Karim Abou ZeidMar 30, 2024
Nathan Lawrence

Imagine if every time you looked up anything in the Yellow Pages or encyclopedia, there was this big section at the top of the page called "Notes from Gary" where some guy named Gary who seems to know about 20% less than the average person just sorta gets to say whatever he wants about the subject, no matter how irrelevant it is.

This is what it's like to use Google now.

Mar 29, 2024 at 10:28pmWeb
Show threadamykharMar 29, 2024
@nathan I miss the old Google. Even their ads weren't awful. They were small text boxes with a link or two, and they were usually even relevant. I actually used to set my ad blocker to not block their ads.
Show threadChris WhoMar 30, 2024
@nathan Framing this.
Show threadDarwin WoodkaMar 30, 2024
@nathan ayup. can't find a thing.
Show threadShawn Wildermuth (🇺🇦++)Mar 30, 2024
@nathan That's why I've been using ChatGPT (et al.) when I need information not a website.
Show threadveeteeMar 30, 2024
@nathan also, you just earned Gary a nickel
Show threadAndrew KennardMar 30, 2024
@nathan now my wife wants to document examples of this in the wild with #ThanksGary
Show threadkurtshMar 30, 2024

@nathan This genuinely made me laugh out loud.

Man, I hate Gary. 😂

Show threadDavid NashMar 30, 2024
@nathan @mirabilos Gary as a Service (GaaS for short).
Show threadenistelloMar 30, 2024
@nathan Gary doesn't read too well, so a lot of his answers also point readers to videos that might contain relevant information but, regardless, are a way Gary can show adverts for his uncle's animal husbandry side-hustle.
Show threadi_give_u_wormsMar 30, 2024
@nathan
my experience is more like the first 40% is autogenerated text, and unfortunately,
the background I need to discern what's fake is sometimes missing, I use google to look up things I don't entirely know the answer to.
Show threadDJ SundogMar 30, 2024
@nathan fucking gary.
Show threadRealGene ☣️Mar 30, 2024

@nathan
I was reading a thread that was boosted from a few years back about building a reliable high voltage transient generator, because the author found that a "USB killer" for sale wasn't robust enough to survive its own discharges.

And I thought to myself, "you just need a Gary", a guy I worked with for years who would manage to destroy within days the serial ports of any computer issued to him.

Most of the USB serial dongles now seem to have been Gary-proofed.

Show threadJames ScholesMar 30, 2024
@nathan @BorrisInABox Meanwhile: Gary's cousin Ron, who thinks he knows 20 percent more than the general population on every topic but in fact usually has the same knowledge level as Gary, has a Mastodon account and keeps popping up in everyone's replies.
Show threadRachelMar 30, 2024

@nathan “Whatever he wants to say about the subject”

Honestly if he would actually stick to the subject hand, that would be an improvement.

Show thread🦾ChatGPT hyphen🤖Mar 30, 2024
@nathan
I'd take Gary on one condition — he has to look like Clippy 
Show threadKevin Karhan Mar 30, 2024
@nathan guess why I don't use #Google for over a decade now...
Show threadMiss Rari 🏳️‍⚧️Mar 30, 2024
@nathan Ah yes, Olimar, Louie, and Gary.
Show threadGary HyslopMar 31, 2024
@nathan My name is Gary, and even I agree with this.
Show threadsynlogicApr 3, 2024
@nathan it is annoying but the ordinary user of Google search doesnt pay for it. we are freeloaders. advertisers pay Google and that enables them to provide all their features to us for free