Google! Your worst enemy!

Narj

Narj

Narj

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Joined
19 Feb 2010
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Over the past few weeks, I've discovered that google can actually be a complete ******* nightmare and can make your life hell.

EXAMPLE 1: Linux Mail Server

Google result: lots of walkthroughs by people who don't understand what attention to detail means.

I spent 2 days trying to set something up and after bashing my head against the wall, decided to just RTFM and work things out /troubleshoot myself. Funnily enough, things now work.


EXAMPLE 2: I wanted to use a non-standard transciever in cisco equipment.

Google: YES! This is fine... just put in this command...

Me: Hrm... not so sure. Let's google cisco's website.

Me: Looks legit.. Let's test on several platforms beforehand in a lab.

*input command on live equipment*

NOOOOOOOOO FFS! MAJOR OUTAGE!!!!!!!!

I'm sure I can't be the only one..
 
I could never be mad at google, I type in "glorious knockers" and I am presented with glorious knockers. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
 
Narj said:
Google result: lots of walkthroughs by people who don't understand what attention to detail means.
Click to expand...

50% of which are probably on Yahoo Answers, which is one of the most painful sites to read on the internet. I've never seen any forum type interface with so much bad/lazy/ill-informed/misleading/throwaway/useless/annoying advice.
 
To be fare Yahoo answers isn't all that terrible. I've often found some well written explanations to technically specific things there.

Of course you're more likely to find topics such as 'How is babby formed' which overshadow everything else.
 
Google search algorithms are terrible these days. Ever since Panda update, it just glorifies junk, spam and group lamah rantings like ask.com or yahoo answers. Instead of actually trawling for content on the internet, google these days rely entirely on optimisations. Which large corporations producing a lot of spam will do and actual content or document writers, will not.
 
Narj said:
EXAMPLE 2: I wanted to use a non-standard transciever in cisco equipment.

Google: YES! This is fine... just put in this command...

Me: Hrm... not so sure. Let's google cisco's website.

Me: Looks legit.. Let's test on several platforms beforehand in a lab.

*input command on live equipment*

NOOOOOOOOO FFS! MAJOR OUTAGE!!!!!!!!

I'm sure I can't be the only one..
Click to expand...

*input command on live equipment* Sackable offence - why didn't you lab it first?

EDIT:- its seems you did - how is Google at fault?


Nate
 
Google may be a suspicious activity monolithic international organisation...

...But they have the most comprehensive suite of web development tools, for free, of any operation on the internet. They are literally the most awesome thing on the web.
 
My love for Google has waned of late with the slow wind down of service and eventual removal of Google Reader.
 
Personally I use Google quite a bit at work in a similar sort of way to the OP and don't really have any real problem with it ... But I don't follow blindly the results for technical queries and use them, as input to my own investigation on how to do something. For instance I was working out how to do something with DNS servers at the end of last week, a search gave me a page where someone had done what I wanted to do but the page was pretty awful ... but gave me enough pointers to figure out the answer for myself more quickly than going to the documentation.

There is definitely a nack in getting good technical results out of Google, especially in choosing the right search terms. I work with several people who will try and find information for half a day and get nothing but other who will find the same info in seconds.
 
Nate--IRL-- said:
*input command on live equipment* Sackable offence - why didn't you lab it first?

EDIT:- its seems you did - how is Google at fault?


Nate
Click to expand...

When people want stuff working yesterday you have to do your best to accomodate their needs within reason. :)

Not really Google's fault but I could have easily trusted what other people had posted and blamed it instead of my own stupidity. :p
 
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