Post AXlbMLMhnCzepheqhs by eaton@phire.place
 (DIR) More posts by eaton@phire.place
 (DIR) Post #AXlbMJU4mphWzz5huy by eaton@phire.place
       2023-07-16T20:09:14Z
       
       2 likes, 10 repeats
       
       The failure of the Internet to deliver its promise is particularly noticeable when you hunt for repair manuals for a product from the 90s. Used to be, the information would either be there or not there, finable or unfindable.Now, there are hundreds of algorithmically generated sites claiming to have it just because it appeared in their search logs, generating potemkin village content traps with endless paging, broken-thumbnail named-like-the-file-you-want but actually-just-ebay-photos bullshit
       
 (DIR) Post #AXlbMLMhnCzepheqhs by eaton@phire.place
       2023-07-16T20:10:31Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       Even if you find the manufacturer's site it’s more likely than not broken, with a search feature that pulls up what it claims are results but empty divs instead of links, or busted jQuery code from 2013 that prevents anything from loading.Is it a real but broken site? Is it just another click farm? Does it matter?
       
 (DIR) Post #AXljdHRwP3NDFGh55k by bioluminescently@disabled.social
       2023-07-16T20:23:17Z
       
       1 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @eaton This is also why it's such a problem that independent websites are now falling so far down search engine rankings. When I was younger, if you had a problem with A Thing from a larger category of Things, you'd go to a website run by some Thing Enthusiast or group of them, and look your Thing up in the site's index or inbuilt search box. If it wasn't there, you'd post on the site's forum and another Thing Owner might help. But now... good luck even finding out that indie site exists.
       
 (DIR) Post #AXlkcZQw9cSogZRw6C by lanodan@queer.hacktivis.me
       2023-07-17T00:55:29.090528Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @bioluminescently @eaton Did you give https://search.marginalia.nu/ a try for this kind of use case?
       
 (DIR) Post #AXlliIOIWyKDWLVcS8 by tyler@1611.social
       2023-07-17T01:08:10.482486Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       That's what IPFS was supposed to fix but it kind of sucks too.Forums, too, many lost forever.Good thing there's archival autists around that saved that kind of stuff.