Google Directory tab is back?

Is google returning to an older format?

[WebFusion]

For several hours, I've seen both the Directory tab back on the google homepage (as well as listed below each serp listing), and the older "colored in" adwords boxes.

Is this perhaps the end of a limited test to the new format they changed to?

[Marcia]

I'm not seeing it, but others are saying they're seeing rankings changing around so my guess is that there could be big differences on different data centers that are being pulled up.

[McMohan]

Ditto Marcia, not seeing the directory tab and seeing some fluctuations in SERPs.

Mc

[willybfriendly]

Actually, I can see the old G homepage everyday at work, and the new one everyday on my home systems. Odd. Work is a rather large wan running MS servers, Win 2000 workstations, IE, Norton, and I have no idea what kind of routers, firewalls, etc.

Home is a DSL connection, win boxes and just about every brower known to man, though I usually use Opera and the wife ususally uses IE 6.

I share the details of the systems because I have concluded (pure speculation) that the work system setup is what is causing the old G hompage to show up.

WBF

[edited by: Marcia at 6:27 am (utc) on June 19, 2004]
[edit reason] TOS #24 [webmasterworld.com] [/edit]

[WebFusion]

Just a quick note:

I'm stil seeing both the directory tab and "old style" searps pages (i.e. directory cateories/descriptions below listings and colored-in adwords boxes).

I think I like the new format better ;-)

[MrSpeed]

willybfriendly - It's possible your workplace has a caching server. Try a Ctrl+F5 to refresh the page.

[g1smd]

The search at comcast.com still uses the old Google format, with category links in the SERPs.

[willybfriendly]

What I see at work has nothing to do with a cache. It has been this way since at least May 26th.

WBF

[g1smd]

Not the cache in your browser, but one at your ISP?

[digitalv]

We all know that Google uses multiple load-balanced servers ... it's possible that one of these is out of sync with the others. With many load balancers, once a session is established it will keep sending you to that same server on the inside unless it goes down. That could be why you keep hitting that one at work, but when you go home you're seeing a different one.

[vrtlw]

With many load balancers, once a session is established it will keep sending you to that same server on the inside unless it goes down.

On NT based versions of windows (NT, 2000, XP) you can do a flushdns command from the command line to reset your DNS cache and likely get another datacenter.

ipconfig -flushdns

[willybfriendly]

ipconfig -flushdns

No effect.

WBF

[vrtlw]

Another thought, could it be a cookie issue?

[bakedjake]

I get the old interface sometimes when I switch my preferences back and forth for 10 and 100 search results per page. It seems to come and go at random.

I can only assume it's either a UI test or a bug.

[zafile]

I'm accessing www.google.com from Costa Rica and I see the old interface. It has the tabs Web - Images - Groups - Directory - News. And when I search Google, I see SERPs showing the directory description plus category. I'm using IE 6.0.

On the other hand, when I use Mozilla 1.0, I get the newer interface plus newer styled SERPs.