Currently there is just 4 websites between Wikipedia and world domination, and we are reviewing those four. Each section begins with a quote from alexa top 500, followed by a list of observations, possibly a comment, and concludes with a more honest description.
Enables users to search the world’s information, including webpages, images, and videos. Offers unique features and search technology.
- Fails w3 validation (i.e., invalid trash).
- Sometimes the website welcomes us with a captcha.
- Half of the pages (i.e., one page) is in French, despite web browser locale being English.
When attempting to switch to English, or to type anything in the text input field on its main page, an amusing error message appears (the URL is shortened here):
Your client does not have permission to get URL /sorry/index?continue=https://www.google.fr/… from this server. That’s all we know.
Well, at least it’s in English. Note that there is no permission to get a resource that is an error page according to its URL, not the one we were looking for. As if it wasn’t bad enough, the message also claims that there is no permission to get URL, not the resource it refers to.
Two pages behind a captcha: one is weird, and the other one is to broken as what a supernova is to a confetti cannon.
Youtube
User-submitted videos with rating, comments, and contests.
- Fails validation.
- Lists trashy videos.
- Claims to have about 17,000,000 cat videos.
- Downloading is not trivial.
- Uploading requires to sign in; the login page is slightly broken, but has a link to an account creation page.
- The account creation page is also slightly broken, in a different way. Also says that the “qw11112222” password is strong.
- Its privacy policy and terms of service describe many different ways in which one would be screwed.
A file archive limited to videos, with complicated download and no reasonable upload functionality. And with some junk around it.
A social utility that connects people, to keep up with friends, upload photos, share links and videos.
- Fails validation.
- Clicking or navigating the website implies agreement with being screwed, so we are not doing that.
- Apparently it is useless anyway.
A closed image gallery or something.
Baidu
The leading Chinese language search engine, provides “simple and reliable” search experience, strong in Chinese language and multi-media content including MP3 music and movies, the first to offer WAP and PDA-based mobile search in China.
- Won’t load.
Well, it explains why “simple and reliable” is quoted.
Plain nothing.