Is Google getting Wooorse?

[jpanhalt]

From what I have read, yes. Is there any solution?

Last century, I used Dogpile (dogpile.com) to search several engines at the same time. "Several" effectively became one or two (Google & Bing). While Dogpile still exists, it is quite different today.

Example: https://www.electro-tech-online.com/threads/programmable-capacitors.152803/#post-1314719
I started that search for a programmable capacitor about midnight. After an hour or so, I put it to rest for about 4 hours and then picked it up this morning. Three and a half hours later, I came across the Arizona Microtek link.

The problem: Once you search on anything, Google only delivers results it "thinks" will save you time. In actuality, they are results that pay Google the most. My approach was to try various search terms and avoid the first 3 or 4 pages of hits. I have tried Duckduckgo, and it may be a little better, but it basically seems to mirror Google.

Is there a simpler way to turn off that "feature" of Google. I can appreciate that Google is primarily and advertising entity, but I want all hits, not just the high paying ones. (NB: This is not the same as the duplicate hit feature that Google lets you turn off.)

John

 

[nsaspook]

https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/465?co=GENIE.Platform=Desktop&hl=en

 

[JoeJester]

nsaspook we have met the enemy and it is us.

 

[Aleph(0)]

jpanhalt I totally agree! when I was a teen (mid - late 2000's) Google search was awesome but now even search template and punctuation directives don't have much effect! So now Google search is perfect for ppl looking for celeb gossip and other tawdry brainless media dreck but for rest of us it's just a waste of time! Sry that I don't have a solution to offer I'm trying to find one too

 

[tcmtech]

My peeve is that too often most of the first page of suposedly revant hits is all paid advertising crap that has nothing to do with what I am looking for and half the ones that look like they might be relevant are just redirects to more nonsensical, unrelated and or irrelevant sales sites/search engines that also have nothing to do with what I am looking for either.

 

[JoeJester]

I don't think the government pays Google for position like other businesses using AdWords.
I don't use AdWords and I occupy the second position. When searching for fcc tests. The FCC occupies the first position.

 

[atferrari]

jpanhalt I totally agree! when I was a teen (mid - late 2000's) Google search was awesome but now even search template and punctuation directives don't have much effect! So now Google search is perfect for ppl looking for celeb gossip and other tawdry brainless media dreck but for rest of us it's just a waste of time! Sry that I don't have a solution to offer I'm trying to find one too

I started to find all those stunts proposed by Google, less and less effective like the - sign and so many others.

Keep in mind that, in any case, the first results are always forced by them and openly tagged as advertising. Even if they contradict restrictions proposed by you.

 

[Aleph(0)]

I don't think the government pays Google for position like other businesses using AdWords.

JoeJester I say Big Bro ALWAYS rides for free!

 

[Veraxis]

I just use an ad blocker. Gets rid of the highlighted paid advertising slots. I also opt out of google's ad targeting when possible.

 

[Sinus23]

Youtube has gone the same way. For some years now I've pretty much only had to punch in two letters and behold...The song that I've searched for and listened to every now and then.

However in the year 2018 Youtube became a toddler instead of a teenager trying to suggest pop songs that I've never listened to, for me just because it had the same two letters in sequence

 

[joeyd999]

JoeJester I say Big Bro ALWAYS rides for free!

Of course. Google is Big Bro's Little Bro.

 

[Aleph(0)]

Youtube has gone the same way.

Sinus23 that's exactly right! Cuz Youtube went down TUBES when it totally betrayed loyal membership (who took them from obscurity to forefront) by SELLING OUT to Google!

So after acquisition it was all downhill starting with permanently broken comment feature, crowd-sourced anonymous censorship of vids and every other kind Google+ BS

 

[joeyd999]

Sinus23 that's exactly right! Cuz Youtube went down TUBES when it SOLD OUT to Google Starting permanently broken comment feature, crowd-sourced anonymous censorship of vids and and every other kind Google+ BS

Oh, but the suicides and beheadings are always fun. Not.

 

[jpanhalt]

Sinus23 that's exactly right! Cuz Youtube went down TUBES when it totally betrayed loyal membership (who took them from obscurity to forefront) by SELLING OUT to Google!
So after acquisition it was all downhill starting with permanently broken comment feature, crowd-sourced anonymous censorship of vids and and every other kind Google+ BS

Most of you probably know of "Dave" from EEVblog and YouTube "fame."

Apparently, YouTube/Google has decided to exert more restrictions on who gets paid. I was completely unaware of these actions until relatively recently, but here are two examples:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/list-of-demonetised-eevblog-videos/msg1359802/#msg1359802
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/other...make-a-subscriber-pool/msg1402525/#msg1402525

I don't go to YouTube very often, but from what I have seen, there has been no improvement in content. More likely, it seems the opposite will happen.

John

 

[throbscottle]

I use http://www.ixquick.com/
I'm pretty sure it syndicates (if that is the word) several search engines, but I can't find where it says that now. There are 2 versions, http://www.startpage.com/ which is a privacy-enhanced front end to google, and http://www.ixquick.com/ which does the syndication. Anyway it gets rid of all the advertising and tracking bs.

(edit) Oh and it's a Dutch company, which makes it better, obviously.
(another edit) **broken link removed** the original page. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ixquick it tells you about it using multiple search engines.

 

[Aleph(0)]

Most of you probably know of "Dave" from EEVblog and YouTube "fame."

You mean smiling Dave on every other post? I used to know him well but since I hooked up with Ublock Origin he doesn't come around no more!

I don't go to YouTube very often, but from what I have seen, there has been no improvement in content. More likely, it seems the opposite will happen.

Jpanhalt I say that's always result of trying to fix things that aren't really broken!

 

[Aleph(0)]

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/list-of-demonetised-eevblog-videos/msg1359802/#msg1359802
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/other...make-a-subscriber-pool/msg1402525/#msg1402525

Jpanhalt so it looks like EEV doesn't allow guest access anymore? Cuz when I follow links I get sign-in prompt above message saying Guest is perma-banned So I know it's not personal cuz I changed my (leak-proof) VPN connection to US, Australian, UK and German server and got same screen I say no guest access is a bad idea cuz just speaking for myself every chat room I've joined was cuz I wanted to become active in conversations I was already viewing!

 

[jpanhalt]

Jpanhalt I say that's always result of trying to fix things that aren't really broken!

I think it is more disingenuous than that. There is more money in trash collection than in selling prime beef.

Jpanhalt so it looks like EEV doesn't allow guest access anymore?

I didn't know that, sorry. I agree it is a counterproductive idea. The site is a bit flaky and difficult to navigate. Posting images is a nightmare, and there are frequent problems accessing it, even for members. However, I have not gotten one piece of spam that I can relate to being registered there.

John

 

[Aleph(0)]

I didn't know that, sorry.

False alarm, my bad! So I did some 'spearminting and found whole problem is EEV has a hate on for Novoserve (which is Leaseweb partner for connecting through German servers but it's huge host to non-anonymous traffic too).

So anyhow after user with IP in banned range tries to connect, EEV sets a cookie (and LSO if flash is enabled) to identify browser installation for blocking future access attempts regardless of IP (until cookies are crumbled) So I say range-blocking is vry bad idea too cuz it interferes with legit users! I say policy of denying guests _write access_ to public fora and r/w access to non-public areas is totally sufficient to protect site at user authorization/screening level! Now o/c dos and other hack-attacks are another, more dicey, matter! But then message should just say range is temporarily blocked due to attack! Cuz ppl can take user authorization snubs vry personally! I know I do!

I think it is more disingenuous than that. There is more money in trash collection than in selling prime beef.

Jpanhalt I totally agree!

I have not gotten one piece of spam that I can relate to being registered there.

That's something I'm vry happy to be able to honestly say abt ETO, EEV, Electronics Point and AAC too!

 

[tcmtech]

Apparently, YouTube/Google has decided to exert more restrictions on who gets paid. I was completely unaware of these actions until relatively recently, but here are two examples:

YT's had some major issues this last year due to the poltical polarization of things and one sides view that everything that doesn't support their echo chamber must be fascist, nazi, white supremacists, racist, bigoted, anti feminist and worse propaganda even if it's clearly not.

Now the companies being blamed for supporting the agenda are not exactly doing that on purpose to any extreme degree but rather, the more informed speculation now, is that the SJW agenda supporters have figured out how their keyword identification and negative vote algorithms work and are able to cheat those to get perfectly good videos and like demonetized or taken down entirely by the automated systems for being supposedly hate speech or worse just because they don't like them because they disprove the validity of their agenda and views.

A bit over simplified but it works a bit like this,

It would be like if ETO here used a keyword ID system to red flag certain words and weighted that against a dislike vote tally that's all was weighed against the total views number and if the combined tally meets a certain algorithm value set the automated systems take your post out regardless of if it was actually bad or not.

Say you used 5 hate speech affiliated keywords in a post but in a totally benign context. The systems tags your post as potential hate speech but if there are no or very few dislikes put towards it it assumes a contextual benign value to those words and leaves it be.

Now say it uses a second scaling factor of something like 10% dislikes to total views weighting behind that keyword flagging value, to better determine if what those keywords are may be a part of actual hate speech comments, or not.

All I have to do is make sure that I get at least one dislike vote against you for every 10 or less views until the systems picks it up and automatically assumes you're pushing hate speech and takes your post down.

If the system allows unregistered or unconfirmed users to vote a dislike all I have to do is have a vote bot program running that monitors your posts and votes a dislike for every 10 or less views you get on it.

And there you go, I have a successful have a way to block you and everyone I disagree with and ETO catches hell from you, and everyone who follows you, for their systems doing exactly what it's supposed to do. Toss a few moderators in the mix, that largely agree with my views and agenda, and even if you appeal your post being taken down wrongfully the odds are it may be some time before the error gets corrected any way.

We play this game long enough and you, and everyone who follows you, will get sick of it and leave and thusly I and everyone like me , have the whole forum to spread our rheteric on about 'what bad hateful people you and your followers are' and how great we are for having stopped social hate monsters like you even if in fact we are who's the real hate filled monsters that need to go.

Very hard to beat from your end while being incredibly easy to keep running from mine.