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Why Google is so unbearable, and how to fix it

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Re: Why Google is so unbearable, and how to fix it

#191

Post by deelly »

quadcore wrote: post #170

So I will reiterate my little theory, this is not entirely Google's fault, regulations, especially KYC are responsible for this. KYC is incompatible with having a free zone. This is actually the aim of KYC, to remove free zones. If you dont get it, let's take an example. The flat tire mustard-yellow webpage. This page is not KYC'd. Are they laundering money through their website? Are they rallying people for a bloody…

Sorry, I still don't get it. How exactly KYC is responsible to crappy web search results? Should it be other way around?

Re: Why Google is so unbearable, and how to fix it

#192

Post by grumple »

qgin wrote: post #18

Just add “Reddit” to the search string Reddit is what the internet used to be back when it was useful.

Unfortunately, I find Reddit results to generally be of very low quality. For tech related searches, stackoverflow and direct links to documentation are far superior. Where reddit is occasionally useful is when searching for things like "what's the best service for X?", but even then I find myself wading through many posts and many comments on those posts before I come across a sliver of useful information.

Re: Why Google is so unbearable, and how to fix it

#193

Post by marricks »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #122
baggachipz wrote: post #13

Google is so unbearable because they are no longer interested in you finding the answer to your query; they're interested in selling your query and its context to the highest bidder. That conflict of interest manifests in what Google has become.

Some years ago there were some serious Warnings issued from Google: Make your website fast and small! Popups will be PUNISHED! as will mobile-unfriendliness! But in hindsight, this was a ploy from them to try and upsell AMP, which was in a lot of cases heavier than non-AMP websites, and it was a means to keep people inside of their ecosystem - and inside of their advertising network, because not all websites Google l…

They own the web through Chrome, it’s one of their best investments.

They’re killing Firefox with it (RIP) and successfully killed IE with it (rest in piss).

We’re getting to a desktop browser hegemony again but I doubt a scrappy upstart will be able to save us.

Re: Why Google is so unbearable, and how to fix it

#194

Post by InCityDreams »

bkobren wrote: post #174
chii wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How can we fund meaningful search divorced from an ad business? The only way you have not listed is gov't funding. And i dont think i would trust a gov't run search engine either. May be a well meaning librarian institution could make it work. > I'm quite sure a subscription model would fail. this hasn't really been tried yet - it could work, who knows?

Hi there, you should give Neeva a try. Disclosure, I work for them, but we were the first to introduce a subscription, interest/growth has been really strong so far. Neeva offers a freemium model (free basic and premium for $5/Month which includes paid versions of VPN and a password manager), you can connect third party apps like dropbox and email putting all your personal docs in one search along with websearch, bot…

Missing commas?

"...offers a freemium model (free basic and premium for $5/Month which includes paid versions of VPN....."

Or as it reads?

Re: Why Google is so unbearable, and how to fix it

#195

Post by chongli »

Beltiras wrote: post #33
baggachipz wrote: post #13

Google is so unbearable because they are no longer interested in you finding the answer to your query; they're interested in selling your query and its context to the highest bidder. That conflict of interest manifests in what Google has become.

I agree. What the search space needs is a different business model. I have no idea what it could be. I'm quite sure a subscription model would fail. Micropayments have not taken off. How can we fund meaningful search divorced from an ad business?

Why stop there? Social media suffers from the same conflict of interest as search. Heck, even mainstream media online has this problem: the public's confidence in journalism has plummeted due to the rise of clickbait, fake news, and sensationalism.

What I really want is a decentralized, non-commercial, open source web. As part of this I would like to see search and communications moved to the client, rather than the cloud. This seems like it would take a huge effort to build, however, and even more monumental effort to bring people into the network. So it feels like a pipe dream at this point. I do think there are a lot of other people out there craving for something similar, based on nostalgia for the old days (90's and earlier).

Re: Why Google is so unbearable, and how to fix it

#196

Post by InCityDreams »

Beltiras wrote: post #98
chii wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How can we fund meaningful search divorced from an ad business? The only way you have not listed is gov't funding. And i dont think i would trust a gov't run search engine either. May be a well meaning librarian institution could make it work. > I'm quite sure a subscription model would fail. this hasn't really been tried yet - it could work, who knows?

An alternative is academic institutions. I'd trust a university-backed government-funded search engine.

University of Moscow?

Re: Why Google is so unbearable, and how to fix it

#197

Post by superasn »

svnpenn wrote: post #99
greybox wrote: post #70

I switched to using kagi.com a while ago, and I've never looked back. I've tried to use duckduckgo before but just ended up using '!g' most of the time. Kagi is in a whole other league. It's on par with, if not better than google search. I highly recommend it. When they introduce the paid tier I'm sure as hell going to subscribe to it. At this point I would trade my Netflix subscription for it.

Please stop pushing some site thats still in beta, AND requires a login.

Yes i too would like to see a side by side comparison why it's better than just dude trust me..

Re: Why Google is so unbearable, and how to fix it

#198

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet »

Beltiras wrote: post #33
baggachipz wrote: post #13

Google is so unbearable because they are no longer interested in you finding the answer to your query; they're interested in selling your query and its context to the highest bidder. That conflict of interest manifests in what Google has become.

I agree. What the search space needs is a different business model. I have no idea what it could be. I'm quite sure a subscription model would fail. Micropayments have not taken off. How can we fund meaningful search divorced from an ad business?

Do we really need it to be a business? Does it need to make money? Torrent communities and DHT don't make any money and yet they're pretty good. Would it be possible to build a decentralized solution around finding things on the internet? Something with trustworthiness ratings and user controlled blacklists perhaps?

Re: Why Google is so unbearable, and how to fix it

#199

Post by chongli »

throwmamatrain wrote: post #175
thepasswordis wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would a .edu help you learn to fix a tire? That seems like a YouTube question, not something a school would teach, and if they did, not something that would go online.

I think the idea is that the SNR of .edu TLD is likely higher than all other TLDs. Probably true for now.

Too bad .edu seems to be restricted to US-based schools. There's plenty of great stuff hosted by universities in other countries but none of them are on the .edu TLD.

Re: Why Google is so unbearable, and how to fix it

#200

Post by tut-urut-utut »

Instead of fighting Google, better "just" stop using it. Leave it for good, even if it feels better than competition right now. Let's face it, Google is not going to improve. We are not their customers, and they are not going to make their product better for us. That boat has sailed long time ago.

We need to reset the web. Try out as much of alternative search engines as you can. Use the one, or multiple, that suit you better. Maybe they will get some traction in a couple of years, maybe in a decade, or so. We'll be there where we were before Google, using Yahoos, Altavista, Excite et al. and waiting for the history to repeat in a form of a new incumbent that will again make search usable.

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