X Nations

X Nations (http://www.xnations.com/index.php)
-   General Webmaster Business and Discussions (http://www.xnations.com/forumdisplay.php?f=2)
-   -   GOOGLE'S Blacklist of Words (http://www.xnations.com/showthread.php?t=27681)

TheLegacy 09-30-2010 08:37 AM

GOOGLE'S Blacklist of Words
 
http://www.2600.com/googleblacklist/

Google has opened itself up to a potential PR problem, because some of these omissions will be at best bewildering and at worst offensive to particularly sensitive (or progressive) users who don't understand how Google Instant actually works.

For example, "bisexual" and "lesbian" are among the restricted words. Type them in to Google and the instant search will immediately stop delivering new results. You have to hit enter to confirm, yes, you really do want to know about something in some way related to bisexuals or lesbians.

Why did Google block these words?

You can still search for these terms. The issue is that when you type them, Google Instant stops reporting results on the fly, and you must hit "enter" to see results.

That happens because Google Instant doesn't just use what you've typed to display results. It reads data collected over the years about previous users' searches to predict what you're going to type.

It's the same algorithm that handles auto-complete, or the Google Suggest pop-ups in the old, not-so-instant Google search. Google searches only display for the exact text that you've typed after you've hit enter.

When results fail to appear after you've typed "lesbian" or "butt," it's not because the results are being censored. Google is struggling to prevent the text of offensive searches users have made in the past (there have been other controversies on this subject before) from jumping up in front of you when you're looking for something innocuous.


http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/web...ex.html?hpt=C2

rhetorical 09-30-2010 01:44 PM

Now that is interesting....I tried it.

Evil Chris 09-30-2010 03:26 PM

I'm not sure why it's a potential PR issue.


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 09:29 PM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.3
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
2013 - xnations.com