Abstract: A system is disclosed for remotely accessing database management systems (5130) and performing guided iterative queries of knowledge bases (110) over a communication circuit such as the Internet (5124). The system includes a Web browser (5120) having a Java™ runtime environment (4015), and executable content client (5121) that may be downloaded from a remote location (103). A Krakatoa proxy server (5128), socket (5021), and tunnel (5129) establish a mechanism for remote procedure calls through firewalls (5126) via an HTTP server (5127). Guardrail counts (750) are preferably displayed to the remote searcher to facilitate guided iterative queries of the remote knowledge base (110). A configurable graphical action region (700) is preferably provided to the remote searcher via a graphical user interface to provide powerful navigation and linking of diverse useful information which varies based upon contexts selected by the remote searcher.