For the same reason that streaming services don't really give you the ability to filter by cast/crew or hide stuff you've already seen: to gently guide you into avenues that are more profitable for them, regardless of what you say you really want.
Ask HN: Why do search engines not let you blacklist spam domains?
31–40 of 127 posts
Re: Ask HN: Why do search engines not let you blacklist spam domains?
#32uBlock Origin static filters to the rescue! Block results from specific domains on Google or DDG: google.*##.g:has(a[href*="thetopsites.com"]) duckduckgo.*##.results > div:has(a[href*="thetopsites.com"]) And it's even possible to target element content with regex with the `:has-text(/regex/)` selector. google.*##.g:has(*:has-text(/bye topic of noninterest/i)) duckduckgo.*##.results > div:has(*:has-text(/bye topic of…
well that leaves blanks, right?
No, these completely remove any matched results
Re: Ask HN: Why do search engines not let you blacklist spam domains?
#33uBlock Origin static filters to the rescue! Block results from specific domains on Google or DDG: google.*##.g:has(a[href*="thetopsites.com"]) duckduckgo.*##.results > div:has(a[href*="thetopsites.com"]) And it's even possible to target element content with regex with the `:has-text(/regex/)` selector. google.*##.g:has(*:has-text(/bye topic of noninterest/i)) duckduckgo.*##.results > div:has(*:has-text(/bye topic of…
Filtering out the spam results is only half the problem. In my experience, a legitimate site's content is cloned by a spam site, and that one appears in a Google search and the legitimate one does not. The example that keeps hitting me is GitHub Issues. Filtering out the spam only removes the clones; it doesn't get the good results back in.
Host a personal (potentially shared with friends) searx (for multi-engine) or whoogle (google only) instance. Filter out some domains completely, rewrite others. The rewrite part is what allows you to substitute spam clone sites for the real deal. At least searx does dedupe already.
The time spent (including maintenance) will be paid back faster than you might expect.
Optionally rewrite some sites to altfronts like nitter/scribe/piped. If you care about spending time on privacy and decoupling searches from visits, you can set up arbitrary proxying rules.
One benefit among others over browser extensions is that it's a one-time setup for all your devices and clients. All you need to do on reinstall is to change the default search engine.
Re: Ask HN: Why do search engines not let you blacklist spam domains?
#34uBlock Origin static filters to the rescue! Block results from specific domains on Google or DDG: google.*##.g:has(a[href*="thetopsites.com"]) duckduckgo.*##.results > div:has(a[href*="thetopsites.com"]) And it's even possible to target element content with regex with the `:has-text(/regex/)` selector. google.*##.g:has(*:has-text(/bye topic of noninterest/i)) duckduckgo.*##.results > div:has(*:has-text(/bye topic of…
Filtering out the spam results is only half the problem. In my experience, a legitimate site's content is cloned by a spam site, and that one appears in a Google search and the legitimate one does not. The example that keeps hitting me is GitHub Issues. Filtering out the spam only removes the clones; it doesn't get the good results back in.
Sure, but at least it prevents you from accidentally clicking those unwanted results - something I kept doing all the time.
Either way, OP's ask was for a way to blacklist results, and I'm providing a method to accomplish exactly that. Edit: The rest is up to Google.
Re: Ask HN: Why do search engines not let you blacklist spam domains?
#35For the same reason that streaming services don't really give you the ability to filter by cast/crew or hide stuff you've already seen: to gently guide you into avenues that are more profitable for them, regardless of what you say you really want.
I just tried searching Netflix, HBO, and Prime for Bruce Willis; all showed me his movies. Is that not the filtering you’re expecting?
Re: Ask HN: Why do search engines not let you blacklist spam domains?
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've also switched to Kagi recently and I think I find myself almost never doing !g (compared to DDG). And if I go to Google, it's mostly for hyperlocal results.
So far I've only found two areas where Google beats Kagi. One is, as you say, local/POI search. The other is deep diving into family history stuff - I've been tracing a 19th century composer and Kagi didn't surface most of the interesting documents. But for pretty much everything else it seems better than Google.
Thanks for the feedback! (Kagi founder here)
Local results are on our roadmap, we should be launching it within few weeks.
I am wondering if can you report problematic queries to https://kagifeedback.org so we can take a look?
Re: Ask HN: Why do search engines not let you blacklist spam domains?
#37It's a simple answer because you don't pay them for that. They run a balancing act of providing you useful results while also surreptitiously shoving trash, that they actually make money off of, at you and hoping you won't notice or complain.
Kagi will be paid when it exits beta and has this feature!
Which means you can never use it in an incognito session without logging in
Re: Ask HN: Why do search engines not let you blacklist spam domains?
#38For the same reason that streaming services don't really give you the ability to filter by cast/crew or hide stuff you've already seen: to gently guide you into avenues that are more profitable for them, regardless of what you say you really want.
I’m not convinced they are targeting profitability, because that is hard to connect back to individual user action. They target what is easy to measure at the user level, probably engagement, and operate on the assumption that higher engagement means higher profit.
Re: Ask HN: Why do search engines not let you blacklist spam domains?
#39If search is free, then you are the product. Now if there was a paid search engine, and you were the customer, you would expect customer service, customization, no ads, privacy protection, etc.
Re: Ask HN: Why do search engines not let you blacklist spam domains?
#40It's a simple answer because you don't pay them for that. They run a balancing act of providing you useful results while also surreptitiously shoving trash, that they actually make money off of, at you and hoping you won't notice or complain.
If the search results were perfect you'd never look at an ad.
Sometimes I am searching for information, and I want facts. Sometimes I am researching a purchase, and I want the sellers to compete for my purchase. Perhaps it makes sense to give search engines more context, such as, whether your intent is to spend money or not.