# Google is going to shit **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 16, 2004, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-going-to-shit/224797 "2004-01-16T17:13:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shadez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Shadez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shadez)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-going-to-shit/224797/21 "2004-01-17T06:31:29Z")
If you haven’t tried Google’s Toolbar yet, try it! I love google, if for nothing else than that. But I use Google for home and also for work – for link checking, when I can’t find the link our site says exists at some random address that moved a few weeks ago. Fun times. But the FREE popup blocker is awesome. 4646 to date blocked since late August of last year. 4646 times I DON’T have to click X! and you can search the web or a specific site easily from the toolbar without going to their homepage. ok, I sound slightly too enthusiastic about this. Oh well. I love google. /Shadez ---
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-going-to-shit/224797/22 "2004-01-17T10:23:17Z")
I agree Google is still the best out there and by a good distance, but it’s been compromised. I’m learning it’s called, [“Google bombing.”](http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%E2%80%9CGoogle+bombing%2E%E2%80%9D) It’s the exploit that was used in the “miserable failure” Bush prank. I’m assuming advertisers are taking of advantage of it and in the process sullying Google’s otherwise sparkling record. They need a fix, a filter, something. Ironically, all the research for this post was done with Google. ---
**Author:** ![lucwarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@lucwarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lucwarm)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-going-to-shit/224797/23 "2004-01-17T20:47:35Z")
> [@Dead Badger](#): > > Always good advice :),\*\* Thanks!! \*\* > [@](#): > > but I don’t know of any spyware that’s capable of futzing with Google’s search results, so I don’t think that’s what’s going on.\*\* Run a few searches on “google” “search results” “fake” “spyware” and the like, and see if you change your mind. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-going-to-shit/224797/24 "2004-01-17T21:39:37Z")
> [@lucwarm](#): > > Run a few searches on “google” “search results” “fake” “spyware” and the like, and see if you change your mind. Well, I tried but I keep getting shitty advert results :). But yeah, you’re right, turns out there’s a bunch of things that do this - I sort of forget that running Opera I don’t come across nearly the amount of spyware that seems to infect my friends (this isn’t a Real Browser gloat, I promise). Spyware seems to have become a zillion times shittier since I last ran IE for anything but my online banking :(. ---
**Author:** ![Paradoxical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/77aa72/32.png) [@Paradoxical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paradoxical)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-going-to-shit/224797/25 "2004-01-17T21:50:44Z")
I _only_ use Yahoo! search engine-WAIT!..okay now you can throw your rotten vegetables… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Long\_Road](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5a626/32.png) [@The\_Long\_Road](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Long_Road)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-going-to-shit/224797/26 "2004-01-17T23:56:53Z")
> [@cainxinth](#): > > One of the few remaining pure and good things on this spam encrusted, porn saturated, wholly owned subsidiary of corporate motherfuckers we call the internet, and it’s steadily going to hell. > > On virtually every search I do, the first 10 hits are fucking ads. This sucks on so many levels. I was with you till the “porn saturated” part. You say that like it’s a bad thing. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-going-to-shit/224797/27 "2004-01-18T00:41:51Z")
Several other problems with Google: 1. Blogs. The nature of blogs is that A) they get read by a lot of people, and B) they link each other a lot. That pushes them way up in the Google standings, out of proportion of their usefulness as research. I’ve been surprised the number of times I’ve searched for something and had my own blog come up as one of the top few hits. In fact, my site gets over 1000 hits a day from Google, and I’m pretty sure that most of those people aren’t looking for Happy Fun Pundit. 2. Fringe sites. I find this the most annoying. If I go looking for information on, say, the U.S. trade deficit, the results I get are heavily populated by commentary from the fringes on the right and left, as opposed to scholarly work from place like Brookings or AEI. This is true for most political and military topics. ---
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-going-to-shit/224797/28 "2004-01-18T01:02:47Z")
I ran spybot and adaware, and removed about a gazillion pieces of garbage. I ran a search for “tigers eye” before and after and it was marginally better afterwards. Some of the ads were gone, a lot still remained. It looks like Google’s woes are a mix of Google Bombing and exploits on individual users systems. Whatever the case something has to be done about it… I want the old Google back. Here’s a thought off the top of my head. What if Google totally segregated business and non business into different indexes. Google could search all the educational, government, and not-for-profit resources, and Froogle could deal with all the spam, porn, and people trying to sell you something. Of course that wouldn’t solve the issues **Sam’s** brings up… ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-going-to-shit/224797/29 "2004-01-18T01:36:22Z")
> [@cainxinth](#): > > I ran a search for “tigers eye” before and after and it was marginally better afterwards. I’m confused. You do search for [tiger’s eye](http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=tiger%27s+eye) and there is a page which, as far as I can see is 100% relevent. Everything on the page is about jewellery, a software company called “Tiger’s Eye Software” or “Tiger’s Eye” golf course. What on earth do want? Some sort of psychic search engine that magically produces only sites which you wanted to exist? ---
**Author:** ![Petter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dbc845/32.png) [@Petter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petter)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-going-to-shit/224797/30 "2004-01-18T01:50:33Z")
> [@Paradoxical](#): > > I _only_ use Yahoo! search engine-WAIT!..okay now you can throw your rotten vegetables… Yahoo is currently using Google’s engine, so the results are exactly the same. ---
**Author:** ![Smashed\_Ice\_Cream](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Smashed\_Ice\_Cream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smashed_Ice_Cream)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-going-to-shit/224797/31 "2004-01-18T10:34:23Z")
Seriously, go here and download CWShredder. This could be your problem. [http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/cwschronicles.html](http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/cwschronicles.html) CWS messes with google and changes most of the URLS to search pages. I just figured out I had this problem the other day. Adaware and Spybot both missed it - I had to use hijackthis to find the problem. ---
**Author:** ![lucwarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@lucwarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lucwarm)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-going-to-shit/224797/32 "2004-01-18T14:06:54Z")
I agree about CWSchredder. It’s a very viscious piece of adware and spybot and adaware won’t get rid of it. Another piece of advice: (1) Take a look at the lame search results google gives you; (2) Write down the domain name of the first hit. (3) Go to a different search engine, and search on that domain name and words like “spyware” (4) See if there are pieces of adware that are associated with that domain name. (5) Get rid of said spyware. ---
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-going-to-shit/224797/33 "2004-01-18T15:53:33Z")
> [@Tapioca Dextrin](#): > > I’m confused. You do search for [tiger’s eye](http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=tiger%27s+eye) and there is a page which, as far as I can see is 100% relevent. Everything on the page is about jewellery, a software company called “Tiger’s Eye Software” or “Tiger’s Eye” golf course. > > What on earth do want? Some sort of psychic search engine that magically produces only sites which you wanted to exist? The results I get are: 1. jewelry store 2. online casino 3. ebay jewelry store 4. ebay jewelry store 5. jewelry store 6. gem fan site 7. ebay jewelry store 8. golf article 9. gem store 10. online casino Doesn’t it strike you as odd that 8 of the 10 most relevant pages happen to be selling something? I’m not looking for psychic accuracy, and am not above tailering my searches to avoid the spam. But even if you search for: “-tigers eye -ad -sale -buy -free -ebay” which cuts the number of pages found more than in half, the top ten are still 90% commercial sites. “I’m feeling lucky,” is starting to take on a whole new meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-going-to-shit/224797/34 "2004-01-18T16:29:36Z")
> [@cainxinth](#): > > Doesn’t it strike you as odd that 8 of the 10 most relevant pages happen to be selling something? Maybe 8 out of 10 web pages that use the term tiger’s eye actuallly sell stuff? Online casinos are very popular. There’s a lot of people who like to play golf. You want google to exist purely for your own benefit? How is google supposed to know that you have no interest in jewelery if you don’t tell it? Or do you want all commercial activity to stop on the web just because you don’t like it? I still don’t understand what you are searching for. The [Tiger’s Eye chemistry](http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=tiger%27s+eye+chemistry) perhaps? [Pictures](http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=tigers+eye&sa=N&tab=wi) of Tiger’s eye? How about only those [results from not-for-profit sites](http://www.google.com/search?as_q=&num=10&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=tigers+eye+&as_oq=&as_eq=&lr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=.org&safe=images) or [education sites](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_qdr=all&q=+%22tigers+eye+%22+site%3A.edu)? ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-going-to-shit/224797/35 "2004-01-18T16:35:01Z")
> [@cainxinth](#): > > I’m not looking for psychic accuracy, and am not above tailering my searches to avoid the spam. Just so we know, what sort of page _are_ you looking for? I think you’re being unfair; it’s clearly a popular term, and has been used in a variety of contexts. If Google is simply reflecting the importance encoded in the web’s link structure, then there really can’t be a complaint. Like it or not, a large number of people go shopping and gambling on the web, so the importance of such sites will be boosted as such sites get increasingly linked. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-going-to-shit/224797/36 "2004-01-18T16:42:53Z")
> [@cainxinth](#): > > The results I get are: > > (snip) > 8. golf article If it’s any consolation, it’s a fun course. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-going-to-shit/224797/37 "2004-01-18T17:09:10Z")
> [@cainxinth](#): > > One of the few remaining pure and good things on this spam encrusted, porn saturated, wholly owned subsidiary of corporate motherfuckers we call the internet, and it’s steadily going to hell. > > On virtually every search I do, the first 10 hits are fucking ads. This sucks on so many levels. If you wish to filter out the “fucking ads” from the “porn saturated” internet, you can always use [Google’s SafeSearch](http://www.google.com/help/customize.html#safe) filter. ---
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-going-to-shit/224797/38 "2004-01-18T17:47:18Z")
> [@Tapioca Dextrin](#): > > Online casinos are very popular. There’s a lot of people who like to play golf. You want google to exist purely for your own benefit? Don’t be so dramatic. All I’m saying is that Google is not as good as it once was, and seems to be getting worse. I mean, which is more likely: A. The Tigers Eye Ccasino is incredibly popular and hence linked to by a great number of sites. OR B. The Tigers Eye Casino is spoofing Google into thinkings its very popular through Google Bombing and/or other exploits. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-going-to-shit/224797/39 "2004-01-18T18:44:17Z")
> [@cainxinth](#): > > Don’t be so dramatic. All I’m saying is that Google is not as good as it once was, and seems to be getting worse. I mean, which is more likely: > > A. The Tigers Eye Ccasino is incredibly popular and hence linked to by a great number of sites. > > OR > > B. The Tigers Eye Casino is spoofing Google into thinkings its very popular through Google Bombing and/or other exploits. Since [Tiger’e Eye casino](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=tiger%27s+eye+casino) is a free download available from [download.com](http://download.com), ZDnet and just about every gaming download site out there, my guess is A. ---
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-going-to-shit/224797/40 "2004-01-18T19:03:05Z")
> [@Tapioca Dextrin](#): > > Since [Tiger’e Eye casino](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=tiger%27s+eye+casino) is a free download available from [download.com](http://download.com), ZDnet and just about every gaming download site out there, my guess is A. Tiger’s Eye Casino isn’t available on [Download.com](http://Download.com) any longer. How popular can it be? And look at the site, its clearly a two-bit operation. I can’t prove it, but their high marks in Google’s Page Ranking system looks a lot like bullshit to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-going-to-shit/224797.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-is-going-to-shit/224797.md?page=3)