Webpage evaluation check list
Name of page: Dog Island Free ForeverAddress/URL: http://www.thedogisland.com/
Date Accessed: 2010 October 24
How did you find the page? Link recommended by Professor for Evaluation
DOMAIN
What is the domain of the page? .com or commercialDo you feel that the domain type helps add to or lessen the page’s credibility? I think it lessens the credibility. Commercial tells me that I'm being sold something. It may not be credible. I'm not completely sure I'd be sold on it if it were an organization. Possibly if it were the ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) but I'm positive they would not sell something like this. If they did, there'd be strict guidelines. The first thing I notice when I look at this page is the advertisements for pet insurance, flea meds and heartguard tablets, dog anxiety meds and so forth.
AUTHOR/AUTHORITY
Is the author of the page identified? Not on the main page. After clicking on Company Information and Contact Dog Island - I found that the Presidents were Xiao Min and Han Fei. They came together with Linda Reyes "a succesful and interesting woman from Manhattan". I don't even know where to go with that quote. "Succesful" (note: spelled wrong) and "interesting" tells me absolutely nothing. I'm guessing this information means that they are the author of the page but I'm not sure because they speak of themselves in third person if they are.
Is the author of the page an individual? The authors are two individuals who created the Dog Island company together.
Something about this who thing is bugging me. Phrases I read in the website do not make sense to me. So, I decided to research the two names in question. I tried to Google their names (individually and together) and came up with nothing other than links that directly took me back to their site. So, I googled "Is Dog Island Free Forever Real". A few links came up like http://floridanabob.hypermart.net/DOG%20ISLAND.htm. This site states:
"What makes DOG ISLAND weird is it is the subject of one of the silliest urban myths created by some guys who wanted a web site called “DOG ISLAND: FREE FOREVER” at http://www.thedogisland.com/. The entire web site is dedicated to the idea that Dog Island is a paradise retreat where dogs can vacation or live – running on the beach, chasing the local wildlife, and being a dog.... Alas, my dog, it is a myth. But you have to love the fact that thousands of people actually thought there was a dog refuge island in Florida."
Of course, this site might be a complete fraud as well without further investigation. So, I checked out Snope.com the urban myth busters themselves. They backed up the last website and added a bit more:
"The Dog Island site is a hoax playing on western revulsion of Asian dog-eating practices, and its creators deliberately used names identical to those of persons and companies in China who process dogs for human consumption (for example, the "Dawn Fine Bred Dog Center" of which Dog Island is supposedly a subsidiary, the city of Pexian, and the name "Han Fei" are all references to the Dawn Fine Bred Meat Dog Center, a commercial operation in China where dogs are raised for meat), similar to a stunt once pulled by notorious prankster Joey Skaggs."
Amazing! My worries in the beginning were completely unfounded because Dog Island does not even exist. The names of the authors are a complete hoax as well. I wonder how many people took this site for its face value. Snope went on to say that after they posted their page on Dog Island being "false", the Dog Island authors deleted some of their reference. Hmmm.... interesting.
There were some tips on the website itself that left me unsettled. Under the "RATES" section I noticed this:
"Vacation Island, on the other hand, is very very expensive. It is only for rich people who have that kind of money to spend. This is the only way to visit the island with a dog and still come back with your dog."
Come back with your dog? UGH? What is that suppose to mean? Not too mention, it sounds completely juvenile. Who says "Its only for rich people" in anything that is remotely professional. Especially, if it is for a product that is being sold. And then I read:
"Dogs never want to leave the island once they experience it, so you will not be able to have your dog again. You can come to the public visiting days, they are three times a year. Sometimes, someone sees their dog again."
At this point, I thought to myself, "What is the catch? If you may or may not see your dog again... how can you be sure they aren't put in a dog fight ring?" Seeing Snopes break down of Dog Island makes a lot of sense as to what I read - it is not a professional website and there was a reason why there were so many holes. The only thing I don't understand is why someone would go to the bother of creating a really nice look website that is a hoax?
In any case, at this point there is nothing left to evaluate. The site is a fraud.
4 comments:
Interestingly, some of you classmates did not recognize this sites as a hoax. Nice job with the validation process!
Thanks! I think it was the fact that animals are very much a close subject in my life that I couldn't let some of the things I was reading go. I had to know more and in doing so I stumbled on the fact that it was not real. I also gave a big sigh of relief when I discovered this.
those gay korens am i right
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