An earlier browser plug-in from eZula Inc., San Francisco, CA, that automatically turned words and phrases on Web pages into links to advertisers and dictionary definitions. TopText was a controversial product. In some cases, the plug-in was installed along with other software, and since hardly anyone reads the end user license agreement, many users did not know why words were being highlighted on the sites they visited. At one point in time, eZula contracted to use the content of this encyclopedia to provide definitions to users reading technical copy. In this case, eZula paid for the links rather than advertisers paying eZula. See
smart tags.