Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2019 February 23

= February 23 =

The first right response gets the beer
Are there Wikipedia articles which are not found on the first or the first two pages of Google search? I needed probably five examples in each category for my research... The first to get me at least two examples in each category (or more) gets a beer with me and an autographed pic :) Lourdes   09:15, 23 February 2019 (UTC)


 * Your research is based upon a false premise. You seem to be under the impression that Google gives everybody who searches on a phrase the same search results. That ship sailed years ago. The results can change based upon your search history, where you live, which Google data center you end up connecting to, even your operating system and whether you are using a smart phone or a desktop. The algorithm randomly changes the order of results with similar ranking so that something that is 1% more relevant gets seen at the top 1% more often rather than being at the top every time. In addition, there are a bunch of unknown factors that are part of Google's ongoing arms race with people selling SEO services. If Google thinks that you are one of the SEO services or have hired one, they often give you and you alone wildly different results in an effort to mislead you about what SEO techniques are effective. --Guy Macon (talk) 13:08, 23 February 2019 (UTC)
 * Ok ; thanks for the input. So as per you, there would be results for some people which might show the article Drug class not in the first page, and results for some people which would show Fentanyl in the first page? (Does it for you? Where do these results come for you? Just curious). Lourdes   18:35, 23 February 2019 (UTC)
 * Fentanyl: Wikipedia page is the fifth result. Drug class: Wikipedia page is the third result. Viagra: The actual Wikipedia Viagra page (which is a redirect) not in the Google results. The Wikipedia Sildenafil page is is the eighth result. Cockcroft–Walton generator: Wikipedia page is the first result. SpaceX: Wikipedia page is the ninth result. "Aspidura desilvai" (with the quotes): Wikipedia Aspidura desilvai page not in the Google results. Wikipedia Aspidura page is the second result. --Guy Macon (talk) 19:11, 23 February 2019 (UTC)
 * Wow. Thanks. Lourdes   01:29, 24 February 2019 (UTC)
 * How did your Google searches compare? --Guy Macon (talk) 12:18, 24 February 2019 (UTC)
 * , my search results (on the English Google Search, on a new laptop, without signing in, without any search history, and without location trace), they go like this:
 * Fentanyl: last result on the 2nd page
 * Drug class: 1st on 1st (with and without the quotes)
 * Sildenafil: 3rd on 1st
 * Cockcroft–Walton generator: 1st on 1st
 * SpaceX: 3rd on 1st
 * Aspidura desilvai: 1st on 1st (with and without the quotes)
 * Aspidura: 1st on 1st
 * Thanks, Lourdes   01:10, 26 February 2019 (UTC)

Yup. As I expected, different people get different pages at the top of a Google search.

Does this mean that you can't do research on Google ranking? Maybe not. If I was hired to do research on this here is what I would do. Finally, I encourage you to publish your research results on Wikiversity. --Guy Macon (talk) 03:13, 26 February 2019 (UTC)
 * Get two identical laptops and load them with identical software using a disk cloning tool
 * Give them different long, random usernames.
 * Connect them at different physical locations (your house and a friend's house, for example)
 * Communicating by phone, do the same search at the same time ("hitting enter button in three, two, one, go.")
 * Do it a few more times to be sure the results are consistent.
 * If you get different results, you are hosed. You can't do the research.
 * If you always get the same result, then you are gold. Do the same thing with each laptop searching on a different phrase.
 * BTW you would should also see how much the results change if instead of the same time, one laptop does the search a minute, hour, and day later.
 * Advanced research: Are Bing or Duckduckgo more consistent?
 * Thanks Guy. Yes, these are very insightful and I'll discuss them with my guide. Warmly, Lourdes   05:41, 26 February 2019 (UTC)
 * Correct. There is no such thing as "Google Ranking" anymore. Yes. People sell Google ranking services. Yes. People try to increase their Google ranking. No. Google does not give pages a ranking. They show up based on a complicated algorithm that includes everything from where your are located to what you recently posted on Facebook. (Yes, Facebook and Google share user information - as well as many other websites. It is fun. Try it. Get on your friend's computer. Go to Amazon. Search for something like "nipple rings" and then watch as they wonder where those ads come from the next time they go to Facebook.) 64.53.18.247 (talk) 21:38, 26 February 2019 (UTC)

Web Pages Keeping Windows Awake ?
I have Windows 10 set to turn off the screen (when plugged in, but this is a desktop machine) in 10 minutes, and to go to sleep (when plugged in, but this is a desktop machine) in 1 hour. The former feature works fine. If I walk away from the screen for 15 minutes, it is off, but if I move the mouse or tap a key, it comes back on-line. However, if I walk away from the screen or get into bed for several hours, the screen is dark, and when I move the mouse or tap a key, it comes back on-line. I think that is because the Opera browser is refreshing/diddling with the display in the background. If I kill it first, Windows will go to sleep in an hour. Is there a way, short of killing the browser, that I can it to stop playing in the dark? Robert McClenon (talk) 23:26, 23 February 2019 (UTC)
 * Have you tried minimising the browser? If that doesn't work, have you tried opening a new tab with a static webpage (probably the new tab page is fine, but if not, try something like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:RDC ) and minimising the browser? Nil Einne (talk) 06:49, 24 February 2019 (UTC)

Or Bad Puns?
Alternatively, can we have a contest for double-entendre expressions for what it is doing, or even for openly naughty expressions? After all, it is doing its thing in the dark when no one is watching, and we know at least one human activity that is often done in the dark when no one else is watching. Robert McClenon (talk) 23:26, 23 February 2019 (UTC)