You noticed how google search became unusably shit a few years ago
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@jeff They weren't always.
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@jeff Thereabouts.
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@ocean If that is not enshittification as defined by @pluralistic...
@wonka @ocean @pluralistic And in fact @pluralistic has an excellent series about this at: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/1353-understood/episode/16142603-introducing-understood-who-broke-the-internet (or what I'm sure will be excellent - I've only listened to the first so far)
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@WandererUber @m0xEE @ocean I don't think I've ever encountered a machine-assisted translation system, but I distinctly recall thinking I hit the jackpot after jacking the early translation software that I do believe debuted during the latter nineties. I know that this was one of the rare occasions where I absolutely did not procrastinate for a second. and immediately started IMing (on the great AOL Superhighway built by the Great Steven Case, PBUH) as many people I could in the great nations of France and Germany. Although the responses ran the gamut from utter revulsion to a few who died laughing at their keyboards, they were universal in politely asking to please stop this madness - whatever I may have thought I was saying in German or French was anything but, and this software could only be useful if my intent were to convince the native speakers that the the Tower of Babel really did fall directly on top of my head.@bigmattoidchimpin@annihilation.social @WandererUber@poa.st @ocean@raru.re
Ha-ha-ha-ha! Yeah, that's exactly why I called it machine-assisted translation — it wasn't a translation per se, more like a rough draft to work with. If you were doing translation commercially it could save you some time, but you still had to speak both languages to work with it. Software like that often included tools for proofreading and additional dictionaries you could plug in as it couldn't even detect the context — the field the text is from and you had to give it a few kicks in the back to get better results: that's a medical text, that's an engineering article, etc. Using wrong dictionaries could give you really funny results
The technology later got adopted in a more mainstream way, but the results were… yeah, like that 🤭
When I use Google Translate via SimplyTranslate today I get thrown back to those days: like WTF is this?!!! This word obviously has different meaning in this context! I'm using it to translate posts in foreign languages on Fedi and it's still somewhat usable for that, but in its current form I sure won't be using it to write comments in foreign languages. I'm just not confident about the results AT ALL
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@Cyrillic@lab.nyanide.com @ocean@raru.re
Noticed that too! I'm keeping no cookies — they are getting cleaned up as soon as I close the tab, Google should know nothing about the region. The IP addresses I'm using are detected either as US or as Polish in all the GeoIP databases, and yet Español… where did THAT come from?
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@lispi314@udongein.xyz @prisixia@mk.absturztau.be @ocean@raru.re @cwg1231@defcon.social have you guys heard about books?
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@lispi314@udongein.xyz @prisixia@mk.absturztau.be @ocean@raru.re @cwg1231@defcon.social have you guys heard about books?
@Stellar @prisixia @cwg1231 @ocean Inconvenient things to duplicate, it was an actual job for a reason.
Difficult to access remotely as well. Rather problematic with a pandemic (to say nothing of unrelated logistical hurdles). It wouldn't be so bad if institutional ageism didn't make so many libraries age-gate postal loaning & returns behind being elderly or disabled with papers to prove it (accessibility challenges? What's that?
), when they provide it at all.
All the things I name have solutions yes, but they also are not applied for reasons unknown to me. -
@Stellar @prisixia @cwg1231 @ocean Inconvenient things to duplicate, it was an actual job for a reason.
Difficult to access remotely as well. Rather problematic with a pandemic (to say nothing of unrelated logistical hurdles). It wouldn't be so bad if institutional ageism didn't make so many libraries age-gate postal loaning & returns behind being elderly or disabled with papers to prove it (accessibility challenges? What's that?), when they provide it at all.
All the things I name have solutions yes, but they also are not applied for reasons unknown to me.@prisixia@mk.absturztau.be @cwg1231@defcon.social @ocean@raru.re @lispi314@udongein.xyz if the library doesn't have a book you want to borrow or copy anna's archive probably has it
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You noticed how google search became unusably shit a few years ago?
Turns out that was on purpose@ocean Do you have a link to that info on Google that you can share? Thanks in advance.
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@prisixia @ocean @Stellar No libraries anymore, at least not in the USA. Libraries are also much slower to update information & don't have the obscure topics alot of people look up, such as how to install pyssnshit (everyone's favorite python script), or the history of the use of sewing machines in Australia. Any libraries that are still operational are going to be horrifically underfunded & not even have a card index to search them with, & with certain governments restricting access to certain written knowledge (Germany 1940s, USA 2020s), alot of very important things that libraries have are about to disappear. Libraries may have been the backup plan when the Internet failed at one point, but now the Internet is the backup plan for libraries failing, but the most important parts of the Internet are failing at the same time. I have not heard well of libraries in other countries either. For most places in the world it may be fine, but for many they aren't a solution.
@jackemled @prisixia @ocean @Stellar
The US has one of the strongest network of public library systems in the world.
There have been forced closures and reduced funding around the country, yeah; but thousands of public libraries in the US continue to exist. Some with increased local support to keep up with rising costs. Almost all libraries in this century use digital catalogs based off database matching for searches and have staff that will pick up a phone to call contacts for obscure resources like for specialty books at universities. Many have suscriptions to journals and teaching services. Visiting a library regularly increases knowledge sharing as the staff, patrons, and event hosts swap info from shared interests.
I get the feeling, tho, that you're talking about a near future where the federal government has taken over the state goverments and its companies have corrupted all digital systems? Or, what are you describing?
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@jackemled @prisixia @ocean @Stellar
The US has one of the strongest network of public library systems in the world.
There have been forced closures and reduced funding around the country, yeah; but thousands of public libraries in the US continue to exist. Some with increased local support to keep up with rising costs. Almost all libraries in this century use digital catalogs based off database matching for searches and have staff that will pick up a phone to call contacts for obscure resources like for specialty books at universities. Many have suscriptions to journals and teaching services. Visiting a library regularly increases knowledge sharing as the staff, patrons, and event hosts swap info from shared interests.
I get the feeling, tho, that you're talking about a near future where the federal government has taken over the state goverments and its companies have corrupted all digital systems? Or, what are you describing?
@shadowfals @prisixia @ocean @Stellar Maybe I'm not seeing it because I'm in a very conservative area & constantly hearing about threats to city & state libraries in other places. In my home town too our libraries weren't great & never got anything digital besides one desktop computer meant for accessing one state research paper library & nothing else. I haven't been home for a few years so I'm unsure how they're doing now, but I doubt any books about gender or sexuality are still there with the local politics. Libraries will always be important resources, but books are fundamentally fragile devices that can't be easily duplicated & distributed out of control like digital information.
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@shadowfals @prisixia @ocean @Stellar Maybe I'm not seeing it because I'm in a very conservative area & constantly hearing about threats to city & state libraries in other places. In my home town too our libraries weren't great & never got anything digital besides one desktop computer meant for accessing one state research paper library & nothing else. I haven't been home for a few years so I'm unsure how they're doing now, but I doubt any books about gender or sexuality are still there with the local politics. Libraries will always be important resources, but books are fundamentally fragile devices that can't be easily duplicated & distributed out of control like digital information.
@shadowfals @prisixia @ocean @Stellar It's more like the present & my worries for the very near future. The Library of Alexandria was burned by the Romans, & I don't see why it can't happen again to any library, especially since it has happened again numerous times.
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You noticed how google search became unusably shit a few years ago?
Turns out that was on purpose@ocean Indian CEOs. Every time.
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You noticed how google search became unusably shit a few years ago?
Turns out that was on purpose@ocean On my quick scroll through the replies, I don’t see anyone mention this article; Zitron tells the whole story;
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You noticed how google search became unusably shit a few years ago?
Turns out that was on purposeNo surprise there.
And that is why I keep DuckDuckGo at the ready. I can't tell you how many times I've found what I need there after coming up empty handed with Google.
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You noticed how google search became unusably shit a few years ago?
Turns out that was on purpose -
You noticed how google search became unusably shit a few years ago?
Turns out that was on purpose@ocean it backfires because I've since moved to other engines and ai
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@realestninja @ocean thanks
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You noticed how google search became unusably shit a few years ago?
Turns out that was on purpose
I just want a decent search. I don’t find alternatives (most often relying on Google or bing results) to be all that better. Pls someone capable do something 