Google Hoses One of My Favorite Search Tricks, Offers Feedback Option

One of my favorite Google tricks is -- WAS -- using a stopword as a wildcard in a phrase. Since Google doesn't support wildcards it was the only way to find phrase variations; searching for "three of mice" would find three blind mice, three red mice, etc.

Google, drat it, has gone and fixed that. Now Google automatically enables stopwords in phrase searches -- searching for "three of mice" finds one result -- a page that contains the phrase "three of mice."

This trick came in incredibly handy; I'm sad Google fixed it -- unless this means that Google is going to enable actual wildcard searching. How about it, Google? Google? Oh, Gooooogle....

Update: A reader informs me that the stopcard-as-wildcard search still works if you use "the" as the stopcard. Thus, "three the mice" will find three blind mice, three purple mice, etc. Using periods and an ampersand will also work, says another reader -- three.&.mice -- but I found this gave slightly different search results to some of the test queries I ran.

Just to make things interesting Google is also adding 21 stopwords in simplified and traditional Chinese. Next week they'll be adding 56 German stopwords.

If you're not satisfied with the results you get doing a Google search, Google's now offering you the chance to give some feedback. At the end of every search result you'll find a link which reads "Help us improve." Click on the link and you'll be taken a form that allows you to check reasons the search wasn't helpful (off-topic, offensive, etc.) provide a link you expected to find in the search, or just make some general comments about the search. An interesting idea; I'd be afraid of getting overwhelmed with feedback, considering how popular Google is.

Posted to Search Engines-Google