From: blockedofcourse@foo.invalid   
      
   On 1/27/2026 8:32 AM, Liz Tuddenham wrote:   
   > Don Y  wrote:   
   >   
   >> On 1/27/2026 6:45 AM, Liz Tuddenham wrote:   
   >>> Don Y  wrote:   
   >>>   
   >>> [...]   
   >>>> ...How is providing   
   >>>> 70,000 hits going to improve the shopping experience for this POTENTIAL   
   >>>> customer?   
   >>>   
   >>> The first 10 hits will generate advertising revenue for the search   
   >>> engine.  That's what it is there to do; you are the product, not the   
   >>> customer.   
   >>   
   >> At a *store's* web site, the goal is for the store to sell a   
   >> PRODUCT that they have in stock (as known by the literal description   
   >> of the item on THEIR web page).   
   >>   
   >> They gain nothing if they point me at products that are not what I   
   >> expressly sought.  All 73,000 of them!   
   >   
   > They don't write their own websites, they pay an 'expert' to fill in a   
   > template provided by one of the big players.  The 'search' feature is   
   > ultimately controlled by the major search engines, not by the store.   
      
   Someone has the "responsibility" for the functionality of the site.   
   Someone signs off on whether or not it meets their requirements   
   (if they stated them improperly, then they're at fault).   
      
   > Some websites are fixed and the client has to pay the webmaster every   
   > time they want to update it - so they don't.  Even if they have the   
   > option to update the website themselves, to reflect their current stock,   
   > they soon discover it is a huge chore for smaller businesses with   
   > constant stock changes, so they give up and the information will be   
   > wrong anyway.   
      
   I have rescued "Google search appliances" (typically 1U servers   
   specialized to handle "local" searches).   
      
   > It's all painting by numbers these days.  I have had several   
   > hand-written customised websites taken off me and handed to 'experts'   
   > who replace them with content-free template rubbish with huge graphics   
   > that looked good to the client.  At least one of my clients had the   
   > decency to come back to me and ask me to reinstate his old website as   
   > the 'improved' one was useless.   
      
   The companies in question aren't small or "of limited budgets".   
    From Wikipedia:   
      
       "As of 2024, Target is ranked No. 32 on the 2022 Fortune 500   
       list of the largest American corporations by total revenue. As   
       of 2025, it operates more than 2,000 stores throughout the United   
       States."   
      
   with 440,000 employees and net revenue of $106B.   
      
   Clearly, other sites work well so the flaw is in the design   
   (specification) of these other sites.   
      
   Likewise, the design of our microwave oven, oven/stove, GPS,   
   etc.  People put in decision making positions that clearly don't   
   have the right mindsets to make good *use* decisions.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)