89
kiki
4y

I tried DuckDuckGo like two years ago and my opinion was “meh, I don’t like the results”.

Yesterday @Root made it clear that the sole amount of data collected changes the whole perspective of tracking.

I went to shower thinking about that and as I was standing there enjoying warm water...

It hit me.

I liked google results and disliked DDG not because DDG was worse.

I liked google results because they were CRAFTED for ME to LIKE them. They exploited my confirmation bias, the strongest of all biases.

I took my other phone which is android, has a different sim that isn’t tied to my identity (don’t ask, this is Russia), was never connected to my WiFi and of course has no google account tied to it.

I tried googling stuff.

The results was just like what DDG gets you, the only difference was google amp were on top.

The fuck. One of the wokest moments ever.

Comments
  • 7
  • 5
    Though duck fails to find torrents well for some reason.
  • 3
    Any thoughts on Startpage? I've switched from DDG and results are way better, almost on par with Google.
  • 3
    @gronostaj

    “You can’t beat Google when it comes to online search. So we’re paying them to use their brilliant search results in order to remove all trackers and logs.”

    What you type on startpage goes to google. Timing, queries, google has all of it. If you use chrome or even chromium (yes), google has your ip and tying startpage data to you is trivial.

    Also how exactly does startpage make money if they already pay google?
  • 1
    I didn’t know that either but apparently Chromium makes some shady requests to some shady addresses, at least one of them is needed to check if extensions are up to date. So yes google has your ip if you’re using chromium.
  • 8
    I'm a Firefox person, so no worries about that. Btw https://ungoogled-software.github.io/...
  • 2
    @gronostaj Firefox is just better. Tried importing thousands of bookmarks to chrome and then opening a folder on the bar. Firefox does that instantly. Chrome lags like a bitch and then crashes.
  • 2
    @iiii also ff is faster with quantum (I’m a webdev and I have the numbers), ff does auto update and ff has proper extension store. Ungoogled chromium doesn’t have that
  • 1
    @uyouthe true. Firefox is pretty fast overall. It's bad at 3D rendering but that does not really matter for the most part of the internets
  • 1
    I still miss some Chromium features, though. Automatic saving of search engines on visited websites was super-useful. Bookmark keywords in FF are somewhat of an alternative, but it's cumbersome compared to Chromium's zero-maintenance approach.
  • 6
    @Jilano I was thinking about rutee tbh
  • 4
    @uyouthe all these showers and you don't think of me 😢
    🖐🏻🎤
  • 2
    Absolutely loved the "don't ask, this is Russia" part.

    I've been questioning how to could be from Russia, link your professional website in the bio, and still (literally) be gay or talk about your onlyfans so openly... You answered one part, the rest is still under open investigation.
  • 0
    @NoMad not how it works. All that “all that” jokes you make but i was a joke to you
  • 2
    @NoMad what exactly should I fear? If a company doesn’t hire me solely because I’m not straight I don’t need that company.
  • 1
    @uyouthe hiring is not the issue. The govt being able to profile you is a bigger issue. Afaik it's illegal to be gay (you know what I mean) in Russia.
  • 1
    @NoMad no, not at all. You can’t register gay marriage here, that’s it. You can travel to Sweden though, register it there and come back to Russia, they just accept the Swedish marriage certificate officially. Everything else is legal
  • 2
    @uyouthe 🤔 when did that change? It wasn't that long back that they'd beat the living shit out of people for being gay!
  • 3
    @gronostaj Startpage has been bought by an advertising company. I would not trust it.
  • 1
    @NoMad senior people still dislike lgbt, zoomers though mostly understand and support it.

    People’s attitudes have nothing to do with laws.
  • 0
    @uyouthe I meant more along this thing called "homosexual propaganda" that I know some did jail time over it.
    Although, my knowledge is somewhat outdated. I haven't kept in touch with Russian news for at least 4-5 years now.
  • 3
    @NoMad that law still exists but also there is a law that requires you to notify autoroutes if you move to a different address and stay there for more than 3 months. No one gives a shit, even the cops themselves.

    Strictness of Russian laws is compensated by their voluntariness.
  • 1
    I've sensed someone talking about onlyfans here 🤔🤔🤔
  • 0
    @Jilano random quick question; do you have Russian origins?
  • 1
  • 1
    @unclesam not sure how I should respond. You seem like a pretty nationalist American, so I'll avoid making any comments that could confirm your bias.
  • 0
    @Jilano 🤔 Interesting. Most people I've seen being interested in Russian politics are either of Russian origins or have a Russian partner.
  • 0
    @rutee07 🏹💔 ouch, that hurts.
  • 1
    This was your duck debugging moment mate
  • 0
    @ajinxs if only I had a separate smarter personality to analyze my main personality. It’s hard to analyze your own personality especially when you have a double digit iq
  • 2
    @PrivateGER This. 'theyll keep it separated'

    Sorry but I highly doubt that.
  • 2
    Yay, someone else has seen the light!
    I’m proud of you @uyouthe 😊
  • 2
    @Root to be honest I feel raped now. I was raped for real before and I know what that feels like and this is definitely that feeling

    But it will go away and it’s better than never realizing this all. Thank you, you were the one who convinced me. Only you somehow found the right words.
  • 0
    @uyouthe In the doxxing thread?
  • 1
    @Root yes. I knew that they have the big data and I knew that with big data you can predict everything from opinions to future mental illnesses, but I only realized a connection between these two separate facts once I read your comment.
  • 0
    I am assuming you are praising google, If that's so I agree with you, If not, DDG is not good for many reasons, there whole marketing plan is to boast about privacy and Criticize Google, There primary motive should be to give good search results, and if tracking you helps in that, nobody would mind that
  • 0
    @theabbie man fuck you. Don’t comment on my rants ever again or I’m demanding a restraining order from dfox.

    Just fuck off please.
  • 0
    @uyouthe So you are afraid of valid arguments?
  • 0
    @theabbie where is the valid argument? 🤦‍♂️
  • 2
    Plot twist : a wild theabbie appears!
  • 0
    @iiii Tracking helps google give better results, Knowing your search history helps it predict what you might be searching for. Ignoring the Privacy part and Considering Google just a search engine, It is doing great at what it is supposed to do.
  • 0
    @NoMad I promise I won't stretch this rant too far, I have valid arguments today
  • 2
    @NoMad *random encounter music intensifies*

    theabbie uses absurd enrage

    It's not very effective
  • 0
    @theabbie and DDG does exactly what it claims to do: an unbiased search result not based on your preferences or tracked data. What's wrong with that, huh?
  • 2
    @theabbie I'm gonna be honest, I haven't heard one valid argument from you so far.
    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
  • 0
    @iiii @NoMad Who asked for unbiased search? If you are a Developer and usually search for Programming stuff, and you search for "pointer" chances are greater that you are searching for the pointer used in programming. And if you recently searched for something, and search something related to that you might be expecting similar results. And Location tracking helps refine search results based on location.
  • 0
    @theabbie if i search for a specific thing I'm smart enough to speak to search engine in its language. which means providing more than one keyword which will point to what I exactly mean.

    And I especially don't want local results. I need worldwide results most of the times. Local results are shit.
  • 2
    Also, I propose a new noun and verb to be added to our dictionaries:

    Theabbie (Noun) :: someone who just drops in with random logic from alternative universe. (See *alternative facts*)
    Example: "dude, he's a theabbie."

    Theabbie (Verb: theabbing, theabbied) :: the thing you do when you think you're making sense, but actually you're not.
    Example: "don't you dare theabbing your way out of this discussion! "
  • 0
    @theabbie no offense intended tho. Now you become a legend.
  • 1
    @NoMad so... basically equal to "reductio ad absurdum"
  • 0
    @iiii hold my beer. Lemme Google that real quick...
  • 0
    @iiii woah. That was way above my paycheck. But maybe, notsure, idk, ok?
  • 0
    @iiii Google's motive is to make search as simple as possible, so, users should be able to find whatever they want in the least effort (keywords). And tracking helps when you are searching for something with 0 knowledge about that, in that case you can't add keywords. And, If Google knows your location, and there is some major news in your area, it will help it give priority to that if you search that. Most of users might not be professional at searching, It's for those, otherwise all search engines are similar.
  • 0
    @NoMad Not a legend that people like and admire, I think you mean a villain.
  • 0
    @NoMad wha...? Is that really that difficult?
  • 1
    @theabbie nah, hun. People admire villains. That's part of their charm. You, on the other hand... Have you ever heard of Ed Wood? He was a Hollywood director. There's a movie with his name that Johnny Depp plays in it, I think you might enjoy it.
  • 1
    @iiii idk. Ask me again when I'm not cleaning house and drinking simultaneously. 😜
  • 0
    @theabbie if you have 0 knowledge about something tracking does not help at all.
  • 1
    @NoMad fair enough. should i open my stashed Corona? 🤔🤔🤔
  • 0
    @iiii I don't really mind DDG but this is not good sportsmanship
  • 0
    @theabbie why exactly it's not a good sportsmanship? it's truth. the whole Google's business model is based on data mining
  • 2
    @iiii Now this is a valid point
  • 1
    @theabbie arguments are always welcome but not from you
  • 1
    @theabbie what are you trying to say? Use comprehensive and specific phrases instead of vague hints.
  • 0
    @iiii what else I am supposed to search for finding who created DevRant?
  • 0
    @uyouthe Sorry for all that you had to suffer from previous rants, But I assure you, I have improved. Only if you are unbiased towards my arguments and ignore previous rants.
  • 1
    @theabbie what are you trying to prove? What's your point? How is that even remotely connected to tracking? Who the fuck gave you internet access in a mental facility?
  • 2
    @iiii You went human to Chihuahua in 0.03 seconds 😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
  • 0
    @iiii The point is Google gives better search results, through tracking or otherwise. If someone prefers quality of search results over privacy, they have a better option.
  • 1
  • 0
    @iiii seriously tho, throw out that stash of corona and come get some of this nice German Radler.
  • 0
    @NoMad nah, I like corona. It's light and soft. I do drink some imported german stuff as well, like Warsteiner (dunno if it's considered good or not, but it's ok)
  • 0
    @iiii ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ who cares? You enjoy it and that's what matters.
  • 2
    @iiii we have hundreds of craft beer kinds here in Saint-Petersburg. There is no unified database that has them all, you have to travel from bar to bar to taste them all. I don’t drink beer but people from Europe come here and they really like it
  • 1
    @uyouthe i don't really get the ave around craft beer. beer is beer.
  • 1
    @OneOrZero go to devrant website. There's a link to the team which created the site. On the team's site you can see all the members.

    You don't need a search engine for that.
  • 0
    @OneOrZero the better way to search for information is not relying only on a search engine
  • 0
    @OneOrZero take note that Google's page shows the top result as featured. It's basically a payed result.

    Also the answer there is wrong, as Fox is not the only creator.
  • 1
    @OneOrZero that does come down to text comprehension systems, iirc. It's not just your keywords, rather a system behind engine that links the keywords typed to context. (usually ML stuff, but I'm not sure how Google does it) I don't think ddg has that. Also, google may store indexes on questions and clicks. I don't think ddg has that either.(by principle) It doesn't have anything to do with tracking, as much as it has something to do with being a richer company and investing on monopoly. It's good for normies that Google does it, but doesn't make it "private" specifically.
  • 0
    @iiii If you think featured results are paid results, you don't know anything about SEO. Only featured results are ads and in that too, an "ad" label is written in the result. Also, even if DDG does not show featured result, it should atleast show a page with answers, the top 3 results are not even related to query.
  • 2
    @theabbie please, relieve me of your presence. I'm sleepy and tired. I don't want to deal with you in the meantime.

    If you don't understand tech so much then, please, educate yourself and only then try to argue with someone.
  • 0
    @iiii I know you won't agree with any of my arguments, my only request is that learn to admit that you are wrong. People reading this might believe the false information you gave. If you really want to prove your point, give reliable sources, don't misuse your reputation (if there's any)
  • 1
    @iiii he will continue for as long as you continue. I know it hurts, but you have to stop for the sake of your mental health regardless of how unfair it is. You can't change his mind, so why try?
  • 0
    @dfox Sorry for calling you unnecessarily, This one might interest you
  • 3
    @NoMad I bet dfox obliterating that “unsubscribe from user’s mentions” button rn
  • 1
    What's up with drama occurring whenever that guy shows up?
  • 0
    @PrivateGER This effect is known as "Valid Argument Effect", when a valid argument is against popular opinion, people outrage. I admit, previous rants where baseless, But, this one is biased. Ignore that I said them and just consider the arguments. That might help.
  • 2
  • 0
    @iii Its a good point
  • 0
    Check out StartPage. Google results by a privacy oriented company.
  • 0
  • 0
    @uyouthe Any details/reasons?
  • 0
    @noonesboy they state they pay google. How exactly do they make money if their search is free?
  • 1
    @uyouthe They source the “raw” results from Google but have the same monetization as DDG serving non-tracking ads. No storing of personal data or IP addresses. Ads are based on search term. Even personal preferences for the search engine can be stored in a GET string so no cookies are created- you just load the home page with that string to preserve your preferences. You have the option of sending your query as a POST rather than GET so that your browser history doesn’t contain previous searches.

    My friend is a privacy blogger and hit them pretty hard on their transparency. He was able to interview the CEO and get the details and push them to be more open about this information.

    Dev searches on DDG were pretty frustrating but I do not want to use Google for all the reasons we agree on. Having a privacy oriented company exist as a proxy provides a great solution.
  • 0
    @noonesboy startpage doesn’t let me in with my privacy extensions and my custom dns so no. Your friend is cool though
  • 0
    @uyouthe Can you detail your setup? Both curious for personal use and can ask my friend to get more information about it.
  • 0
    @noonesboy mac, Firefox, no vpn, adguard with full filters, adguard dns, I’m from Russia
  • 1
    @uyouthe I’ll look into this and see if there’s a reason or more information.
  • 1
    @uyouthe Friend says that he uses Adguard as well. Thinking that it may be blocked at the ISP level? Do you get any specific error when you try to use it?
  • 1
    @noonesboy no, just a generic message from them about how they are sorry and an input form for my message to them. I don’t care at this point, DDG completely suffice me
  • 0
  • 0
    Oh fuck. Out of all the people in the world who told me this, this post convinced me in a matter of seconds. Wtf
  • 1
    @theabbie
    lik yo argument ✓✓

    one thing 2 TAKE NOTE OF THOUGH::::
    Barack Obama::"you can't have both privacy and freedom"
    DDG - high privacy✓. unbiased results
    GGL - low privacy. results custom made for yo taste✓

    THE CHOICE IS YOURS
  • 0
    @migpotek tailored results aren't freedom at all.
  • 0
    @uyouthe right. Your being gay or straight has zero to do with your ability to do a job. Though the Russian government seems to think differently I take it?
  • 0
    @stub no. They need the job done — they hire you. That’s it.
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