> Backlinks were a central feature of early "hypertext" visions. They
> would, for example, allow people to easily find criticism of pages.
> Imagine that people at the home page of the CIA, RJR Renolds, etc., or
> at some high-profile Op-Ed article, could find responding critiques
> with just one button push! This might have profound implications for
> public and commercial debate.
>
The referring URL is available in the HTTP request for pages.
Many sites use it in CGI scripts to include it into the HTML
the provide. It is IMHO - given the current state of HTML - up
to the page creator to modify the page content. The browser
shouldn't be involved.
This is also logged. I have a script that scans the logs to see
who viewed my pages with what browsers - and where they came from.
It is amazingly interesting to the the references from pseudo
pages created by the WWW search engines. You get to see exactly
what queries people issued to find your pages. Some people are
doing a focused search - others are just surfing at random.
BTW - I form this scripts output into an HTML page which I
publish internally. I just need to click on the URLs to go
do exactly as you suggest. It is a lesson and a half.
Adam
-- +1-203-730-5437 | http://www.micrognosis.com/~ajack/index.html