There are two types of search tools are available to locate information or files on Gopher sites:
Veronica searches for keyword(s) in menu titles, document names and files. You can usually access Veronica by clicking a Search link on a Gopher menu. This link to the Veronica search tool will usually tell you whether it searches Gopher sites throughout the Internet, only the site to which you are connected, or only to a specific portion of that site. Veronica only searches information and files at Gopher sites, it is a thorough search, and can provide much useless information. The search produces a custom Gopher menu, containing clickable links to files, documents, and folders, or even links to other Gopher sites. Sometimes you'll see a link to a "simplified" Veronica search. This looks for keyword(s) in menu titles only.
If you're wondering if Veronica is an acronym, it is. But it's one of those weird acronyms where the word came first, and they looked for any title whose letters fit the acronym. It stands for "Very Easy Rodent-Oriented Net-wide Index to Computerized Archives. They used "Veronica," because someone else had named their FTP archive searcher Archie, simply because the name is so much like the word "archive." Since Archie is a well-known comic book character, it made sense to use another name from Archie Comics: Veronica. The Jughead Gopher searcher also is named after an Archie Comics character.
To search most Gopher sites using Veronica, first use your browser to reach a Gopher site.
If a Gopher site doesn't seem to have any links for Veronica searches, use the one at Yahoo.
Jughead searches for your keyword(s) in menu titles but not in document names or files. You usually access Jughead by clicking on a search linked on a Gopher menu. This link to the Jughead search tool will usually tell you whether it searches only the site to which you are connected, or only to a specific portion of the site. Jughead searches usually do not search all Gopher sites on the Internet. You have a smaller chance of scoring a "hit" than with a Veronica search, but your search takes less time and doesn't produce a large amount of useless information.
Like the Archie FTP archive searcher and the Veronica Gopher searcher, Jughead's name is derived from a character in Archie Comics. Yes, it's an acronym, but it's one of those weird acronyms where the word came first. They looked for any title whose letters fit the acronym. It stands for "Jonzy's Universal Gopher Hierarchy Excavation And Display." As with "Veronica," they picked the title because someone else had named their FTP archive searcher "Archie." Interestingly, Archie was not an acronym; it simply was similar to the word "archive."
To search most Gopher sites with Jughead, first use your browser to reach a Gopher site.
If a Gopher site doesn't seem to have any links for Jughead searches, use the one at Yahoo.
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