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The thing about DuckDuckGo is that the search results are trash compared to Google, or even Bing. For example if I search for something super simple like: "wh

The thing about DuckDuckGo is that the search results are trash compared to Google, or even Bing. For example if I search for something super simple like: "what is another word for happy" Google lists synonyms at the top of the page from Oxford. If I do the same exact search on DDG I just get the definition of happy and no synonyms. Today, I would bet that the majority of searches aren't to find websites but to find answers to questions. DDG sucks at answering questions.

bitdivision 4y ago
DDG works great if you search for `happy synonyms`. It even has an equivalent list of synonyms embedded in the results page. Actually even with "what is another word for happy", the first result is a wordhippo synonyms page. Though I agree that question based queries are probably more popular these days, and DDG isn't handling them as well. I imagine this doesn't bother the tech / privacy crowd too much.
hedora 4y ago
That’s a one box / instant answers query. A DDG search for “happy synonym” (no quotes) provides synonyms and antonyms. The google result shows more antonyms than the DDG one, but the DDG result has a click through to rhymes and sounds-like words. So, it is a draw in my book. I don’t try to ask english language questions to search engines though (and find it uniformly produces worse results than listing keywords, but YMMV). Based on autocomplete suggestions, it looks like google auto rewrites your query to mine. Arguably, it would be good to be able to search for pages containing phrases like the one you typed, instead of just ignoring user intent for people that have used search engines before. shrug
- impulser_ 4y ago
  Yeah, but if you want to compete with Google your going to have to serve the answer faster. No one wants to click on webpage to find an answer to a simple question. This shows Google is way better at understanding what the user wants when searching. "what is another word for happy" "happy synonyms", and "happy synonym" all give the user what they want right away on Google doesn't matter how you search it. With DDG it does matter how you search it. Another example is another simple query like "florida capital". Google in big letters tell your what the capital of Florida. It shows you a map of the city that you can click and shows basic information on the city. DDG gives you information on the capitol building and the first link is too the Florida Capital Bank website. Why would I ever use DDG over Google? Other than privacy which I don't think is that big of an issue as people make it out too be on Google.
  - pwinnski 4y ago
    Didn't you mean to search for "what is the capital of Florida?" ;) Because that, amusingly, gives me an info box with the answer. Either way, the Wikipedia page for Tallahassee is the third link on the page. It is amusing that DDG seems to be assuming I spelled "capitol" wrong, and pushing the correct results down as a result. I know the difference.
tibyat 4y ago

bitdivision 4y ago

DDG works great if you search for `happy synonyms`. It even has an equivalent list of synonyms embedded in the results page. Actually even with "what is another word for happy", the first result is a wordhippo synonyms page. Though I agree that question based queries are probably more popular these days, and DDG isn't handling them as well. I imagine this doesn't bother the tech / privacy crowd too much.

hedora 4y ago

That’s a one box / instant answers query. A DDG search for “happy synonym” (no quotes) provides synonyms and antonyms. The google result shows more antonyms than the DDG one, but the DDG result has a click through to rhymes and sounds-like words. So, it is a draw in my book. I don’t try to ask english language questions to search engines though (and find it uniformly produces worse results than listing keywords, but YMMV). Based on autocomplete suggestions, it looks like google auto rewrites your query to mine. Arguably, it would be good to be able to search for pages containing phrases like the one you typed, instead of just ignoring user intent for people that have used search engines before. shrug

impulser_ 4y ago
Yeah, but if you want to compete with Google your going to have to serve the answer faster. No one wants to click on webpage to find an answer to a simple question. This shows Google is way better at understanding what the user wants when searching. "what is another word for happy" "happy synonyms", and "happy synonym" all give the user what they want right away on Google doesn't matter how you search it. With DDG it does matter how you search it. Another example is another simple query like "florida capital". Google in big letters tell your what the capital of Florida. It shows you a map of the city that you can click and shows basic information on the city. DDG gives you information on the capitol building and the first link is too the Florida Capital Bank website. Why would I ever use DDG over Google? Other than privacy which I don't think is that big of an issue as people make it out too be on Google.
- pwinnski 4y ago
  Didn't you mean to search for "what is the capital of Florida?" ;) Because that, amusingly, gives me an info box with the answer. Either way, the Wikipedia page for Tallahassee is the third link on the page. It is amusing that DDG seems to be assuming I spelled "capitol" wrong, and pushing the correct results down as a result. I know the difference.

tibyat 4y ago