Mojeek. not impressed

General project discussion.
Use this as a last resort if your topic does not fit in any of the other boards but it still on-topic.
Forum rules
This General Discussion board is meant for topics that are still relevant to Pale Moon, web browsers, browser tech, UXP applications, and related, but don't have a more fitting board available.

Please stick to the relevance of this forum here, which focuses on everything around the Pale Moon project and its user community. "Random" subjects don't belong here, and should be posted in the Off-Topic board.
User avatar
tingo
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 4
Joined: 2022-06-10, 09:57

Mojeek. not impressed

Unread post by tingo » 2022-06-10, 11:02

I've been using eTools as a meta search engine for years, but unfortunately it doesn't provide for image search. So I thought that for this purpose Mojeek could replace DDG, which I've had reasons to be unhappy with of late. However... these screenshots say it all:

1 eTools (Malouma Douma is a personality from Mauritania)
2 Mojeek
3 Mojeek adding Google to the list in the settings.

As said, I'm not impressed.
1.jpg
2.jpg
3.jpg

User avatar
Moonchild
Pale Moon guru
Pale Moon guru
Posts: 35474
Joined: 2011-08-28, 17:27
Location: Motala, SE
Contact:

Re: Mojeek. not impressed

Unread post by Moonchild » 2022-06-10, 12:10

I'm not sure what you expect us to do about it :)
Mojeek is an alternative engine with its own index. Independence from Google/Bing also has a cost in terms of search coverage. Them offering Google and Yandex as options if you can't find what you are looking for in their index is normal. DDG does the same (through bangs, etc.).
If you're not impressed and it doesn't work for you, then feel free to not use it, eh? :)
"Sometimes, the best way to get what you want is to be a good person." -- Louis Rossmann
"Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past; wisdom is of the future." -- Native American proverb
"Linux makes everything difficult." -- Lyceus Anubite

User avatar
tingo
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 4
Joined: 2022-06-10, 09:57

Re: Mojeek. not impressed

Unread post by tingo » 2022-06-10, 13:58

Moonchild wrote:
2022-06-10, 12:10
then feel free to not use it, eh? :)
Certainly will. It's just that apart from the lack of image searches, I find the Swiss engine to be a much better option in terms of https://www.etools.ch/searchSettings.do|the selections it offers (4 settings x 17 search engines), while offering the same level of protection and privacy.

User avatar
Moonchild
Pale Moon guru
Pale Moon guru
Posts: 35474
Joined: 2011-08-28, 17:27
Location: Motala, SE
Contact:

Re: Mojeek. not impressed

Unread post by Moonchild » 2022-06-10, 20:13

Well you can't compare an aggragator with an independent search engine.
In addition, the way it prioritizes certain engine results over others will give you Google and Bing biased results (with plenty of redundancy and overlap by also pulling data from search engines which are fronts for Google and Bing), which is exactly what Mojeek is providing an alternative for. Very likely you won't see Mojeek results in the aggragator on the first page of results... :think:
"Sometimes, the best way to get what you want is to be a good person." -- Louis Rossmann
"Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past; wisdom is of the future." -- Native American proverb
"Linux makes everything difficult." -- Lyceus Anubite

User avatar
tingo
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 4
Joined: 2022-06-10, 09:57

Re: Mojeek. not impressed

Unread post by tingo » 2022-06-10, 21:58

That's quite possible, but my personal bottom line, whatever the tool is called, is that when I do a search I want some real results. So, from my one and only attempt: between one non-result with Mojeek and 16 relevant results out of 20 with eTools (curiously, all from Brave, whereas DDG's 3 are all non-results), it's obvious which one I would use. Btw., the last entry is precisely that non-result from Mojeek.

User avatar
Moonchild
Pale Moon guru
Pale Moon guru
Posts: 35474
Joined: 2011-08-28, 17:27
Location: Motala, SE
Contact:

Re: Mojeek. not impressed

Unread post by Moonchild » 2022-06-10, 22:48

Considering what you said, please understand:
If you're searching for obscure data (and only getting 16 results would certainly be classified obscure!), then you can't expect Mojeek to perform as well as an aggregator. That's just not how it works. When you search for obscure data, the only thing that matters is the size of your search pool. In comparison, Mojeek's index is a relatively modest size as far as main search engines are concerned, and would therefore not fit your types of searches.

I.e.: use the best tool for your job. Being unimpressed by the performance of a tool not suited for your job is entirely predictable. The same would go for trying to use household scissors to try and cut a copper sheet: you can maybe make it work but you'll be unimpressed by its performance for that task. Making a thread here complaining about that performance is a bit disingenuous, IMHO.
"Sometimes, the best way to get what you want is to be a good person." -- Louis Rossmann
"Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past; wisdom is of the future." -- Native American proverb
"Linux makes everything difficult." -- Lyceus Anubite

User avatar
tingo
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 4
Joined: 2022-06-10, 09:57

Re: Mojeek. not impressed

Unread post by tingo » 2022-06-11, 10:04

Moonchild wrote:
2022-06-10, 22:48
When you search for obscure data (...).
I'd agree with your analogy, except for the fact that most people are able to tell the difference between a sheet of paper and one of copper. Whereas determining ahead of time whether some data is obscure or not? Matter of fact, it turns out that Malouma Douma has just been the object of an hour-long program and interview on France's national broadcaster, that she has her own Wikipedia entries in 15 languages, several albums on Spotify, etc. Not really what I'd call "obscure", although the paucity of results seem to indicate that she possibly was "obscured" for also being a political opponent in Mauritania.

So, considering that my searches tend to focus on such "obscure" matters, I don't think that we'll get much further in this discussion. I only opened the thread because you were quite adamant when you introduced Mojeek, which I had never tried before, as a companion to Pale Moon. Now, the fact that Mojeek is useless for my purposes certainly doesn't make Pale Moon and your work less worthy of my gratitude. And btw., you'll probably be pleased to hear that eTools.ch has now added a 21st result to "Malouma Douma": this very thread, through DDG and something else called Lilo.

User avatar
Moonchild
Pale Moon guru
Pale Moon guru
Posts: 35474
Joined: 2011-08-28, 17:27
Location: Motala, SE
Contact:

Re: Mojeek. not impressed

Unread post by Moonchild » 2022-06-11, 10:36

tingo wrote:
2022-06-11, 10:04
I only opened the thread because you were quite adamant when you introduced Mojeek, which I had never tried before, as a companion to Pale Moon.
I was not Adamant about it at all. I just offered it as an additional default search engine. I also said "give it a try" in the release notes, which is in no way making any claims or statements about its usefulness for anyone or for any particular workflow.

But I'm actually done with this discussion here. It's clear no amount of explaining the nature and status of Mojeek will actually make you understand more, so I'll just take this as a complaint aimed at the wrong party.
"Sometimes, the best way to get what you want is to be a good person." -- Louis Rossmann
"Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past; wisdom is of the future." -- Native American proverb
"Linux makes everything difficult." -- Lyceus Anubite

Locked