We describe an approach to personalization that emphasizes the "client side." We posit the need for a highly individualistic user context that resides on the client machine. This context and the system that exploits it can then be used in conjunction with a broad range of search services, from highly specialized and structured digital libraries to the completely undisciplined World Wide Web. We present an initial version of the "Web Host Access Tool", (WHAT) that provides us with a testing suite for personalized search. A data collection system, the "WHAT Observer" is also described that allows us to automatically and efficiently test the veracity of iterations of the WHAT system.
Lillian N. Cassel, Ursula Wolz