What advantages and disadvantages does the Discovery Server have over systems that use humans to manage information?
Wendi Pohs The Discovery Server provides a combination of both human and machine-assisted search and categorization. Its K-map Indexing (or full-text search) module is completely automatic and is good for the impatient user who knows his subject well. But the Discovery Server also provides tools to support the creation of categories and automatic categorization of new information. Using the K-map Builder and the K-map Editor, human indexers can categorize large numbers of documents relatively quickly. The K-map Builder learns from what humans do. No information retrieval system is perfect because the “right” answer depends both on the question asked and on the need of the user asking the question. Totally manual systems, like Yahoo and About.com, are constrained by time and by the biases of the human guides. The Discovery Server allows server administrators and taxonomists to decide how much or how little automation they’ll use based on the information needs of their users. Dave Newbol
