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> well we know Google isn't for search anymore Do you suggest anything better? As far as I can tell, all the other search engines are either repackaged Bing (i

> well we know Google isn't for search anymore Do you suggest anything better? As far as I can tell, all the other search engines are either repackaged Bing (ie: DuckDuck), or are just as bad.

giancarlostoro 5y ago
Not sure, but I remember when Google could find literally anything. Then they started adding a bunch of exceptions and crapped out their quality. I wonder how insanely different results would be to get the older Google Engine from the 2000s search result wise. I now have to play games with Google to find things. I feel like I do less than I used to for some reason.
- bbarnett 5y ago
  The other day, I was searching for something, and google's suggested, on-site answers took up 1/2 the first page. All wrong. The actual search results were another 1/4 page of completely identical results, followed by google ad placed search results. I thought to myself, they've finally done it. Real responses are no longer first page. A lot of the cause for google getting crappy, is "ok google", another "all platforms are the same" form of sickness. No, a desktop is not a phone. No, voice searching is not the same as phone, or desktop.
  - foobarian 5y ago
    I was just thinking that they finally became Lycos. It's what all the search engines except Google looked like back in the early 2000s - ad laden cesspools of irrelevant search results and other content. And it's why we all switched to Google at the time.
    - habibur 5y ago
      It's time to disrupt the market. As Google can't compete with a newcomer that penalize ads on page.
      - eitland 5y ago
        Seriously, yes. Moores law means a modern day 2007-style Google should be significantly less expensive to run now than back then. Also the most relevant patents are now free to use. 2021 Google is a sad story compared to 2007 Google and I'd actually pay to get back 2007 Google - ads included - meaning a double revenue source :-)
- trutannus 5y ago
  You're absolutely correct, and a lot came from their nerfing of search modifiers like + - "search term" and whatnot. There's also a lot of ads and "PSA" type nonsense. If I'm looking for anything COVID related for example, I have to sift through a heap of PSA nonsense that's not even related to my search query.
- blowski 5y ago
  Wacky idea: instead of Google changing it's algorithm every couple of years, it could run 50 algorithms in parallel leaving no way for sites to "optimise" for the current one.
  - vikingerik 5y ago
    The output of the parallelism is itself an algorithm, that can and will be optimized for.
mda 5y ago
IMHO, that is a trendy claim in HN with little evidence.
- mhh__ 5y ago
  You're downvoted but in my experience I have never really been burned by this Google-decline
  - Ygg2 5y ago
    "I haven't seen a black swan, ergo it's not real." I've been burned by this decline in the past. From creepy results i.e. first suggestion before typing was something I spoke near the Android and I never searched for before; to not finding what I was searching for before successfully, Google has started declining.
    - mda 5y ago
      It would be nice if you provided a few real examples so that we would see how Google was so fantastic and found everything magically but then went to shit.
      - r-w 5y ago
        Read this comment from up the page: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28552078 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28552078
        mda 5y ago
        I read it. It doesn't offer any proof, nor it is a good example at all.
  - bbarnett 5y ago
    You are a lobster. (or frog, depending upon parable)
- xipho 5y ago
ColinHayhurst 5y ago
This needs an update but is an easy look see. https://www.searchenginemap.com/ https://www.searchenginemap.com/ Broad and longer Twitter lists maintained here: https://twitter.com/SearchEngineMap/lists https://twitter.com/SearchEngineMap/lists
ricardo81 5y ago
Mojeek was built in the same spirit (one server living in a house) and has 4.5 bn pages indexed now, and a bunch more servers. A lot of people comment in similar style of it reminding them of an older Internet, or generally less branded results. It's definitely an alternative point of view. Disclaimer: I work for them.

> well we know Google isn't for search anymore Do you suggest anything better? As far as I can tell, all the other search engines are either repackaged Bing (ie: DuckDuck), or are just as bad.

giancarlostoro 5y ago

Not sure, but I remember when Google could find literally anything. Then they started adding a bunch of exceptions and crapped out their quality. I wonder how insanely different results would be to get the older Google Engine from the 2000s search result wise. I now have to play games with Google to find things. I feel like I do less than I used to for some reason.

bbarnett 5y ago
The other day, I was searching for something, and google's suggested, on-site answers took up 1/2 the first page. All wrong. The actual search results were another 1/4 page of completely identical results, followed by google ad placed search results. I thought to myself, they've finally done it. Real responses are no longer first page. A lot of the cause for google getting crappy, is "ok google", another "all platforms are the same" form of sickness. No, a desktop is not a phone. No, voice searching is not the same as phone, or desktop.
- foobarian 5y ago
  I was just thinking that they finally became Lycos. It's what all the search engines except Google looked like back in the early 2000s - ad laden cesspools of irrelevant search results and other content. And it's why we all switched to Google at the time.
  - habibur 5y ago
    It's time to disrupt the market. As Google can't compete with a newcomer that penalize ads on page.
    - eitland 5y ago
      Seriously, yes. Moores law means a modern day 2007-style Google should be significantly less expensive to run now than back then. Also the most relevant patents are now free to use. 2021 Google is a sad story compared to 2007 Google and I'd actually pay to get back 2007 Google - ads included - meaning a double revenue source :-)
trutannus 5y ago
You're absolutely correct, and a lot came from their nerfing of search modifiers like + - "search term" and whatnot. There's also a lot of ads and "PSA" type nonsense. If I'm looking for anything COVID related for example, I have to sift through a heap of PSA nonsense that's not even related to my search query.
blowski 5y ago
Wacky idea: instead of Google changing it's algorithm every couple of years, it could run 50 algorithms in parallel leaving no way for sites to "optimise" for the current one.
- vikingerik 5y ago
  The output of the parallelism is itself an algorithm, that can and will be optimized for.

mda 5y ago

IMHO, that is a trendy claim in HN with little evidence.

mhh__ 5y ago
You're downvoted but in my experience I have never really been burned by this Google-decline
- Ygg2 5y ago
  "I haven't seen a black swan, ergo it's not real." I've been burned by this decline in the past. From creepy results i.e. first suggestion before typing was something I spoke near the Android and I never searched for before; to not finding what I was searching for before successfully, Google has started declining.
  - mda 5y ago
    It would be nice if you provided a few real examples so that we would see how Google was so fantastic and found everything magically but then went to shit.
    - r-w 5y ago
      Read this comment from up the page: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28552078 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28552078
      - mda 5y ago
        I read it. It doesn't offer any proof, nor it is a good example at all.
- bbarnett 5y ago
  You are a lobster. (or frog, depending upon parable)
xipho 5y ago

ColinHayhurst 5y ago

This needs an update but is an easy look see. https://www.searchenginemap.com/ https://www.searchenginemap.com/ Broad and longer Twitter lists maintained here: https://twitter.com/SearchEngineMap/lists https://twitter.com/SearchEngineMap/lists

ricardo81 5y ago

Mojeek was built in the same spirit (one server living in a house) and has 4.5 bn pages indexed now, and a bunch more servers. A lot of people comment in similar style of it reminding them of an older Internet, or generally less branded results. It's definitely an alternative point of view. Disclaimer: I work for them.