< moved from another location > Hello, I am a writing teacher who teaches students how to do research and research papers. One of my favorite tools has been Google Directory which provides subject access to at least part of the Web. Today, when trying to access it I got a message that it was no longer available. I ask, Why?
Among the search directories it was one of the best. Though perhaps underutilized, it was one of the best tools for getting past the rampant commercialization of the Web for focused searching. When one of my students was doing a paper on French Horn playing, etc., a regular search done in all ways came up with nothing but commercials for horns for sale or lessons given. Google Directory was a way to get around this. When a colleague of mine asked for a way to get serious and responsible sites about Afghanistan, then again, Google Directory was the way to go.
I knew that something was in the wind when they got rid of subject-tree access, but it was still an effective tool. I hoped that with the general trend toward dumbing down, they would stop there. I assume, however, that they decided they could not make it support itself financially and decided to get rid of it completely. I hope that Google will reconsider this. I looked for ways to contact Google directly, but as you know this is next to impossible if your statement or question does not fit into their pre-configured electronic forms. I am really angry over this. Sorry to rant in my first and perhaps last post, but it seems everything just goes down hill and now Google joins the pack in its general decline.
[edited by: tedster at 9:54 pm (utc) on Aug 13, 2011]
