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SV_BubbleTimeyesterday at 10:27 PM2 repliesview on HN

“We don’t censor results”… well…

Either that is completely bullshit, or it’s technically-bullshit.

1. They don’t have to censor because their sources censor for them. “Oh we’re just an aggregator of censored results” doesn’t mean “this is an uncensored search engine” like the claim would have you believe.

2. Proof of this is evident in by comparing Russian yandex.com, my now go to for anything related to hacking, pirated anything, topics of censorship or controversial discussion, even “legit” but rarer information like how to train or use X or Y AI model, etc. The domains that appear on yandex remind me a time gone by. Like image search before Pinterest, unreliable but not sterilized.

3. I use DDG everyday. In the last year or so, I have found myself going to Google, Bing, Brave, Yandex, SearX, and other more than ever. The quality of DDG has for me, unquestionably slipped. I have a strong distaste for Google, and have used them this year more than ever.

They are not uncensored, although maybe they allow that burden to be done for them to keep their nose high in their air on the topic.

However, I fear it may be a moot point as I find myself looking elsewhere often now.


Replies

yeggtoday at 12:07 AM

It's neither, see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46259466 I just made.

If you see results missing, I'd be happy to look into them. My email is in my profile.

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majorchordyesterday at 10:39 PM

Sounds like their claim was technically-correct and you even acknowledged it... I don't see a problem with DDG itself in this aspect.

Why do you feel that the actions of a search provider(s) should be reflected so negatively and angrily on the aggregator?

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