For those still curious about what the "FunWeb" thing really is - no answers, but I've seen an increasing number of sites with "anti-robot" statements posted.

For the curious, the Web Guide Robot Policy is pretty typical. It doesn't name a specific robot program, but does indicate a continuing problem. Looking for comments/policies of this kind may be a better way to get an estimate of exactly what's going on - or at least of how big the problem is - than concentrating on the products that have been named.

A general Google for something like "bots" turns up a number of sites offering "do it yourself searchbot design" and many of these appear to incorporate "kernels" or core parts of existing programs. The older FunWeb products were widely distributed for embedding into other programs, so the identity may persist in DIY junk.(?)

Note: this was the shortest of the related threads up recently. No particular reflection on previous comments, or intent to revive them.

John