BIB-VERSION:: CS-TR-v2.0
          ID:: STAN//CS-TR-97-1582
       ENTRY:: January 09, 1997
ORGANIZATION:: Stanford University, Department of Computer Science
       TITLE:: Shared Web Annotations as a Platform for Third-Party
               Value-Added, Information Providers: Architecture, Protocols,
               and Usage Examples
        TYPE:: Technical Report
      AUTHOR:: Roscheisen, Martin
      AUTHOR:: Mogensen, Christian
      AUTHOR:: Winograd, Terry
        DATE:: January 1997
       PAGES:: 29
    ABSTRACT:: In this paper, we present an architecture, called
               "ComMentor", which provides a platform for third-party
               providers of lightweight super-structures to material
               provided by conventional content providers. It enables people
               to share structured in-place annotations about arbitrary
               on-line documents. The system is part of a general "virtual
               document" architecture ("PCD BRIO") in which--with the help
               of lightweight distributed meta information--documents are
               dynamically synthesized from distributed sources depending on
               the user context and the meta-information which has been
               attached to them. The meta-information is managed
               independently of the documents themselves on separate
               meta-information servers, both in terms of storage and
               authority. A wide range of useful scenarios can be readily
               realized on this platform. We give examples of how a more
               personalized content presentation can be achieved by
               leveraging the database storage of the uniform
               meta-information and generating documents dynamically
               for a particular user perspective. These include structured
               discussion about paper drafts, collaborative filtering, seals
               of approval, tours, shared "hotlists" with section-based
               visibility control, usage indicators, co-presence, and
               value-added trails. Our object model and request interface for
               the prototype implementation are defined in technical detail
               in the appendix.
       NOTES:: [Adminitrivia V1/Prg/19970109]
         END:: STAN//CS-TR-97-1582