3 ms·

Imagine how nice it would be to have a filter feature in search engines. Filter by domain or by content using regexps.

by allarm 4y ago

mcv 4y ago
I would like to be able to vote on search results and add certain sites to my default blocklist. I don't understand Google doesn't do that; crowdsourcing is exactly their thing, and this would be something that provides tons of valuable info to them yet would also be loved by their users.
- Anthony-G 4y ago
  I suspect such a system would be quickly gamed by spammers. With the bot-nets and other resources they have at their disposal, they would be able to flag and drown out legitimate sites or competitor sites in order to boost their own. Then the problem changes to being able to differentiate legitimate/regular users from spammers/black-hat SEO practitioners.
  - mcv 4y ago
    Maybe, or maybe there are ways to identify and eliminate the bots and spammers. For example, it could be linked to accounts, and dishonest accounts get removed, together with all their votes. Or the votes are kept, but because they're so different from real people's votes, they only count for the search results shown to other bots and spammers. And at the very least, your own votes should override anyone else's votes, so for regular users who actively vote, the search results will still be close to what they want. I'm also thinking about classifying results by different contexts. A page might be very relevant in one context, and not at all in another. But do let users control those contexts.
flyinghamster 4y ago
You can filter domains, at least. You can add "-pinterest.com" or just "-pinterest" to clean a lot of crap out of your searches. But I've always wanted a regexp search. Just a regexp, absolutely no algorithmic "help" of any sort whatsoever, and I've wanted that since Alta Vista was the go-to search engine.
theothertom 4y ago
Kagi allows you to set the priority of domains, as well as some other tuning. Though it is in beta at the moment, and the plan to charge for use eventually.

Imagine how nice it would be to have a filter feature in search engines. Filter by domain or by content using regexps.

by allarm 4y ago

Imagine how nice it would be to have a filter feature in search engines. Filter by domain or by content using regexps.

mcv 4y ago

I would like to be able to vote on search results and add certain sites to my default blocklist. I don't understand Google doesn't do that; crowdsourcing is exactly their thing, and this would be something that provides tons of valuable info to them yet would also be loved by their users.

Anthony-G 4y ago
I suspect such a system would be quickly gamed by spammers. With the bot-nets and other resources they have at their disposal, they would be able to flag and drown out legitimate sites or competitor sites in order to boost their own. Then the problem changes to being able to differentiate legitimate/regular users from spammers/black-hat SEO practitioners.
- mcv 4y ago
  Maybe, or maybe there are ways to identify and eliminate the bots and spammers. For example, it could be linked to accounts, and dishonest accounts get removed, together with all their votes. Or the votes are kept, but because they're so different from real people's votes, they only count for the search results shown to other bots and spammers. And at the very least, your own votes should override anyone else's votes, so for regular users who actively vote, the search results will still be close to what they want. I'm also thinking about classifying results by different contexts. A page might be very relevant in one context, and not at all in another. But do let users control those contexts.

flyinghamster 4y ago

You can filter domains, at least. You can add "-pinterest.com" or just "-pinterest" to clean a lot of crap out of your searches. But I've always wanted a regexp search. Just a regexp, absolutely no algorithmic "help" of any sort whatsoever, and I've wanted that since Alta Vista was the go-to search engine.

theothertom 4y ago

Kagi allows you to set the priority of domains, as well as some other tuning. Though it is in beta at the moment, and the plan to charge for use eventually.