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This is a problem with the search engines, not the person who writes the website. (And I question why you wouldn't use the rather well organized docs.python.org

This is a problem with the search engines, not the person who writes the website. (And I question why you wouldn't use the rather well organized docs.python.org for looking things up in the standard lib.) It may be time to admit that general purpose search engines are fundamentally broken and that the only useful way forward is subject-specific search that allows users to be in control of their results.

l_g_r 5y ago
100% agree that general purpose search engines are broken, the problem I see is that search functions on subject specific sites are often not indexed well (Google has had 20+ years fine tuning this after all).
ineedasername 5y ago
I don't think it's completely a problem with search engines. Blogs like this are engaging some amount of SEO the may push a fairly low quality entry up in the results, and that is a never ending arms race between the search engine. The bloggers themselves initiate the issue, and I don't see how subject-specific engines could completely solve that. Why would they be able to distinguish this article from a well written entry on a SQL topic that is not just a restatement of fairly basic knowledge? Docs don't cover everything, there's space for articles like this that follow the same basic structure but with more useful information, a and once people can infer a little bit about the search engine's algorithm from how it shows results then we're back to the SEO arms race.
throwawayffffas 5y ago
I agree it feels more and more that general purpose search engines are no longer the tool for looking for code documentation. But I wouldn't go as far as to say that the person who writes the website is not the problem. The content in these sites is usually borderline spam.
salawat 5y ago
>It may be time to admit that general purpose search engines are fundamentally broken I've been saying that since I first heard someone pitching SEO while eating lunch. Once you start gaming an index for visibility, Tragedy of the Commons goes into full swing, and the Yellow Pages ironically become a truer representation of actual local state. To this day, the memory of that...individual just going on and on casually talking pitching about what is no less than intentional pollution of the search structure of the collective knowledge of human still causes a hot nugget of incandescent rage and disgust deep within my soul. Before now, the thought of forgiving them has never entered my mind before now, and in this minute is quickly dismissed. I didn't know the person, they were themselves probably just trying to get by best they knew how. But I just can't seem to let it go. Poisoning the well like that... It either requires the most appalling sense of shallow callousness, profound ignorance, or a complete disregard for the integrity of our species' collective informational output. It's the burning of the Library of Alexandria by way of Salesman vying for attention. As time goes on the disgust only becomes becomes more pointed as the practice is normalized and refined to the point the way information is organized and made accessible on the Internet makes a bigger statement on what society really values than the indexed content itself does. I'd normally say live and let live, but I'm getting increasingly bothered by the suffering and extra cognitive load foisted on the world by ads, marketing, etc..., and the lack of societal wherewithal to push back and say enough is enough. Anyway, this rant brought to you by Libraries! Support your local branch today! Strike a blow for open access!

l_g_r 5y ago

100% agree that general purpose search engines are broken, the problem I see is that search functions on subject specific sites are often not indexed well (Google has had 20+ years fine tuning this after all).

ineedasername 5y ago

I don't think it's completely a problem with search engines. Blogs like this are engaging some amount of SEO the may push a fairly low quality entry up in the results, and that is a never ending arms race between the search engine. The bloggers themselves initiate the issue, and I don't see how subject-specific engines could completely solve that. Why would they be able to distinguish this article from a well written entry on a SQL topic that is not just a restatement of fairly basic knowledge? Docs don't cover everything, there's space for articles like this that follow the same basic structure but with more useful information, a and once people can infer a little bit about the search engine's algorithm from how it shows results then we're back to the SEO arms race.

throwawayffffas 5y ago

I agree it feels more and more that general purpose search engines are no longer the tool for looking for code documentation. But I wouldn't go as far as to say that the person who writes the website is not the problem. The content in these sites is usually borderline spam.

salawat 5y ago

>It may be time to admit that general purpose search engines are fundamentally broken I've been saying that since I first heard someone pitching SEO while eating lunch. Once you start gaming an index for visibility, Tragedy of the Commons goes into full swing, and the Yellow Pages ironically become a truer representation of actual local state. To this day, the memory of that...individual just going on and on casually talking pitching about what is no less than intentional pollution of the search structure of the collective knowledge of human still causes a hot nugget of incandescent rage and disgust deep within my soul. Before now, the thought of forgiving them has never entered my mind before now, and in this minute is quickly dismissed. I didn't know the person, they were themselves probably just trying to get by best they knew how. But I just can't seem to let it go. Poisoning the well like that... It either requires the most appalling sense of shallow callousness, profound ignorance, or a complete disregard for the integrity of our species' collective informational output. It's the burning of the Library of Alexandria by way of Salesman vying for attention. As time goes on the disgust only becomes becomes more pointed as the practice is normalized and refined to the point the way information is organized and made accessible on the Internet makes a bigger statement on what society really values than the indexed content itself does. I'd normally say live and let live, but I'm getting increasingly bothered by the suffering and extra cognitive load foisted on the world by ads, marketing, etc..., and the lack of societal wherewithal to push back and say enough is enough. Anyway, this rant brought to you by Libraries! Support your local branch today! Strike a blow for open access!