[HN Gopher] Tell HN: (dictionary|thesaurus).reference.com is now...
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Tell HN: (dictionary|thesaurus).reference.com is now a spam site
I use it all the time, so this must be recent.
Author : akkartik
Score : 38 points
Date : 2025-06-29 18:36 UTC (4 hours ago)
| mdaniel wrote:
| I'm just curious: does your local dictionary and thesaurus lack
| some feature that those sites used to provide for you? Maybe I'm
| just in a privileged position because the dictionary and
| thesaurus Spotlight integration is so handy, and I'd bet that
| Windows doesn't have nice things, or if they have them they're
| now also enshittified
| tgv wrote:
| There's no such thing in a Windows installation as iOS and
| macOS offer out of the box. There are apps, though, available
| via the Microsoft Store. A free one, called Oxford Dictionary
| and Thesaurus says this in its privacy policy:
|
| III. Types of personal data collected
|
| 3.1 While using our Service, we may ask you to provide us with
| certain Personal Data. The categories of Personal Data may
| include, but are not limited to:
|
| * First name and surname
|
| * Country and country code
|
| * Email address
|
| * Phone number (if applicable)
|
| * Habitual residence (if applicable)
|
| * Google, Facebook, Huawei, Microsoft and/ or Apple credentials
| and profile pictures (if applicable)
|
| * Billing and payment data - credit or debit card number, bank
| account information (if applicable) and information about
| payments
|
| So, yeah.
|
| * Cookies and Usage Data - device type, device ID and/ or IP
| address, crash logs data, diagnostic data, music files data and
| other information as clarified below (if applicable)
|
| * Communications and content, including audio, video, text
| (typed, inked, dictated, or otherwise), in a message, email, or
| chat (if applicable).
| tacostakohashi wrote:
| It's really depressing that such obvious, classical
| applications for computers like replacing paper dictionaries,
| phone directories, etc. basically can't exist because if they
| did, they'd have to be enshittified into tools for
| advertising or surveillance.
| loloquwowndueo wrote:
| Gee you make it sound like Windows and macOS are the only games
| in town :)
| hackyhacky wrote:
| Good point. There is also a VMS dictionary:
| https://docs.vmssoftware.com/vsi-openvms-dcl-dictionary-a-m/
| dougb5 wrote:
| I learned of this when users of my dictionary search site
| (OneLook) started complaining. I'd been in contact with folks
| from dictionary.com in their early days, and I've watched its
| rise and fall with curiosity. If whoever owns reference.com now
| is reading this, I'll buy it from you and I can promise to honor
| its original mission as I have with OneLook -- make me an offer.
|
| FYI dictionary.com and thesaurus.com are still available on their
| original domains. I believe that, under prior ownership (IAC),
| they consolidated the traffic of their properties under
| reference.com in order to get higher audience numbers in ComScore
| and hence better ad deals. It's baffling to me that they
| (apparently) either let the domain expire or sold it to a
| spammer. It's accrued brand equity since 2008 -- and no doubt a
| lot of backlinks, for whatever that's worth now.
| treetalker wrote:
| In the last few years I've snatched inexpensive used copies of
| the 1942 Webster's New International Dictionary (unabridged --
| Nabokov's favorite) and the Compact OED (2nd ed.). Couldn't be
| happier.
| burnt-resistor wrote:
| I once found an unabridged OED c. 1984 ed. on the side of the
| road in Los Gatos CA with only the cover missing.
| rjh29 wrote:
| I recommend WordHippo ( https://www.wordhippo.com/ ) as a one-
| stop shop for word stuff.
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(page generated 2025-06-29 23:02 UTC)