A wealth of real human knowledge lives on reddit, stack exchange, etc-- Given the sheer volume of AI slop and SEO fake pages with "articles" the better content is hard to find.
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Space Catitude 🚀replied to myrmepropagandist on last edited by
I miss formal query languages, TBH.
Sometimes I want to do the query that returns no result: i.e. "this information does not exist in the database."
Because sometimes that's what I wanted to know.
But modern search engines prioritize returning a result over returning the right answer.
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myrmepropagandistreplied to myrmepropagandist on last edited by
Wikipedia is one of the few places that has endured under these changes. Wikipedia is still OK. And OK is a lot better than what you'll find in other places.
But it's just an encyclopedia. A very big one, but they stuck to their mission. Start adding how-to guides, relationship advice, and what to do if your cat is sick... well it's not the right place.
There is still so much excellent content on the web, freely given by people who just want to be acknowledged... and we are letting it rot.
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myrmepropagandistreplied to myrmepropagandist on last edited by
We trusted Google and other companies to always help us navigate all of this information. But my trust has been shaken and largely broken.
It's not a bad thing that I will increasingly reach for a book rather than search, or go to a site I know ... but I'm thinking about the wider impact of this and it seems like a step backwards.
And I think about people who are just trying to learn a new thing who have to choose between insular gatekeepy secret forums... or AI slop and it makes me sad.
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myrmepropagandistreplied to myrmepropagandist on last edited by
It used to be if I searched for something like "how to solve a quadratic equation" you'd get a site like Purple Math as the first result because it had few or no ads and information written with care.
Now you get a dozen paywalled sites trying to sell you lesson plans stolen from teachers or worse? An AI parody of an answer. The feeling that you are either being tricked with AI or about to be swindled into a subscription makes the web an ugly place.
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myrmepropagandistreplied to myrmepropagandist on last edited by
I've noticed that young people increasingly don't use search for answers either. They ask each other on social media, or ask me, which is fine.
But, that's less open and easy isn't it?
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Ethan :verified_flashing:replied to myrmepropagandist on last edited by
It's definitely not just you, researchers have documented the quality of Google Search declining:
https://www.404media.co/google-search-really-has-gotten-worse-researchers-find/
(highly recommend the amazing team of indie tech journalists at @404mediaco )
What your seeking does sound like the right direction . . . though I'm not totally clear on how we get there. @pluralistic has spelled out a number of ideas for a better web.
Personally, adding `site:reddit.com` to my google searching often helps.
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Jes - Lewd Edition :verified_bottom::vthicc:replied to Ethan :verified_flashing: on last edited by
@[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] https://archive.is/c1iDr link for people who don't wanna make an account
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Marijke Luttekesreplied to myrmepropagandist on last edited by
@futurebird I've had many a student who would rather ask ChatGPT than read the documentation on anything.
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Saxnotreplied to Jes - Lewd Edition :verified_bottom::vthicc: last edited by
@JessiCum @pluralistic @futurebird @ethanjstark this is the article
https://bin.disroot.org/?b66cf4f60344576a#2BdpBKWJ7N9XKnq6U135utsmHxPX6YFxcYgJbiHsoChX
Also copied all the URL references -
@JessiCum @pluralistic @futurebird @ethanjstark in the years in which I used the internet so far I developed skills in how to use the internet, which broad categories of websites or search strategies are to be avoided, where to click, what to block in uMatrix, how to leverage third party websites to gain useful information where search engines fail etc.
It would be better if this skill were to be unnecessary. It creates a barrier for everyone including new users (e. g. my parents or kids)
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@JessiCum @pluralistic @futurebird @ethanjstark further I want to note that most of this is no accident. Destroying the usability of public resources or making useful sites harder to find is a purpose in and of itself for many groups.
Most notably I want to name the "flood the zone with shit" approach which is also a threat to reason and democracy itself. When everything is subjective and everyone is a bot hey maybe I'm not so sure anymore the earth not being flat or corona is serious etc