8 ms·

For those of you using a single search engine: try DDG, but if your query doesn't get the results you want (less often these days), prepend it with !g to search

by noja 7y ago

For those of you using a single search engine: try DDG, but if your query doesn't get the results you want (less often these days), prepend it with !g to search google instead. Or use Firefox's smart keywords https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-search-from-address-bar?redirectlocale=en-US&redirectslug=Smart+keywords https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-search-from-address... You could configure it to use: g something # to search google d something # to search DDG

cuddlybacon 7y ago
You can also use the bang as a suffix, which I find a bit easier when I already have a query.
- corobo 7y ago
  You can even !g put it in the middle of the query if your text cursor happens to be there
  - reaperducer 7y ago
    I've found that both !{string} and {string}! works equally well.
manaskarekar 7y ago
> if your query doesn't get the results you want (less often these days), prepend it with !g to search google instead. The `!g` can show up anywhere, not just at the beginning of your query. Also, other possible `bang` shortcuts: https://duckduckgo.com/bang https://duckduckgo.com/bang
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
scns 7y ago
My favorite bangshortcuts are !gh for github and !aw for the archwiki
d-d 7y ago
I use DDG strictly for the bangs! So nice to type "vintage flute !e" and land on eBay or "john 3:16 !bLb" straight to a Bible verse.
- shadowgovt 7y ago
  Google attempts to give you that without requiring explicit !targeting, but results are middling-to-positive, IIUC.
- ashton314 7y ago
  +1 for !bib—I didn’t know that one.
samfriedman 7y ago
Alternatively, use !s to search StartPage and get Google results without having to load a Google webpage.
tombert 7y ago
I wonder, do the DDG people use the `!g` things as a way to further-refine their search algorithm? For example, if someone does the !g thing, after searching for the same thing without !g, that implies the DDG search didn't give them what they wanted. Conceivably then DDG could run that search themselves and use that for training their algorithm a bit more, mooching off of Google's results. There's probably some kind of horrible implication there that I'm not thinking of.
- lucideer 7y ago
  ANECDATA: on one hand, as a dedicated user of !g on DDG for many years, my urge/need to use !g has gone down almost exponentially (despite being firmly in muscle memory) on the other hand, when I do turn !g, I find more and more that I still don't find what I'm looking for this is either down to: (a) Google's results getting worse over time (b) my searches getting more obscure over time (c) selection bias due to DDG solving for my less obscure searches I suspect (c)
  - thfuran 7y ago
    As a frequent user of google, I think a is not to be underestimated. Google has gotten more aggressive with stemming and other forced "corrections" to your search. This (I assume) helps in general but can frequently result in undesirable search results if you are attempting to search for words like in spelling but unrelated to common words or uncommon senses of common words, both of which seem to occur somewhat frequently in technical jargon. There's something to be said also, I think, for the ever expanding mountain (of 90% shit) that is user-generated webcontent that must be sifted through by any search engine: The problem of searching the internet is itself getting harder and harder by the day.
- Kiro 7y ago
  They don't have a search algorithm. They're using Bing for the search results.
  - ComodoHacker 7y ago
roter 7y ago
!gm some address to search Google Maps
amelius 7y ago
> if your query doesn't get the results you want (...), prepend it with !g to search google instead. Do you realize how inconvenient this is on mobile? It requires 7 (!) taps on the screen to restart the search. I'll switch to DDG as soon as they implement a "search on Google instead" button at the bottom of their first results page.
- egeozcan 7y ago
  Firefox mobile supports extensions. I bet it should be easy to write one for the purpose. Maybe my next weekend project if not already done?
- ibeckermayer 7y ago
  Brave for iOS let’s you select a default search engine and then lists other search engines below. So the flow is Search DDG by default —> can’t find results —> click browser search bar again —> click Google icon and does a Google search
  - amelius 7y ago
    That's nice but (you guessed it) I don't have iOS. I think it should just be a part of DDG, as it is also the simplest solution. Perhaps they can just show a bunch of common "!..." buttons, so they don't even have to use the name of Google.
- acrossthepond10 7y ago
  second this. Should have tabs for Google/Bing results on the page.
- avhon1 7y ago
  You don't have to put "!g" at the beginning of the query. Just put it somewhere in the query -- at the end, or in the middle, anywhere where it is separated by whitespace. Also, many soft-keyboards these days let you type common symbols, including "!", by holding down some key, or holding down a key and dragging across a popup. This makes re-searching on google take 5 or 6 taps -- one to edit the query, an optional one to drag the cursor to be between search terms, three for " ", "!", and "g", and one for the "enter" "search" button.
jamesponddotco 7y ago
I recommend going with !sp or !s instead of !g, so you use Startpage.com. It is a search engine that uses Google as the back-end, but removes all trackers and logs.
- SanchoPanda 7y ago
  My startpage results are a subset of my Google results with poor relevancy. I understand it's supposed to be the same, but in practice it's not, and no amount of tweaking settings, cookies, etc fixed it. It's so odd.
  - Spare_account 7y ago
    Presumably that is because you're outside Google's filter bubble, which is kind of the whole point of DuckDuckGo and Startpage et al. Google's results for you are better for you because Google knows too much about you. A tradeoff for privacy is less relevant search results, or as I like to think of it, access to pages that Google was hiding from me.

by noja 7y ago

cuddlybacon 7y ago

You can also use the bang as a suffix, which I find a bit easier when I already have a query.

corobo 7y ago
You can even !g put it in the middle of the query if your text cursor happens to be there
- reaperducer 7y ago
  I've found that both !{string} and {string}! works equally well.

manaskarekar 7y ago

> if your query doesn't get the results you want (less often these days), prepend it with !g to search google instead. The `!g` can show up anywhere, not just at the beginning of your query. Also, other possible `bang` shortcuts: https://duckduckgo.com/bang https://duckduckgo.com/bang

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

scns 7y ago

My favorite bangshortcuts are !gh for github and !aw for the archwiki

d-d 7y ago

I use DDG strictly for the bangs! So nice to type "vintage flute !e" and land on eBay or "john 3:16 !bLb" straight to a Bible verse.

shadowgovt 7y ago
Google attempts to give you that without requiring explicit !targeting, but results are middling-to-positive, IIUC.
ashton314 7y ago
+1 for !bib—I didn’t know that one.

samfriedman 7y ago

Alternatively, use !s to search StartPage and get Google results without having to load a Google webpage.

tombert 7y ago

I wonder, do the DDG people use the `!g` things as a way to further-refine their search algorithm? For example, if someone does the !g thing, after searching for the same thing without !g, that implies the DDG search didn't give them what they wanted. Conceivably then DDG could run that search themselves and use that for training their algorithm a bit more, mooching off of Google's results. There's probably some kind of horrible implication there that I'm not thinking of.

lucideer 7y ago
ANECDATA: on one hand, as a dedicated user of !g on DDG for many years, my urge/need to use !g has gone down almost exponentially (despite being firmly in muscle memory) on the other hand, when I do turn !g, I find more and more that I still don't find what I'm looking for this is either down to: (a) Google's results getting worse over time (b) my searches getting more obscure over time (c) selection bias due to DDG solving for my less obscure searches I suspect (c)
- thfuran 7y ago
  As a frequent user of google, I think a is not to be underestimated. Google has gotten more aggressive with stemming and other forced "corrections" to your search. This (I assume) helps in general but can frequently result in undesirable search results if you are attempting to search for words like in spelling but unrelated to common words or uncommon senses of common words, both of which seem to occur somewhat frequently in technical jargon. There's something to be said also, I think, for the ever expanding mountain (of 90% shit) that is user-generated webcontent that must be sifted through by any search engine: The problem of searching the internet is itself getting harder and harder by the day.
Kiro 7y ago
They don't have a search algorithm. They're using Bing for the search results.
- ComodoHacker 7y ago

roter 7y ago

!gm some address to search Google Maps

amelius 7y ago

> if your query doesn't get the results you want (...), prepend it with !g to search google instead. Do you realize how inconvenient this is on mobile? It requires 7 (!) taps on the screen to restart the search. I'll switch to DDG as soon as they implement a "search on Google instead" button at the bottom of their first results page.

egeozcan 7y ago
Firefox mobile supports extensions. I bet it should be easy to write one for the purpose. Maybe my next weekend project if not already done?
ibeckermayer 7y ago
Brave for iOS let’s you select a default search engine and then lists other search engines below. So the flow is Search DDG by default —> can’t find results —> click browser search bar again —> click Google icon and does a Google search
- amelius 7y ago
  That's nice but (you guessed it) I don't have iOS. I think it should just be a part of DDG, as it is also the simplest solution. Perhaps they can just show a bunch of common "!..." buttons, so they don't even have to use the name of Google.
acrossthepond10 7y ago
second this. Should have tabs for Google/Bing results on the page.
avhon1 7y ago
You don't have to put "!g" at the beginning of the query. Just put it somewhere in the query -- at the end, or in the middle, anywhere where it is separated by whitespace. Also, many soft-keyboards these days let you type common symbols, including "!", by holding down some key, or holding down a key and dragging across a popup. This makes re-searching on google take 5 or 6 taps -- one to edit the query, an optional one to drag the cursor to be between search terms, three for " ", "!", and "g", and one for the "enter" "search" button.

jamesponddotco 7y ago

I recommend going with !sp or !s instead of !g, so you use Startpage.com. It is a search engine that uses Google as the back-end, but removes all trackers and logs.

SanchoPanda 7y ago
My startpage results are a subset of my Google results with poor relevancy. I understand it's supposed to be the same, but in practice it's not, and no amount of tweaking settings, cookies, etc fixed it. It's so odd.
- Spare_account 7y ago
  Presumably that is because you're outside Google's filter bubble, which is kind of the whole point of DuckDuckGo and Startpage et al. Google's results for you are better for you because Google knows too much about you. A tradeoff for privacy is less relevant search results, or as I like to think of it, access to pages that Google was hiding from me.