# Google search question

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-search-question/740772>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 18, 2015, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-search-question/740772 "2015-12-18T13:53:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-search-question/740772/21 "2015-12-22T16:40:38Z")

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> [@ftg](#):
>
> I did a search on Google using two technical code-terms. (Not at all real words.)
> 
> Of the first 10 pages listed, 8 didn’t have the second of the terms. Another had it but in a link to something else, and not even part of the main body of the page.
> 
> One. One page of 10 actually had both terms. And it turned out the info on that page was flat out wrong.
> 
> This is very, very typical.
> 
> They’ve gone over the edge in terms of being “helpful”. I don’t want extra help. I want exactly what I’m searching for.
> 
> Google doesn’t care about “power users” and such. They are catering to the lowest common denominator.
> 
> Re; Altavista. They even used to have simple wildcards. E.g., “encyclo\*”. That is very helpful.

QFT x 10  
As far as meta tags and the old search engines, I’ve had _far_ more problems with Google listing some other search engine’s found results for whatever-the-fuck I’m searching for. I think the last such occurrence was when searching for crystal patterns earlier this month. I’d get Replacement Ltd’s own search page results (for one of my terms, with one result containing one of the other terms, third term only present on some referring page). And I’d get some other reseller’s search results. And I’d get some fly-by-night search engine’s search results. Look, if I wanted those search results I would’ve gone to those pages to do my damn searching.

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