I agree with you that online conversations are rare these days. Just my personal opinion but social media isn’t usually great for conversations. It’s better for shallow comments, drive-by’s, and echo chambers. Social media also tends to steer toward blind comments, so there is a lot of repetition. Forums seem to be better for conversations because there’s often a emphasis on reading the entire thread before commenting, there is more moderation, and also because they tend to accrue replies more slowly. However if a thread becomes too long then forums break down too, so nothing is perfect.

Thanks! I think I prefer startpage.com (which I only just learned about due to this thread) because it doesn’t redirect to google.com. But this is also good to know about just in case.

I’m trying to get real, specific examples.

Asking for unnecessary specifics and details is usually a sign not that the person wants to be helpful but that they disagree and are looking for ammunition to argue and feel superior. Ultimately the exchange becomes a waste of everyone’s time, as the person inevitably becomes rude, condescending and argumentative. Basically, some people online think they’re smarter than everyone else, or at least want to project that. They believe they have the only valid argument and they’re going to prove it to the world and probably think that they’ve won because they had the last word when in reality everyone left because they realized the person was not arguing in good faith. I’m not claiming you’re that type of person, but I suspect that’s why nobody is giving you specifics.

Wouldn’t have mentioned anything but you did ask.

I’ll have to try out !g, thanks a lot!

EDIT: Tried it and it just redirected to google.com. I was hoping it would have kept me on DDG for privacy and just presented a first page of results or something like that.

EDIT 2: Startpage is great! This will be my go-to when DDG doesn’t work out.

I had no idea what it was. When I saw the mention of US bans I decided it was safer not to search the term.

Gemini is already creeping me out with all the personal information Google is injecting into the AI context. So far I’ve seen my name, location and if I remember right, which vehicle I drive. Who knows what else is in there. I use DDG whenever I can, but sometimes a Google search is the only way to actually find something, so I see the Gemini junk as I’m scrolling down.

Is there any way to have that info deleted and no longer collected or used by Google? Or is that kind of thing only for the lucky people in Europe?

EDIT: Found it here: https://myactivity.google.com/product/gemini?hl=en-US

What’s ccp hacking? Afraid to search it.

Skydio, Skynet. Dammit Cameron, not again.

I reflexively downvote any comment that begins with “I mean”.

Mental checks sound good in theory, but such things are actually counterproductive. People actively avoid getting help if they think they might get in trouble because of it. Also, mental health is not a scientific and solved field. It’s highly subjective. Your mental health requirement would almost certainly result in more deaths, including suicides, by people who were afraid to go to therapy.