I’m compiling a list of Pandorabots displayed on a simple HTML page.  If you have such a bot (the more basic the better) please list it here.

There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Pandorabots that consist of a text box on a blank white page.
http://www.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=da4d216c0e345aa1

My theory is that those who don’t know HTML are unaware of how easy it is to create a chatbot that is more attractive, interesting, and entertaining than what they begin with and how, with a little schooling, they can easily upgrade the appearance of their chatbot, causing it to attract more visitors.

The purpose of this exercise is to draw more novices into the chatbot world who view it from a distance as being cumbersome, and something accessible only to people with advanced computer science degrees.

Below are some examples of the kind of very basic HTML-based Pandorabots that I believe are easy to create and within reach of anyone who wants something better than a text box on a plain white page.

http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=829713883e34f760&skin=ailysse1
http://www.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=8f02c14a0e34bbe4
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=fb113c764e34597f&skin=greenrabbit
http://www.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=e24b3606be376f08
http://www.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=86728e96fe341975
http://www.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=95253c5d1e363e8e
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=9451877b1e34467d
http://www.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=9383f7346e345c04
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=897cbdd1de361995
http://www.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=b4fa092c8e361beb
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=954ec0de3e3609e1
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=f3b83fbace34425d
http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/emu208/Pandorabot/bot.html
http://pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=c96f911b3e35f9e1
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=b0dafd24ee35a477

The following page is an advanced Pandorabot, and not the work of a beginner.  However, I think it’s a good example of the sort of thing that is possible, and what one might aspire to when starting with a basic HTML bot.

http://www.travisjmorgan.com/bot/trad.html

http://aubreycraig.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=e0c4baaf3e345a44
http://aubreycraig.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=e73c7c655e345a9d
http://carl-wetandchillychips.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=986bc2b6ae352a5b
http://codony.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=e71c0d43fe35093a
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=804d3fdf1e34d9ff
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=816feb807e346456
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=81a6f5941e34e377
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=829713883e34f7
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=829713883e34f760
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=8a13eaa1ce351f26
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=9451877b1e34467d
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=966fb6097e3611b0
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=97cfdd9a1e35339a
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=984500bc9e35ed50
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=9a6101260e362dcf
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=9b45bf88ce365bf5
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=9dca4517ae344344
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=a100a6c74e36bdab
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=a6be69d6ce36c22d
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=a93dcf79ae353e49
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=aaa9db775e3480ae
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=b0dafd24ee35a477
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=b4db4c279e3420eb
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=b800da72be34d5d9
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=b9f70565fe3609ab
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=bb9d8db85e36d4b9
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=c1776ae8ce354d1f
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=cbc227e28e355123
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=ccfc31a34e3471a0
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=d179a7ed2e35eaed
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=df127db4fe347130
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=e10677c3ee36f742
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=e4fc10b06e3632ef
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=ea048ff50e35986f
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=ebb1d8c23e35f252
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=ecf251cfbe36e6e4
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=f387faeeee341242
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=f4c34aa14e3629d0
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=f7634aec7e3652ed
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=f895b37a6e36b6d8
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=fb113c764e34597f
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=fec6611fce344998
http://demo.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=ff35a54eee367fc1
http://drwallace.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=dc7ac68f6e36f134
http://drwallace.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=e365655dbe351ac7
http://elizabeth.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=f7634aec7e3652ed
http://juan.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=a649e4ed5e34e5b3
http://lauren.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=f6d4afd83e34564d
http://pandorabots.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=b823f27cce34ef1e
http://philippe.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=94d255a09e366de1
http://rclee.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=ce837783de36f034
http://rclee.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=d37ddb790e36f0c1
http://rclee.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=e4116c5f5e36f951
http://rj.vhost.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=c1776ae8ce354d1f

Thanks Marcus, there were a couple of good ones in that list.  However I’m looking for something other than an Internet search for Pandorabots.

Many of the pages you listed are a simple text box on a plain blank white page, and some are bot I’ve already listed.  Some are not very good examples because the images are not working, and a few of the pages didn’t respond at all.

But, thanks for your effort.

I’d like to point out that a bot that consists of nothing than an empty box on a blank web page is sometimes intended to be included in a different web page (by means of an iframe, e.g.). In such cases aiming for the simplest possible look and feel could be on purpose, as the web page that includes the bot will provide all of the look and feel.

Shi - Jun 18, 2011:

I’d like to point out that a bot that consists of nothing than an empty box on a blank web page is sometimes intended to be included in a different web page (by means of an iframe, e.g.). In such cases aiming for the simplest possible look and feel could be on purpose, as the web page that includes the bot will provide all of the look and feel.

I agree, and as new things such as Second Life come on line, that’s going to be seen more and more.  Botmasters wishing to do that might serve themselves well by including that information in their content, such as when a bot is asked, “Do you have a web site?”  An overwhelming number of them offer a link back to ALICE.org or the Pandorabot main page.

I think that might be of interest to a bot that appears on the Most Active/Popular page, where people sometimes check to see what botmasters are doing.  It’s a convenient and cost-free way to obtain exposure and promotion, however, almost all of the bots on the list are a text box an an empty page, and almost all list ALICE/Pandorabots as their personal web page.  They give the same impression as a new bot no one has been working on.

But, some Pandorabots (such as Bearbot) support Flash, and take you to a gateway page, not a text box on a blank page.

Thank you Marcus.

Thunder Walk… Is there a search box on the main site to find ones done in the past?

Hey buddy, here you go…  Using regular expressions in Google: (.*)

Search Term:  http://(.*)/pandora/talk?botid=(.*)

You may get… About 76,900 results ... To help compile your list.

Somehow I’m failing to make myself understood.

I’m not looking to create a lot of work for myself. Had I intended to conduct a Google search, I’d have simply done that without posting this request.

I don’t wish to spend hours sorting through listings to discover which are valid links to chatbots and not some other page where the bot’s url is mentioned, and I don’t relish the thought of visiting a large number of Google links to see which are actual HTML-based Pandorabots, and which are just more text boxes on a white page.

As already mentioned, some of those might actually be bots with a visual display of some kind, but without the actual page address, the Pandorabot url will direct you to the text box on a white page.

I’m interested in hearing from actual Pandorabot botmasters who have signed up for a bot, and then created a visually interesting page that is above and beyond what you acquire by simply signing up. I’d like to see how many Pandorabot botmasters respond, and how many are interested in participating.

Me doing a Google search involves no one but myself.

For me, since Morti is self-hosted, and not a PB chatbot anyway, the only pandorabots hosted bot is the one I use for testing AIML files where I don’t have to muck about in Morti’s DB. Sadly, since it’s not a “publicly accessible” bot, I haven’t bothered to work up some custom HTML. I may, at some point, but right now, I don’t see the need.

Dave Morton - Jun 19, 2011:

For me, since Morti is self-hosted, and not a PB chatbot anyway, the only pandorabots hosted bot is the one I use for testing AIML files where I don’t have to muck about in Morti’s DB. Sadly, since it’s not a “publicly accessible” bot, I haven’t bothered to work up some custom HTML. I may, at some point, but right now, I don’t see the need.

Thanks, Dave.  No, test bots don’t count.  I have a few myself.

I’m just a wee bit disappointed.  So far, all of the replies are from people without a Pandorabot.  Surely there must be someone here who has one besides Square Bear, Dr. Wallace, and myself.

Thunder - It seems there is a bit of a stigma about using AIML. I have yet to see anything better though.

I don’t think there’s a “stigma”, per se, Steve. I think that it’s more that AIML is pretty much a “mature” technology, with little in the way of improvement or innovation over the past several years, so that there’s not much in the way of new developments that actually advance AI. Many people here consider AIML to be a “technological dead-end”, here. Now that’s not to say that AIML has no place in the field these days. It’s just…. Well, I’m sure you see what I mean.

Dave Morton - Jun 28, 2011:

I don’t think there’s a “stigma”, per se, Steve. I think that it’s more that AIML is pretty much a “mature” technology, with little in the way of improvement or innovation over the past several years, so that there’s not much in the way of new developments that actually advance AI. Many people here consider AIML to be a “technological dead-end”, here. Now that’s not to say that AIML has no place in the field these days. It’s just…. Well, I’m sure you see what I mean.

I hardly know where to begin.

If true, I’d like to know what’s better. What’s more popular? Where’s the more modern technology that taking it’s place? What’s been around longer and yet still thriving? I’m constantly discovering new things about AIML, things I’m able to adapt to my bots, tricks other botmaster like Steve have shared with people like me, scripts I can employ, and I could go on and on.

Probably the best feature is its simplicity… it’s user friendly, and you don’t need to be a code wizard to make it work. If you know a little HTML, you’re ahead of the game. And with some knowledge about how to use a few tags, you can accomplish interesting things.

The key, however, is the content. How you drive your bot to the answers is only half the battle, the substance of the answers, and how you link and combine replies so that there’s less work for the botmaster is the other half.

While you could say that AIML hasn’t changed in the last few years, I’m constantly seeing other platforms and services being supported almost as soon as they come out.

The single issue I’ve had with AIML is how popular ALICE/Pandorabots are. I’ve never been able to get a count on how many Pandorabots subscriptions there are vs. Personality Forge or INF bots, but I think it’s an easy guess that there are more Pandorabots. You can do so much more with them. AIML bots are in Second Life, irc, SmallWorlds, and probably lots of other things I don’t even know about.

Because it’s so popular, it’s answers are often easily recognized, but the botmaster has control over that. The popularity has also been an issue in the past because it overloaded the server, but that’s been corrected. I can’t remember the last time I had a complaint about Pandorabots.

However people want to characterize AIML, it still works and it’s reliable. And, I don’t have the desire, or see the need, to keep learning whatever is the latest language. If I did that, I’d have no time to work on improving my bots.

Don’t get me wrong, Dave. I’m not “throwing stones” at AIML. After all, Morti is an AIML bot, and I love him like a son (is that odd?). And nobody here is likely to argue any of the points you’ve made. But the goal that many of us here share is to create an AI entity that has evolved beyond the current technology, and break out of the confines of stimulus/response behavior.

As to “where” this new technology currently is? It’s still in the process of being created; and while it’s not completely here yet, it is coming, and in my opinion, fairly soon. Many of the folks here are involved in projects that I feel are pushing the boundaries of the currently possible, and are making strides that may well lead to a completely autonomous, “free thinking” conversational agent that can create unique, original replies to given inputs that are not only relevant to the discussion, but may also be able to convey the bot’s “thoughts and ideas”. I know you’re a “show me” kind of guy, and I’m not trying to make any “wild claims” here, especially since I’m not one of those who are working on any of the above mentioned projects. I’m just describing what I feel is in our future (possibly within our near future).

Better is always relative. Using the right tool for the right job is important. When a craftsman becomes comfortable with his tools he relies on them in is hesitant to change. I would doubt that even if there was something better out there that current botmasters would move to it if it meant abandoning their current content.

If AIML is serving the botmaster’s needs then there is little reason to change. It is a great starter language for those just learning about chat bots, and as Steve has shown, with time and persistence you can build some of the best chat bots around.

The strength (and weakness) of AIML is that it is stable and unchanging. The specification has been frozen long ago. It has been proven to work as a chatbot language and the Alice AIML set is an incredible resource.

But, going forward, there is the possibility of overcoming the limitations in AIML. Time and technology marches on and new botmasters will have a variety of languages to choose from (chatscript, rivescript, JAIL, AIML, etc.). We may even see some people try to extend AIML.

“Better”, in future chat bots might include the following:
Faster responses
Smaller data files
Easier Editing
More intelligent input handling (ie wildcard improvements/aliases)
More flexible output
Easier System/User Interface integration
Networked knowledge bases
Easier context handling

Many people confuse the language spec, the interpreter, and the content. All of which help decide how good a solution is. The “best” solution will always be subjective.

Not to argue, but for the sake of discussion…

I think that the word “better” is a relative term in the view of lawyers, scientists, or technocrats of any kind.  Down here on the ground, we know what better means.  When most people say, “better,” they mean, “better for me”.  Ambiguity is in the eye of the beholder.

When the comment was made, “...there is a bit of a stigma about using AIML,” the response was, “...AIML is pretty much a “mature” technology, with little in the way of improvement or innovation over the past several years” and “When a craftsman becomes comfortable with his tools he relies on them and is hesitant to change. I would doubt that even if there was something better out there that current botmasters would move to it…”

I’m confident that someone, somewhere, is working on everything to improve, expand, and modernize it.  My point is, until something better comes along, we’re all relegated to employing something less… what’s available.  Still, I understand that pushing the envelope is always interesting and probably more fun.

I disagree that people continue to use AIML simply because they’re lazy or comfortable.  Not everyone is, or is interested in becoming… a computer scientist.  But, I’m also confident that when something easier, faster, smaller with more content comes along, current users will migrate to it… when it’s better for them.  And, therein lies the key.

However, if only futuristic thinking, and a devotion to whatever is next is the soul purpose of this forum, and only commentary regarding yet another… and another… and another Proof of Concept bot is welcome (or understood) then, Steve was correct.  The stigma regarding AIML seems to exist, and I’m in the wrong place.