956
Google Search Really Has Gotten Worse, Researchers Find (tech.slashdot.org)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
293 comments fedilink hide all child comments
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 45 points 2 years ago* (5 children)

Just tried looking up if it’s safe to light a fireplace fire after having had a sinus surgery. (It’s very cold here in Seattle tonight and I had septoplasty/FESS/turbinate reduction yesterday afternoon.)

All my results were about smoking cigarettes and a result for whether it’s okay to box after surgery. Not a single source to suggest a fire being safe or not.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 10 child comments
    •
  • [–] 17 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    This is why I use Bing Chat for specific questions.

    "Hello, this is Bing. I’m sorry to hear that you had sinus surgery and that you’re feeling cold. 😟

    According to some sources, it’s best to avoid exposure to smoke, dust, and other irritants after sinus surgery, as they can interfere with the healing process and cause inflammation. Therefore, lighting a fireplace fire may not be a good idea for your recovery."

    Bing Chat provides sources to the claims so you can verify:

    https://www.realself.com/question/cambridge-ks-pain-sinuses-weeks-after-fess-surgery https://www.healthline.com/health/phantosmia

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    That is really good to know! Thanks so much for the heads up on this! Never knew this was a thing.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 15 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Your story is obviously anecdotal but I think it pretty much aligns with what what we've all experienced. You search for something and get results for something else. You change your search to try to get results you asked for and get........ literally the exact same results. It's infuriating.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    For me the specific question remains unanswered. There are a lot of results about the health effects on respiration, but none about specifically after a sinus surgery. Might be a question so specific that the internet at large has no answer to it.

    What I do not get (on Google, search from Germany) is what you describe, my results are all relevant on the first 3 pages barring 2 results about the surgery instead of the fireplace.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Yep. It might just be a really weird ask. Like… no one has ever considered it. Meanwhile, I’m sitting here without a fire.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Can't you ring up your usual doctor to ask? Or well, I guess you'd need to call a lung specialist, but they ought to be able to answer that, no? Or your surgeon who did the surgery.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Well, I have an ENT that performed the surgery, but he’s not available overnight for questions.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    No the surgeon isn't available to talk to, but you can call and speak directly to a ENT department nurse for after surgery issues. This is a far better option than ANY search engine answer.

    Use the right tool for the job.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    What about DuckDuckGo?

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    DDG uses Bing's results. Bing has deteriorated less than Google but it's also becoming worse every day.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 6 child comments
    •
  • [–] 0 points 2 years ago (1 child)
  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago

    That page is pretty misleading, though: it's mostly talking about 'Instant Amswers' which is its AI (presumably) paid partnership answer bot thing at the top of the results. Further down, it says: "Of course, we have more traditional links and images in our search results too, which we largely source from Bing."

    So, although they don't use Bing exclusively, that's where the majority of non AI-answer-bot stuff is coming from. And I'm guessing the AI is Bing/Microsoft powered anyway, although I can't be sure.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent