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Google removes ‘view image’ button from search results

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Re: Google removes ‘view image’ button from search results

#62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's right there in the article >Google has long been under fire from photographers and publishers who felt that image search allowed people to steal their pictures, and the removal of the view image button is one of many changes being made in response. A deal to show copyright information and improve attribution of Getty photos was announced last week and included these changes. Using the context menu to "Open Image…

> using the context menu to “Open Image in New tab” essentially dos the same thing so the functionality is still there. No, actually “view image” loaded the source image at source resolution while viewing the image loaded into the DOM would show you the re-encoded, lower resolution, smaller Google thumbnail version. Edit: actually it seems that Google has simultaneously deployed an update that makes the actual source…

What I'm seeing on the current site is that the large preview seen on clicking a thumbnail is the original image, loaded from the original server and scaled in CSS.

Nothing's really changed in terms of capability; the UI is just a bit more awkward.

Re: Google removes ‘view image’ button from search results

#63
post #31

I'm going to play devils advocate here and say this is a good change. If google was scaping the text of sites and only displaying that, would we think that was ok? Just like google search, this is about giving you a preview, then go to the source. If you want the image, we all know how to find it, get it. How big of an annoyance is this?

This is a huge annoyance. A lot of times I am looking for images which are in the public domain, and for which if I go to the page in question, I have to then sort through dozens of images to find the one I had been looking at already in the search. Here's an example. I've just done a search, found an image that I want to view larger, the image is long since in the public domain, but when I click on "visit" I get a p…

> I guess that's OK for people who are technically inclined enough to know that you can do that.

I have a bias where I'm OK with the fact that people who take the time to learn the capabilities of the tools they use get better results from them. I figured this out within about 30 seconds of noticing that the view image button was gone, after sending feedback to say I didn't like the change.

This would be the wrong bias if I was designing a product. Of course, a product will be most successful if it maximizes discoverability and doesn't make the user think, which is exactly what Google has been coerced in to rolling back here.

Re: Google removes ‘view image’ button from search results

#64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The more interesting question is why google is doing this. They got sued. "These changes came about in part due to our settlement with Getty Images this week."

The feature is still available on Bing Images, for now: http://www.bing.com/images/

Looks like Getty and Microsoft have had an agreement for a couple of years now https://searchengineland.com/microsoft-getty-images-announce...

Re: Google removes ‘view image’ button from search results

#65
post #61

Is this implying that people use Google Images to find webpages? I thought the only point of Google Images was to find images to use in PowerPoints and school projects.

Sometimes I do, usually when I want to find a teardown or repair information for a piece of hardware. Image results often let me determine more quickly which pages contain a good teardown because they contain quality images of the inside of the device.

Re: Google removes ‘view image’ button from search results

#66
post #61

Is this implying that people use Google Images to find webpages? I thought the only point of Google Images was to find images to use in PowerPoints and school projects.

I frequently use it to search (and reverse-search) products, specifically modern interior design objects. Often things show up in blog feeds or on Instagram where it's been reblogged from some source, and I want the original page that describes what it is. Or I use image search by text to try to identify pieces that I can describe in words ("leather bauhaus lounge rocker 60s chrome" or whatever).

Many other use cases. "iPhone case" -> browse cases, see one you like, find the page where it's sold (effectively a federated shopping search). Or "New England bed and breakfast" as a way to find somewhere cute to travel.

Re: Google removes ‘view image’ button from search results

#68
post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

im bullish on blockchain tech around solving this issue. No single point to sue & bully.

Just a public ledger to show exactly whom is responsible.

Suing individuals in multiple legal jurisdictions is both more technically difficult and worse PR than suing a big tech companies. There's a reason record labels gave up on that approach.

Re: Google removes ‘view image’ button from search results

#69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's right there in the article >Google has long been under fire from photographers and publishers who felt that image search allowed people to steal their pictures, and the removal of the view image button is one of many changes being made in response. A deal to show copyright information and improve attribution of Getty photos was announced last week and included these changes. Using the context menu to "Open Image…

> using the context menu to “Open Image in New tab” essentially dos the same thing so the functionality is still there. No, actually “view image” loaded the source image at source resolution while viewing the image loaded into the DOM would show you the re-encoded, lower resolution, smaller Google thumbnail version. Edit: actually it seems that Google has simultaneously deployed an update that makes the actual source…

It was already like that and has been like that for years.

Re: Google removes ‘view image’ button from search results

#70
post #31

I'm going to play devils advocate here and say this is a good change. If google was scaping the text of sites and only displaying that, would we think that was ok? Just like google search, this is about giving you a preview, then go to the source. If you want the image, we all know how to find it, get it. How big of an annoyance is this?

This is a huge annoyance. A lot of times I am looking for images which are in the public domain, and for which if I go to the page in question, I have to then sort through dozens of images to find the one I had been looking at already in the search. Here's an example. I've just done a search, found an image that I want to view larger, the image is long since in the public domain, but when I click on "visit" I get a p…

Your linked picture is not in the public domain AFAI can see?

So you are stealing it if you're using it, so kinda a bad argument.

(Have you contacted the owner? / Is there a link on the site creative commons it?)

[Edit] - From the site - "If you want to copy any pictures or texts from this website, please send me an E-mail: kees.nieuwenhuijsen@tip.nl"

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