Software lets surfers post sticky notes on others' sites, angering designers

11/11/99

By Doug Bedell / The Dallas Morning News

To Internet Web page designers, a new breed of browser plug-ins has handed users a can of digital spray paint, allowing them to deface serious work with Web graffiti.

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But developers of the plug-in software say they're simply giving Net surfers a communications breakthrough that fosters collaboration and adds a layer of interaction to static Net content.

At the heart of the debate are a group of free downloads that allow chat discussions on top of Web pages and posting of sticky-note-type messages on their text.

"The claims of the program being digital graffiti is absolutely wrong," says San Mai, director of product management for Third Voice, a free Web page annotation program. "The kind of graffiti we see in subways does actually alter the original work. We don't. It's not vandalism."

A group of information professionals disagrees and has banded together to seek changes in the way the software programs perform.

Known as viral applications, Web notes or overlays, this type of program began appearing in May with Third Voice (www.thirdvoice.com) and has expanded with the recent release of various permutations, including Gooey, uTok, Odigo and Cliqueme.

The underlying technology allows these chatlike programs to "see" where their users are surfing on the Internet. Only those running the same software can locate others on a Web page, so notes and ongoing chats that overlay any page are invisible to others.

Third Voice has caused most of the hand-wringing from designers because, for those running the program, it alters the appearance of pages where notes are inserted by others.

For example, a user without Third Voice visiting the federal government's White House site (www.whitehouse.gov) to look at the president's latest speech would see nothing but the actual text. A browser equipped with Third Voice would encounter the same text littered with "tags" left by others.

Clicking on any of those Third Voice tags pops up a window with the user-added comments. Some are serious and political; some are juvenile and profane. Still others may include vulgar sound files or junk advertising. But the experience is definitely altered.

On popular news sites such as CNN (www.cnn.com), it is not unusual to find thousands of annotations cluttered together in such mass that the page becomes almost unreadable.

Voicing opposition

A group of more than 500 Web page designers is so concerned about the technology that it has opened up a site called Say No to Third Voice (www.saynotothirdvoice.com). Inside, members have surveyed the usage of the program and delineated their objections for politicians and the software creators.

"Many of these notes contain links to pornographic sites, vulgar language and links to warez [illegally opened commercial software]," the site says. "While it is true that only those using this browser-enhancement can view the notes, the fact that the notes cannot be viewed without using the Web site owner's URL ... seems to be a violation of our rights to manage our Web sites as we see fit."

Say No spokesman Angela Lee, a Canadian information technology professional, says: "The intrusiveness is the problem. It is a no-choice program that is parasitic in nature, relying solely on the existence of a URL on which to attach itself."

The content of the Web site, she says, has not proved of primary importance to those posting notes. A survey by the Say No group shows last month that only 44 percent of the notes in 15 major commercial Web sites were content-related, Ms. Lee says.

Although it has not responded directly to the Say No faction, Third Voice has added features that allow users to rate notes and filter the lowest ratings from view. Third Voice's Mr. Mai says a group of editors also scans the 100 most popular Third Voice sites and removes notes that are uniformly panned by its users.

"A big part of the Third Voice experience is freedom of speech," Mr. Mai says. "We don't want to be the traffic cop. We allow our users to help us. Where it's appropriate, we take action. Talking about sex on an adult site is one thing. Talking about sex on the Disney site is quite another."

Third Voice would be much better off developing a product that Webmasters would invite and embrace, Ms. Lee says.

"Instead, Third Voice is biting the hand that feeds it by forcing notes on sites under the pretense of free speech - which, by the way, existed long before Third Voice Inc. marketed it with their product," she says.

Initial distaste

Mr. Mai says the initial distaste for the program may fade as its users mature. He says he's noted the tenor of messages has changed since the first months of operation. Juvenile postings, he says, are giving way to serious discourse.

"With Third Voice, we've noticed that people are no longer leaving what I call random drive-by notes," he says. "In the last three months, we're seeing new, longer notes that are very thoughtful. Now we're starting to see a lot of really raging debates spring up."

Beyond the public note controversy, developers of these programs see long-term benefits in allowing users to converse while surfing on the same sites.

Each of the overlay programs allows users to specify who sees their annotations. Private exchanges are possible, therefore, between members of a law firm collaborating on a document or a college class studying subject matter on a specific site.

"Third Voice will allow professors to add comments to online reference documents, and students can then add their own perspectives and collaborative on responses," says Victoria College instructor Richard Mollicone in Victoria, Texas. "This is a revolutionary new service ... which I believe will improve class participation and extend teaching beyond the classroom."

Software implications

Jonathan Zittrain, executive director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School, says he is incorporating study and discussion of the software's implications into a syllabus for his course "Internet and Society."

Mr. Zittrain believes so much in its potential that he recently joined the Third Voice board of advisers. But he concedes that its operation raises questions about whether Web notes are a "derivative work," requiring permission from the Web site owner.

"Third Voice-enabled sites are not necessarily derivative works," he says, "but this would be a fascinating argument to watch unfold."

On another level, analysts point out that several of these new programs are attempting to open up opportunities for their advertisers. Gooey (www.getgooey.com), for example, presents users with a box that pushes creative Flash films, news streams and ads to its users as they move from page to page. The ads themselves may be in direct conflict with those featured on the page where the surfers have gathered.

Like Third Voice, uTok (Users' Tree of Knowledge, www.utok.com) sells ads on its home page. Unlike Third Voice, uTok avoids injecting notes directly into Web page text. Instead, messages float in a small window over the browser.

Odigo and Cliqueme provide slick "snap-on" browser tools that help users on each Web page find others of similar backgrounds and interests. Several more companies are close to releasing other program models that feature combinations of live chat, sticky notes, floating public message boards and even voice-enabled chat.

In the short term, such programs may prove such an irritant that Web page developers will develop scripting to block the programs from their sites.

In the long run, collaborative uses for schools and businesses may help these programs find a unique niche with students and business people, much as instant messaging software has expanded beyond its initial base of teenagers.

"I think Third Voice and other such software is in a nascent stage," Mr. Zittrain says. "It's certainly not ideal for everyone to have it as a megaphone only for 12-year-olds and spam.

"The underlying idea - enabling people to realize that others are surfing just as they are and that there might be information of interest to exchange - seems quite solid to me, though."

WEB SITE STICKIES

Here are some of the free browser "overlay" programs that add chat, sticky notes and group surfing capabilities to the Web experience:

Third Voice

(www.thirdvoice.com)

The first of its kind, introduced in May. Third Voice permits users to insert their own comments into Web pages. The comments are invisible to those not running the same software but remain "stuck" to the site. This program is the most invasive of the new genre and has spawned a protest from Web designers.

Odigo

(www.odigo.com)

NovaWiz has created a kind of radar-screen software that allows you to see who else is on the same Web page, then contact them for discussions. The primary function seems to be social, with screen options that allow you to find people with similar profiles.

Gooey (www.getgooey.com)

Hypernix presents a program that essentially permits chat with fellow surfers on a page. This program also features a window in which advertising, streaming video, news, creative cartoons and other features can be pushed onto your desktop while browsing.

uTok

(www.utok.com)

Private, group and public sticky notes can be left at any site to be read by those with the uTok program. Users can leave the uTok icon minimized to avoid screen clutter, then roll over a system tray icon to see how many messages may be posted on any site they're visiting.

Cliqueme

(www.cliqueme.com)

The newest of the browser-linked chat programs is primarily social in thrust. It installs itself as a bar across the bottom of the browser and helps locate those surfing the same page who may have similar demographic profiles or interests.

- Doug Bedell

Doug Bedell can be contacted by writing dbedell@dallasnews.com.