a minimum, your original page. Which means you have to use
cookies.

Donovan White

Online Information Development and Design
dwhite_at_olinfo.com (508) 597-5321

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