The dark times are here, but there are ways in which we can thrive in the digital wasteland

My thoughts on the #futureoftheinternet, #digitalfreedom, #freedomofinformation, and #accessibility–with some #FOSS and #anarchy thrown in, of course.

I absolutely welcome comments and feedback offered in good will from the informed minds gathered in this particular digital space #Lemmy #Fediverse #keepsmesane

  • Michael H. JenkinsOPEnglish
    5•4 days ago

    How would you suggest using the internet without search engines, and can that be accomplished in a way that is accessible to the average person?

    • @just_another_person@lemmy.worldEnglish
      8•4 days ago

      The very design of the Internet is just a bunch of interconnected servers, and search engines just consolidate access to that. I don’t need that to reach my bank, or pay my bills online, or even to find code I’d like to use. They make it easier, sure, but name one site you go to that doesn’t have its own localized search built-in? My grandmother just needs to know how to do the things she needs to do, and that all works fine for her. My friend spends hours just link hopping on Wikipedia for no reason. My neighbor wants to find the best deals on whatever new thing he wants to buy, okay, you’ll probably need a search engine for that. Different use-cases.

      Your writeup is presupposing that everyone NEEDS the latter kind of usage on the Internet, and that just isn’t the case. The use of a search engine is totally optional when you’re describing the Digital Divide, which is more about access to information and services being a human right. I don’t think the founders of that concept had Netflix and Amazon shopping in mind.

      • Michael H. JenkinsOPEnglish
        9•4 days ago

        Thank you for that insightful response. I appreciate you taking the time.

        • @just_another_person@lemmy.worldEnglish
          8•4 days ago

          Yeah, thanks for the writeup. It was a good read. You’re creating the kind of content you want to see more of, and we should all be doing more of that.

    • @pantyhosewimp@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
      3•4 days ago

      I’m not the person you are replying to but I do have one answer.

      The Library of Congress should be tasked with maintaining a searchable index of Internet and World Wide Web sites. No ranking. Your skill at finding sites would be related to your skill with writing search queries

      If you recall Altavista from the late 90s, I am thinking of something like that