Re: OT - Cannot Search Old Posts Using Google As Newsgroup Reader

Michael Cecil wrote:
Paul wrote:

Jay Chan wrote:
I am currently using Google as the newsgroup reader. It works fine
for years. Recently I have noticed that when I seach something in a
newsgroup such as this one, all I get are very recent posts. Can
someone tell me a way to expand the search?

Thanks.

Jay Chan

Google has changed their search policy with respect to
USENET/dejanews archive.

Basically, the old way of doing searches, emphasized the quality
of the search. They really did a good job of digging out good
results.

Well, the board of directors had a meeting, and ask the question
"how are we making money on this thing". The answer is, it costs
a lot, in terms of the number of computers used to support all
these real-time searches. So some evil person in the meeting,
spelled it out for them. "Give the users results with plenty
of Google sponsered advertising on the returned pages."
So they broke and hobbled the search engine for USENET, making it
virtually useless. That means more searches can be done with fewer
computers,
but with poorer results.

If you accept the default setting, to return web forum
searches, you'll be connected to all the USENET leech sites that
have Google Adwords on them.

So, Google makes more money, and you become their "click monkey".
They make money, and... you lose.

So when someone says "let me Google that for you", what they don't
tell you, is they've actually switched to using some other search
engine.

I have about 20000 posts on USENET, and hardly any of them
can be found by doing a (Dejanews) search any more. I have a lot of
web links in those postings, which are now lost to me.

Is Google evil ? You decide...

Paul

I don't think they're evil. No one ever said Usenet posts would be
around forever. We just got used to searching DejaNews and they just
want to make some money.

Hopefully, when they see fewer and fewer people bother even trying to
do a search they will change it back and make it usable again. Or
that same moron might suggest they drop the search feature altogether.

Not only all is all of that information becoming lost, but there was a lot
of cultural wisdom, and a lot of creativity in those hundreds of thousands
of posts, the heydey of USENET, the proto information sharing resource on
the web.

Oh how I miss dejanews. It was so easy to read, a screenfull of text that
you could be lost in for hours.

Jon


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: RAID 1
    ... >> repeated context that also clutters the archives, ... I suppose I should have given up on usenet ... he didn't have google to help sift through the cruft and probably ... It shows parts of your 100 most recent posts with links to the full text ...
    (comp.os.linux.networking)
  • Re: Troll Activity Going Through The Roof!!! Amazing!!!
    ... Google has permitted large numbers of individuals to access usenet who ... this thread is a person who, if you run a search on all his posts in this ... posting volume through the eyes of the Google interface, ...
    (alt.sports.football.pro.ne-patriots)
  • Re: What does it mean when a legitimate business uses a "private" IP address?
    ... On Fri, 2 Jan 2009, in the Usenet newsgroup alt.internet.wireless, in article ... Rude or insulting posts - I don't see many of those either, ... That browser you are using can be used. ... The main complaint about google _users_ is spam. ...
    (alt.internet.wireless)
  • Re: iso image
    ... On Fri, 05 Oct 2007, in the Usenet newsgroup comp.os.linux, in article ... news server, not one of the web interfaces. ... posts from six months to a year earlier. ... Google also intentionally ignores all abuse reports, ...
    (comp.os.linux)
  • Re: Why the complaints about Google Usenet ? [telecom]
    ... Google Groups, a service where many people, including me, post to ... when it comes to Usenet posting, ... The address for email submissions has changed: if you submit posts via email, ... If you submit posts via a newsreader or Google groups, you don't need to change anything. ...
    (comp.dcom.telecom)
Loading