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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Answers: Wiki.answers.com, a site like Wikipedia that allows its users to develop information, has just acquired its 4 millionth answer, according to a press release. Wiki Answers is a pretty sharp site loaded with good information, broken down into searchable categories.

We looked up “which Olympics sports are only for women?” Wiki Answers reported: rhythmic gymnastics and syncronized swimming are for women only. It also noted: “Softball was another, but it has been dropped (though a campaign has been mounted to reinstate it for the 2012 Olympics.”

The .TXT Video Challenge No. 25 winner is Vicki Nicodemus of Spokane. She was first to find a grape, an onion and a duck in a YouTube video called “Walla Walla, The Tour Starts Here.” She gets a $5 coffee card. Our final video challenge will be next week.

Jargon 2.0. Meatpuppet. (n.)

The term “meatpuppet” refers to someone on online newsgroups or forums who publishes comments on blogs, wikis and other public venues about some phenomenon or product in order to generate public interest and buzz. This is viewed as dishonest public relations. Another term for it is astroturfing.

How do I ….report bogus or phishing e-mail? Phish messages are deceitful attempts by someone to get you to reveal identifying information or logons. When those messages arrive, you should contact the company to whichever company the fake message supposedly came from.

If the bogus message said you need to reinstate your PayPal account, send the message to either Postmaster@paypal .com or Abuse@paypal.com. Similarly if you see messages claiming you’ve violated some eBay rule and you need to restore your name and password, send the bogus e-mail to either Postmaster@ebay.com or abuse@ebay.com. Many firms also allow messages with the word “phish” in the to address, as in phish@ebay.com.

Smart Search: Google has tons of “operators” or ways to configure a search for special results. One of my favorites is the percentage of operator. Plug in “48% of 89992” in the Google box and see how fast you get that answer.

The buzz: Top five music downloads from The Pirate Bay, as of Aug. 28: “Viva la Vida” (Coldplay), “All Hope is Gone” (Slipknot), “The Day That Never Comes” (Metallica), “Discography” (Red Hot Chili Peppers), “My Apocalypse” (Metallica).