| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Is searching the web harder now than it was before? Thread poster: Philippe Locquet
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Philippe Locquet 
Portugal
Local time: 18:42
Member (2013)
English to French
+ ...
Do you have the feeling that it is getting harder to get to what you're searching for on the web? As translators we should know our stuff, but sometimes it's good to search for something specific or look for something on the internet to make sure you match what your client intends. It seems that because of the way things are done at the moment, conflicting interests may mean that it is harder to get to the exact answer you were looking for.
The ins and outs of this are discussed in ... See more Do you have the feeling that it is getting harder to get to what you're searching for on the web? As translators we should know our stuff, but sometimes it's good to search for something specific or look for something on the internet to make sure you match what your client intends. It seems that because of the way things are done at the moment, conflicting interests may mean that it is harder to get to the exact answer you were looking for.
The ins and outs of this are discussed in this video by Gamers Nexus and Level1 techs, I recommend you watch it. It’s not explained in too complicated terms, and it is very informative. https://youtu.be/-vMKm44ypFY?si=JTw_KeSthEDIFo45 ▲ Collapse
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Sorry, I don't have 26 minutes to watch that video, but in my opinion, the only truly significant change to worse in Google happened looong ago with the abandonment of search wildcards (other than "*" for whole words that still remains). I don't like the search engine trying to second-guess me, but this has been going on for quite some time, too. Maybe I am not seeing any changes these days because I never formulate queries in the human language: instead of "What is the population of Ecuador?" I... See more Sorry, I don't have 26 minutes to watch that video, but in my opinion, the only truly significant change to worse in Google happened looong ago with the abandonment of search wildcards (other than "*" for whole words that still remains). I don't like the search engine trying to second-guess me, but this has been going on for quite some time, too. Maybe I am not seeing any changes these days because I never formulate queries in the human language: instead of "What is the population of Ecuador?" I would enter "Ecuador population". I also routinely use quotation marks for literal search, minus sign for exclusion, site: keyword for specific sites and Verbatim mode for filtering the garbage. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Philippe Locquet
Portugal
Local time: 18:42
Member (2013)
English to French
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Anton Konashenok wrote:
Sorry, I don't have 26 minutes to watch that video, but in my opinion, the only truly significant change to worse in Google happened looong ago with the abandonment of search wildcards (other than "*" for whole words that still remains). I don't like the search engine trying to second-guess me, but this has been going on for quite some time, too. Maybe I am not seeing any changes these days because I never formulate queries in the human language: instead of "What is the population of Ecuador?" I would enter "Ecuador population". I also routinely use quotation marks for literal search, minus sign for exclusion, site: keyword for specific sites and Verbatim mode for filtering the garbage.
Yes, I use the same search techniques and I have already configured my computer etc. to see less ads. It may be different too depending on where you live on the planet. So, we may not be affected too much, especially if we already have seasoned search methods
The video refers to targeted result being sometimes featured on page two so you get more ad exposure. That would be interesting to see what others experience - if at all -.
Thanks!
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[Edited at 2024-07-03 17:01 GMT]
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Philippe Locquet wrote:
The video refers to targeted result being sometimes featured on page two so you get more ad exposure.
Thanks to NoScript and uBlock Origin with several filter lists installed in my Firefox, I see no ads at all, even on the most ad-littered sites. Well, maybe one or two a week.
[Edited at 2024-07-03 17:01 GMT]
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Having to click on “tools” to see the number of hits for a word or phrase is a recent PITA.
Wildcards within a word were very handy way back but I’ve learnt to live without it.
The AI algorithm isn’t affecting my work searches noticeably. In fact some of the suggested alternative searches brighten my day considerably.
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Oh yes, forgot to mention another useful browser extension, it's called Highlight or Hide Search Engine Results and allows me to hide search results for sites that have repeatedly proven useless, such as linguee.* or informer.com.
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Anton Konashenok wrote:
Oh yes, forgot to mention another useful browser extension, it's called Highlight or Hide Search Engine Results and allows me to hide search results for sites that have repeatedly proven useless, such as linguee.* or informer.com.
Do you mean this one: Block or Highlight Search Engine Results?
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| I haven't watched the video but I have similar conclusions | Jul 4 |
Searching the web has become more difficult. One of the big factors is that huge part of content has moved from forums like this one, which are open to search engines, to various social media portals which are usually not indexed by search engines.
I also concur with Christopher and the issues he mentions in his post.
Stanislaw
| | | | | Hide, block, same difference :-) | Jul 4 |
Hans Lenting wrote:
Do you mean this one: Block or Highlight Search Engine Results?
My browser still shows it as "Highlight or Hide...", but it seems to be the same, at least it's been written by the same author.
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 19:42
French to English
Christopher Schröder wrote:
Having to click on “tools” to see the number of hits for a word or phrase is a recent PITA.
I had noticed that the number of hits no longer appeared and yes, I was upset with Google.
But now you've told me how to find it anyway, and I'm delighted even though yes it's PITA.
Thanks for the tip Chris!
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Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:42
Serbian to English
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| The main problem is still the same | Jul 8 |
Google was never designed to be used by translators - and still isn't. Not that other search engines are any better in that regard.
It's a right pain in the neck trying to make Google understand that you want results in a different language than your "default language", and that you need results not necessarily from what it assumes to be your "default location" (the country you're in) but from the perspective of some another country.
| | | | | Solutions for country-/language-specific search | Jul 8 |
Daryo wrote:
It's a right pain in the neck trying to make Google understand that you want results in a different language than your "default language", and that you need results not necessarily from what it assumes to be your "default location" (the country you're in) but from the perspective of some another country.
There are several (admittedly partial) solutions for this:
1. Add "site:[country domain]" to the search string ("site:fr" for France, etc.)
2. Switch the preferred page display language in your browser. Don't know about other browsers, but in Firefox you can install an extension to do it directly from the toolbar instead of going into settings menu.
3. If your search term is just one or two words with the same spelling in several languages, add some very common word from your desired language to the search string. Better yet, search for a multiple-word string, e.g. your search term prepended with the proper article or preposition.
4. Use an IP cloaking site or a VPN showing an IP address in your target country.
[Edited at 2024-07-08 13:02 GMT]
| | | | Zea_Mays
Italy
Local time: 19:42
English to German
+ ...
Anton Konashenok wrote:
Daryo wrote:
It's a right pain in the neck trying to make Google understand that you want results in a different language than your "default language", and that you need results not necessarily from what it assumes to be your "default location" (the country you're in) but from the perspective of some another country.
There are several (admittedly partial) solutions for this:
1. Add "site:[country domain]" to the search string ("site:fr" for France, etc.)
2. Switch the preferred page display language in your browser. Don't know about other browsers, but in Firefox you can install an extension to do it directly from the toolbar instead of going into settings menu.
3. If your search term is just one or two words with the same spelling in several languages, add some very common word from your desired language to the search string. Better yet, search for a multiple-word string, e.g. your search term prepended with the proper article or preposition.
4. Use an IP cloaking site or a VPN showing an IP address in your target country.
Also using private window + some methods above could be a good idea. Another method for search in general is using wildcards.
A list and explanations of search operators can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ydVaJJeL1EYbWtlfj9TPfBTE5IBADkQfZrQaBZxqXGs/edit
[Bearbeitet am 2024-07-08 12:52 GMT]
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