10 little things we hate about the internet.

[140mower]

I went looking for the thread I started as I was looking for a name for this truck mount, but couldn't find it for the life of me, but that's not the point of this rant.... I used about every search term I could think of, starting of course with the simple "Ford cargo cab mount" probably tried a hundred or more different things, absolutely nothing, notta, nope, zip-all..... So, last night I type in the above mentioned as a starting point again (only crazy people do the same thing over and over again hoping for a different result), and lo and behold, there must have been six or more of them pictured right there before me....... BTW, for those who care, they're called a "cab anti-rattle bush"
...... Long and short of things, why would the same search easily find what I couldn't find a year ago? I hate that....
Anybody else?

 

[YotaBota]

So see what happens if you search "cab anti-rattle bush", that will drive you farther around the bend.

 

[whydontu]

Two possibilities:
First, for the next six weeks every time you fire up Google you’ll get ads for young Asian women looking for love, somehow textually related to “cab anti-rattle bush”

Second, search algorithms translate your text into Spanish, then from Spanish to Cantonese, from Cantonese to Hindi, then back to English. So search results end up like this example, keyword <lathe> on Facebook marketplace:

 

[140mower]

So see what happens if you search "cab anti-rattle bush", that will drive you farther around the bend.

I think I am so far around the bend already that my servos no longer recieve the transmitter. just stuck in space doing loops waiting to run out of fuel.

 

[trevj]

I think I am so far around the bend already that my servos no longer recieve the transmitter. just stuck in space doing loops waiting to run out of fuel.

No folks, really! I've seen him work! If someone nailed his other foot to the floor, he would at least have a sense of direction! LOL!

In a more serious tone, I have found very often while searching for addball stuff that ZI know, more or less, the function of, but not the name, will search whatever words occur to me to use, in the Images Search window, and it is pretty quick and easy to scan through the results for stuff that looks pretty similar.

 

[jorogi]

View attachment 47134
I went looking for the thread I started as I was looking for a name for this truck mount, but couldn't find it for the life of me, but that's not the point of this rant.... I used about every search term I could think of, starting of course with the simple "Ford cargo cab mount" probably tried a hundred or more different things, absolutely nothing, notta, nope, zip-all..... So, last night I type in the above mentioned as a starting point again (only crazy people do the same thing over and over again hoping for a different result), and lo and behold, there must have been six or more of them pictured right there before me....... BTW, for those who care, they're called a "cab anti-rattle bush"
...... Long and short of things, why would the same search easily find what I couldn't find a year ago? I hate that....
Anybody else?

Silly Don, you should know by now that searching for Ford parts is pointless.

 

[140mower]

Silly Don, you should know by now that searching for Ford parts is pointless.

..... I know, but if I keep repeating fast enough, I might get that other outcome that I am looking for.
....... Problem is, the damn things almost never need parts, so there's no point making them available It's not a chevy, where due to necessity, parts grow on trees.

 

[jcdammeyer]

Two possibilities:
First, for the next six weeks every time you fire up Google you’ll get ads for young Asian women looking for love, somehow textually related to “cab anti-rattle bush”

Second, search algorithms translate your text into Spanish, then from Spanish to Cantonese, from Cantonese to Hindi, then back to English. So search results end up like this example, keyword <lathe> on Facebook marketplace:

View attachment 47135

Disappointed! Didn't see any babe pictures in that attachment.

 

[PaulL]

"little things". Oh my sweet summer child.

 

[Susquatch]

I used about every search term I could think of, starting of course with the simple "Ford cargo cab mount" probably tried a hundred or more different things, absolutely nothing, notta, nope, zip-all.....

I share your pain Don.

I think Google goes through identity cycles. One day they give you what you want, the next day they give you what they think you want, and the day after something they want you to spend money on. The algorithms are heavily biased by financial opportunities and rewards. Of course, modern AI always thinks it knows more about me than I know about me - and sadly, it might be right about that!

Once upon a time, Google used to be amazing at providing great search results. Today, it is amazing at producing revenue for Google.

But there are a few ways to get it to behave:

If you search on "Ford cab bushing" WITH the quote marks, you basically constrain the search to that exact term. The results look pretty good to my eye.

You can also tell it to only produce images which are easier to scan with your eye.

Or you can use search modifiers. Read about them here:

https://ahrefs.com/blog/google-advanced-search-operators/

For example, search for Ford AND cab AND bushing will force Google to find only results containing all three of those terms. You can add quotes but that will also limit you to upper and lower case matches.

Or you can use other search tools like Ask Jeeves that are not as highly tuned to revenue generation.

So..... Why did you title this thread the 10 little things we hate about the internet? It's not like you to hold back.....LOL!

 

[Chicken lights]

I think I am so far around the bend already that my servos no longer recieve the transmitter. just stuck in space doing loops waiting to run out of fuel.

 

[PaulL]

I share your pain Don.

I think Google goes through identity cycles.

A little (even further off-topic) more colour on the continuing enshittification of Google search: https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-men-who-killed-google/

The events recounted are around the same time I left a different division for the same reason - the move from technical leadership "business" leadership. It was inevitable once they put a wall street banker in the CFO seat.

 

[Susquatch]

It was inevitable once they put a wall street banker in the CFO seat.

Happens to most corporations. The best companies are family owned and run by managers who know their employees and their families personally.

Companies that are owned by Wallstreet usually end up run by Wallstreet and the end is always near.

 

[whydontu]

So the complaint is a corporate entity that provides a free search engine wants to optimize revenue by directing the potential customers into areas that provide the most revenue for the company? Ever gone into a Hudsons Bay department store or a Shoppers Drug? Gosh, why do they have women’s cosmetics right at the door, so you have to walk through lotions and potions to get to the stuff you want?

 

[jcdammeyer]

So the complaint is a corporate entity that provides a free search engine wants to optimize revenue by directing the potential customers into areas that provide the most revenue for the company? Ever gone into a Hudsons Bay department store or a Shoppers Drug? Gosh, why do they have women’s cosmetics right at the door, so you have to walk through lotions and potions to get to the stuff you want?

There's such an easy solution for that. Just don't go in.

 

[Susquatch]

So the complaint is a corporate entity that provides a free search engine wants to optimize revenue by directing the potential customers into areas that provide the most revenue for the company?

If it really was free, I wouldn't complain as much. But it isn't free. To use it, I have to sell my soul and give them my personal info every time I use their service. Google knows more about me than my wife does!

Aren't you the guy who gets drowned in ads for Asian women?

But I get what you are saying. Even companies who sell products want their pound of flesh. There really isn't any such thing as free anymore.

I just don't like it. I especially don't like how the google business model has changed over the years. I used to love Google. Now I hate it because I'm so hooked I can't let go.

 

[Doggggboy]

There's such an easy solution for that. Just don't go in.

Yeah but you still have to eat. And that means walking past the candy and sodas and chips and magazines to get to the vegetables, meat, bread and dairy.
While I'm sure this forum is filled with nothing but ruggedly independent free thinkers who can't be marketed to , Mr. and Mrs. Joe Public will often enough end up with a few high margin impulse items on the way through while picking up some dry crusts for their daily bowl of gruel. Enough to matter to a corporation's bottom line.

 

[whydontu]

Try Duck Duck Go browser.

How does DuckDuckGo make money?

DuckDuckGo makes money from private ads on our search engine and from subscription fees for our Privacy Pro subscription service.

duckduckgo.com

 

[Susquatch]

Try Duck Duck Go browser.

I've used it but I don't think it works as well as google does. Maybe it's time I gave it a better test flight.

What did you find that scale with?

 

[PaulL]

So the complaint is a corporate entity that provides a free search engine wants to optimize revenue by directing the potential customers into areas that provide the most revenue for the company? Ever gone into a Hudsons Bay department store or a Shoppers Drug? Gosh, why do they have women’s cosmetics right at the door, so you have to walk through lotions and potions to get to the stuff you want?

Google used to offer a product that was wildly successful and led to significant revenue. But now that DoubleClick's reverse takeover is complete, they no longer choose to delight their customers, instead relying on lock-in and driving traffic to advertisements instead of providing user value.
The cost of using Google - your privacy - is sufficiently high that this is a bad trade for the consumer. But many consumers are unaware of how bad the situation has become.
The cult of infinite growth is killing the goose that lays golden eggs.