Inquisitor alters search results with affiliate links…users go mad
Sigh. One of my favorite add-ons for Safari, Inquisitor, has unfortunately been removed from my computer.
As reported by TUAW, Inquisitor alters search results to insert the developers affiliate links higher up in the rankings. According to the developer, the affiliate links will gradually move further down the results the more you search for a term and do not click on the links (thus “learning” that you don’t want those links in your search results).
The issue most people seem to be having is that this wasn’t disclosed up front. I have to admit it’s a clever form of displaying advertisements, but I just can’t keep using the app when something as major as altering search results wasn’t disclosed…making me wonder what else wasn’t disclosed.
I, along with every other rational person, understands that bills have to be paid and that some compensation for the developer is a good thing, but transparency in the software business is a necessity if you want people to keep using your apps. Simple as that. People want to know if you’re altering their experience, and yes, altering search results is most certainly altering a users experience without their knowledge.
UPDATE: David was kind enough to drop in and he was correct in pointing out that I left out a link to his response. My mistake. I apologize. Here’s the link to his response about all of this. I would love for David to show where this has been “public knowledge” (implying that this info was easily accessible and known by most people who used the app) before all of this hoopla.
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.
It’s still a great piece of free software. I have been a user from the beginning, and i noticed that xtorrent (an other app from the same developer) always appear when I search for torrents, but I really don’t mind that I just skip that search result. I’m already happy with transmission :)
You, and the others reacting to this like you, should be ashamed. Should it have been disclosed? Absolutely. Is it as big a deal as you’re making it out to be? Hardly. DW makes fantastic apps and Inquisitor is one of them. He opted to give it away, and made the unfortunate mistake of not disclosing this particular detail. Inquisitor 3 has been out for well over a year, people are just now finding out about this, and there’s this level of indignation? Are you fscking serious? The ads were so well-integrated that no one figured it out for that length of time. What does that tell you? It tells me that the app is so useful and the ad-serving so well-integrated that until it was brought to your attention you didn’t even notice. And there you sit, acting like the world is falling because the developer of a highly useful application is trying to make a living with it.
Shameful. Simply shameful. If I were DW I’d lock that app up for good. There’s no reason to give ungrateful bastards like yourself the time.
Uh huh. Hi David!
Dave Wantanabe has gotten into trouble before, for violating the GPL, jerking the beta users of Acquisition around (saying it would be free, and then changing that without warning), and being known for not providing very good support to paid customers (he would ignore emails entirely, or just not respond for extended periods).
Not surprising. Not surprising at all.
@Joseph: Please don’t try to sensationalize what I wrote. I in no way said anything about the “world falling” because of this. Search results are altered because of the app and I didn’t find out about it until now. I’m not really following the mindset of “it’s been like that for a year so it makes it okay”…I just can’t comprehend that.
I also don’t understand how mine (and others) not knowing search results were altered somehow makes the practice okay to not disclose. Please explain.
I’ve read TAB for some time now, but have never commented on anything you’ve all published here. I’m going to chime in on this just because I don’t understand what the big deal is. All sorts of search utilities alter results to place particular items up front to get your attention. I challenge anyone to show that ANY search that is performed on any search engine is not skewed in some particular way. Are you going to stop using Google because the links are sorted and filtered? Does Google disclose everything about how particular links end up being displayed in a particular order on the results page?
The fact that this developer has programmed Inquisitor to place a few links higher in the rankings is of absolutely no consequence. The fact the developer didn’t advertise that this was taking place is also of no consequence. The fact of the matter is that Inquisitor is highly useful on multiple levels, regardless of what is happening behind the scenes. Inquisitor has upped my efficiency in searching the internet by an order of magnitude and the utility of the program is not compromised by the fact that a few links are floated up in the results or that those links are his affiliate links. In your post you say
If you’ve chosen to remove it from you system for this reason, then that it up to you. But to spin your removal of Inquisitor as the moral response to what you apparently believe to be an immoral decision by the developer is unfair and is ultimately your own loss.
Man. I love inquisitor.
But, it will be gone now. This is a shady deal, you can not pull the wool over users eyes (even on free software) and expect it to just be alright. I remember the Acquisition issue too. No more Dave Wantanabe products for me.
This fits in with the MacZot vs Garrett Murray debacle, and I don’t think MacZot ever fully recovered from selling the crap out of xpad and then “giving” the app back to Garrett.
It’s going to take some time getting used to not having inquisitor though. :(
@mike: Welcome to commenting on TAB! :)
Ultimately it’s a matter of opinion. This is a blog. I (and the other authors) write articles that frequently throw in our opinions and commentary on things. You are certainly free to feel how you want to about this. I think it’s wrong. I wrote about it. You think it’s okay. You wrote about it. Simple as that.
You are free to read in to what I wrote, but it’s really not that complicated. I don’t like that this wasn’t disclosed, so I’m removing the app and disclosing what Inquisitor does to others. You’re free to do with that info what you please.
I read about this yesterday, along with Dave Wantanabe’s response on his blog. It doesn’t bother me one bit. I’ll continue to use Inquisitor.
http://squidnews.com/2007/04/17/david-watanabe-the-complaints/