Okay, Terrence, I have a few minutes to analyze your other three examples, before I hit the sack.
Instead of seizing on the phrase "fictitious articles," you should really have looked at those sites closely, before posting the URLs. The fact is, they do not prove your case; if anything, they tend to prove the opposite.
Elsevier
elsevier.nl
Elsevier is apparently a big science publishing house. It has a search function, so that you can find articles in your area of interest. There is also a page explaining what the search results mean. You have given us the URL to that page.
It gives a citation for an article -- forewarning you that it is "fictitious" -- as follows:
our reference: Artint 1340
article title: probability based search in artificial intelligence
corresponding author name: Dr. H. Smith
first author name: Dr. H. Smith
received at ES: 14-APR-96
proofs sent to author: 24-JUL-96
proofs received from author: 05-AUG-96
scheduled publication date: 13-SEP-96
volume/issue: 286/1
pages: 97-156
date of reprints dispatch: 30-SEP-96
Now, there is no Dr. H. Smith, in reality. There is no article entitled "Probability Based Search in Artificial Intelligence." There are no proofs, etc. It is a truly fictitious article, by a fictitious author, meant only to serve as an EXAMPLE.
After providing the citation, Elsevier continues: "In the above a typical result is shown." It then goes on to explain each entry in the citation. Thus, when you run a search for a REAL article by a REAL author, you will understand what the entries are telling you.
2) Smarttrek.
smarttrek.org
Now, I can't quite figure out just what Smarttrek is. Perhaps some Seattleans can tell us. It is some sort of transportation outfit, involved in all kinds of projects. The page you referred us to uses "fictitious article" in a different, but I would say still permissible, sense. The "article" is dated February, 1999, which, when it was written, was still in the future. It purports to describe how recently completed Smarttrek projects would help commuters and visitors.
The "article" is not an "article" but an advertisement for Smarttrek. (If Smarttrek is a public agency, then it would be called a public service announcement, I suppose. Same thing.) And that is evidently why Smarttrek calls it a "fictitious" article. It is an advertisement masquerading as an article (but being honest about it).
3) Guggisberger-Tagblatt
commercemaker.ch
Now, this one is hard to figure out. It's called a demo page. What is it demonstrating? Well, it says, in big black print across the top: This is a demonstration of how to access secure documents, reserved to subscribers. The "demo item" is the Guggisberger-Tagblatt newspaper. You are told you will have access only to a "fictitious article." But when you click on the "read" button to find out what they mean by a "fictitious article," you get one of those "this link is outdated" messages. If you click on "buy," you are asked for your password. So I can't say for sure. But my guess is that you won't get anything "real." The purpose of the demo, after all, is only to show you "how to access secure documents."
I'm done.
Next time I am going to charge for my services.
jbe |
