Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Let's build an HN uBlacklist to improve our Google search results?

news.ycombinator.com

151–160 of 284 posts

Re: Ask HN: Let's build an HN uBlacklist to improve our Google search results?

#152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

May I know why my domain (cyberciti.biz) was added to that list? I created my site back in 2000, and there was no StackOverflow or anything. So much for creating original content and then getting labelled as a spammer. In fact, some of the top answers on StackOverflow were copied from my work without giving any credit to me. Some people do give credit tho. But, go ahead block a site that actual humans maintain over 2…

Not OP but dot biz is associated with spam in my head for what it’s worth

A couple of years ago, I was at Google's office, and I talked with someone who works on search about .biz extension. They said domain extension doesn't matter. At that time, they said backlinks is one of the most vital signals apart from some PR. That was like eight years ago. So I never changed the domain name despite owning the .com version too. It will break too many backlinks.

Re: Ask HN: Let's build an HN uBlacklist to improve our Google search results?

#153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Is there a word for this tendency to say, "it's someone else's job" At the risk of sounding pretentious, I call it "socialist", since they spend their lives telling others what to do or what is good or not for the rest of us but they rarely do anything about it. Surprisingly, this is the group that is really worried about poverty and climate change and do as much as I do for it, with the difference that I do it by…

Oh wow, an uncritical hot-take refers to some one they disagree with as being a 'socialist', you're so revolutionary. I wonder where you could have gotten the idea that all of your problems are the fault of the 'socialists'.

Oh wow, where did you take from I said all my problems come from socialists?

I described an attitude I dislike and I often find, like it or not, at that side of the spectrum: we have to eliminate poverty, stop the climate change and do all good things in the world. At the same time I write from my big luxury Iphones, my big house (as I promote equality) and, of course, tell the rich to pay the bill as if their money belonged to everyone else. Mine no, I am no rich... I am socialist to point to who should do it, not to do it.

I have never, ever seen a person with a capitalist mindset pointing to the wealth of others or saying that everyone should have the same be equal for the sake of being and they are quite more restrained about telling all the others what to do. Also, they are often quite more frugal people.

Re: Ask HN: Let's build an HN uBlacklist to improve our Google search results?

#154
post #113
post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Describing something negative with the black color is related to racist mindset, in short. Thank you Abimelex for pointing this out

I disagree. It has nothing to do with race. Even in societies where blacks didn’t exist, black has symbolized bad, evil things. It is ridiculous to say a color cannot mean something negative just because it has the same name as a race of people. I also doubt the rest of the world feels using black this way is racist. It seems to be an opinion held only by coddled American minds still trying to cope with the trauma of…

> everything they enjoy about their country was built on the backs of black slave labor.

And that isn't true either, and to the extent it is, you can point to any other country and find something terrible in its past if you go back far enough. Man's inhumanity to man is universal, not exclusive to America.

Re: Ask HN: Let's build an HN uBlacklist to improve our Google search results?

#156
post #55

>become worse lately thanks to all those StackOverflow and Github clones A google search showing some of these leech type sites: https://www.google.com/search?q=%22code+that+protects+users+... For me, "farath.com" is outranking stackoverflow.

I tried you.com[1]. The first few results seem quite relevant. Best part is that you can actually personalize the weights to assign to your search (your very own bubble) https://you.com/search?q=code%20that%20protects%20users%20fr...

I saw you.com displays some Code Complete snippets but the lines are too short and doesn't get the language highlighting, which make it harder to read. Nice try anyway.

Re: Ask HN: Let's build an HN uBlacklist to improve our Google search results?

#157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

May I know why my domain (cyberciti.biz) was added to that list? I created my site back in 2000, and there was no StackOverflow or anything. So much for creating original content and then getting labelled as a spammer. In fact, some of the top answers on StackOverflow were copied from my work without giving any credit to me. Some people do give credit tho. But, go ahead block a site that actual humans maintain over 2…

At first scan your site looks like one of those automated scrape and republish sites. I'm curious what got you on that blacklist (misspelling? bad first impression? automated tool gone awry?) though. Glad you said something though, I wouldn't have looked at it twice without a human attestation.

I kept it simple on purpose. As a result, it loads faster on both desktop and mobile and passes web.dev PageSpeed insight test too.

Re: Ask HN: Let's build an HN uBlacklist to improve our Google search results?

#158

I wonder why Apple is not starting it's own search engine. I mean yes, they get >$1Bn per year making Google the default on iOS+macOS, but they have plenty of cash so they wouldn't need it. They would get immediately ~10% market share when it is launched, just because it would be made the default on their devices. From their they just need to present better search results than Google (which shouldn't be that hard rig…

Apple is allegedly paid lots of money to not do this: https://www.macrumors.com/2021/08/27/google-could-pay-apple-...

Wow, $20Bn per year. This smells a lot like anti-competetive behavior, I wonder what happened to that lawsuit.

Re: Ask HN: Let's build an HN uBlacklist to improve our Google search results?

#159
post #137

Im afraid this is potentially dangerously political. Are you only going to filter obvious spam and sites that republish other’s content, or are you going to block sites that are “harmful” or disseminate “disinformation”? Who will get to decide which media bubble I’m in?

> Im afraid this is potentially dangerously political. It only took 7 days for that other search engine project on HN last week (Mwmbl) to add hard-coded weights for certain news websites, so it does show how careful you have to be with this stuff. https://github.com/mwmbl/mwmbl/blob/a41088ca9ad7fdcac952a3be...

What's the issue with that? Doesn't Google do this too, based on ssl availability for instance?

Re: Ask HN: Let's build an HN uBlacklist to improve our Google search results?

#160
The problem with this is illustrated in another comment where nixcraft's site, cyberciti.biz, was added to a personal block list. The content on the site does seem to be original and productive. I'd guess it was added based on the criteria of "I haven't heard of this site and the domain looks suspicious". I have a feeling that this will be true for other domains on this proposed master list. And the owners of those domains will have no recourse.

Specifically blocking github clones seems doable. Adding anything else needs equally specific criteria or it will quickly become subjective and unfair.

Post reply on HN