# What're the canonical web sites? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 2, 2001, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatre-the-canonical-web-sites/60458 "2001-04-02T06:02:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatre-the-canonical-web-sites/60458/1 "2001-04-02T06:02:54Z")
And by canonical, I mean web sites that are truly useful and definitive sources of information. For example, if you need to find out what actor was in what movie, you can go to [the Internet Movie Database](http://www.imdb.com), type in the name of an actor or a movie and find out. The [CD Database](http://www.cddb.com) presumably does the same thing for music. [The online Merriam-Webster dictionary](http://www.m-w.com) is good enough, even if it isn’t the OED. And of course [Google](http://www.google.com) is arguably the greatest search engine ever, and if there’s a piece of information you can’t find there, you can always ask it here on the boards. So tell me, Dopers, what web sites do you visit when you _need_ to find out something? ---
**Author:** ![donnie\_rotten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/71e660/32.png) [@donnie\_rotten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donnie_rotten)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatre-the-canonical-web-sites/60458/2 "2001-04-02T06:12:48Z")
Well, when I need biographical info on a band I might be interviewing in the near future, I hit the Ultimate Band List. It can be found at [http://www.ubl.com](http://www.ubl.com) IMDB is a given, but another great search engine is Metacrawler, at [http://www.metacrawler.com](http://www.metacrawler.com). If I have to do research on a topic or a competitive analysis for a client, and don’t feel like wading through tonnes of crap there, I’ll just go to Yahoo and use the directory search there… their search engine sux hard, but if you have a general idea of what category to look in, you’ll find all sorts of useful info. ---
**Author:** ![tshirts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@tshirts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tshirts)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatre-the-canonical-web-sites/60458/3 "2001-04-02T06:12:50Z")
The definitive site for data file formats (tiff, jpeg, gif, etc) [http://www.wotsit.org/search.asp?s=graphics](http://www.wotsit.org/search.asp?s=graphics) Any other computer advice, Ziff Davis network boards [http://www.zdnet.com/community/](http://www.zdnet.com/community/) ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatre-the-canonical-web-sites/60458/4 "2001-04-02T06:33:24Z")
Definitely [MacFixit](http://www.macfixit.com/). If they don’t have an answer for what ails your Mac, they’ll link you to some other site that does. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatre-the-canonical-web-sites/60458/5 "2001-04-02T06:41:32Z")
The Jargon File: [http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/jargon/index.html](http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/jargon/index.html) Useful for computer terms. Someone directed me to the Jargon File once when I asked about Godwin’s Law. It’s a great resource. Snopes: > **[Snopes.com](https://www.snopes.com)** > > The definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation. The definitive source for all urban legends. Almost every time I’ve received an urban legend via email, I’ve been able to go to Snopes and find either the verification or debunking. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatre-the-canonical-web-sites/60458/6 "2001-04-02T08:03:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KKBattousai \* > **The online Merriam-Webster dictionary is good enough, even if it isn’t the OED.** The [Exploding Dictionary](http://projects.ghostwheel.com/dictionary/) is better. For information about languages (foreign and English) [yourdictionary.com](http://www.yourdictionary.com/) (translation dictionaries, rhyming dictionaries, thesauruses, etc.) For general knowledge, [Encyclopedia Britannica](http://www.eb.com/) (free registration required) ---
**Author:** ![silent\_rob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@silent\_rob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silent_rob)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatre-the-canonical-web-sites/60458/7 "2001-04-02T08:47:33Z")
**Alphagene** ’s [post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=1071339#post1071339) in the _Moderator’s Notes: On General Questions_ thread a while back had a great list of web sites like that. I used quite a few of them and have started using quite a few in that post that I didn’t know about. I’d repost them here but there are quite a few, so I’ve just linked back to his post. ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatre-the-canonical-web-sites/60458/8 "2001-04-02T13:50:16Z")
The All Music Guide [http://www.allmusic.com/](http://www.allmusic.com/) includes complete discographies, often with album/CD track listings and insightful commentary. Working on a sure-fire Hollywood manuscript? You couldn’t find a better on-line course in how to do it all, from plotting to marketing, than this site written by a couple of industry pros [http://www.wordplayer.com/](http://www.wordplayer.com/) Roget’s Thesaurus is available at [http://www.soi.city.ac.uk/text/rogetplain/thesaurus.html](http://www.soi.city.ac.uk/text/rogetplain/thesaurus.html) Need to brush up on your Constitution before arguing that Supreme Court brief? [http://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.html](http://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.html) Los Alamos National Laboratory has a handy periodic table here. Click on an element and get a rundown on everything from Hydrogen to the as-yet-unnamed Element 118 [http://pearl1.lanl.gov/periodic/](http://pearl1.lanl.gov/periodic/) And the 1901 version of Bartlett’s is online at [http://www.bartleby.com/100/](http://www.bartleby.com/100/) which helps with those classic quotations A great links page for everything to do with comics: newspaper series, magazine stand variety, undergrounds, alternatives, graphic novels, online comics, etc. is [http://aaa.wraithspace.com/](http://aaa.wraithspace.com/) The Science Fiction Resource Guide is also a handy place to check websites around the field [http://sflovers.rutgers.edu//SFRG/](http://sflovers.rutgers.edu//SFRG/) ---
**Author:** ![muppetsoup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aca169/32.png) [@muppetsoup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muppetsoup)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatre-the-canonical-web-sites/60458/9 "2001-04-02T14:18:25Z")
[Whatis.com](http://www.whatis.com) If anyone ever spouts out IT abbreviations you’re not familiar with, you can see what it means here. ---
**Author:** ![Ma\_Parrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dec6dc/32.png) [@Ma\_Parrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ma_Parrot)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatre-the-canonical-web-sites/60458/10 "2001-04-02T15:00:16Z")
TV listings complete and with full details on the main grid, not having to push a link for each program: [http://tvlistings.zap2it.com](http://tvlistings.zap2it.com) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatre-the-canonical-web-sites/60458/11 "2001-04-03T04:50:55Z")
Admittedly specialized interests, but: [Uchronia](http://www.skatecity.com/ah/) is a definitive source for information on the genre of alternate history literature. The [Chess Variant Pages](http://www.chessvariants.com/) is a definitive source on the many different variants of the game. And for a really esoteric interest, [The Case Files of the Fake Detective](http://www.lairofluxlucre.com/detective/) is clearly the definitive source for debunking fake celebrity nude pictures. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatre-the-canonical-web-sites/60458/12 "2001-04-03T13:27:21Z")
[FindLaw](http://www.findlaw.com) is great for legal questions. I actually downloaded their toobar, so I can search US Supreme Court opinions or US Code from anywhere. [Free-Market.net](http://www.free-market.net) is great for finding a Libertarian perspective on anything, which I like. [Flags of the World](http://www.fotw.net/flags/) is the definitive resource for vexillological issues. [The WWWJDIC](http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/wwwjdic.html) is great for translating to/from Japanese kanji, while [The Chinese Character Dictionary](http://www.mandarintools.com/chardict.html) isn’t as good, but oriented more towards Chinese. [NYCSubway.org](http://www.nycsubway.org) has everything one could want to know about the New York City subway system. I suppose this could become quite the worthwhile thread to save somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatre-the-canonical-web-sites/60458/13 "2001-04-03T21:17:55Z")
[http://www.gamefaqs.com](http://www.gamefaqs.com) is fantastic for guides/info. to your favorite Video Games, all platforms. Old and New. Wanna know the filth content of movies without a religous angle? Check out [http://www.screenit.com](http://www.screenit.com) They also do music. Here is a truly canonical web site. Coming Attractions- Breaking news on future movies since 1995. [http://www.corona.bc.ca/films/mainFramed.html](http://www.corona.bc.ca/films/mainFramed.html) Probably the best online Bible search is Blue Letter Bible at [http://www.blueletterbible.org/](http://www.blueletterbible.org/) You can access every verse and passage in the original Greek, Aramaic, or Hebrew it was written in. It’s an amazing feature. Also has several translations. I highly recommend these sites and have them all bookmarked themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2001, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatre-the-canonical-web-sites/60458/14 "2001-04-04T00:08:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by waterj2 \* > \*\* > I suppose this could become quite the worthwhile thread to save somewhere. \*\* It’s good to here somebody say that, as that’s largely the reason I brought it up (along with curiousity and laziness). 🙂 I also want to throw in [MapQuest](http://www.mapquest.com) as I’d spend several hours a weekend lost without it. I here [MapBlast](http://www.mapblast.com) isn’t too shabby either. Say, does anybody have an opinion on how [WebMD](http://www.webmd.com) is as a medical resource? It’d be good to have one of those too. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2001, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatre-the-canonical-web-sites/60458/15 "2001-04-04T02:12:03Z")
Bibliophage, what exactly is the difference between [www.eb.com](http://www.eb.com) and [www.britannica.com?](http://www.britannica.com) ---
**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2001, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatre-the-canonical-web-sites/60458/16 "2001-04-04T02:25:10Z")
My favorite canonical site is [Fred Espenak’s Eclipse Home Page](http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html). Need to know the time, location, and duration of the next solar or lunar eclipse? Got it. Looking for eclipses of historic interest? Got 'em. Looking for all a _Seven Thousand Year_ Catalog of Very Long Solar Eclipses? It’s there too. ---
**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2001, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatre-the-canonical-web-sites/60458/17 "2001-04-04T02:30:56Z")
Dang. Let’s try that link again, shall we? [http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse](http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse) ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2001, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatre-the-canonical-web-sites/60458/18 "2001-04-04T14:41:43Z")
The difference between [brittanica.com](http://brittanica.com) and [eb.com](http://eb.com): [http://www.eb.com/diff.html](http://www.eb.com/diff.html) (in answer to the question, not a canonical webpage itself). ---
**Author:** ![Hazel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Hazel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazel)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2001, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatre-the-canonical-web-sites/60458/19 "2001-04-04T22:30:33Z")
Wow! Thanks everyone for all these useful postings. Here are some good Native American (American Indian) sites: [http://www.hanksville.org/NAresources/](http://www.hanksville.org/NAresources/) Index of Native American Resources on the Internet. [http://www.nativeweb.org/NativeTech/](http://www.nativeweb.org/NativeTech/) Native Tech. A wealth of information on the technology of Native American crafts. [http://www.nativeweb.org/](http://www.nativeweb.org/) Native Web. An electronic database project providing information on Native cultural groups, law and literature, languages, education, and publications. [http://www.ncai.org/](http://www.ncai.org/) The National Congress of American Indians. Along with much other useful stuff, this site lists the addresses of all of the U.S. tribal governments, and has links to official tribal Sites. (Click on “Tribal Directory”.) > **[Native American Rights Fund](https://www.narf.org/)** > > Native American Rights Fund is the oldest, largest nonprofit legal organization defending the rights of Native American tribes, organizations, and people. The Native American Rights Fund. A good source of information about current legal issues. [http://www.indianz.com/](http://www.indianz.com/) [Indianz.Com](http://Indianz.Com). Their mission: to provide quality news, information, and entertainment, from a Native American perspective. [http://www.mcn.net/~wleman/langlinks.htm](http://www.mcn.net/~wleman/langlinks.htm) Native American Language Links. An amazing wealth of links. [http://www.oyate.org/main.html](http://www.oyate.org/main.html) Oyate is a Native organization working to see that Native American lives and histories are portrayed honestly. The Site includes reviews of materials for children about Native Americans. [http://saiic.nativeweb.org/](http://saiic.nativeweb.org/) The South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) exists to ensure that the struggles of Latin America’s Indigenous peoples for self-determination and respect are heard in the US and internationally, and to support Indigenous peoples’ organizing. [http://abyayala.nativeweb.org/](http://abyayala.nativeweb.org/) Abya Yala Net is a project of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) in colaboration with NativeWeb. This site presents information on Indigenous peoples in Mexico, Central, and South America. [http://www.moles.org/uwa/index.html](http://www.moles.org/uwa/index.html) U’wa: People of the Andean Cloud Forest. Information on U’wa culture, traditions, beliefs, and current situation, from the U’wa Defense Working Group. [http://members.nbci.com/cariblink/index.html](http://members.nbci.com/cariblink/index.html) Caribbean Amerindian Centrelink. An international editorial team presents comprehensive coverage of native Caribbean communities and educational resources. [http://indy4.fdl.cc.mn.us/~isk/maya/maya.html](http://indy4.fdl.cc.mn.us/~isk/maya/maya.html) Maya Civilization. [http://www.en.com/users/cygnus/mayastro.htm](http://www.en.com/users/cygnus/mayastro.htm) Maya Astronomy. [http://www.azteccalendar.com/](http://www.azteccalendar.com/) The Aztec Calendar. Also has information on Aztec cosmology and religion. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2001, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatre-the-canonical-web-sites/60458/20 "2001-04-04T23:03:27Z")
Thanks, waterj2. (And of course a big “d’oh!” to myself for not having stumbled across that little bit of information on my own.) Personally, I just use [Britannica.com](http://www.britannica.com); I’ve never looked in to the registered site. Someone mentioned one of the [Bartleby.com](http://www.bartleby.com) sites; I’d add the [_American Heritage Dictionary_](http://www.bartleby.com/61/) and also the [_Columbia Encyclopedia_](http://www.bartleby.com/65/) (which occasionally has little tidbits the _Britannica_ doesn’t) on that site. There’s also a useful [1913 _Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary_](http://humanities.uchicago.edu/forms_unrest/webster.form.html) maintained by the University of Chicago. The CIA’s [World Factbook](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html) is useful, plus it’s just cool to look stuff up on the CIA’s website. I’m fond of the [Bible Gateway](http://bible.gospelcom.net/) and the 1917 [_Catholic Encyclopedia_](http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/) for information on religious matters. Cornell University has the whole [United States Code](http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/) available. I use [Infospace](http://www.infospace.com/) for its [reverse telephone directory](http://www.infospace.com/_1_4MYBTR703885EL1__info/redirs_all.htm?pgtarg=reve). The [Federation of American Sciences](http://www.fas.org/) is an invaluable if somewhat scary source for all your weapons of mass destruction needs. And of course [Talk.Origins](http://www.talkorigins.org/) is essential for debating creationists. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatre-the-canonical-web-sites/60458.md?page=2)