4 ms·

Well biggest problem for me with DDG that it does not track me or basic tracking does not cut it. Maybe I do not like some policies about users of big players,

by trymas 11y ago

Well biggest problem for me with DDG that it does not track me or basic tracking does not cut it. Maybe I do not like some policies about users of big players, though some intelligence about the user makes service much better (extent of tracking is another question/rant). I am not from USA, and 30-50% of my searches are not in english and not some international terms. So when I search for something in my country and spelling of that something is the same with not what I am looking for completely on the other side of the globe, DDG becomes completely useless. Now, I know, DDG can specify where I am (or I can tell it), but the thing is that it still does not work, as I expect. Also DDG does not work as well (as Google) with some words/terms (e.g. python - snake/programming language). When I am browsing google will know that by `python` I mean programming language, and when my sister browses it means snake. Maybe you are right, that later it would do better, but for now DDG just does not cut it, and I have been trying to use it for probably 4 years. I try it once in a while and see it getting better, though no near as good as I want and alternatives offer.

marcosdumay 11y ago
DDG has a "local search" switch on the top right corner of your search results. It seems to know where you are, you just have to ask for it.
- trymas 11y ago
  > Now, I know, DDG can specify where I am (or I can tell it), but the thing is that it still does not work, as I expect. I know that this feature exists, but it does not cut it.
AdamSC1 11y ago
Hi Trymas, Thanks for the feedback - I'd be interested in hearing what language you're searching in. We've taken huge strides this past year in international language, and this is something that will continue to improve, but we always love to know where our weak points are! As far as the 'python' example, the reason you are experiencing this is two fold. Part of it stems from our approach to not filter bubbling users (http://dontbubble.us/ http://dontbubble.us/) and of course from the fact we don't record anything about you. You're totally right that if you search 'python' on Google you'd get info about the programming language, and if my biologist friend searched it on Google she'd see the snake. On DuckDuckGo that wouldn't be the case (in fact if you search python on DuckDuckGo you get the programming language and nothing about the snake) but a search like 'python food' would return results about the snake. When we remove filter bubbles and user profiles, search relies a lot more on context, and may expose additional results - it is a different style of searching and one we are trying to continue to improve - and we're really thankful for people who continue to give us a try and give feedback. We also know that sometimes other varieties of search are what you need and that's why we let you use !Bangs (https://duckduckgo.com/bang https://duckduckgo.com/bang) via both our search bar and the URL bar if we're you're default, that re-direct your search to over 7000 different sites! Thanks for your continued support!
exDM69 11y ago
> Maybe I do not like some policies about users of big players, though some intelligence about the user makes service much better (extent of tracking is another question/rant). This is a double-edged sword. I've had an issue with Google over-personalizing my search queries to the point they become useless. E.g. I was searching for some technical documentation about SIMD intrinsics, and three out of five top results were stuff written by me (HN comments and such). Certainly not what I was looking for. Overall, I think that all the blogspam and SEO crap in the world has made web search a more difficult problem than what it was in the early days of PageRank. In my experiences with both, Google and DDG, search results seem to be getting less and less useful year after year.

by trymas 11y ago

marcosdumay 11y ago

DDG has a "local search" switch on the top right corner of your search results. It seems to know where you are, you just have to ask for it.

trymas 11y ago
> Now, I know, DDG can specify where I am (or I can tell it), but the thing is that it still does not work, as I expect. I know that this feature exists, but it does not cut it.

AdamSC1 11y ago

Hi Trymas, Thanks for the feedback - I'd be interested in hearing what language you're searching in. We've taken huge strides this past year in international language, and this is something that will continue to improve, but we always love to know where our weak points are! As far as the 'python' example, the reason you are experiencing this is two fold. Part of it stems from our approach to not filter bubbling users (http://dontbubble.us/ http://dontbubble.us/) and of course from the fact we don't record anything about you. You're totally right that if you search 'python' on Google you'd get info about the programming language, and if my biologist friend searched it on Google she'd see the snake. On DuckDuckGo that wouldn't be the case (in fact if you search python on DuckDuckGo you get the programming language and nothing about the snake) but a search like 'python food' would return results about the snake. When we remove filter bubbles and user profiles, search relies a lot more on context, and may expose additional results - it is a different style of searching and one we are trying to continue to improve - and we're really thankful for people who continue to give us a try and give feedback. We also know that sometimes other varieties of search are what you need and that's why we let you use !Bangs (https://duckduckgo.com/bang https://duckduckgo.com/bang) via both our search bar and the URL bar if we're you're default, that re-direct your search to over 7000 different sites! Thanks for your continued support!

exDM69 11y ago

> Maybe I do not like some policies about users of big players, though some intelligence about the user makes service much better (extent of tracking is another question/rant). This is a double-edged sword. I've had an issue with Google over-personalizing my search queries to the point they become useless. E.g. I was searching for some technical documentation about SIMD intrinsics, and three out of five top results were stuff written by me (HN comments and such). Certainly not what I was looking for. Overall, I think that all the blogspam and SEO crap in the world has made web search a more difficult problem than what it was in the early days of PageRank. In my experiences with both, Google and DDG, search results seem to be getting less and less useful year after year.