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I am no longer able to use Google with Lynx

blind.guru

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Re: I am no longer able to use Google with Lynx

#231
post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that the search query does not go in the URL in the Lite version. That really sucks. It makes it useless in the browser history as well. In fact, because all the URLs are the same on each query, they're not even added as separate entries in the history.

They don't? Search term(s) are the URL parameter: ?q= Which does show in my history AFAICT.

On the regular version, not the lite. Here's my URL after searching for "asdf":

https://duckduckgo.com/lite/

In the search form, it uses POST instead of GET to perform the searches.

Re: I am no longer able to use Google with Lynx

#232
> Luckily, there is duckduckgo. However, I have to admit, the search results of duckduckgo are by far inferior to what Google used to give.

For cases where DuckDuckGo isn't quite enough, I usually rely on StartPage [1]. It uses results from Google, but like DuckDuckGo it doesn't track its users.

Startpage, like DuckDuckGo, also works well in Lynx (I've just tested in Lynx 2.8.9 on Ubuntu 16.04).

Additionally, you can get StartPage results right from within DuckDuckGo by just appending the !sp shortcut to your search query [2]

Edit: you may want to keep in mind, however, that StartPage is now owned by an advertising company. Some users took issue with that. Personally, I'm OK with that as long as users are not being tracked. Relevant HN thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21371577

[1] https://www.startpage.com/

[2] https://duckduckgo.com/bang?c=Online+Services&sc=Search

Re: I am no longer able to use Google with Lynx

#233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Okay, that explains that trend, but wow. We actually managed to come up with something arguably more obtuse than an acronym (and they're hardly the most friendly of things)

I'm pretty sure that "i18n" and "l10n" are about fifteen years old -- not exactly a trend any more (at least, not a new one).

[deleted]

Re: I am no longer able to use Google with Lynx

#235

> Luckily, there is duckduckgo. However, I have to admit, the search results of duckduckgo are by far inferior to what Google used to give. For cases where DuckDuckGo isn't quite enough, I usually rely on StartPage [1]. It uses results from Google, but like DuckDuckGo it doesn't track its users. Startpage, like DuckDuckGo, also works well in Lynx (I've just tested in Lynx 2.8.9 on Ubuntu 16.04). Additionally, you can…

DDG has been getting better. I've switched my browsers search to it and only occasionally go back to Google for something specific.

Re: I am no longer able to use Google with Lynx

#236

> Luckily, there is duckduckgo. However, I have to admit, the search results of duckduckgo are by far inferior to what Google used to give. For cases where DuckDuckGo isn't quite enough, I usually rely on StartPage [1]. It uses results from Google, but like DuckDuckGo it doesn't track its users. Startpage, like DuckDuckGo, also works well in Lynx (I've just tested in Lynx 2.8.9 on Ubuntu 16.04). Additionally, you can…

Or you could use searx.

Re: I am no longer able to use Google with Lynx

#237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Come on, you can't be serious about this. Creating sophisticated web pages is massively easier than 10 or 20 years ago. Yes, HTML of plain simple text-only pages is still pretty much the same, but most users actually prefer visually fancier content with pictures and colors. Yes, companies presenting themselvses online profit of more capabilities. And yes, presenting ads is probably easier too. But if you think those…

I am serious. Yes, it's true it's easier than ever to create sophisticated websites. But it's also true that almost all this sophistication delivers negative value to users - it distracts them, slows them down, and forces them to keep buying faster hardware. It doesn't have to be like this - but it currently is . It's not even just a problem of explicit business incentives - the technical side of the industry has bee…

> The "best practices" in web development and user experience all deoptimize end-user ergonomy and productivity.

What are you seeing that leads you to think this? The ads and engagement drivers (autoplaying videos of other content on the site) on sites that need eyeballs to keep the lights on, or the articles showing how to download the minimum usable assets so you don't waste the user's bandwidth, battery, and disk space[1]? The latter is what I tend to see when I'm looking at pages describing "best practice".

1: https://alistapart.com/article/request-with-intent-caching-s...

Re: I am no longer able to use Google with Lynx

#238

> Luckily, there is duckduckgo. However, I have to admit, the search results of duckduckgo are by far inferior to what Google used to give. For cases where DuckDuckGo isn't quite enough, I usually rely on StartPage [1]. It uses results from Google, but like DuckDuckGo it doesn't track its users. Startpage, like DuckDuckGo, also works well in Lynx (I've just tested in Lynx 2.8.9 on Ubuntu 16.04). Additionally, you can…

DDG has been getting better. I've switched my browsers search to it and only occasionally go back to Google for something specific.

DDG's results are very bad still, and they will likely always be terrible. It's not hard to find a query that is objectively much worse than what Google has. DuckDuckGo will never be able to catch up to Google's search quality results. It doesn't have Google's data, Google relies on the search behavior of most of the people of the internet to guide its results along with its vast human and hardware resources to create results that even Microsoft can't match.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-15/to-break-...

Re: I am no longer able to use Google with Lynx

#239
post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They don't? Search term(s) are the URL parameter: ?q= Which does show in my history AFAICT.

On the regular version, not the lite. Here's my URL after searching for "asdf": https://duckduckgo.com/lite/ In the search form, it uses POST instead of GET to perform the searches.

Even if the search form uses POST, the server does read the parameter if it's specified in the querystring. That is, https://duckduckgo.com/lite/?q=asdf works, so adding it as a search engine with URL .../?q=%s should work as well.
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