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DuckDuckGo removed the ability to filter search results

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Re: DuckDuckGo removed the ability to filter search results

#91

Post by midoridensha »

brucethemoose2 wrote: post #62
midoridensha wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this one is really overrated. My family never asks my input on what to use; they always buy Apple stuff, inkjet printers with expensive ink subscription services, etc. If I try to talk to them about, for instance, getting a laser printer instead, it goes nowhere. Heck, just getting them to use Facebook Messenger to talk to me since I'm living on another continent is almost too much apparently. In my experienc…

People are just stubborn and creatures of habit, and they dont want to expend energy on a change that is difficult and unimportant. That is the crux of it. I have family that wont tolerate any changes on their smartphone, wont create or use an email account and such... they arent even very old. But it kinda reinforces your point: they dont really take power user advice either, especially if it conflicts with somethin…

>Also, I think computers used to be more enigmatic to the non techy, but now they are very accessible. People dont feel like they need help.

Exactly. They can go to the Apple store and talk to one of the "geniuses" there.

Re: DuckDuckGo removed the ability to filter search results

#92

Post by Svip »

midasuni wrote: post #82
Svip wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The quotation marks work for me: https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=%22lowes+pet+bedding%22&atb... I notice in your HN post, you're using fancy quotation marks; I assume you're not using the same while searching DDG.

I get 2 good result, then oddly I get https://www.bizseek.co.uk/simons-books-01458-272313

I normally use "Denmark" as a region, but turning it on and off did not change my search results much (three zazzle links and a copysite of this HN thread, but not HN itself).

Changing the region to "USA" really confused me. Suddenly a lot of unrelated results turn up, but a lot of the results are Danish or Denmark-related. Including the Wikipedia page for Ringsted. What does that have to do with "lowes pet bedding"?

I am honestly not entirely sure what the region parameter on DDG does, but it appears not to be working for "USA".

Re: DuckDuckGo removed the ability to filter search results

#93

Post by midoridensha »

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #81
midoridensha wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this one is really overrated. My family never asks my input on what to use; they always buy Apple stuff, inkjet printers with expensive ink subscription services, etc. If I try to talk to them about, for instance, getting a laser printer instead, it goes nowhere. Heck, just getting them to use Facebook Messenger to talk to me since I'm living on another continent is almost too much apparently. In my experienc…

This isn't because they don't want advice, it's because there isn't enough competition for the advice to be useful. It's not like Google spies on you and Microsoft doesn't. It doesn't really matter to them whether the Windows PC they buy is from Dell or Lenovo and they don't want to hear how to build one out of parts from Newegg and install Linux on it if it can't play the games they want to play. Companies are then…

There is competition, sometimes far better competition, but people don't want it. Laser printers are the big example here IMO: people spend a fortune on inkjet ink, but try to get them to buy a laser printer and they'll refuse because the up-front cost is higher, even though the long-term cost is much, much lower for most users.

Re: DuckDuckGo removed the ability to filter search results

#94

Post by bloaf »

I personally feel like negative filters are important because they create an incentive for advertisers/SEO/etc people to not spam every keyword into their product.

If you're only allowed positive searches, the best way to get your product found is to maximize the number of positive search terms associated with your product. With negative search terms, every additional term you add is a potential exclusion criteria as well.

Unfortunately, people just don't use the negative search terms enough, so it is up to the search engines themselves to detect metadata bloat, and that ends up being a cat-and-mouse game.

Re: DuckDuckGo removed the ability to filter search results

#95

Post by Svip »

nickcox wrote: post #88
Svip wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The quotation marks work for me: https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=%22lowes+pet+bedding%22&atb... I notice in your HN post, you're using fancy quotation marks; I assume you're not using the same while searching DDG.

Doesn't work for me. Like the GP, I get results unrelated to Lowes, bedding or even pets.

Out of curiosity, I noticed (as I mentioned in a reply to your sibling) I could produce unrelated results by fiddling with the region; does changing region do anything for you?

Re: DuckDuckGo removed the ability to filter search results

#96

Post by than3 »

colordrops wrote: post #78
DanHulton wrote: post #70

I debated bringing up Kagi at the top level here, since I already commented on it in a reply, but honestly I really want them to succeed and shit like this is why. It's a paid search service, and I'm honestly really happy with that distinction and what it entails. Being paid means that they can deliver on and support features that users can use to get the best results for them, without worrying how those features may…

> They are working out the kinks with the pricing scheme You mean being way too expensive? I appreciate them wanting to stay afloat but they need to bring the cost per search down drastically. They are doing something wrong behind the scenes with regards to spend or optimization.

> They are doing something wrong behind the scenes with regards to spend or optimization...

I disagree. You have to remember how disadvantaged the online ad market actually is. Many of those ad networks also are simply legitimizing fraud on the advertisers, but because the networks aren't big enough at competitors, and all existing implementations suffer the same issues you really don't get what you pay for as Uber found out years ago.

https://veracitytrustnetwork.com/blog/digital-marketing/uber...

Re: DuckDuckGo removed the ability to filter search results

#97

Post by andai »

ImPostingOnHN wrote: post #58
explorer83 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I feel all search engines have had declining quality for some time now. Not sure if it's unintended consequence of fighting bots. Or unintended consequence of trying to remove some content from the results. I'm assuming it's unintentional.

it's intentional as a result of them making money off showing you bad results (ads) after all, you aren't paying them

In a recent Google, the first non-ad result was accessible only after scrolling through two pages (phone height) of ads. At least they're marked "Sponsored"...

Re: DuckDuckGo removed the ability to filter search results

#98

Post by freeAgent »

TobyTheDog123 wrote: post #23

I'm not entirely sure what market DuckDuckGo is trying to serve. - Non-privacy-conscious people are just going to use Google. - Privacy-conscious people know enough to realize that DuckDuckGo isn't really protecting your privacy, and that it's akin to using ExpressVPN or NordVPN to "hide your IP address". Didn't they also have some kind of censorship uproar back in the day?

> Didn't they also have some kind of censorship uproar back in the day?

They recently down-ranked Russian propaganda-linked sites (like RT). I can't remember if that change has remained in place or they reversed it.

Re: DuckDuckGo removed the ability to filter search results

#99

Post by tannhaeuser »

freediver wrote: post #75
user3939382 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been a big advocate of them, but they broke their promise to grandfather in users on original plans, they doubled their prices, and have everyone counting the number of searches they make. Until they get a reasonable unlimited price plan I wouldn't use them.

As the founder of Kagi, I want to address the recent changes and challenges we have faced. When we made our initial plans, we believed they were both realistic and sustainable. However, the search market has experienced dramatic changes in the past six months, far more than in the previous 16 years. Additionally, we've been confronted with an economic downturn. As a small, bootstrapped business, Kagi has had to make…

By the changes in the search market, I'm assuming you mean the introduction of ChatGPT and the higher prices Bing is able to command due to bundling it, or rather the brand boost and raise of profit expectations at this time. Which would spell further trouble ahead for kagi and ddg going forward, wouldn't it?

Re: DuckDuckGo removed the ability to filter search results

#100

Post by [deleted] »

explorer83 wrote: post #53
hedora wrote: post #27

I’ve also noticed that “”’s stopped working as expected there recently. Sample query: “lowes pet bedding”. The quotation marks do something; they remove some results from tractor supply and home depot. However, many results don’t contain the word “lowes” or “bedding”. For example: https://animalcare.lacounty.gov/licensing/ And, none contain the exact phrase. Google does the expected thing (return one result). Annoyin…

Yeah I feel all search engines have had declining quality for some time now. Not sure if it's unintended consequence of fighting bots. Or unintended consequence of trying to remove some content from the results. I'm assuming it's unintentional.

[deleted]
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