4 ms·

Microsoft has finally understood how to generate buzz and get publicity... even without having to spend 100 million dollars.

axod 17y ago
Cuil also generated a ton of buzz and publicity. Blocking random keywords just makes a search engine look stupid and useless. By all means have a filter and allow users to decide on adult content, but outright blocking is just a silly decision, especially when the blocking is broken. A search on bing.de (Germany) for "sexual healing", the popular song by Lionel Richie, is blocked. The blocking seems ridiculously bad - "sex":blocked, "teen fun sex":allowed. "bear sex","horse sex":blocked, "goat sex":perfectly acceptable, have as much as you like. A dangerous precedent pushing entire countries toward goat porn. I'd suggest changing the title - this is not just India. Germany, Turkey, Malaysia, India, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, China, Korea, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and 'arabian countries'.
dmnd 17y ago
I doubt it's intentional. Pornography is illegal in India (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pornography_in_india#Online_pornography http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pornography_in_india#Online_por...). Microsoft is being conservative when complying with the Information Technology Act of 2000. "According to the act, anyone publishing or transmitting or causing to be published or transmitted content of a pornographic nature can be punished with imprisonment or a fine." - http://in.reuters.com/article/paidmediaAtoms/idIN196193078720090603 http://in.reuters.com/article/paidmediaAtoms/idIN19619307872...
- ideamonk 17y ago
  What if someone needs information on sex (something which is so natural to human beings) instead of "To get results, change your search terms." I should at least be given a wikipedia link or pages with information on safe sex, etc.. "To get results, change your search terms." and no option to turn the filter off -- bad user experience sex isn't pornography right!

axod 17y ago

Cuil also generated a ton of buzz and publicity. Blocking random keywords just makes a search engine look stupid and useless. By all means have a filter and allow users to decide on adult content, but outright blocking is just a silly decision, especially when the blocking is broken. A search on bing.de (Germany) for "sexual healing", the popular song by Lionel Richie, is blocked. The blocking seems ridiculously bad - "sex":blocked, "teen fun sex":allowed. "bear sex","horse sex":blocked, "goat sex":perfectly acceptable, have as much as you like. A dangerous precedent pushing entire countries toward goat porn. I'd suggest changing the title - this is not just India. Germany, Turkey, Malaysia, India, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, China, Korea, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and 'arabian countries'.

dmnd 17y ago

I doubt it's intentional. Pornography is illegal in India (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pornography_in_india#Online_pornography http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pornography_in_india#Online_por...). Microsoft is being conservative when complying with the Information Technology Act of 2000. "According to the act, anyone publishing or transmitting or causing to be published or transmitted content of a pornographic nature can be punished with imprisonment or a fine." - http://in.reuters.com/article/paidmediaAtoms/idIN196193078720090603 http://in.reuters.com/article/paidmediaAtoms/idIN19619307872...

ideamonk 17y ago
What if someone needs information on sex (something which is so natural to human beings) instead of "To get results, change your search terms." I should at least be given a wikipedia link or pages with information on safe sex, etc.. "To get results, change your search terms." and no option to turn the filter off -- bad user experience sex isn't pornography right!