From 593afaf492f0ec3f4b87957aedd8de1e73a6aa4e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Elba Badilla Date: Sat, 26 Sep 2026 16:25:17 +0800 Subject: [PATCH] Add Reply to is DuckDuckGo, DuckDuckDone? --- Reply-to-is-DuckDuckGo%2C-DuckDuckDone%3F.md | 9 +++++++++ 1 file changed, 9 insertions(+) create mode 100644 Reply-to-is-DuckDuckGo%2C-DuckDuckDone%3F.md diff --git a/Reply-to-is-DuckDuckGo%2C-DuckDuckDone%3F.md b/Reply-to-is-DuckDuckGo%2C-DuckDuckDone%3F.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fc4863d --- /dev/null +++ b/Reply-to-is-DuckDuckGo%2C-DuckDuckDone%3F.md @@ -0,0 +1,9 @@ +
Noted 2022-05-25 by Seirdy on their Website. Reply to Is DuckDuckGo, DuckDuckDone? I read your article and share similar concerns. Using Microsoft Bing and Google Search’s commercial APIs generally requires accepting some harsh terms, including a ban on mixing SERPs from multiple sources (this is why Ixquick shut down and the company pivoted to the Google-exclusive Startpage search service). But the requirement to allow trackers in a companion web browser was new to me. Most of these agreements are confidential, so users don’t really get transparency. On rare occasions, certain engines have successfully negotiated exceptions to result-mixing, but we don’t know what other terms are involved in these agreements. I’ve catalogued some other engines in my post A look at search engines with their own indexes, and there are many alternatives that don’t have this conflict of interest. Most of these are not as good as Google/Bing when it comes to finding specific pieces of information, but many are far better when it comes to website discovery under a particular topic.
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Mainstream engines always seem to serve up webpages carefully designed to answer a specific question when I’m really just trying to learn about a larger topic. When using an engine like Marginalia or Alexandria, I can find "webpages about a topic" rather than "webpages designed to show up for a particular query". One example: I was using Ansible at work just before my lunch break and I wanted to find examples of idempotent Ansible playbooks. Searching for "Ansible idempotent" on mainstream search engines shows blog posts and forums trying to answer the question "how to make playbooks idempotent". Searching on Alexandria and source code forges turns up actual examples of playbooks and snippets that feature idempotency. SEO is a major culprit, but it’s not the only one. Forums posters are often just trying to get a question answered, but search engines rank them well because they are optimized to find answers rather than find general resources. In short: DuckDuckGo and other Google/Bing/Yandex competitors are tools for answering questions, not tools to learn about something. I’ve tried to reduce my reliance on them.
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Many broken belief systems that exist do so because of a misinformed understanding of how the world works through naive idealism, with various special interests paying to syndicate misinformation that coincides with their current business model to foster culturally constructed ignorance - agnotology. It is not a bubble. This time is different. Who was behind that lie? The bankers, the mortgage brokers, the Realtors, bond raters, hedge funds, construction companies, media running real estate ads, local government tax revenues, current home owners who kept seeing their "savings" go up while doing nothing. Some of those people did not intentionally aim to be deceitful, they just believed a convenient lie that fit with their worldview. And so the bubble grew until one day the fraud was so integrated into society that there was simply nobody left to sell to. Then the bottom fell out. The rule of law was SELECTIVELY & arbitrarily enforced against a few, even while companies that made [sworn statements](https://search.usa.gov/search?affiliate=usagov&query=sworn%20statements) admitting to doing literally millions of times more damage were not penalized, but rather bailed out / promoted.
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Bowen testified on April 7 before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission created by Congress. The rule of law only applies to those who lack the resources needed to subvert it. Socialism for the rich, capitalism for the rest! Wachovia was a strong brand. A true pioneer and market leader in the drug money game, which funneled over 1/3 TRILLION Dollars onto the hands of drug dealers. For the crime they got a slap on the wrist. There was no jailtime. There was no [honest attempt](https://topofblogs.com/?s=honest%20attempt) at the rule of law. The same is true online. Those who exhibit desirable characteristics are promoted & those who do not fit such a frame are left to fight amongst other losers in the market. Being grounded is not a way to get positive headlines. Saying that the web is becoming just like the fraud laced offline world would be considered in poor taste. If you manufacture evidence that your LinkedIn votes are directly tied to better Google rankings then outsiders who are unaware of the workings of your industry may syndicate that misinformation.
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Even if you run a public experiment that fails it still shows you are trying new things (are cutting edge), and is a low cost branding exercise. Just like how MLM folks say you can get rich by using the same system they used to get rich. Everyone wants to sell a life worth living, even if they are not living that life, but rather sentenced to life in prison. Most profitable belief systems sell into an existing worldview but with a new hook on it. Most new marketing approaches are all about pushing the boundaries of what exists, probing to find the edges. Some people do it on the legal front, others probe on the ethical front, and yet others are just more creative & try to win by using technologies in unique ways. If you never fall off a cliff and never have any hate spewed your way then you are likely a bland [TopSourceMedia.com](http://kuhpedia.de/index.php?title=Unlocking_The_Power_Of_SEO:_A_Guide_To_Enhancing_Your_Online_Presence) marketer who hasn't done very much.
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