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Gadget
Level 1: 10 points
Alltime Score: 3427 points
Last Logged In: April 30th, 2023
TEAM: BRCØ
highscore

retired

30 + 15 points

Request Search Engine Data by Gadget

May 10th, 2006 3:42 AM

INSTRUCTIONS: As you've no doubt heard, MSN, Yahoo!, and perhaps others complied with a Department of Justice subpoena requesting one week's worth of search queries and one million random websites. We'd like you to request the same information. Since there are no privacy concerns, we imagine they'll comply. Here are a few points:

  • You may not have much luck unless you can put together a subpoena, and are the government
  • You might try asking Jeeves, who, in what must have been a blow to his self-esteem, wasn't asked for similar information.
  • We wonder what format the data was provided in. If it looks like you'll be successful, why not demand that MSN provide the search data in OpenDocument format?
  • Come to think of it, we'd rather you not upload huge database dumps to SF0. So just post your request, any response you receive, and - if you're successful - some graphical representation of some subset of the data.
  • If you don't get a response from the search engines, but really have your heart set on a massive data set, try asking AT&T for random phone call origins/destinations (by city/state/country) and lengths, or eBay for the content (no user info) of one million random pieces of feedback.

Drafted letter to Yahoo! and put it in the mail. Waited several weeks for a response. Suprisingly, I've heard nothing back... not even a, "thank you, but no" letter. :-(

- smaller

Yahoo! Letter

Yahoo! Letter

photo of the Yahoo! letter and envelope. Names obscured to protect the innocent.



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3 comment(s)

I'm glad one of us did this
posted by Jason 7au on May 10th, 2006 9:40 AM

Since I actually work for Yahoo, I'd feel weird trying to pull this task off, regardless of what search engine I went after.

(no subject)
posted by Sean Mahan on May 10th, 2006 7:52 PM

Yeah, nice work. Maybe "Customer Care" department isn't right, though. Jason - do you know the address of the "Department of Bulk Search Data and Chinese Dissidents"?

OH SNAP!

I know
posted by Jason 7au on May 11th, 2006 4:30 PM

Fucking tell me about it. :(