[Gllug] [OT?] Please sign my Google petition ...

[Mike Brodbelt]

On Mon, 2004-06-07 at 14:06, Richard Jones wrote:
> ... if you believe in it, of course.
> 
> http://www.PetitionOnline.com/googhtml/petition.html

While I agree entirely with the idea of promoting open standards, and by
extension W3C compliant websites, I can't help but think what you're
advocating is a terrible idea. The Google search engine exists to
provide a service to its users, and that service is that of being able
to locate information. While I might wish all websites followed W3C
standards, reality is that many do not. This however, does not lessen
the value of the information they contain to someone who is searching
for it.

Google already promotes many good things, and while I don't always agree
100% with everything they do, I do feel that they try to "do the right
thing" most of the time. If what you're advocating came to pass, I think
that rather than persuade websites to move toward W3C compliance, you
would instead persuade search engine users to move away from Google.
Weakening Google in this area would only strengthen Microsoft. 

When you command 75%+ of a market, and your users are victims of your
lock-in tactics, you can afford to sacrifice compatibility to move in a
direction you choose, assured that users will have little choice but to
follow (though they will come to resent you for it). When your users are
not locked in to your product, and the nature of that product means that
switching is as effortlessly simple as changing a bookmark, you don't
have the luxury of alienating them by prioritising something that
frankly, most of them don't care about.

I agree with what you're trying to achieve, but asking Google to
undermine their search for it is madness. Push for equal accessibility
on websites, educate users about alternative browsers, educate
webmasters about accessibility requirements, and maybe persude google to
include a "W3C" approved logo on search results that do validate, on the
grounds that webmasters who care may produce better sites. Asking them
to slant their search results to fit your agenda is however, just as bad
as Microsoft slanting the MSN search results to fit their corporate
agenda, and I think few of us would have any hesitation in decrying that
sort of behaviour.

My 2p worth,

Mike.

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