Agora Search

https://twitter.com/flancian/status/1399779789368664065 pull

• The [[agora]] is in essence equivalent to a [[distributed]] [[wiki]].
  • Note you could theoretically use a wiki to [[crowdsource]] search results; in the limit, think of having a wiki page for every likely user query.
  • Perhaps [[agora search]] tries to find a good match for your query locally and redirects to other agoras in the network or to [[google]] or [[duckduckgo]] if a good local result isn't available.
    • When it volunteers something, it also offers to continue your query in the search authority of your choice.
  • [[push and pull]] could be used to offer hints for how to route queries to relevant results.
• The [[agora]] can already be used as a [[search engine]].
  • To do so, you can use the following URL template in your browser of choice: https://anagora.org/search?q=%s pull
    • Searching this way behaves the same way as searching using the text box always at the top of this [[agora]].
  • As of [[2021-02-27]], you can also just use [[open search]] to add the [[agora]] as a search engine; this works at least on [[firefox]]. You should be able to see the agora as an available search engine to add in the search box.
  • The [[agora]] will try to serve any relevant nodes for your queries -- useful for when you have notes on the topic you're searching for.
    • In every case, the [[agora]] will try to make it easy for you to 'click through' and continue your search elsewhere -- in established search engines or the websites of your choice.
• Agora Search is [[crowdsourced search]] for the [[open]] [[internet]].
• [[user story]] https://twitter.com/flancian/status/1350835941603221504 pull
• [[keywords]] https://twitter.com/flancian/status/1352671899583713288 pull
• [[pull]] [[crowdsourced search]]
• This [[agora]] tries to search all [[agoras]], and also the internet as it manifests an [[intent to cooperate]].
  • See [[stoa]].
  • You can use [[open search]] to add it to your browser while you're visiting it.
  • You can have it as default search engine, like I sometimes do, or you can associate it with a prefix. I use 'a' and 'an'. Like in 'an entity'.
• [[2021-02-27]]
  • Hooking up with [[yubnub]] seems like a good idea.
  • Working on general [[usability]] in parallel.

Design

• In [[agora server]], /search / /exec does the following:
  • It takes a query string in argument 'q' (sort of standard).
  • It optionally tokenizes the query string (unsure if this is the right stage for tokenizing, or tokenization should be done ad-hoc by search providers to allow for domain-specific tweaks).
  • It offers the query string or the tokens to [[search providers]], essentially hooks that volunteer [[actions]] or [[results]] -- perhaps as bids in a distributed system modelled as a market (later).
  • It scores the alternatives and either chooses one for the user (based on programmable rules) or presents them as alternatives.
  • The default action is 'redirect to the agora node matching/encoding the query'.
  • Also supported currently:
    • [[go]], which redirects immediately to a go link if present in the parameter node or a [[combination]].

https://merveilles.town/web/statuses/105997152161798151 https://twitter.com/flancian/status/1379495094001238026 pull

Crowdsourced Search

• Any [[entity]] can have a [[node]] in the [[Agora]].
  • Search queries are entities.
    • Search queries can also be decomposed in constituent entities for better modeling using a grammar, but that is not strictly necessary.
• The Agora is a [[distributed knowledge graph]] by the people, for the people.
  • Agora [[nodes]] are [[crowdsourced]].
• From the above it seems to follow that the [[Agora]] is a sufficient platform to implement crowdsourced search.
  • You can think of a [[node]] as equivalent to a user-editable search result page for the search query matching the node title.
  • [[go links]] are explicit offerings for relevant links around the internet.
  • [[jump]] does the minimum necessary to map arbitrary search queries to an Agora node.
• [[pull]] [[jump]] [[agora search]]
• [[go]] https://twitter.com/flancian/status/1345418507916353536 pull
  • [[mastodon]] https://social.coop/web/statuses/105487286612738096
• You can add the [[Agora]] as a [[search engine]] in your [[browser]]: https://anagora.org/jump?q=%s pull