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Google search drops cache link from search results

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Re: Google search drops cache link from search results

#71

Post by dredmorbius »

JoshTriplett wrote: post #41
terrycody wrote: post #17

Cache: directive is very useful for many circumstances, especially for information archiving purpose, what a shame Google even want to cancel it.

Any archival purposes should use the Internet Archive; Google's cache couldn't be counted on to remain present and unchanged, even before this. (The Internet Archive can't be counted on to remain unchanged either, but at least the Internet Archive will either remain unchanged or disappear, never change. I wish archive.org didn't auto-nuke entire sites based on robots.txt, because when domains disappear the domain squ…

IA have increasingly ignored robots.txt since the mid-2010s, going on at least eight years now:

https://blog.archive.org/2017/04/17/robots-txt-meant-for-sea...>

https://blog.archive.org/2016/12/17/robots-txt-gov-mil-websi...>

Re: Google search drops cache link from search results

#72

Post by dredmorbius »

throwup238 wrote: post #35
pcthrowaway wrote: post #3

Wow. A large chunk of the web just died. As if the echoes of millions of past websites cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened

You can also use the bang !wayback and create a custom one for archive.ph (" https://archive.ph/submit/?url=%s ") and I have one for LibGen/Scihub too.

Keep in mind that although the Wayback Machine (Archive.org / Internet Archive) will accept archival requests through a simple URL submission[1], Archive.Today does not and AFAIU requires at least some manual interaction to complete an archive request. Archive.Today also rate-limits submissions and will through up CAPTCHA tests if you're exceeding rates (though so long as you're retaining cookies, though seem to stay good for a while).

I've archived 100s to low 1,000s of my own personal contributions on a few online services to both sites.

For Archive Today, it is possible to expedite the archival process by generating the initial submission URL, though you'll have to complete another two steps after that point manually as I recall. If you're archiving a large set of sites, you can compile a list, generate a Web page off of that, and work through it at a pretty good clip.

________________________________

Notes:

1. The URL format being

  https://web.archive.org/save/
You can submit that via a script using any HTTP request generator, e.g., curl, wget, w3m, lynx, etc.

Re: Google search drops cache link from search results

#74

Post by geuis »

This is a terrible shame.

I wrote a browser extension back in 2005 or so called Commoncache to help the user view a page when slashdot hugged a site to death. It used a fallback mechanic where it would try Google cache, then the wayback machine, and finally coralcache.

It was minorly popular and even included on a cd in an issue of MacWorld magazine.

I have absolutely no idea what's happening with Google's project managers these days, or whoever in the company is making product decisions. Thousands of highly intelligent and highly paid staff just keep making their core product and associated features increasingly user hostile.

YouTube search is an absolute travesty. Google search just floods the first page with various cards that take up previously useful space and doesn't add value to the simple need to find answers to questions.

I firmly believe that only relying on A/B testing for feature launches reached peak usefulness years ago. It's like everyone forgot to see if new features are a benefit to users at a human level simply because 51% of people click more on B, while A is the better experience for everyone.

Re: Google search drops cache link from search results

#76

Post by runlevel1 »

pcthrowaway wrote: post #3

Wow. A large chunk of the web just died. As if the echoes of millions of past websites cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened

I'm finding it harder and harder to search for things from recent history.

They killed reverse image search for Lens, which is borderline useless.

Image search no longer has its date range filter. You can still use the undocumented keyword, but who knows when they'll take that away.

Search results are increasingly irrelevant. Yesterday, I was searching for news articles about the late 00s capture of an Al Qaeda leader who was tracked down in an unusual way. Amongst the results were Visa's careers page. (As a side note, I then asked ChatGPT about the event and it hallucinated in all 3 of my attempts.)

Re: Google search drops cache link from search results

#77

Post by gexla »

Maybe it just wasn't used enough to justify its placement in the UI. I always used the URL cache: prefix. The few times I tried through the UI, I couldn't find it. I'm fine with the prefix, just continue supporting it. Though these days, I use other cache services more than I use Google cache.

Re: Google search drops cache link from search results

#78

Post by [deleted] »

geuis wrote: post #74

This is a terrible shame. I wrote a browser extension back in 2005 or so called Commoncache to help the user view a page when slashdot hugged a site to death. It used a fallback mechanic where it would try Google cache, then the wayback machine, and finally coralcache. It was minorly popular and even included on a cd in an issue of MacWorld magazine. I have absolutely no idea what's happening with Google's project ma…

[deleted]

Re: Google search drops cache link from search results

#79

Post by Y_Y »

whamlastxmas wrote: post #68
archerx wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t even know what the point of using google search anymore is...

Appending site:Reddit.com to everything bc Reddit search sucks

Reddit search sucking is a feature - it's trying to protect you from the Reddit content, that's what really sucks. There was a brief moment it had some good advice on products and services, until SEO jerks got wind of it and astroturfed over the whole thing.

Re: Google search drops cache link from search results

#80

Post by hammyhavoc »

gexla wrote: post #77

Maybe it just wasn't used enough to justify its placement in the UI. I always used the URL cache: prefix. The few times I tried through the UI, I couldn't find it. I'm fine with the prefix, just continue supporting it. Though these days, I use other cache services more than I use Google cache.

It's a classic cost-cutting exercise.

See https://klse.i3investor.com/web/blog/detail/future_tech/2024...

and

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/30/alphabet-googl-q4-earnings-r...

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