[LINK] RFI: Google News Archive Searches

[Roger Clarke]

I've come back to this ongoing challenge.

As far as I can see, Google News Archive Search is still badly broken.

If anyone can get responses that look sensible (75-100 hits p.a.), 
and that are consistent across browsers and across time, I'd greatly 
appreciate copies of the URLs you used!


2011 worked:
http://www.google.com/search?gl=au&pz=1&cf=all&ned=au&hl=en&tbm=nws&as_q=Australian%20Privacy%20Foundation&as_occt=any&as_drrb=b&as_mindate=1%2F1%2F11&as_maxdate=12%2F31%2F11&tbs=cdr%3A1%2Ccd_min%3A1%2F1%2F11%2Ccd_max%3A12%2F31%2F11&authuser=0

But it gets 82 hits with Safari and 110 with Firefox ...


Advanced Search (either the odd drop-down box - and be careful with 
the bug-ridden web-form - or the choice in the left column) gets 
variable results, and mostly not what was requested.


Attempts to manipulate the above working string to refer to different 
periods also tripped over bugs.

Attempt for 2010:
http://www.google.com/search?gl=au&pz=1&cf=all&ned=au&hl=en&tbm=nws&as_q=Australian%20Privacy%20Foundation&as_occt=any&as_drrb=b&as_mindate=1%2F1%2F10&as_maxdate=12%2F31%2F10&tbs=cdr%3A1%2Ccd_min%3A1%2F1%2F10%2Ccd_max%3A12%2F31%2F10&authuser=0
Safari delivers only the current month's 8 hits, or the current year's 82.
Firefox delivers 149, but for the period 1 Jan 2010 to the present, 
rather than from 1 Jan 2010 to 31 Dec 2010.

2009-11:
http://www.google.com/search?gl=au&pz=1&cf=all&ned=au&hl=en&tbm=nws&as_q=Australian%20Privacy%20Foundation&as_occt=any&as_drrb=b&as_mindate=1%2F1%2F09&as_maxdate=12%2F31%2F11&tbs=cdr%3A1%2Ccd_min%3A1%2F1%2F09%2Ccd_max%3A12%2F31%2F11&authuser=0
Safari delivers only the current month's 8 hits, or the current year's 82.
Firefox delivers 172, for the period 1 Jan 2009 to the present 
(although that would mean that Google has somehow lost large numbers 
of 2009 hits).


I appreciate that some aspects of the behaviour could be dependent on 
browsers, browser-versions, and security-settings;  but this all 
still seems quite bizarre.


-- 
Roger Clarke                                 http://www.rogerclarke.com/

Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
                    Tel: +61 2 6288 1472, and 6288 6916
mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au                http://www.xamax.com.au/

Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW
Visiting Professor in Computer Science    Australian National University