That's why I use Adblock. I don't see stuff like that.

You don't see stuff like that if you login and support the site...;p

 

I don't recall every site now, but there were other instances of "Google" omitted sites that Yahoo found/displayed.... that is (one of the reasons) why I stopped using it.

There has been a 5 - 6 year time lapse... those results were not returned when I searched. 

All this proves is that Pat and John have since become Google clients

... in which case, I'm gonna give 'em the third degree and a right royal telling off.  

 

How are you able to post of the forum without logging in? I've never seen those ads.

Screencap whilst logged out...;)

While I don't know all the details of the circumstance, and I certainly haven't read all of this thread, it seems to me that regardless of your views of Google's ethics, it is simply good business sense to make sure their business comes up in a Google search. (How's that for a run on sentence?)

NotbadbutI'veseenbetter...;)

And this right here is why you earn the big bucks

For those of you that think Bing does not show ads or think MS doesn't act just like Google look at this. See the ads?

For those of you that think Bing does not show ads or think MS is as bad as Google look at this. See the ads?

Hotmail has ads as well.

Argueing which is more evil is a bit moot. It's  a search engine and personally, if you put sensitive information in the hands of others you probably deserve what's coming to you. If you're ranting about google spying on you while trusting microsoft you're an idiot. I've found that Bing doesn't search any better than google, and in some cases worse. I also hate the screen trash that Bing gives me. Form <or= Function. Not the other way around.

 

Also, I found this fun. I did some personal searches and got mixed results, it's still worth a thought though.

 

 

I don't think anyone is making the claim that Bing does not show ads.

I'm trying to prove to Starkers that MS is just as bad as Google when it comes to data mining and ads.

I'm also trying to tell him that Google is not as bad as he thinks.

 

I think anyone will be hard pressed to accurately compare the two when it comes to how much is data mined. In any event, the conversation seems to have moved on from that to Google's tendency to omit web sites that don't give them money from search results. It's not like Google's bad reputation on this (and on their very shady data mining practices) is ill deserved.

Well in the case of China the government had Google omit the results so it really isbn't Google's fault.

I've never heard of Google omitting results here in the US. I always find what I'm looking for.

I am reminded of Starkers saying that he didn't believe Microsoft data mined because he never saw evidence of it in his personal use.  Just because you are unaware that it happens, in light of numerous people stating that is does along with specific examples, doesn't mean that Google does not omit results.

Kona...

Google had a choice....either maintain ethical standards of honest communication of information via unbiased [unaltered] search

or

bend to the demands of potentially the biggest single market on the planet.

They chose profit over ethics.

That is all.

Well be that as it may I still like Google.

I like Google too. You just won't see me trying to defend them in any debates regarding their business practices.

It's not about 'like'....

Use the service, [I do], but don't be blinded with some illusion that the information you get/reach is NOT modified in order to better some, at others' expense.

Sadly, any competitor to Google will likely have to follow a similar business model as it clearly works for Google.

Bit like War, really....

The first casualty is truth.

Thanks for the advice Jafo.

I need NO proof that MS data mines.... but having NO access to either the MS or Google data banks, it'd be nigh impossible to 'prove' is as bad or worse than the other.  My criticism of Google is based on what I saw/see... obnoxious ads on just about every web page... google analytics prying into my surfing habits, etc.

Oh yeah, on the personal data thing,,, my niece did a google search on her estranged father a while back and she tells me it turned up all sorts of things she never knew about him.  Hmmm, makes you wonder???

You'll be trying 'til you're blue in the face.... ain't gonna happen.  Google is as bad as I think... probably worse.

I didn't say that I didn't believe it....

... MS may very well data mine, but I have not been targetted with any key-word generated ads/promos or anything else within my hotmail. Yes, before installing AdBlock Plus, I used to see the generalised web page ads that everyone else got, but those were more likely the result of clients paying for the space than any data mining on me.  So my point is not to deny/refute that MS data mines, but rather to state that I believe Google to be more invasive/intrusive/in your face than MS.

 

Some people refuse to believe the truth even when it's right there in front of their face.

Shall I take a screenshot of my Gmail Starkers? Very few ads. Just one line above the email I'm reading. And that ad has nothing to do with my email.

So in reading through all the replies it would appear that the forming of ones own opinion is not allowed.  Well at least not after the first opinion is form by whomever. 

Keep in mind that opinions, for the the most part are formed from our individual experiences and earh of ours can be very different.  What is presented to us as the truth and fact are usually not factored in,  That is human nature, and why we all have different opinions on every subject ever talked about.

Are there things that still are true, yes, the sun does rise in the East and set in the West.  Just about anything else can be debated.

This is my opinion and I'm sticking with it, no matter what.