Forwarded from Commons-l; please reply on that list.

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Andreas Kolbe jayen466@yahoo.com Date: Tue, Oct 11, 2011 at 10:22 AM Subject: [Commons-l] Commons search function vs. Google To: Wikimedia Commons Discussion List commons-l@lists.wikimedia.org

We are wondering on Meta[1] what criteria the Commons search function uses to establish the order of search results displayed.

To give some examples, searching for "pearl necklace" in Commons shows a woman with sperm on her neck as the first image result:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&search=p...

The same image is way down in a Google search (with safe search off) for pearl necklace on Commons:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cucumber+site:commons.wikimedia.org&um=.... 2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=49f703222a617ec&biw=1111&bih=774http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cucumber+site:commons.wikimedia.org&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbm=isch&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1111&bih=774&uss=1#um=1&hl=en&safe=off&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=pearl+necklace+site:commons.wikimedia.org&oq=pearl+necklace+site:commons.wikimedia.org&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=113279l114967l0l115854l14l11l0l0l0l8l261l2003l0.8.3l11l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=49f703222a617ec&biw=1111&bih=774

Searching for "electric toothbrushes" in Commons shows a woman masturbating with a toothbrush as the second image result:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&search=e...

The same image turns up in Google as well (with safe search switched off), though not as one of the first results:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cucumber+site:commons.wikimedia.org&um=... 5961l21l19l0l0l0l13l255l3528l0.11.8l19l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=49f703222a617ec&biw=1111&bih=774http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cucumber+site:commons.wikimedia.org&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbm=isch&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1111&bih=774&uss=1#um=1&hl=en&safe=off&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=electric+toothbrushes+site:commons.wikimedia.org&pbx=1&oq=electric+toothbrushes+site:commons.wikimedia.org&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=341351l344565l0l345961l21l19l0l0l0l13l255l3528l0.11.8l19l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=49f703222a617ec&biw=1111&bih=774

Searching for "cucumber" in Commons shows a woman with a cucumber up her vagina on the first page of search results:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&search=c...

Doing a Google search for cucumber on Commons (with safe search off) does not bring this image up among the first hundred or so results:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cucumber+site:commons.wikimedia.org&um=...

Why is our listing so different from the one in Google, and why are sexual images so much higher up in our listing of search results?

Andreas

[1] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Controversial_content/Brainstorming

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