MSFN and its lack of search results in Google, Bing, and all search engines depending on them

[NotHereToPlayGames]

4 hours ago, AstroSkipper said:

I don't think @VistaLover owns a time machine either :

7 hours ago, VistaLover said:

Today (June 6th 2026)

I completely missed that one.  I almost always have to "convert in my head" posted dates.

The US is kind of backwards, we mostly do month-day-year but the standard online seems to be day-month-year.

So to VistaLover's credit, I do prefer when people SPELL OUT the MONTH - avoids confusion when other countries do things backwards.

[VistaLover]

@NotHereToPlayGames :

https://msfn.org/board/topic/187814-country-flags-missing-to-the-left-of-members-usernames/#findComment-1287938

[NotHereToPlayGames]

Yep, just saw that.  Criss-Crossed when posting replies.

[AstroSkipper]

Since the administrator @xper apparently does not feel it necessary to officially thank his members for their active participation in providing data that led to a precise theory, on the basis of which it was possible to prove the infection of the MSFN server, I shall do so here. @EliraFriesnan, @roytam1, @NotHereToPlayGames, @Ben Markson, @modnar, @deomsh and @nicolaasjan. Thank you for your confirmations with search engine results you generated from all over the world!  That was a real community effort at its very best.  And since my ‘cloaking’ theory https://msfn.org/board/topic/187801-msfn-and-its-lack-of-search-results-in-google-bing-and-all-search-engines-depending-on-them/page/5/#findComment-1287780, which, although based on many facts, remains a theory until it has been subjected to rigorous, unequivocal and, above all, empirical verification, I would like to once again express my sincere thanks to @nicolaasjan for his clever experiment and for highlighting the malware infestation in this post: https://msfn.org/board/topic/187801-msfn-and-its-lack-of-search-results-in-google-bing-and-all-search-engines-depending-on-them/page/5/#findComment-1287787. This made the culprit clearly visible and made it impossible to continue ignoring or denying an infection of the MSFN server. In mathematics, this signifies the end of a proof, i.e. q.e.d. And that is the most important thing for me.  Cleaning it up was then just a formality and, really, a piece of cake for someone with experience, if you already know exactly what you’re looking for and have been given all the necessary information. Unfortunately, it will now take many weeks for MSFN to recover in the Google index. Not to mention the disastrous drop in the rankings of all MSFN threads. 

[xper]

1 hour ago, AstroSkipper said:

Since the administrator @xper apparently does not feel it necessary to officially thank his members for their active participation in providing data that led to a precise theory, on the basis of which it was possible to prove the infection of the MSFN server, I shall do so here. @EliraFriesnan, @roytam1, @NotHereToPlayGames, @Ben Markson, @modnar, @deomsh and @nicolaasjan. Thank you for your confirmations with search engine results you generated from all over the world!  That was a real community effort at its very best.  And since my ‘cloaking’ theory https://msfn.org/board/topic/187801-msfn-and-its-lack-of-search-results-in-google-bing-and-all-search-engines-depending-on-them/page/5/#findComment-1287780, which, although based on many facts, remains a theory until it has been subjected to rigorous, unequivocal and, above all, empirical verification, I would like to once again express my sincere thanks to @nicolaasjan for his clever experiment and for highlighting the malware infestation in this post: https://msfn.org/board/topic/187801-msfn-and-its-lack-of-search-results-in-google-bing-and-all-search-engines-depending-on-them/page/5/#findComment-1287787. This made the culprit clearly visible and made it impossible to continue ignoring or denying an infection of the MSFN server. In mathematics, this signifies the end of a proof, i.e. q.e.d. And that is the most important thing for me.  Cleaning it up was then just a formality and, really, a piece of cake for someone with experience, if you already know exactly what you’re looking for and have been given all the necessary information. Unfortunately, it will now take many weeks for MSFN to recover in the Google index. Not to mention the disastrous drop in the rankings of all MSFN threads. 

Would you please stop with that. You have absolutely no clue what I’m dealing with personally and privately, which is why I don't have time to constantly check the server. MSFN is a one-man show. And how do you know I won't say thanks? On top of that, I’ve wanted to shut MSFN down several times over the last few months because of this situation. So back off. Stick to software, hardware discussion or go find another forum. I don't care. Just be careful. Have a nice night or day or whatever.

[dmiranda]

Searching engines are a disaster now, yes. I will give Brave and Mojeek a run and see. This has nothing to do with legacy, and definitely with oligopolistic (duopolistic, actually) behavior. Next step: charging you for prime search services.

PS: disappointed on e-tools.ch. It used to be my engine of choice for 2-3 years, now it only works if you go to preferences and manually set base to important... A pain in the neck.

[AstroSkipper]

43 minutes ago, xper said:

You have absolutely no clue what I’m dealing with personally and privately, which is why I don't have time to constantly check the server.

I’m sorry to hear that, of course. I can well understand how you feel. To put it mildly, I’m not doing too well myself, personally and privately. Especially when it comes to health.

48 minutes ago, xper said:

MSFN is a one-man show.

I know exactly what you mean. I’m a one-man band in everything I do, too.

51 minutes ago, xper said:

On top of that, I’ve wanted to shut MSFN down several times over the last few months because of this situation.

To be honest, your personal life comes first. So the decision is entirely up to you.

1 hour ago, xper said:

Stick to software, hardware discussion ...

Thanks, but I'll decide that for myself.

55 minutes ago, xper said:

Have a nice night

Have a nice night, too!

[AstroSkipper]

13 minutes ago, dmiranda said:

PS: disappointed on e-tools.ch. It used to be my engine of choice for 2-3 years, now it only works if you go to preferences and manually set base to important... A pain in the neck.

Yes, I used eTools.ch for a while too. But it produced the same rubbish as Google, as it seems to be using Google’s data. I’ve deleted it from my list of search engines.

Edited June 5 by AstroSkipper