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0 pointsmatthiaswh15y ago0 comments

Not all spam is so obvious, both in email and search results. These are all assumptions, but I think it's safe to say the average person identifies the email 'Grow your Pe Nis like a Woman' (true story) as spam. However, the less obvious 'Enter to win a trip to Hawaii' still fools many people. Think about how effective the 'I am a Nigerian Prince that needs help out of my country and then I will give you 1.2 million dollars' scam has been over the years.

With search results, the spam is more often than not Made for AdSense sites that the average user doesn't realize are pure garbage. Then there are the mass-produced content sites like eHow that most technical people realize are worthless, but the average user loves. It isn't often you see Viagra sites popping up in searches for woodworking. It does happen occasionally though.

So no, I am pretty confident a majority of users would not utilize effectively a feature like that.

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3 comments · 1 top-level

nervechannel15y ago· 2 in thread

Frankly, I'm not fussed whether the majority of users would use it right.

I posted this as an entirely self-serving request for a way to make my results cleaner.

Also: If the majority of users do like eHow, then that's a sign it's not spam. But a lot of 'power users' consider it spam. This is an argument FOR personalised blacklists, not against them.

bambax15y ago

Exactly. The point is that users who consider eHow useful, don't filter it, and users who do, do. Let the user decide instead of doing it for them.

SimonPStevens15y ago

That's the point. It might make your results clearer, but it doesn't solve the problem for good original content producers which is the real issue here, not the individual.

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