FactSeek

FactSeek is a web application designed to search multiple online encyclopedias . FactSeek was created in attempt to decentralize encyclopedic content of the Internet which are dominated by Wikipedia. FactSeek allows you quickly and easily search many high-quality encyclopedias at once.

Unlike general web web search engines that deal with very diverse web resources, FactSeek is focused on encyclopedic content. Search results of FactSeek are not distorted by advertisements and various search-engine optimization (SEO) methods to attract visitors.

FactSeek does not use commercial search engines, such as Google or Bing. Searches are performed by accessing search results metadata of online encyclopedias directly. This ensures a sufficient decentralization and unbiased representation of search results. The access to encyclopedias is performed in parallel to ensure fast speed.

FactSeek

. The logo of FactSeek
Screenshot
Type of site	Distributed networking
Country of origin	United States
Owner	Knowledge Standards Foundation
Created by	Henry Sanger, Larry Sanger, Sergei Chekanov
Website	factseek.org
Commercial	No
Launched	December 30, 2020 (2020-12-30)
Current status	Active
Written in	Java

FactSeek is "search on search" using different types of search technologies from different encyclopedias, therefore, FactSeek allows a very broad coverage of possible search outcomes. At the same time, FactSeek is a one-stop website that allows searches in online encyclopedic resources spanning a large range of different article-acceptance and editorial policies. This helps accessing content with less censorship and more freedom in expressing opinion.

Supported encyclopedias

FactSeek, in its original version (Dec 30, 2020), supported the following encyclopedias:

• Wikipedia - general topics
• Britannica - general topics (commercial)
• Citizendium - general topics
• HandWiki - computing and general science
• Scholarpedia - general science
• Ballotpedia - politics
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - topics related to philosophy
• EduTechWiki - education
• Encyclopedia of Life - education
• Wikitia - general topics
• Encyclopedia of Mathematics - mathematics

In the case of Britannica, the FactSeek points to pages which are accessible through subscription.

Software implementation

The original version of FactSeek was written in Java. The version was designed to work using using the Spark server and JavaFX components. The version uses Java threading technology to speed up interactions with search engines of supported encyclopedias and a caching technology. Later this project was modified and deployed on a web server using PHP and Python components to work with the Apache web server.

History

The original Java version was created by Henry Sanger and Larry Sanger under the name Encyclosearch. Later this project was re-written and deployed on a web server by Sergei Chekanov using PHP and other software components to speed up the program. It was also renamed to FactSeek after a communication with Larry Sanger and the Knowledge Standards Foundation. The FactSeek project is affiliated by the Encyclosphere project and the Knowledge Standards Foundation (KSF).

See also

Encyclosearch - a similar project based on Java components