Google doesn't offer a way to turn off SearchWiki other than logging out from your Google account, but you can install a Greasemonkey script that hides the interface for this additional functionality. If you use Firefox, install Greasemonkey extension, restart the browser and the add the No SearchWiki script. Google's search results will look clean again, even if you are logged in.
The script also works in Opera, which has built-in support for userscripts. Just go to Tools>Preferences>Advanced>Content>JavaScript Options, choose a folder in the "User JavaScript files" box and then save the script in that folder.
Note that the script doesn't disable the SearchWiki interface for the results you've already promoted so you can restore their default position and you can still see the removed results at the bottom of the page. To undo your changes, you can use My SearchWiki Notes page.
Update: You can now disable SearchWiki from Google's preferences page.
Thank you for this although I use Opera can it be adapted for this? What the hell are google thinking not giving an option to turn this pathetic feature off?
ReplyDeleteoops it does work for opera I just saw.
ReplyDeleteI won't turn it off.
ReplyDeleteIt is a great feature for internet users and I hope Google will one day let internet users determine the relevancy and quality of search results. It's time to remove those stupid high-ranking results that were powered by silly social bookmarks once and for all.
HB: I agree with the desire to let internet users determine the relevancy and quality of search results, but this just isn't the way to do it. Give users real, wholesale control, not just a clunky mechanism for tweaking individual queries.
ReplyDeleteMy take: http://thenoisychannel.com/2008/11/21/google-searchwiki-an-interesting-take-on-pim/
thank god and/or whoever wrote that script. much better now. searchwiki was a poor excuse for a feature and lead to serious eye cancer.
ReplyDeleteI was looking for a way to disable searchwiki (I don't use firefox, so am unable to use available greasemonkey skripts to do so) and found this note on google's newsgroups. It shows you how to tweak the url of you iGoogle homepage so that you don't get searchwikified results when you search:
ReplyDeletehttp://groups.google.com/group/Google_Web_Search_Help-UsingWS/browse_thread/thread/3d76baecf04b18d3
ok, here is a better way to opt-in to google search wiki and turn it on/off on the go
ReplyDeletehttp://www.facesaerch.com/blog/disable-google-search-wiki/
also greasemonkey based
Just when I was getting use to the search wiki results, Google go right ahead and turn off the feature in my account!
ReplyDeleteSearchWiki appears to have been switched off for my account as well. Maybe they had second thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI hate it. It adds too much clutter to the search page.
ReplyDeleteWishing Google would remove it...
Thanks,
ReplyDeleteI've successful install this extension.
You can also use the DNS hack to anonymously search google
ReplyDeletehttp://blog.vivekjishtu.com/2008/11/google-clean-search-without-wiki.html
This SearchWiki sham is the silliest thing I've seen on Google since "customized search." If I didn't know better I'd think it was a joke. Thanks for the instructions. Hopefully Google will come to its senses and start focusing on improving its results rather than depending on gimmicks.
ReplyDeleteGoogle doesn't display the SearchWiki controls if you add &filter=0 to the url.
ReplyDelete@Henning:
ReplyDeleteI don't think that's true.
After having the SearchWiki icons on my search pages for a few days now, I find that I am pretty easily 'filtering them out' visually when I scan the page.
ReplyDeleteIt's probably because the icons' color is faded relative to the blue search result links.
Thank you for the script. Much appreciated. Now I just need to make a similar one to get rid of "Experts Exchange" results, and I'll be happy
ReplyDelete-Scut
I use the search box in FireFox 3.0.5 with google.com and hate SearchWiki.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to install any plugins or have any software filtering my pages. I was able to disable SearchWiki by going to the directory where I installed FireFox. Inside the searchplugins/ folder there is a file called google.xml.
In this short file there is a line saying:
Param name="aq" value="t"/
that line is surrounded with a less-than and greater-than sign but I cannot type that without this blogging software complaining.
I added this on the next line, also surrounded by the same less-than and greater-than sign:
Param name="hl" value="all"/
and restarted FireFox. this made SearchWiki go away.
Thank you! I was using Chrome, but switched back to Firefox in order to use Greasemonkey and turn off Google's damned SearchWiki.
ReplyDeleteYou can Disable personalized search with this search plugin.
ReplyDeleteWorks both in Firefox and in Internet Explorer!
http://yoast.com/tools/seo/disable-personalized-search-plugin/
google seo wiki is a nightmare... i used it once for one of my sites, now for some keyword my site appears on the top.. but only for me, ;) it has no value to me, expect the comment functionality, but even this is not required... thats the first time i installed grease monkey, one more plugin making firefox slower... :( thanks google.
ReplyDeletei think it is better for google.Google doesn't display the SearchWiki controls if you add &filter=0 to the url.
ReplyDeleteThis addin for Internet Explorer allows you to permanently hide sites from your search engine results:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.calvert.ch/affine
This feature is pathetic. Scrap it Google you boof-heads.
ReplyDeleteThe good news for you is that SearchWiki is no longer available. I'll miss it.
ReplyDelete