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 side, this means the results directories produce are often more relevant. For example, while a search engine typically indexes every page of a given website, a subject guide is more likely to provide a link only to the site's home page. For this reason, they lend themselves best to searching for information about a general subject, rather than for a specific piece of information.

Yahoo still has the best-known subject guide/directory and can be a good starting place for research, even on technical subjects. Yahoo used to list links alphabetically, but once Google came along with its ranked list of sites, Yahoo started offering most popular sites first before going to its alphabetical list. However, Yahoo's directory has suffered in recent years as the Google Directory has steadily improved. Google gets its directory data free in the form of the Open Directory Project.

You may not recognize the Open Directory Project by this name, but you have probably used it. The ODP is the directory behind the Google Directory, AOL Search, Yahoo Directory, and many others. The ODP "is the largest, most comprehensive human-edited directory of the Web. It is constructed and maintained by a vast, global community of volunteer editors."

Galaxy is definitely worth a look because it was designed for and by "professionals," so it has a bent toward business, technology, and science that other directories lack. You may search either the Galaxy collection or the web using their proprietary search engine. Best of the Web started life in 1994 as a web awards site and is now a full-fledged directory.

Many more specialized directories are discussed under the.