Forum Moderators: Robert Charlton & goodroi
Clean Machine:
No Google Bar, no gMail, no G account whatsoever on the computer.
Clean Browser (IE 6 / FF 1.5):
Cookies / History/ Cache: all empty
ISP:
Swiss based, dynamic IP.
It is impossible to access Google.com without being re-directed to Google.ch UNLESS I let the browser accept cookies.
Same in other countries?
If yes: What is their purpose to do so?
PS. Yes, I did try google.com/ncr. Same.
PPS. NCR being an acronym for what?
Sometimes Google's cleverness works against what we would like, doesn't it?
But I don't think that this "effect" is the typical too clever by half outcome of improved "usability" ("hey, let's make sure the foreign users land on their proper language and country site). There is more behind that.
It might be useful to ponder a bit bout why they accept traffic from foreign IPs only when the browser is set to accept cookies.
But actually I wonder what happens if you access google.com with an US IP while blocking cookies AND having a clean machine with no Google accounts or what ever on it.
PPS. NCR being an acronym for what?
No Country Redirection
But, as you've discovered, it doesn't always work...Google will at times switch into its Nanny knows best mode and act as if "The customer is always right" was only ever a barrier to doing business.
Have you tried sneaking up to them using an anonimizing proxy service?
Thanks for the explanation of NCR. Maybe they do switch NCR on and off to gather some statistical information.
Have you tried sneaking up to them using an anonimizing proxy service?
Not yet, didn't find a working proxy with US IP.
...Nanny knows best mode and act as if "The customer is always right" was only ever a barrier...
I like this Nanny metaphor.
Well, I believe they have ulterior motives with this "no cookie - no google.com" thing.
I just wonder what seasoned people think about that.
But then, maybe I am just a person with paranoid tendencies ;).
