5 ms·

The mere existence of some site that serves an answer should not prevent another site from simply giving the answer itself, instead of a referral to the other p

The mere existence of some site that serves an answer should not prevent another site from simply giving the answer itself, instead of a referral to the other place.

mcphage 11y ago
It's not just that Google is giving an answer—it's that Google is taking the other site's answer displaying that. So the other site gets no ad revenue for producing the answer, and the reader gets none of the surrounding context, nor do they gain any familiarity with or trust of the actual source.
- thrownaway2424 11y ago
  What's the underlying principle that requires one to proxy questions through to the place where one originally learned the answer? If I ask you "how far is it from here to Chicago" are you going to just tell me, or are you going to tell me that I can find out in the Rand McNally Deluxe Road Atlas 2016?
  - mcphage 11y ago
    > What's the underlying principle that requires one to proxy questions through to the place where one originally learned the answer? The underlying principle is "Am I an organizer of information, or a source of information?" Or for how content sources will look at it: "Do they help people find me, or do they compete against me by stealing my content and my customers?"
    - thrownaway2424 11y ago
      The name of the Mayor of Johannesburg, or the atomic mass of nitrogen, are not yours to appropriate. You have no claim on these facts, even if they are written down on your web page.
    - mcphage 11y ago
      The atomic mass of Nitrogen? No. But, plenty of the information that they share is information that others control, and if not the information, definitely the explicit wording of it.
  - BrandoElFollito 11y ago
    It is a matter of ethics, good manners, etc. If I know the distance I will tell you - this is OK. If I do not, look it up on maps and tell you as if I knew first hand without citing the source then it is another story. Manners maketh men, even though some feel that on Internet we are all dogs.

The mere existence of some site that serves an answer should not prevent another site from simply giving the answer itself, instead of a referral to the other place.

mcphage 11y ago

It's not just that Google is giving an answer—it's that Google is taking the other site's answer displaying that. So the other site gets no ad revenue for producing the answer, and the reader gets none of the surrounding context, nor do they gain any familiarity with or trust of the actual source.

thrownaway2424 11y ago
What's the underlying principle that requires one to proxy questions through to the place where one originally learned the answer? If I ask you "how far is it from here to Chicago" are you going to just tell me, or are you going to tell me that I can find out in the Rand McNally Deluxe Road Atlas 2016?
- mcphage 11y ago
  > What's the underlying principle that requires one to proxy questions through to the place where one originally learned the answer? The underlying principle is "Am I an organizer of information, or a source of information?" Or for how content sources will look at it: "Do they help people find me, or do they compete against me by stealing my content and my customers?"
  - thrownaway2424 11y ago
    The name of the Mayor of Johannesburg, or the atomic mass of nitrogen, are not yours to appropriate. You have no claim on these facts, even if they are written down on your web page.
  - mcphage 11y ago
    The atomic mass of Nitrogen? No. But, plenty of the information that they share is information that others control, and if not the information, definitely the explicit wording of it.
- BrandoElFollito 11y ago
  It is a matter of ethics, good manners, etc. If I know the distance I will tell you - this is OK. If I do not, look it up on maps and tell you as if I knew first hand without citing the source then it is another story. Manners maketh men, even though some feel that on Internet we are all dogs.