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Few people know that Google voluntarily removes some search results

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Re: Few people know that Google voluntarily removes some search results

#291
post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So do you have any data to back this up? Do home-owner repaired house catch on fire more often than houses repaired by licensed contractors? My insurance company has never told me I can't repair my own house. Easy to say things like this, but once you get out into the real world you notice a lot of America doesn't want to pay $150/hour to change a light switch...and has the knowledge to DIY it.

Back what up? I never made any claims about whether DIY is more dangerous or not. But the fact is that DIY or not, certain regulations must be followed when doing repairs - this is written into law in most countries. You're not allowed, for example, to hook up an oven to a 30A breaker using speaker wire. Because we can't trust that everyone will know not to do that, certifications have been designed to ensure correct…

> You have two options - either get certified, so you can be trusted to carry out the work yourself, or get someone who is certified to at least look it over. Seems entirely reasonable.

That it seems entirely reasonable is most of the problem.

Because people imagine that getting certified is a two week safety course, and that getting inspected is paying someone $10 to spend ten minutes looking over your five minute job.

But then the licensed professionals capture the regulators and the licensing requirement stops being about safety and starts being about gatekeeping, so getting licensed becomes impractical for anyone not full-time gainfully employed in that industry. And the gatekeeping and bureaucracy cause the inspection to require weeks to get an appointment and the payment of $150 over the replacement of a $10 light switch.

Then, you notice that the light in your living room flickers sometimes. You would be inclined to have your buddy the electrical engineer come have a look except that he's not a licensed electrician and you're not convinced that the lights flickering once in a while is a problem whose solution is worth $150. Two months later the light switch with the bad connection finally overheats and your house burns down. Or you're willing to pay the money but it takes 15 days to get an appointment and the amount of time you had before the problem became a fire was two weeks.

Making repairs to safety-critical things less accessible is dangerous.

Re: Few people know that Google voluntarily removes some search results

#292
post #255

One might even say that they filter their results in order to promote a preferred ideology. To propagandize us, even. Search any modern hot topic on Google. Do the same on one of the various alternative search engines (duckduckgo, for example). Compare the results. It's educational.

Ah yes, those brilliant uncensored DDG search results: https://imgur.com/a/WWXpsnk My goal, in case it's not clear, was to find out more about how dates are commonly used in Cambodia (for some localisation code I was writing). DDG just gave me "uncensored" spam sites about dating Cambodian women (I didn't check any of them out, but I'd wager quite a few, if not all, are just scams, if not worse). And while the Google…

what are you trying to say?

Re: Few people know that Google voluntarily removes some search results

#293
post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm pretty good with electrical diagrams and such, and I know exactly what one needs to do to stay about as safe as one can. I've fished (ethernet) wires before. I still hire electricians, because it's the only practical way to buy electrician's insurance for a project. I know a retired electrician. He hires electricians for anything nontrivial, for the insurance. That said your broader point has a lot of merit. I hi…

TBH the electricians I know tend to rely on their know-how to just do things right rather than on somebody else with the ability to sure in case it all burns down.

s/sure/sue.

Re: Few people know that Google voluntarily removes some search results

#294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Then again, electrical work can be life threatening, so the potential damage is rather high. As a DIYer, I was shocked to find what the previously hired professional electrician left for me: a secondary panel for the whole structure that controls exactly one outlet. The sub panel was apparently not fed from the main panel, but rather from a panel in a different building, so simply switching the main breaker of the…

The GCFI probably saved your life. This is why you always test an outlet with a lightbulb before doing electrical work.

The GFCI didn’t go off so I don’t think I touched the ground wire. I wasn’t myself grounded but I grabbed the outlet as I pulled by grasping the sides and my hand completed the circuit between the live and neutral wires. I am generally really careful about this kind of stuff but this was a complete surprise with the wiring of the place.

Honestly it didn’t actually do much beyond just small muscle twitches in my hand. I only realized what happened after I let go of it and my hand still felt a little funny. Definitely do not recommend but at least it was a 240V outlet or anything like that.

Re: Few people know that Google voluntarily removes some search results

#295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Then again, electrical work can be life threatening, so the potential damage is rather high. As a DIYer, I was shocked to find what the previously hired professional electrician left for me: a secondary panel for the whole structure that controls exactly one outlet. The sub panel was apparently not fed from the main panel, but rather from a panel in a different building, so simply switching the main breaker of the…

I just ordered a $15 Non Contact Voltage Detector after reading this. Glad you’re ok!

Yup that’s the best way to test it. I guess just like “is that gun loaded?” the answer to “is that circuit live?” is also always “yes”.

Re: Few people know that Google voluntarily removes some search results

#296
post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Help me with how this is relevant. Is the person you hired to scrub your Google result risking getting doxxed?

I assume the point was that anything negative about you ends up on Google it can lead to mental issues and in a worst case scenario you might take your life so its better you hire a professional to scrub it for you.

Another scenario is a cop who's personal id is revealed via Google, and criminals going after them.

Re: Few people know that Google voluntarily removes some search results

#297
post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I hadn't tried that particular search So, the one example you provided you hadn't taken the 10 seconds to validate? You're not providing value here. Please make an effort to make meaningful and additive comments instead of spewing misinformation or made up anecdotes.

Yeah or not? I also said try it yourself. And what value are you adding with this comment sir? My point stands shitty example or not.

I think parent is pointing out that you're being dishonest and therefore your credibility is in question. That does add value.

You have no point if you have to make things up to make it.

Re: Few people know that Google voluntarily removes some search results

#298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Then again, electrical work can be life threatening, so the potential damage is rather high. As a DIYer, I was shocked to find what the previously hired professional electrician left for me: a secondary panel for the whole structure that controls exactly one outlet. The sub panel was apparently not fed from the main panel, but rather from a panel in a different building, so simply switching the main breaker of the…

I just ordered a $15 Non Contact Voltage Detector after reading this. Glad you’re ok!

Wouldn't plugging in a small appliance (electrical toothbrush, phone charger, alarm clock, etc) be enough to tell you if a socket is live? Why have an extra device unless you need to do actual tests (ie, check what the voltage/current draw is)? Plug in something with a power indicator before shutting off the power, and check it before you start working.

Re: Few people know that Google voluntarily removes some search results

#299
post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So do you have any data to back this up? Do home-owner repaired house catch on fire more often than houses repaired by licensed contractors? My insurance company has never told me I can't repair my own house. Easy to say things like this, but once you get out into the real world you notice a lot of America doesn't want to pay $150/hour to change a light switch...and has the knowledge to DIY it.

Back what up? I never made any claims about whether DIY is more dangerous or not. But the fact is that DIY or not, certain regulations must be followed when doing repairs - this is written into law in most countries. You're not allowed, for example, to hook up an oven to a 30A breaker using speaker wire. Because we can't trust that everyone will know not to do that, certifications have been designed to ensure correct…

Great point. My brother and I tried to get some type of electricians license in order to do our DIY work more "professionally".

I took household lighting classes at the local community college and our union electrician uncle helped use redo his house.

Impossible in my state to get a electrician license without doing 1+ years as an apprentice under a electrical company full-time. Once you get the "apprentice" license, you then spend another year or two under more supervision to become a journeyman.

At that point you are able to pull permits and work on your own. So 3-5 years working as a full time electrician. They expect you to learn everything on the job and eventually take a test.

More time to get an electrician license than to become a licensed police officer (250 hours of academy training).

Sweet. All of that to legally change a dishwasher in my house.

So all of the people on this forum spouting off about "certified electricians" are either part of the electrician racket themselves or have 0 actual clue what they are talking about.

Re: Few people know that Google voluntarily removes some search results

#300
post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just ordered a $15 Non Contact Voltage Detector after reading this. Glad you’re ok!

Wouldn't plugging in a small appliance (electrical toothbrush, phone charger, alarm clock, etc) be enough to tell you if a socket is live? Why have an extra device unless you need to do actual tests (ie, check what the voltage/current draw is)? Plug in something with a power indicator before shutting off the power, and check it before you start working.

The metal inside the socket that completes the circuit with the male pins can age and get bent, losing contact unless the plug is at just the right angle or the pins are bent in the right direction. It's unreliable and unsafe. If its your house and you're intimately familiar with the state of the sockets, it's slightly less unreliable and unsafe.

The EM coming off AC mains makes a non contact detector hard to fool and it's such a simple device that even cheap knockoffs are reliable.

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