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Hi Linda, I have been searching for the better part of 16 months to find anything to help me understand PD, and to try to find any new field trials for my friend John or new procedures that he might consider in the months to come. You used Alta Vista .. I found MSN is a far better search engine. I did look at Alta Vista too and used Lycos and Excite .. I tried Snap but it had limitations. I did find a search engine in Europe which gave me some new things ; hospital procedures and new meds that were under useage that at the time seemed to be a lot different than the states. I found that doing a search on MSN for search engines was my beginning . I am as you though, a lot of files some of which are repetetive some nothing that John would consider. I hope this has been of some help? *seattle* Audrey friend of pwp aussie John 48/42/38?? ----- Original Message ----- From: Linda J Herman <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2000 5:01 PM Subject: WWWeb Resources : or my adventures in AltaVista land > Thanks to Murray Charters for all the Parkinson's links you have been > sharing with us - it would be great if all these links could be included > on one or more of the PD Web Sites for permanent reference. It's very > helpful to see good web sites that have been selected by other list > members. I find it's getting more and more difficult to sift out the > "good", from the growing number of commercial sites and all the > misinformation on the Web. > This morning I tried doing a simple Alta Vista search for > "Parkinson's Disease", as a new Internet user might do - and looked at > the first 20 results. > But first, on top of the screen was a banner ad (these are often > customized according to your search topic) stating: "Live Your Life" - - > "Share your victory" -- "Join the PWP Community" Great! I thought - some > good publicity for the Parkinsn List, or maybe some other online PWP > group - so I "clicked here" as instructed, and found myself at the > SmithKline Beecham Requip Web site - promising to "give you details on > the latest developments and treatment options." > > There was only one report - a Requip study under the heading "Welcome > News for Parkinson's Patient : A New 5-year Study Yields Dramatic > Treatment Results" No other meds or treatments were mentioned. I know > companies, including pharmaceutical companies are allowed to advertise, > but they should make it clear from the start, that's what they are doing. > > In their People with Parkinson's Community section, a few PD chat rooms > were listed (not PIEN), and there were a few names and e-mail addresses > of people who had registered - certainly no substitute for a PD community > like PIEN. Later in the day I tried the same search again, and this time > the banner message was - "Living with PD? You Can Have symptom relief - > You Can Have Control - You Can have mobility -- Click here." Just > wondering, if others question these kind of marketing methods too? > > Back to my search results : Among the first 20 Alta Vista results were > some very good PD sites - the Parkinson's Disease Foundation (#2), > Awakenings (#3), Simon Coles' James site (#4); Phil Tompkins PD Index - > which would be one of the best places to start was #19. But also among > the first 20 web sites were companies selling herbs, vitamins, and other > products - all claiming to offer PD information. Also "Dr. Bob's > Psychopharmacology Tips" (#9). All I can say is - Know Your Sources. > As a fitting end to my search, as I reached the bottom of each screen, > Alta Vista asks - "Have you tried these resources?" And advises me again > to Click Here to. . . "Comparison shop for "parkinson's disease." Which > naturally left me wondering if I overpaid for my PD -- the next time I'm > shopping for a chronic disease, I guess I'll try Alta Vista first! :) > > Linda Herman >