Any updates of U of Toronto's TOPIC project?

a flurry of discussion a year ago, but quiet now

[pshea]

This current discussion [webmasterworld.com] and the "sign guestbooks" part of the thread got me to recalling the TOPIC project [cs.toronto.edu].

The project aimed to evaluate incoming links to determine their theme to give an SE an additional tool in establishing the target site's theme. This idea of off-topic incoming link themes as causing potential damage to a site touched off a major shift in the road at the time (way old news, but so many new members).

I am wondering if anyone has any insight to the currency of use of TOPIC by the SEs. It references Google, Lycos and AV, but are they partners and is TOPIC used as a source tool for any of them? My own emails to TOPIC's admins have gone unanswered.

[seth_wilde]

I don't think any of the SE's are using the TOPIC project. It's built to do something similar to "Page Classification" (3.3 Classifying web pages [www9.org]). Its really more of an addition to the serps rathen than part of the algo. Check out the examples [cs.toronto.edu] of its potential use and you'll see what I mean.

[Brett_Tabke]

There are several using the same idea though. Ink, Google, Teoma, (WiseNut?), and possibly altavista, all use link context.

[seth_wilde]

I'm still not convinced of the importance of link context on Google. It seems to me that they're mostly looking at the other site's pagerank and the link text.

I have a feeling that AV's filtering non-relevant links rather than penalizing for them.

Inktomi, I'm not real sure about.......

[Brett_Tabke]

I assume you followed this saga?
[lib.uiowa.edu...]

Ink is probably using it the most. (they custom build those directories - the only way they can do that is to read context).

[seth_wilde]

"I assume you followed this saga?"

I don't think this has anything to do with context. Google just loves the link structure of directories!

"Ink"

Yeah, they seem to be leading the pack in the war against link fraud. They just don't send me enough traffic to make it worth my while to research them further :)