Association blaster
The Association Blaster is an interactive Internet project that has existed since January 1999 and functions as a link farm . The users write contributions that are linked to existing hyperfiction texts through real-time links. The association blaster was developed by net artists Alvar Freude and Dragan Espenschied .
functionality
The association blaster consists of keywords and posts. Every user can write any number of posts of any length for any keyword. No login or registration is necessary. This open mode of operation means that spam is also spread unhindered. The words of the written contributions can be linked to existing keywords in the form of hyperlinks .
In addition, there are five links to randomly selected keywords (only displayed for articles with fewer than six already linked terms), so-called escape links . According to random principles (which the more experienced user can easily 'help' with simple tricks), the user also receives evaluation points (see below) or the opportunity to initiate a new keyword after writing a contribution or calling up a keyword.
Control of the content
As with other websites whose content is user-created , the Association Blaster is affected by spam . This is made easier by the fact that no registration is required to send contributions.
Not all posts are created by the users themselves. Much of the content is simply copied and pasted from other websites to the association blaster. In such cases, too, there is no moderation "from above". The operators do not remove the contributions.
Instead of moderation, an evaluation system should ensure “ self-cleaning ”. All (not registered) users are awarded "evaluation points" at irregular intervals with which they can evaluate individual contributions with +1 or −1. Bad or aggressive texts should be "evaluated away" in this way, since texts with an evaluation below an adjustable threshold value are no longer displayed.
There is an exception rule to ward off spam. According to the operator, "several thousand spams are automatically filtered out every day". Even in the case of clearly criminal statements, contributions are manually deleted in individual cases and, in accordance with the applicable legal situation, the author's IP address is passed on to investigative authorities.
Since the texts of the users do not have to meet any guidelines, the association blaster also contains many erotic stories and texts with a drastic depiction or glorification of violence
Further functions of the association blaster
An attached discussion forum complements the association blaster. The discussion forum can be reached directly or from any text contribution using the "discuss" function. Statistics can also be called up for each keyword, as well as for the articles currently being written, for new keywords and other categories.
The web blaster is also part of the association blaster project and is similar to it, the only difference being that external websites are linked in the typical blaster fashion.
Because of the web blaster, the makers of the association blaster received a warning from Deutsche Bahn .
There is also an English-language version of the association blaster, which can also be accessed from the "Statistics" page of the German-language blaster and vice versa.
In the Association Blaster, all terms and word associations are automatically linked to Google AdSense . Thus, the operator automatically receives advertising revenue with each term.
Honourings and prices
In 1999 the association blaster was awarded at the 1st Ettlingen Internet Literature Competition. The association blaster was also nominated for the Viper Award (2001) and the Prix Ars Electronica (2002).
scope
In December 2008 the German-language association blaster contained approx. 878,000 texts with approx. 68,000 keywords. In November 2009 there were 930,000 associations with 71,000 keywords. In January 2012 1,036,000 articles with 76,000 keywords and in July 2018 1,230,000 articles with 88,000 keywords.
Web links
- Association blaster home page
- Roberto Simanowski : Higher, further, deeper - Nutella and being. A reading protocol with philosophical associations . dichtung-digital, October 27, 1999
- Roberto Simanowski: About the ease of the link and the struggle for freedom . dichtung-digital, November 6, 2000; Interview with Alvar CH Freude and Dragan Espenschied
- Heiko Idensen: The book is dead - long live the hyperbook! From Ettlinger internet literature competition to a hyperliterary reading book . Telepolis , November 23, 1999
- Thomas Dreher: A media-theoretical consideration of the association blaster.
Individual evidence
- ↑ The oldest surviving test entry dates from January 6, 1999.
- ↑ Alvar Freude: When is the blaster's birthday? Posted on January 9, 2009 in the Blaster blog
- ↑ a b Alvar Joy: The Rabbit and the Punishment Order in the Blaster blog from November 3, 2009
- ↑ Eiertritt: associations and thoughts on the keyword eiertritt in the association blaster. Retrieved July 6, 2018 .
- ^ Bahn & Blaster: Warning from Deutsche Bahn AG about an alleged illegal link
- ↑ Ettlingen Literature Days
- ↑ Alvar CH Joy: Prices
- ↑ Statistics