mistakes ยท post 07 of 7 in this channel
Asking a search engine for the WeTheNorth market link
It is the first thing everybody does, and the results page is built by people who knew you would.
the three wethenorth market addresses
hn2paw7zfvndw3dovycegeqmvvnf4pl67b3g2p7pohjlzavloosh73id.onionhn2paw7zrgujyhnt6mgxlt2q6uhgbke4itpqitxhyfbumq3wtnckbuyd.onionhn2paw7zadwkcra3qzv5e4q547i7e5lvxm62cfxqftuqdu7moiu2ceyd.onionprinted the way they were handed over. no labels, no numbering, nothing here says which one to try first. this feed never opens them, so it has no status light, no percentage and no date of checking to give you.
what a top result actually means
That a page satisfied a ranking system. Links pointing at it, text matching the query, some age, some engagement. None of those are evidence about a fifty six character string printed on it.
A search engine has no way to check an onion address and has never claimed to. It is doing relevance, which is a different job.
who is competing for that phrase
People who know that anyone typing it is looking for an address and is inclined to use whatever they find. That is a valuable audience and the competition for it is not gentle.
This site is in that competition too, which is worth saying plainly. It prints three addresses it was handed and it does not check them, and that is the honest description of what it is.
the timing makes it worse
Almost nobody searches from a calm state. They search because a saved address stopped working, which is the situation in one address forever.
So the search happens while worried and in a hurry, which is the worst possible condition for evaluating anything.
The mistake is upstream. It is not having a stored set, and the search is just where the consequence lands.
what to do if you are searching anyway
Slow down first. Nothing about this is urgent, and an hour later you will make a better decision than you will right now.
Look for agreement between sources that clearly did not copy one another. Weak evidence, and the strongest thing generally available.
Check what any page says about its own authority. A page claiming verification without saying how is telling you something useful.
the checks that are free
Length. The prefix, as covered in the shared prefix, which is a fast no rather than a yes. The tail, using how to read one.
None of these prove an address is genuine. They filter out obvious rubbish and that is worth doing before anything else.
the real fix
Get a set once, at a calm moment, from wherever you consider most reliable. Store all of it as text. Then you never search again.
Everything else in this post is damage control for not having done that.
The reason this works is that it moves the decision out of the moment where you are worst equipped to make it. Choosing a source calmly, once, is a different activity from choosing one at speed because something stopped opening.
It is the same principle as deciding a password before you open a registration form. Preparation is not really about diligence, it is about not having to decide anything while under pressure.
replies
a reader askedAre search results for wtn market links all bad?
the answerNo, and you cannot tell which are which from the results page, which is the actual problem. Ranking and accuracy are unrelated properties.
a reader askedShould I trust this site more than the others?
the answerNot on the strength of anything on this page. It prints what it was handed, says it does not check, and that is a description rather than a credential.
a reader askedWhat about a directory with a verified badge?
the answerAsk what the badge would require. A key, a signed statement, some relationship with the operator. Most badges are graphics rather than claims anyone could stand behind.
what this post is not Not a criticism of search engines. They are doing relevance, which is what they are for, and the mistake is expecting a different job from them.