ForumGuard: Project for student/hobbyist with PC or Mac
ForumGuard is conceived as a software enhancement that screens posts from members that identify themselves as "Consumer or Non-Eyecare field".
ForumGuard identifies and (politely) rejects posts that violate the OptiBoard posting guidelines.
Ideally, ForumGuard would have the "smarts" to differentiate a valid post that uses keywords like "optics", "lenses", "prescription" (etc.) from an invalid question posed by a consumer who is trying to solve their personal eyecare problems "on the forum" instead of consulting properly with an Eye Care Professional.
For example; a valid post with an "optical" context:
http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...08&postcount=5
And an invalid post from a "wayward" consumer:
http://www.optiboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27935
I envision ForumGuard as an expert system or rule-based program; to wit:
Quote:
Rule-based programming is one of the most commonly used techniques for developing expert systems. In this programming paradigm, rules are used to represent heuristics, or "rules of thumb," which specify a set of actions to be performed for a given situation. A rule is composed of an if portion and a then portion. The if portion of a rule is a series of patterns which specify the facts (or data) which cause the rule to be applicable. The process of matching facts to patterns is called pattern matching. The expert system tool provides a mechanism, called the inference engine, which automatically matches facts against patterns and determines which rules are applicable. The if portion of a rule can actually be thought of as the whenever portion of a rule since pattern matching always occurs whenever changes are made to facts. The then portion of a rule is the set of actions to be executed when the rule is applicable. The actions of applicable rules are executed when the inference engine is instructed to begin execution. The inference engine selects a rule and then the actions of the selected rule are executed (which may affect the list of applicable rules by adding or removing facts). The inference engine then selects another rule and executes its actions. This process continues until no applicable rules remain.
http://www.ghg.net/clips/WhatIsCLIPS.html
I also envision Natural Language processing software as a front end, passing data (in the form of sentence diagrams and keyword identifications) to this rule-based inference engine.
It would not be too much of a stretch to characterize ForumGuard as a (small) Artificial Intelligence.
I'm not excluding myself, but I have something else on my plate at the moment: I'm trying to develop some Web server capabilities.
If I did try my hand at it, I'd have to use "freeware".
To be perfectly candid, it's likely too difficult an undertaking for me--or, at least, incompatible with my temperment. I've been accustomed to doing "real things" using software in exchange for wages, but I've never really done anything of significance in this regard outside of a corporate setting.
For more:
VirtualOptician: Project for student/hobbyist with PC or Mac
