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JoshTriplett · 2011-12-21 00:37:41

I can't argue with that. But its placement as the default search engine goes a long way towards ingraining it into people's heads.

bumblebritches5 | karma 17 | avg karma 0.04 · | 2020-09-17 12:42:49+00:00

Good, It's been my default search engine for a few years now.

dmitryminkovsky | karma 4589 | avg karma 5.24 · | 2019-03-26 12:08:58+00:00

Not as good as google, but it still makes sense to make it (or something else) your default search engine for those 99% of times it actually works just fine.

__loam | karma 1729 | avg karma 1.13 · | 2023-12-27 20:03:49

It kind of sucks ass at being a search engine though considering how often it straight up lies or makes things up.

endtime | karma 6487 | avg karma 2.92 · | 2010-01-27 08:22:29+00:00

You're assuming everyone is better off with Google as a default search engine. Seems like a pretty strong assumption.

paulddraper | karma 16686 | avg karma 1.72 · | 2017-04-24 02:02:31

But it's only that way because each internet user has decided to prefer that search engine.

It's different than, say, Facebook.

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dr_zoidberg | karma 1814 | avg karma 1.95 · | 2022-12-03 06:24:23

In principle, you're right. But many people have been toying around with it since its demo release and many have touted "it's better than google" or "google is fu*ed" and so on with regards to using it as a kind of search engine. So what happens is that many more people start to use it as a search engine, disregarding entirely what it was made for. Then they complain when they can't get their hammer to place a screw without breaking their table (:

johnnydoebk | karma 232 | avg karma 2.8 · | 2016-09-08 19:25:32+00:00

It's not a search engine. But the search engines it is based on provide surprisingly good results. So, I would be careful with the statement that "other search engines are not even close to Google".

I think that's just a matter of habits. Initially, it feels a bit unusual and maybe even uncomfortable to use not the search engine you've got used to. But after some time you understand that now Google is the one that is uncomfortable for you.

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Valkhyr | karma 452 | avg karma 5.08 · | 2021-09-20 19:46:14

Fair enough.

I tried it out under the assumption that it was an attempt at a better mainstream search engine, but I guess I should have paid deeper attention to the name :-)

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jdofaz | karma 576 | avg karma 2.04 · | 2020-12-01 16:53:00+00:00

I'll think of this when people say google is the best search engine.

dotcoma | karma 5585 | avg karma 3.02 · | 2011-08-17 06:26:47+00:00

How many of you are using it as your default search engine? I am. I don't think it's as good as Google, but I think it's good enough, some things are useful, like the quick links, and at least the user interface is cleaner, there is no stupid auto-complete etc.

poxrud | karma 551 | avg karma 2.65 · | 2023-02-14 13:06:27

In the context of replacing a search engine, it is the correct use.

Izkata | karma 8171 | avg karma 1.58 · | 2024-02-15 13:42:06

Most people I've seen are using it as a replacement for google search. Its genericness is the killer feature.

NoImmatureAdHom | karma 890 | avg karma 1.49 · | 2022-04-15 15:37:57

tbh I find it to be better than Google

duncan_bayne | karma 4002 | avg karma 1.91 · | 2017-07-20 06:16:18

While technically true, using Google as your default search engine goes a long way to that goal.

donaq | karma 1569 | avg karma 2.74 · | 2010-03-24 20:44:16

After the obligatory vanity search yielded positive results (this rarely happens because I'm a nobody), I'm giving it a one week trial as my default search engine.

[Edit] It seems to be giving way better results than Bing. Nice to see that smart dudes in garages can still give megacorps a run for their money in their own backyards.

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big_blind | karma 22 | avg karma 1.0 · | 2022-05-16 14:27:51

site:reddit just is the best search engine at this point. I still don't like Google though.

bryanlarsen | karma 33883 | avg karma 3.16 · | 2011-09-16 10:41:33

Defaulting a search engine isn't evil. But it's substantially less good than providing user choice the way google does everywhere else.

But not providing that choice based solely on a user's location, that's worthy of criticism.

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newscracker | karma 8020 | avg karma 3.79 · | 2018-04-23 09:11:44+00:00

Most people don't know that there are other options. Even among those, most people choose Google because they believe it's good and because they're are used to it. Google being the default search engine in many browser deployments across platforms and countries also cements its position further among the common crowd.

ams6110 | karma 28057 | avg karma 2.52 · | 2017-05-20 21:36:56+00:00

It really is as good as google for most things, in my experience. I use it by default and when it can't find what I'm looking for, Google usually doesn't do much better.