Web Search--Google
Source: The Register Google's Removal of Web Content
Maybe it's censorship or maybe it's a business deciding how to handle a situation? You decide. Seth Finkelstein documents the situation regarding Google's removal of a text only web page containing sick, VERY sick, content. The page contains no images. Protests from people in Chester, U.K. protested enough via phone, fax, and e-mail that Google to remove the material from their database. The page was ranked number two and surrounded by pages promoting tourism in Chester. The actual page is still on the web. Simply go to AltaVista, AllTheWeb, and the Inktomi databases. Let me repeat, this page is not funny and is in very bad taste. Nevertheless, if Google (or any engine) is going to remove specific text pages or entire sites because someone doesn't approve of them, I would imagine more pages are on the way out. It's very easy to forget that the search engine business is just that, a business. Yes, you can paid for an ad or per url to have a page indexed but that still doesn't gurantee where the page will fall in the results list. As much as the public thinks that Google is "the" answer, it's not. Google is a business, it's not a library. Would a library collect the material on the page in question? Hardly. However, if libraries removed books or pages from books because someone or some group didn't like what they had to say we would have a major problem...The good news is that you have choices. If you don't like a web engine for whatever reason(s) (content, politics, advertising, etc.) try another. Actually, that's not a bad idea regardless of your feelings. Also, develop your own collection of web sites and have them handy. Use non-commecial tools like the LII, Infomine, and RDN. They're not only useful as directories but work very well as collection building resources. See Also: The Full-Text of Seth Finkelstein's Report
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