So I typically don't have much use for the more advanced Google search tips. I almost always find exactly what I want with a simple query. However - something has been bugging me for a while now and I finally got off my butt to learn how to correct it.
If you have done any searching for technical type matters (like the one I just did: javascript radio), than you have probably ran across Experts-Exchange. This is a site that provides technical answers, but you have to sign up before you see the result. I don't know why but this bugs the hell out of me. The entire domain, as far as I am concerned, is completely useless. As it stands, I can't even get the "View Solution" button to work right now.
Turns out there is a trivial way to hide this site from your results. I just added:
1 -site:experts-exchange.com
And when I searched again, it was removed from the results.
Now if I can just find a way to make that the default, I'd be even happier. There must be a way to tweak the Google Toolbar for Firefox to get the same results.
Comment 1 written by Barneyb on 10 April 2006, at 2:15 PM
Comment 2 written by Scott Stroz on 10 April 2006, at 2:16 PM
The only reason why I have not abonded them is becasue there have been times where I had a real specific issue, and EE was the only place I could find an answer.
Comment 3 written by Raymond Camden on 10 April 2006, at 2:20 PM
Comment 4 written by Cutter on 10 April 2006, at 2:27 PM
Comment 5 written by Raymond Camden on 10 April 2006, at 2:30 PM
Comment 6 written by Wayne Graham on 10 April 2006, at 2:38 PM
You can hack this out in Firefox. In the searchplugins folder (C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\searchplugins) edit the file google.src. Under the line
<input name="q" user>
add the line
<input name="q" value="-site:experts-exchange.com">
Just reboot Firefox and when you use the search plugin, you should see that the command -site:experts-exchange.com.
I'll blog the entire source here in a little bit.
Comment 7 written by Raymond Camden on 10 April 2006, at 2:40 PM
Comment 8 written by Tom Mollerus on 10 April 2006, at 2:45 PM
Since Ray brought up the Firefox search bar, what I've always wondered is why the search bar isn't editable via some simple dialog box. Instead, you have to install and uninstall "search plugins" to make changes to the list. These "plugins" are just simple text files (http://mycroft.mozdev.org/deepdocs/quickstart.html...) that could be easily edited by Firefox. I wonder if they make it harder to change because the Mozilla Foundation collects referral fees from some searches.
Comment 9 written by Wayne Graham on 10 April 2006, at 2:46 PM
Comment 10 written by Seth Petry-Johnson on 10 April 2006, at 2:46 PM
I've gotten so used to EE that whenever I hit the site my finger automatically triggers a few mouse wheel revolutions and I don't pay it another thought. It is kind of a pain, but the site has been pretty helpful to me over the years so I guess I just let it slide.
Comment 11 written by Raymond Camden on 10 April 2006, at 2:51 PM
Comment 12 written by Ben Rogers on 10 April 2006, at 3:30 PM
Comment 13 written by Raymond Camden on 10 April 2006, at 3:36 PM
Comment 14 written by Scott Stroz on 10 April 2006, at 3:45 PM
There's like 8 responses....
Comment 15 written by Tom Mollerus on 10 April 2006, at 3:46 PM
Comment 16 written by Nick Lansbury on 10 April 2006, at 3:47 PM
this is odd...
i clicked on the google link on your blog. Then I selected the experts-exchange result.
on the ee page i scrolled past the bright orange 'View Solution' icons. then i scolled past about 3 light blue adverts for something or other. then i scrolled past loads of search stuff. then i eventually saw the answer.
BUT.......
when i repeated all of the above i could no longer see the answers at the bottom of the page.
Comment 17 written by Dave Carabetta on 10 April 2006, at 3:51 PM
http://www.experts-exchange.com/Web/Web_Languages/...
You'll see a (usually) pretty thorough discussion of the question. Note that I tried this in both IE and Firefox (too see if it was a HTML rendering issue).
Comment 18 written by Nick Lansbury on 10 April 2006, at 3:52 PM
Comment 19 written by Goose on 10 April 2006, at 3:54 PM
Comment 20 written by Goose on 10 April 2006, at 3:55 PM
Comment 21 written by Raymond Camden on 10 April 2006, at 3:56 PM
Either way - that to me means unreliable. :)
Comment 22 written by Nick Lansbury on 10 April 2006, at 3:57 PM
yeah - i don't actually use ee so i can't really comment but if you look to the right of the comments (well everyone bar ray of course), one of them is marked 'accepted answer'
Comment 23 written by Steve Young on 10 April 2006, at 3:59 PM
You Need to Subscribe to View This Solution
Example here:
https://secure.experts-exchange.com/register.jsp?q...
Comment 24 written by Nick Lansbury on 10 April 2006, at 4:00 PM
the thing is radio buttons do not work like select boxes.
say you have two different radiobuttons
i.e <input type="radio" name="rad1" value="1">
and <input type="radio" name="rad2" value="2">
then their values can be recieed by
document.formemail.rad1.value
and
document.formemail.rad1.value..
but say you have multiple radio buttons with same name
i.e <input type="radio" name="commonrad" value="1">
and <input type="radio" name="commonrad" value="2">
now this has become an array.
so then you have to run a loop to get the value..
i.e document.formemail.commonrad[0].value will give 1
and document.formemail.commonrad[1].value will give 2
also you will have to check first which one is checked.
to avoid all this i had put an hiddenfield and just assigned the value of the radio button checked so that it can be accessed in a single line of code...
Regards
Hart
Comment 25 written by Christopher Wigginton on 10 April 2006, at 4:01 PM
Here's a Grease Monkey script that will set all the values of the text input boxes when on google's site. Works on Firefox google homepage and main google homepage. It could still use a bit of tweaking such as saving the previous search terms when paging and it would affect text fields on other google services (gMail, etc.)
Wiggy
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// ==UserScript==
// @name Anti ExpertExchange
// @namespace http://localhost/greaseMoney/antiExpert
/// @description Removes Expert Exchange Listings from google search
// @include http://www.google.com/*
// ==/UserScript==
//
function removeExpertExchange(){
var iBoxes = document.getElementsByTagName('input');
if (iBoxes.length) {
for(i = 0;i < iBoxes.length;i++){
if (iBoxes[i].type == 'text'){
iBoxes[i].value = ' -site:experts-exchange.com';
}
}
}
}
window.addEventListener("load",removeExpertExchange, true);
Comment 26 written by Raymond Camden on 10 April 2006, at 4:05 PM
Comment 27 written by Brian Philippus on 10 April 2006, at 4:16 PM
Comment 28 written by Craig M. Rosenblum on 10 April 2006, at 4:40 PM
Sometimes when i am in a hurray i can ask a question and get a good answer,, not always.
But the big thing for me is mani-fold...
1. Training your self to solve lots of different problems, by having actual real data/real problems.
2. Helping other people in the community...
3. Sure it could have been done better, okay if you don't like it, make your own...
4. For me, Do i want to learn and help other people, yes? Then Experts-exchange is a great resource...
Comment 29 written by Spike on 10 April 2006, at 4:41 PM
I use Experts Exchange occasionally and have never yet found a question where the answer wasn't directly below the ads.
If you go to this page:
http://www.experts-exchange.com/Web/Web_Languages/...
Then use Firefox to search for 'window.document.forms[0]'
Do you get any search results or not?
That text is contained in one of the comments I'm seeing and it's pretty unlikely it would appear anywhere other than in a comment, so I'd be curious if you get nothing.
If so, do you have any cookies from experts-exchange.com?
I don't.
Spike
Comment 30 written by Raymond Camden on 10 April 2006, at 4:45 PM
Comment 31 written by Raymond Camden on 10 April 2006, at 4:46 PM
Wow, I don't remember us normally disagreeing. :) But if you say so. I will have to agree to disagree about EE. And as for making my own - doesn't this blog, cflib, coldfusioncookbook.com, etc, count?? ;)
Comment 32 written by Raymond Camden on 10 April 2006, at 4:54 PM
I stick by my original idea - I'm just going to avoid it.
Comment 33 written by Spike on 10 April 2006, at 4:57 PM
Turning on cookies for EE seems causes it to set 6 or 7 cookies. Two of them look like they expire after a few weeks. In the past I've only hit EE once every few months, so I probably never got caught by the cookie issue before I started blocking cookies by default.
Spike
Comment 34 written by Jeff on 10 April 2006, at 5:00 PM
Here is a Firefox workaround that has worked for me:
1. Open Cookies tab under Options.
2. Click View Cookies and delete all the experts-exchange.com cookies.
3. Click Exceptions and add in experts-exchange.com and set it to blocked.
4. Restart the browser.
Now the results will always show up.
Comment 35 written by Stev Walker on 10 April 2006, at 6:38 PM
I have toyed with the idea of creating a site for this very purpose (www.cfuser.net). I relaunched it yesterday with Galleon as the forum and would be open to any suggestions on what the CF community would like to see. I am a relative novice, but would really like to pull this off.
Comment 36 written by DannyT on 10 April 2006, at 7:32 PM
I'm sure its a strategic money making initiative, but if anyone has any idea of how to get all of their members and solutions to somewhere unrestricted I'm on board!
Comment 37 written by Chris Phillips on 11 April 2006, at 12:04 AM
Thanks Jeff.
Comment 38 written by Michael Dinowitz on 11 April 2006, at 12:17 AM
> We should start a site where you get the answers, but need to register for the question.
Comment 39 written by Bjorn Jensen on 11 April 2006, at 2:17 AM
Comment 40 written by Trond Ulseth on 11 April 2006, at 2:35 AM
Comment 41 written by Rob Wilkerson on 11 April 2006, at 7:04 AM
Experts Exchange Script: http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/1898
Comment 42 written by Matthew on 11 April 2006, at 11:53 AM
M
Comment 43 written by Newt on 18 April 2006, at 2:45 PM
Why not simply copy http://google.com to your hard drive and then mod the post method of the form so it discreetly sends the -site:experts-exchange.com as a concatenation to your real query. Then simply put a shortcut to it on your quick launch bar and use that from now on?
I came accross http://www.codershome.com who seem to be trying to do a similar thing as experts-exchange, might be worth a shot there?
All the best anyway.
Comment 44 written by Gavin Mannion on 19 April 2006, at 8:54 AM
however the EASIEST way to fix this problem is register for EE. It is free. You don't get spammed and it is very usefull
http://www.experts-exchange.com/registerFree.jsp
That's how I got in.
Comment 45 written by JC on 19 April 2006, at 3:14 PM
Comment 46 written by Steve Alvesteffer on 20 April 2006, at 2:39 PM
If you click the orange button, the site sets a cookie and will block the solutions from displaying in the future unless you sign up or delete the cookies again.
The reason why they do this is because they want everyone to sign up, but also want the search engines to be able to index the solutions.
Comment 47 written by Chris on 22 April 2006, at 1:26 PM
Comment 48 written by n00t on 12 May 2006, at 12:17 PM
Comment 49 written by phileoca on 12 May 2006, at 12:43 PM
Just because you're too frickin retarded to figure out how to see the answers doesn't mean the site sucks. Furthermore, subscribing is free, and there is even a way to EARN free premium services. But seeing that you're a frickin retard, you won't be able to figure out that one either.
if you want to post any comments, post them in my website thread, if you dare. Don't forget to read the disclaimer $10 Timmy.
--
phileoca
Comment 50 written by Raymond Camden on 12 May 2006, at 12:56 PM
It was not a question of me not knowing how to use the site. I d o know how. It is just a pain. Therefore, I don't want it to "pollute" my google reasults.
There is no need for you to call me retarded. I have no problem with you disagreeing with me, but if you can't be polite, why bother posting? Unless you are a child, and then I understand your lack of common sense.
Comment 51 written by godlearner on 12 May 2006, at 1:33 PM
Hmm, seems like a good question to ask on Experts Exchange ... oh you are trying to avoid the site ... never mind
Comment 52 written by One More Expert on 13 May 2006, at 6:14 AM
Comment 53 written by Mike on 15 May 2006, at 10:23 AM
They think we are idiots. I am not paying for it, there are better communities outside.
Comment 54 written by another EE person on 15 May 2006, at 2:51 PM
>>
Mike, you are a fuktard.
Experts exchange was not free a year ago. It's 10 dollars month, unless your EARN premium services. If you earn PS, than it's free. you have 2 months to keep your PS status by answering the minimum number of points (3000 per month).
but mike, yes you're right, we do think you're an idiot.
furthermore you don't have to suscribe to see the answer. just scroll down past the ads. and the reason phil called your retarded is because you didn't scroll down to the answer was at the bottom of the page. you call the site useless. we call your brain useless, hence the word retarded.
there's a reason why google has EE TA answers ranked High.
noobs.
but its better that you ee haters stay away. cause we don't want you to show up in a google search on EE
Comment 55 written by Raymond Camden on 15 May 2006, at 2:53 PM
Comment 56 written by Scott Stroz on 15 May 2006, at 3:14 PM
Don't worry guys, I am sure that there are plenty of people out there that will give you the opportunity to feel superior (and get your premium services for free).
Comment 57 written by John F on 6 June 2006, at 12:46 PM
I think the general irritation with EE is that when people are looking for a solution to a problem, they expect to be presented with an answer, not to be given a site that tries to coerce the user into buying a service. As information technology professionals we have come to rely on answers to our questions answered by our peers, not by some money making machine. As an IT professional, when I come across that site, I find the tone rude, greedy, and generally distasteful.
Comment 58 written by EE facts on 21 June 2006, at 4:32 PM
the facts are this:
1)None of the users of EE get paid to be there.
2)You don't have to suscribe to see the answers.
3)If you want to do a search from WITHIN EE (using EE's search engine), then you have to suscribe.
4)Subscription is FREE.
5)Premium services are $10 a month, unless you earn them (which is rather easy for anybody that knows anything about computers).
6)Ads are visible when you don't have premium services. Again, premium services can be earned and maintained monthly. I've been a member for 4 years and have yet to pay a dime.
7)We have some of the worlds top experts in the EE community.
in fact, the author of this site(http://www.amset.info) is a Microsoft MVP. That's just an example of the talent that supports EE.
the problem EE supporters have with your blog is it has inaccurate information. She took a snap shot instead of looking at the big picture.
and finally, EE teaches people how to fish, instead of just giving them fish. They help people solve problems and learn how to solve problems rather than just giving them the answer. Look at the Access forums for the largest number of examples.
My suggestion, is next time you want to right a negative blog, do a little research. There's a reason EE comes up in many google searches. And that's because somebody already asked your question, and the solution was found with help from ee.
good luck in your future endeavors.
Comment 59 written by Raymond Camden on 21 June 2006, at 5:03 PM
If that is wrong, please tell me and I'll gladly update the blog post. I do not understand why EE folks feel the need to attack this entry so much. I'm sure some folks love EE. Personally I don't care for it _when using Google_, which was the main point of the blog entry - how to remove sites from Google results.
You made the comment, EE teaches people how to fish - personally I think using Google is fishing. When I get a result from EE and can't read it until I sign up, I'd rather simply not use EE.
Why did you say none of the EE users get paid? I never said they did. I don't want to search within EE. I want to search within Google. It's great the subscription is free, but it means extra steps in my results from Google. To me, this is almost false advertising. The search result shows up, but you don't really get the answer until you logon. As for top experts - I never attacked the intelligence of the EE community.
Note that I was attacked (called retarded) by one of EE's members. I never turned this into a personal attack - EE defenders did. If this is representative of the type of people EE use, then I'm glad I don't go there often.
Comment 60 written by David Givoni on 20 July 2006, at 5:37 PM
If you aren't happy with Experts Exchange you might want to take a look at our newly launched site: www.quomon.com
It's based on the same idea, but it's inspired by the web 2.0 trends like tags and AJAX.
And it's free to use and not plastered with ads.
It's not as big as EE yet, but give it a try...
Comment 61 written by Ryan on 28 February 2007, at 5:50 PM
Comment 62 written by pp on 27 July 2007, at 7:27 AM
Comment 63 written by starman on 7 September 2007, at 3:17 PM
And is it just me or does the site name look more like "expert sex change" hahaha
Comment 64 written by gerits on 20 September 2007, at 6:25 AM
Comment 65 written by Alex on 2 January 2008, at 4:28 PM
Comment 66 written by emil on 13 January 2008, at 4:20 AM
Comment 67 written by Ian on 17 January 2008, at 9:27 AM
Comment 68 written by Tom on 22 February 2008, at 3:47 PM
EE is FREE if you contribute! i have never paid to asked a question because i help others. The site encourages people to share and exchange information.
answer 3 questions a month and is all free, unlimited use! 2 million questions, and 10 years, chances are the solution to your question in there, and if not, ask, and it will be.
the site is about exchanging ideas, sometimes they are crap, sometimes you learn something new.
Comment 69 written by shaba on 2 April 2008, at 10:13 AM
Comment 70 written by dany on 24 April 2008, at 6:52 PM
Comment 71 written by wow on 22 May 2008, at 3:06 PM
Comment 72 written by KC on 6 June 2008, at 11:03 PM
It's now June, 08, and I found a script finally to block EE results from search.
and the hosts file, so I can't accidentally go there and give them any chance to get a micro cent from my visit.
Comment 73 written by Tony on 7 July 2008, at 3:11 PM
Comment 74 written by Alex on 30 July 2008, at 10:11 AM
personally I use EE as a work tool, it is often very helpful to find information about something specific that you cannot find a "SPECIFIC" answer to on sites like this for instance. I understand that people don't like ads but one would have thought that people would get used to it as they are everywhere on the internet, and after all.
who actually cares... if you don't like it don't use it... stop winging about it.
Comment 75 written by Kishore on 30 July 2008, at 5:53 PM
Comment 76 written by GravitaZ on 19 August 2008, at 2:36 PM
Comment 77 written by mindi on 25 August 2008, at 8:09 AM
But i use this gr8 site, it's called Fixya, they have good solutions and you can see them without even signing in.
Check it out -
http://www.fixya.com/support/p926113-canonical_ubu...
I hope it will help you
Mind's.
Comment 78 written by Chris on 31 August 2008, at 4:29 AM
http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=0011279779178640...
Comment 79 written by SmirkingMan on 25 October 2008, at 10:46 AM
Comment 80 written by squeaky on 11 December 2008, at 9:39 AM
Come on - we have been newsgroups for years, for the community - by the community. I was a bit annoyed when dejanews got bought by google, but its totally free at least.
At the end of the day 'Experts' Exchange are trying to profit from the generosity of spirit that programmers have given each other for years. It would be great if everyone blocked their site in google!
(and those people defending EE - why so rude?)
I set Chris' link as my homepage now, but look into blocking more sites from google when I have time (like About.com)
Comment 81 written by nico5038 on 12 December 2008, at 6:11 PM
I'v been an expert there, but was called names by a "colleague" amateur expert and when elaborating his googlish comments I got suspended...
I've started a blog to show how "ab-normalized" this expert is commenting. (http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,200...)
Like other disappointed Experts Exchange experts I moved to bytes.com (formerly www.thescripts.com) to help people for free and in a decent manner.
Hope to see you there :-)
Nic;o)
Comment 82 written by Alex on 22 December 2008, at 9:46 AM
last if you contribute and answer around 3 questions a month you NEVER HAVE TO PAY. EE is a great idea. if you are a lazy free loader then yes, you have to pay! if you are someone who like to share your ideas and help others 'just like the creator of this blog' then is a grate place. i have met many CF developers and lots of new friends on EE. 10 years + and still the most active community on-line of this type so it must be doing something right!
Comment 83 written by nico5038 on 22 December 2008, at 10:19 AM
EE is very "smart" in covering up the answers and forcing people to pay for something they can get for free at other sites.
As an EE expert you don't experience the "tricky" way to find out the way to become a free member. You need to know that you've to enlist as expert....
Many newsgroups do have better quality experts as EE and no flames and experts hunting for expert points.
I found better friends at bytes.com and never ran into flames. Just wait till you're called names by a "colleague" expert and see what action the EE amins take... <LOL>
They do indeed something right, they are experts in covering up criticism. They follow the "Bush" doctrine: "Who's not for me is against me". And they are experts in misleading the innocent customers. Just run a search for a common CF mistake and count the number of broken links and irrelevant answers. Now check again the number of questions the advertise with to attract paying members....
For more info I would invite you to read my blog as stated in the above comment.
Regards,
Nic;o)
Comment 84 written by friend on 18 August 2009, at 2:17 AM
For Eg ..
1.If u find any useful experts-exchange Link in GOOGLE Search,, you can see all those obfuscated answer at the bottom of the page .
2. KEy Feature to Crack(another Approach)
If u search solution in the experts-exchange sites itself , this time its Hurts by which u will find all answers in Locked State i mean cant able to see those answers . What Should be done is ....
Just Copy that link and save the link in your Gmail Account .
ANd Click that pasted Link from your Gmail Account . Now You can see those answers at the bottom....
I bet there are really some better Solution in that Site...
ve Fun
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