HotBot is one of the early Internet search engines and was launched in May 1996 as a service of Wired Magazine. It was launched using a “new links” strategy of marketing, claiming to update its search database more often than its competitors.
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Hotbot is one of the older Web search engines. Hotbot is one of the first Internet search engines that were launched in May 1996 as a service of Wired magazine. This search engine was launched as a marketing strategy to draw new links. This advertising includes a more current database than the competitors, besides offering free web hosting available. However, it was found for a very short period of time until it was canceled without informing users. From 1998 after being purchased by Lycos, Hotbot reduced its functions. Currently, the website is just a cover for the results of other Internet search engines such as lyGo.com, Yahoo! and MSN Search.
This search engine was one of the first to refine the search by allowing the results of a previous search. It was acquired by Lycos in 1998. Now the website is just a front end for third-party search engines like Yahoo.com, and MSN and as well as Lycos’ own lyGo.com. This site still survives, however it is run by Yahoo! mostly. HotBot is owned by Lycos. In the beginning it just used the Inktomi database and after that added Direct Hit and the Open Directory.
In terms of databases HotBot offers the choice of three search engine databases namely Hotbot, Google and Ask Jeeves
Strengths
Weaknesses
HotBot offers full Boolean searching. Hot bot uses the operators AND, OR, and NOT. These operators are must in upper case.
HotBot and the Inktomi databases are occasionally case sensitive for remarkable usages of case. Hotbot searches anything which is searched in lower case, all upper case or with an initial capital, all mixtures of upper and lower case. If the word is containing one or more UPPER case letters in the middle such as arXiv, then the search of the search engine is limited to records that accurately match the specified case.
HotBot presents a good range of field searching abilities. The title word search can also be entered in the query box by using the title: word syntax. HotBot specially used to have a FAQ on Advanced Search Features. The majority of these advanced search features are just the language at the back of the advanced search form.
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