How does the internet annoy YOU!! (1 Viewer)

[MarkHastings]

I used to think the internet was a great place to find information...and while it still is, it has become SO bloated that it has almost become easier to find information offline than online.

For example: I was doing a search for Dilbert quote because I was looking for one in particular...so I went to yahoo and searched for "dilbert quotes"...

If you notice, there was a Dilbert Quote contest from a newspaper...If you go through the 'hits' EVERYONE basically stole that newspaper story and posted it on their site.

After going through the first 200 hits (i.e. 20 pages worth), I found myself viewing the SAME DAMN THING on everyone's site!!! What's the point in trying to find information when you have to find the one web site that is different than the 10,000 duplicate web sites??

Trying to find anything helpful is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. It seems like it would be quicker to watch the entire series of Dilbert (on DVD) to find that quote, then to find it online.

So, does anything bother you guys this much?

 

[Holadem]

nm

 

[Alon Goldberg]

Yikes.. who still uses Yahoo? Google will provide far superior search results:

http://www.google.com/search?q=dilbert+quotes

 

[MarkHastings]

I do! I hate Google.

Besides, Google provided the same endless list of "Magazine" hits. :frowning:

 

[Alon Goldberg]

You are the very person I've ever heard say they hate Google! I'm intrigued now.. what do you hate about Google?

 

[drobbins]

I still think the internet is good for a wealth of information, but I am wondering about the search results also. I mainly use Google & Yahoo. With over 10,000 results coming back I often wonder what is on the sites that I don't check. 90% of the time a get what I think I am looking for on the first page, but is there something better on page 437? A lower price maybe? Who decides what page is shown first? Is the one with a better web designer or better products or info?

Dave

 

[Chris Lockwood]

Where would you go offline to search for Dilbert quotes? A stack of newspapers?

 

[MarkHastings]

I was saying, it would be quicker to find it in my DVD's. Yes, I realize that the internet is a great source of info, but sometimes the 'clutter' is a bit annoying.

 

[Seth=L]

Try webferret, my dad hates google too. He raves about webferret. I tried it and didn't like it very much. Maybe it only works for some people.

 

[Greg_R]

Try "Dilbert TV quotes"...

 

[Garrett Lundy]

*Too many standards. Why won't video from website X play on my computer? I need a different media player, which doesn't do anything different than my current one., whats the point?

 

[Paul D G]

Teens and pre-teens clogging up message boards is what drives me nuts.

Say I want to read comments on a movie I just saw so I check out IMDb and it's full of "d00d! That movie rawkd!" or "your a moron, it sucked ass!" and so on. The ability to leave and read comments on sites like IMDb and Amazon are great and useful tools but, like anything, can be rendered completely useless by a bunch of adolescents (mentally, more so that physically).

-paul

 

[Yee-Ming]

Speaking of message forums, the use of either leetspeak, which fortunately is rare, or now rising in prevalence, SMS (text) lingo. I mean, SMS lingo serves its purpose when you are constrained to a 12-key pad on your phone, and back then it was limited to only 160 characters a message, but on a full-blown forum, with a full-size keyboard at your disposal, can't you type out your message properly? Sheesh.

Having said that, I used to not bother with capitals at the beginning of sentences in forum posts (this one included, so if you trawl back early enough you'll find them ) but for some reason or other -- I think it was a discussion right here in AHL on on-line etiquette -- I now dutifully use my caps key when required. Which of course is still anathema to one particular HTFer whose name escapes me right now, but I do recall just a few days (or a week or two) ago the fact of his refusal to use caps came up (in response to someone else who "shouted")...

 

[MarkHastings]

Yeah, I used to read the Yahoo discussions on the news stories, but it has evolved into a wasteland of moronic teens calling each other names and spreading racial hate, etc.

What a waste. :frowning:

Even YouTube is becoming this way...all the comments are just bashings towards other people and ads.

 

[MarkHastings]

Oooo, here's another one: User Reviews!!!

The fact that any moron can post a user review, makes reviews worthless. I've seen so many reviews where someone gave the product a bad review due to their own stupidity. It sucks because these morons can give make a "good" product look real bad.

One of the most offending examples...I kid you not, this was an actual review...was when I was researching Creative MP3 players. Some morons actually posted a bad review because he said he threw it at his friend and now it doesn't work. He blamed the MP3 player. So this player now had a negative review in its corner, due to this moron. :rolleyes

That's why I believe that online reviews are worthless.

 

[TonyD]

i dont use caps here very often.

what bugs me about the web? hmm.

only things i can think of quick are forum discussions sites.
the one that allow petty bickering and name calling insteaed of usefull information. this has been happening over at avs for the last year or so and always at dvdtalk.

other thing is topic titles that dont offer enough info. for example/

"HEAVEN'S GATE special edition"

 

[Seth=L]

Lets hope they don't find the forums.

 

[BrianW]

The Internet is a series of tubes...

 

[Mike Frezon]

Mark: If I didn't know better (actually I don't! ), I'd swear you were a radio call-in show host just saying stuff to see what kind of reaction you can get!

I think Users Reviews can be very helpful. If you rely solely on salespeople for information, you're doomed. So where to turn next? Friends and family who have used the product/service. What if you don't know anyone? Internet user reviews have been a great help to me for purchasing items such as a DVD Recorder and a Harmony Remote Control...among many other non-HT-related products.

In you very own example, which leads you to conclude that on-line reviews are worthless, you cite the guy who threw the mp3 player at someone and said it didn't work after that. Can't you just red-flag that review as useless but take heed of those that seem well-written and well-thought-out and rational? You just gotta separate the wheat from the chaff.

I look at such reviews on amazon.com all the time. It doesn't take much to figure out which writer knows what they're talking about and which ones don't. I'm always grateful to those well-informed consumers who have taken the time to share their experience/knowledge on the topic-at-hand.

Now...what bothers me about the internet...outside of the cost which is, I suppose, arguably a great value considering the vast amount of resources brought to your desktop? I suppose the worst things are spam and things like tracking cookies, etc.

 

[MarkHastings]

But there were several other DUMB reviews of the product which gave it a low score. I was on one of those "CNET" type sites and the player was near the middle to bottom of the list because they sorted it by user review scores. The MP3 Player was great, but it got lost in a sea of 'dumbass' reviews.

And as far as red flagging bad reviews, with practically 90% of reviews (IMHO) being 'useless', it's so hard to find the 10% that are actually worth anything. Hence the annoyance with me and online user reviews. I prefer to read the reviews from those people who know what they are talking about. Everything else is just useless bitching.