It is clear that the signal to noise ratio of the WWW is getting worse. It’s much harder to find good content when using a good old search engine. And if it’s good it is usually hosted on Reddit or Stackexchange.

So remember, even if it’s easy too Google something (well, it isn’t nowadays), we want to create a fediverse of good content that helps people (I hope). So, it’s always better to write a real answer if you have the time and energy. Please help boost the SNR and reverse the AI fueled information degradation loop.

  • Ricky Rigatoni
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    547 months ago

    The amount of times I’ve googled a problem, and the first result is a forum post of someone just being told to google it then locking the thread is way too high.

    • @[email protected]
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      37 months ago

      I have started getting pissed at people who snap at someone “Don’t necro this post” (Or any of the numerous other things they say), on information that is well outdated that could fucking seriously use an updated answer.

      End rant…I’d prefer not, though…I want to keep this rant going.

    • @[email protected]
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      67 months ago

      These ones plus “this is a duplicate of <link to question that is only kinda related and doesn’t address the specific problem being asked in the newer question>”.

      Fuck busy body moderators. The people you “have power” over can see how stupid and incompetent you are and being able to shut down forum conversations about it doesn’t hide it, it just means people know not to bother saying it where you’re looking.

  • @[email protected]
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    247 months ago

    I’ve never had issues with looking anything up. By downranking Reddit and using a search engine with a good indexer that downranks bullshit and generated websites, which mine is really good at, I haven’t noticed much change from how it was before.

    But I agree with the second part. That’s something that never occured to me, and it makes sense. I was usually trying to answer questions I knew, and never had the urge to reply “just google it”, so it doesn’t change much for me, but it’s a really good point I never realized.

    • @[email protected]
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      147 months ago

      In the before times we had libraries of books that’d teach a person anything they wanted to learn. If a person had a question and the book didn’t answer there was someone there who didn’t know the answer but damn well knew how to find it. We never had to sort through piles of garbage content produced to waste our time for profit.

      Even the early Internet was this way. Its slow degradation became a nose dive with broad adoption of Facebook and AI. I had to starting writing a line of code to search. And, that doesn’t even work anymore.

      • zout
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        207 months ago

        I used to be pretty good at googling stuff, but the last 1 or 2 years it just won’t work anymore. For instance, I had to charge a battery yesterday, and the power led started blinking when I put the battery in. I didn’t know if this meant either charging or faulty battery, so I googled it. Got pages of ads for this particular charger, but no answer. So google is just a big marketplace these days, and nothing more.

        Just so you know, a dremel battery is charging when the power led blinks.

        • @[email protected]
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          37 months ago

          Did it not have a manual?

          Just yesterday I was looking for similar info on a thermostat. Given only the brand name and knowledge that it was a thermostat, I found the product line, tech specs, and manuals. (I didn’t find the answer I needed, but that’s because it was “the button can be programmed to do different things by the control system”).

          • zout
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            37 months ago

            It does, but google decided I needed to buy a new one, not download the manual.

            • @[email protected]
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              27 months ago

              Usually both of those options are on the same page. If you have one, you have both, or at least a lead on their support site.

      • snooggums
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        57 months ago

        My absolute favorite videos for car repairs were some shade tree mechanics who just recorded what they were doing and talking through the steps. No fancy lighting setups, no separate camera person. Just explaining and sharing knowledge for something that I couldn’t figure out by reading words because the written word was just ‘lightly hammer’ and they showed the angles and explained where the parts were frequently getting caught.

        You are a hero.

        • @[email protected]
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          27 months ago

          Repair steps are one of the few tasks that I feel videos are better than words (and sometimes pictures). It definitely helps to see the motions they’re taking and a single capture of the location from walking up to the car (or other repairable object) all the way to looking at the part that needs fixing.

    • chingadera
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      97 months ago

      Do you mind elaborating on your search setup? I’d like to be able to avoid a ton of bullshit especially while working.

      • @[email protected]
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        17 months ago

        I just use Kagi, which seems to be pretty good at filtering bullshit by default, and have mabually downranked reddit and twitter, ot any other site I found and don’t like. But it’s been a long time since I used other search, so I can’t compare it much since I’m used to it. Never really had any problems with not finding what I need.

    • mapumbaaOP
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      397 months ago

      Remember that most people don’t even know there is something called “rankings” or “indexer” in this context.

      • @[email protected]
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        57 months ago

        I’m using Kagi, but as of right now I’m not sure if I can recommend it. The last year with it was amazing, but for the past few days I’ve been getting blocked searches from my VPN out of nowhere. That would be a dealbreaker for me, but I hope it was just a mistake and they will fix it. It’s the first time it has happened in the year or so I’ve been using it.

        Apparently, they are also adding a bunch of AI features, but I only noticed it when I was looking up the feature page, and I haven’t noticed any of it in my feed before that - so I guess they don’t push it on users and it’s optional somewhere out of the way, so don’t let that discourage you. (Though, it would’ve discouraged me, if I saw that before I started using it. But as of now it doesn’t affect you unless you look for it, I guess)

        Other than that, the search is awesome. But since I’m using it exclusively for like a year, I can’t really compare it with other engines, it’s possible that I’m just used to it.

        • snooggums
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          27 months ago

          I haven’t noticed any of it in my feed before that - so I guess they don’t push it on users and it’s optional somewhere out of the way

          That’s a bold assumption.

          • @[email protected]
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            17 months ago

            What I mean by that is that it doesn’t shove the AI summaries into your face, and they are only generated if you actually click on a different tab.

      • @[email protected]
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        97 months ago

        SearxNG To quote old Ben, “This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster; an elegant weapon for a more civilized age.”

  • RQG
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    147 months ago

    While I don’t think we can beat AI driven content degradation by outposting them, I still agree posting ‘just Google it’ does any good either.

    Post an answer or link a topic which covered the same question in detail. But directing people to Google isn’t something I’d advocate. Maybe tell them to Ecosiate it if you really have to.

    Also it’s just rude and creates an uninviting admosphere around here Imo.

    But the AI issue can’t be solved by users alone. It’s moderation and maybe regulation which is needed here.

  • Zement
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    7 months ago

    I feel like it’s 2000 all over again on the Internet. The bloat has made pages borderline unusable, and using AdBlock or NoScript reverts any so-called “design progress” back to the good old HTML days.

    Google is only semi-useful now, while pages like DuckDuckGo are starting to deliver results reminiscent of the old Yahoo or Lycos days.

    It feels like my trusty, old-school Internet skills are helping me navigate this mess. The reemergence of usenet / groups feels inevitable.

    • @[email protected]
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      47 months ago

      It’s like a bouncing ball, social media starts small, and then it became bigger. It’s trending on becoming small again. In the future (barring civilization ending war/calamity) it’ll become big again due to some technological progress or shift in society.

  • Matt
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    47 months ago

    Why not just reply with Search it?

  • Cyrus Draegur
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    207 months ago

    When I ask someone for clarification via their expertise, I usually reflexively indicate that I cannot trust google because of the incursion of AI slop, and even if it shows THEM accurate results, it is no guarantee that it will show ME those same results.

    • @[email protected]
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      37 months ago

      Just ask them to answer your question in the style of a know-it-all Redditor because you need the dialog for a compelling narrative or something

  • @[email protected]
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    107 months ago

    Just googlw it is unfortunate shorthand for “learn it by doing research and troubleshooting”, a skill sadly very scarce. I agree it’s toxic and unhelpful. Guiding people to be better at finding information on their own is the way.

    • @[email protected]
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      57 months ago

      Its a bit annoying when i google something and search forums and cant find an answer and i go to ask reddit or a forum and someone says"just google it" like am i really expected to make a preamble every ask-post that I’ve searched already?

      • richieadler 🇦🇷
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        56 months ago

        i really expected to make a preamble every ask-post that I’ve searched already?

        Yes. You need to show your effort, otherwise your question will be considered lazy. This is specially true regarding technical issues in volunteer forums.

        The seminal essay “How To Ask Questions the Smart Way” explains these and other finer points.

  • @[email protected]
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    167 months ago

    Yes please don’t do this. Google doesn’t need more support either from search activity or inclusion into the vernacular. If someone is asking in the fediverse which is still a relatively small community, they are expressing a degree of patience with their answer that suggests they’ve already tried search and came up dissapointed or they are really lacidasical about their question and won’t really mind if you just ignore it and move on. Taking the time to tell someone to websearch something is even more pathetic than a “this” reply.

  • @[email protected]
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    197 months ago

    The most useful thing about interacting with another human mind is that it can see when the question needs to be updated in order to get a correct answer.

    A crude example would be:

    Q1: how many screws should I use to join these pieces of wood?

    A1: It’s more relevant to use screws which are long enough.

    Q2: Which screws should I use?

    A2: This size.