3 ms·

I’ve been really impressed with DDG. When I initially made the switch about a year ago and found local (New Zealand) searches were a bit crap. Then i discovered

I’ve been really impressed with DDG. When I initially made the switch about a year ago and found local (New Zealand) searches were a bit crap. Then i discovered the bangs feature. If the search is crap throw a “!g” in but I’ve been doing that a lot less lately.

travisgriggs 7y ago
This. I’ve had the same experience. I’ve wondered what the cause of using !g less is. Is it because I’m giving google less and less of a diet so it’s ability to cater to me is eroding? Or perhaps DDG is just truly getting better? Or is there a subtle feedback loop between man and search engine where we learn how to search better and better given a certain tools behavior? Would love to hear what others suspected.
- kleiba 7y ago
  Not this. When using DDG a couple of years back, I noticed that after a while, throwing in a !g became my default so I figured I might as well switch back to Google. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to love DDG but for my searches, I would simply have to revert to Google too often.
  - whereistimbo 7y ago
    I think by using DDG you will feed data to DDG thus improving DDG. A huge advantage that Google has over DDG is huge enormous userbase that constantly feed data to Google thus making it better compared to other search engine. CMIIW.
  - ElCapitanMarkla 7y ago
    I'd give it another go, at the start I was tempted to switch back a couple of times but now I very rarely do.
- zamber 7y ago
  Anecdata: people are spoiled with google. Context-aware search queries are rampant in younger folks. Older G users also rely on it but to a lesser extent. Having a couple weeks of appending !g when a search query does not match eventually hits the spot where "hey, they actually don't know what I'm thinking now".
- tripzilch 7y ago
  Part of it is how you phrase searches. I mainly use DDG, but whenever I have to go to !g, I find I get better results if I phrase it like a brain damaged lunatic who can't spell and didn't start thinking about the query until two words in. I believe it keeps Google happy, if you throw it a little bone by letting it second-guess your query. Make it feel all smart and artificially intelligent, so it gives you the good results. In DDG I usually just enter some keywords.

travisgriggs 7y ago

This. I’ve had the same experience. I’ve wondered what the cause of using !g less is. Is it because I’m giving google less and less of a diet so it’s ability to cater to me is eroding? Or perhaps DDG is just truly getting better? Or is there a subtle feedback loop between man and search engine where we learn how to search better and better given a certain tools behavior? Would love to hear what others suspected.

kleiba 7y ago
Not this. When using DDG a couple of years back, I noticed that after a while, throwing in a !g became my default so I figured I might as well switch back to Google. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to love DDG but for my searches, I would simply have to revert to Google too often.
- whereistimbo 7y ago
  I think by using DDG you will feed data to DDG thus improving DDG. A huge advantage that Google has over DDG is huge enormous userbase that constantly feed data to Google thus making it better compared to other search engine. CMIIW.
- ElCapitanMarkla 7y ago
  I'd give it another go, at the start I was tempted to switch back a couple of times but now I very rarely do.
zamber 7y ago
Anecdata: people are spoiled with google. Context-aware search queries are rampant in younger folks. Older G users also rely on it but to a lesser extent. Having a couple weeks of appending !g when a search query does not match eventually hits the spot where "hey, they actually don't know what I'm thinking now".
tripzilch 7y ago
Part of it is how you phrase searches. I mainly use DDG, but whenever I have to go to !g, I find I get better results if I phrase it like a brain damaged lunatic who can't spell and didn't start thinking about the query until two words in. I believe it keeps Google happy, if you throw it a little bone by letting it second-guess your query. Make it feel all smart and artificially intelligent, so it gives you the good results. In DDG I usually just enter some keywords.