In an age of LLMs, is it time to reconsider human-edited web directories?
Back in the early-to-mid '90s, one of the main ways of finding anything on the web was to browse through a web directory.
These directories generally had a list of categories on their front page. News/Sport/Entertainment/Arts/Technology/Fashion/etc.
Each of those categories had subcategories, and sub-subcategories that you clicked through until you got to a list of websites. These lists were maintained by actual humans.
Typically, these directories also had a limited web search that would crawl through the pages of websites listed in the directory.
Lycos, Excite, and of course Yahoo all offered web directories of this sort.
(EDIT: I initially also mentioned AltaVista. It did offer a web directory by the late '90s, but this was something it tacked on much later.)
By the late '90s, the standard narrative goes, the web got too big to index websites manually.
Google promised the world its algorithms would weed out the spam automatically.
And for a time, it worked.
But then SEO and SEM became a multi-billion-dollar industry. The spambots proliferated. Google itself began promoting its own content and advertisers above search results.
And now with LLMs, the industrial-scale spamming of the web is likely to grow exponentially.
My question is, if a lot of the web is turning to crap, do we even want to search the entire web anymore?
Do we really want to search every single website on the web?
Or just those that aren't filled with LLM-generated SEO spam?
Or just those that don't feature 200 tracking scripts, and passive-aggressive privacy warnings, and paywalls, and popovers, and newsletters, and increasingly obnoxious banner ads, and dark patterns to prevent you cancelling your "free trial" subscription?
At some point, does it become more desirable to go back to search engines that only crawl pages on human-curated lists of trustworthy, quality websites?
And is it time to begin considering what a modern version of those early web directories might look like?
Ich persönlich empfinde es als mysteriös, dass es bei Bluesky so lange dauert, bis es "fertig" ist. Für mich bleibt das offene Fediverse, das viel größer als nur Mastodon ist, die einzige öffentliche Kommunikation Lösung. Das erst bereit sein für angemeldete FrühuserInnen ist plumpes Marketing, da anscheinend nur Priviligierte Zugang erhalten.
Ist irgendwas im #Internet verhasster als #Captchas? Müssen ja was bringen, denkt man sich, sonst wären wir sie doch längst los. Denkste. #Bots lösen sie schneller und liegen öfter richtig:
Fast immer schneller, immer korrekter: Bots schlagen Menschen bei Captchas
Eigentlich wollte eine Forschungsgruppe ermitteln, wie lange Menschen für Captchas brauchen. Herausgekommen ist, dass Bots damit besser klarkommen.
Thinking in scenarios, what would europe / NATO do if Russia decided to damage /destroy most undersea cables which are essential for our internet and networking in Europe? They have the undersea capabilities, it would not trigger a nuclear war. What would/could we do in response ? #Geopolitics@geopolitics#underseacables#internet#russia#eu#NATO
Two more questions that I would love to hear perspectives about (either or both):
1- what do you see as the biggest ways the #Internet potentially contributes to #ClimateChange ?
2- what do you see as the ways the Internet can help address #climate issues or find solutions?
For me I think for 1 it’s the general need for electricity, and specifically power(and water)-hungry data centers. For 2 it’s remote working, and the sharing of ideas, research, sensors.
The internet has been fighting over what to call those tubes of clear plastic, filled with rainbow-colored ice in flavors that don't appear in nature (blue raspberry, anyone?). Here's a look at the online battle. What do you call them — and if your favorite name isn't on the list, comment and tell us where you're from!
My thoughts about The Verge's article, The people who ruined the Internet and Danny Sullivan's response, and the conversation swirling around #SEO and the suckiness of the #Internet.
Ideally, I usually prefer to promote good news, as opposed to bad news, especially when I am passionate about a project or development. I am a firm believer in both herd mentality and self-fulfilling prophecies.
I want to make it clear, my primary web browser of choice is still Firefox and I still regularly contribute to Mozilla.
But as I said, and I hate to write this, Mozilla Firefox is in trouble.
Do NOT, under any circumstances, link to any of the websites listed here!
"You may not provide a link to this website from any other website without first obtaining Associated’s prior written consent."
"You may only link to our Web site or mobile application with Our express written permission."
"Users may not link any other website to the Website without obtaining the prior written consent of Office of His Majesty’s Coroner for the City of Sunderland."
Welcher Internet Browser ist "sicherer"?
Gute Frage und nicht simpel zu beantworten, doch nach meiner Auffassung ist es Firefox und weniger der sehr beliebte Chrome Browser.
So viel ich weiss, gibt es den Firefox länger und hat doch (knapp) weniger bekannte, so wie meistens behobene Schwachpunkte. Weshalb glauben so viele lehre Versprechungen von Konzerne?
OC What are some of your most frequently visited websites?
Aside from (formerly) Reddit and (now) kbin, what are some of your favorite go-to websites, whether for information, wasting time, etc?
How to Kill a Decentralised Network (such as the Fediverse) (ploum.net)
Everyone who’s into the fediverse concept should read this article.
FCC chair: Speed standard of 25Mbps down, 3Mbps up isn’t good enough anymore (arstechnica.com)
Chair proposes 100Mbps national standard and an evaluation of broadband prices.
Biden administration announces more new funding for rural broadband infrastructure (apnews.com)
The Biden administration is continuing its push to bring internet connectivity to every home and business in the U.S.
Who killed Google Reader? (www.theverge.com)
Google Reader was supposed to be much more than a tool for nerds. But it never got the chance.