Posted on 05/10/2010 10:54:33 PM PDT by Chances Are
From Scroogle (enter a search term, hit enter, and this is the message you'll see....)
We regret to announce that our Google scraper may have to be permanently retired, thanks to a change at Google. It depends on whether Google is willing to restore the simple interface that we've been scraping since Scroogle started five years ago. Actually, we've been using that interface for scraping since Google-Watch.org began in 2002.
This interface was remarkably stable all that time. During those eight years there were only about five changes that required some programming adjustments. Also, this interface was available at every Google data center in exactly the same form, which allowed us to use 700 IP addresses for Google.
That interface was at www.google.com/ie but on May 10, 2010 they took it down and inserted a redirect to /toolbar/ie8/sidebar.html. It used to have a search box, and the results it showed were generic during that entire time. It didn't show the snippets unless you moused-over the links it produced (they were there for our program, so that was okay), and it has never had any ads. Our impression was that these results were from Google's basic algorithms, and that extra features and ads were added on top of these generic results. Three years ago Google launched "Universal Search," which meant that they added results from other Google services on their pages. But this simple interface we were using was not affected at all.
Now that interface is gone. It is not possible to continue Scroogle unless we have a simple interface that is stable. Google's main consumer-oriented interface that they want everyone to use is too complex, and changes too frequently, to make our scraping operation possible.
Over the next few days we will attempt to contact Google and determine whether the old interface is gone as a matter of policy at Google, or if they simply have it hidden somewhere and will tell us where it is so that we can continue to use it.
Thank you for your support during these past five years. Check back in a week or so; if we don't hear from Google by next week, I think we can all assume that Google would rather have no Scroogle, and no privacy for searchers, at all.
— Daniel Brandt, Public Information Research, scroogle AT lavabit.com
We'll know in a week or so whether or not we lose another chunk of what makes the Internet, and it's users, special.
Any idea where else we can go to preserve privacy in searches?
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I did a search and found nothing.
I hope I've posted this in the right area.
Admin/Mods: If I've misplaced this, please place it where suitable by your standards, and accept my apologies.
CA....
Ping.
Damn. Now it’s back to Startpage and Ixquick..
Enjoy what’s left of the Internet.
The communists are tightening their grip.
Dang, and I had just found Scroogle, too! :(
I must be getting old, because I have no idea what Scroogle or a “scraper” is.
I looked around couldn't find it.
That hacks me off. I switched to Scroogle a few months ago and loved it. WTH? This seems to be not just a ‘simple’ change but a targeted attack (imo) but I’m not savvy regarding the nuances of the tech world. I just use what’s there. I won’t go back to Google; no privacy and we’ve been told never to expect it and we don’t have a ‘right’ to it.
Their no doubt in bed with the current marxists.
I’m with ya, Yardstick! I’ve been online sine ‘94, and this is the first time I’ve heard of Scroogle. What exactly IS Scroogle? Scraping?
looks like the google monster is concerned about “ITS” privacy.
I liked scroogle.
thanks.. I see why. I have heavy fingers (an extra key shouldn’t have been there)
FYI: your link to us2.startpage.com says it’s powered by itsquick.
Wasn’t mine.
I was just trying to help fix someone else’s link.
Well, I did a search since I have never used the site (web guy since 1993) and what they seem to do would tick me off if I was Google.
They are taking away Google’s ad revenues or did I miss what they do completely?
If I took DrudgeReport and stripped away all ads and news links and pushed it out, wouldn’t that seem wrong?
For secrecy, use anonomizer and you shouldn’t have an issue.
Big Brother is watching.
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