Curious About PF Robots: Exploring Member/Guest/Robot Dynamics

  • Thread starter anorlunda
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In summary: I'm not sure about the rest of them.In summary, the right column of the PF home page displays the number of robots, members, and guests currently online. Web crawlers are counted as robots, and they identify themselves as such through their requests to web servers. PF does not send robots to monitor other sites. Most visitors to PF are guests, and they come from search engines or other companies crawling the web. These robots have different motivations, such as collecting statistics or maintaining a historical archive. As for mentors, they are mostly humans, but there may be some exceptions.
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anorlunda
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The right column of the PF home page says "Robots 221, members 62, guests 1266" under "members online now". How interesting.

Greg,
Does a web crawler count as a robot?
How do you detect robots as opposed to guests?
What are those robots doing, and what motivates those who send them?
Does PF send robots to monitor other sites?

The number of guests is also remarkable. PF members need to be aware of that; especially with controversial dangerous threads. 95% of those viewing PF are silent and not identifiable.
 
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  • #2
anorlunda said:
Does PF send robots to monitor other sites?
What do you think we mentors are? Humans?
 
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  • #3
Not Greg, but here are some answers:

Web crawlers count as robots, and they identify themselves as robot (otherwise they are counted as guests). They are crawling the forums for search engines and similar tools.
PF doesn't operate search engines (outside the forums) or anything like that, no need to crawl other websites.

Most visitors are guests, yes. Most of them come from search engines.
 
  • #4
anorlunda said:
Does a web crawler count as a robot?
Yes.
How do you detect robots as opposed to guests?
Polite robots identify themselves in the User-Agent field of their requests to web servers. For example, here are some requests for the home page of my web site, from my server log:
Code: 
141.8.184.11 - - [27/Dec/2016:17:44:52 -0500] "GET / HTTP/1.1" 200 4442 "-" "Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; YandexBot/3.0; +[PLAIN]http://yandex.com/bots)"[/PLAIN] 
40.77.167.20 - - [27/Dec/2016:18:14:05 -0500] "GET / HTTP/1.1" 200 4442 "-" "Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; bingbot/2.0; +[PLAIN]http://www.bing.com/bingbot.htm)"[/PLAIN] 
66.249.79.141 - - [27/Dec/2016:20:27:54 -0500] "GET / HTTP/1.1" 200 4442 "-" "Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; Googlebot/2.1; +[PLAIN]http://www.google.com/bot.html)"[/PLAIN] 
77.75.77.109 - - [27/Dec/2016:22:47:29 -0500] "GET / HTTP/1.1" 304 - "-" "Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; SeznamBot/3.2; +[PLAIN]http://napoveda.seznam.cz/en/seznambot-intro/)"[/PLAIN]
What are those robots doing, and what motivates those who send them?
The ones shown above are for search engines. There are also companies that crawl the web and collect statistics that they sell to website owners, e.g. statistics about who links to your site, and what your site links to. There is at least one site (archive.org) that crawls the web in order to maintain a historical archive of the web, where you can look up what a website looked like in the past.
 
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  • #5
DrClaude said:
What do you think we mentors are? Humans?
I'm one-quarter lawn gnome on my mother's side.
 
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FAQ: Curious About PF Robots: Exploring Member/Guest/Robot Dynamics

What is the purpose of studying the dynamics between members, guests, and robots in PF (Personal and Professional) settings?

The purpose of studying the dynamics between members, guests, and robots in PF settings is to gain a deeper understanding of how these different entities interact and influence each other. This knowledge can be applied in various fields such as human-robot interaction, social psychology, and organizational behavior to improve human-robot collaborations and enhance social interactions in professional and personal settings.

How do robots affect the social dynamics in PF settings?

Robots can affect the social dynamics in PF settings in multiple ways. For example, they can change the communication style and behavior of the members and guests, alter the power dynamics, and influence the level of trust and cooperation among individuals. Robots can also introduce new roles and responsibilities, leading to changes in group dynamics and social norms.

What are the potential benefits of integrating robots into PF settings?

Integrating robots into PF settings can bring numerous benefits, such as increased efficiency and productivity, improved communication and collaboration, and enhanced social interactions. Robots can also perform tasks that are dangerous or tedious for humans, freeing them to focus on more meaningful and complex activities. Furthermore, incorporating robots can also lead to cost savings and innovative solutions in various industries.

Are there any potential challenges or risks associated with using robots in PF settings?

While the integration of robots in PF settings has many potential benefits, it also presents some challenges and risks. These include technical issues such as malfunctions or errors, ethical concerns regarding the use of robots in certain roles, and potential job displacement for humans. There is also a risk of robots reinforcing existing societal biases and discrimination if not programmed and designed carefully.

How can the study of PF robot dynamics contribute to the development of more advanced and socially intelligent robots?

By studying the dynamics between members, guests, and robots in PF settings, we can gain insights into how to design and program robots that can effectively interact and collaborate with humans. This knowledge can inform the development of more socially intelligent robots that can understand and respond to social cues, communicate effectively, and adapt to different social contexts. Additionally, studying PF robot dynamics can also help identify potential challenges and risks that need to be addressed to ensure the responsible and ethical use of robots in society.

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