Google gun news 12:32pm 6:5:13 (courtesy google.com)

The Truth About Guns does that voodoo the gun bloggers do: report and comment on firearms-related news generated by other sources. That said, we generate a lot of original material, from the occasional news report to editorials and reviews. As I’ve seen our competitors’ reviews and editorials show up on Google News, I asked Nick to apply for inclusion on Google News’s link list. No dice. (Rejection letter after the jump.) It would be nice to know why Google shunned us, in the same sense I’d like to know why Google can cry freedom in China and ban firearms-related advertising in the U.S. But whatever. The question is, should TTAG look to investigate and break more gun news—a labor-intensive process that could decrease posting frequency—or stick with the current formula? Your thoughts would be most appreciated.

Hi Nicholas,

Thank you for your note.

Thank you for your interest in sharing your content with us. However, when we reviewed your site, we found that we cannot include it in Google News at this time.

We have certain guidelines in place regarding the quality of sites which are included in Google News. Please feel free to review these guidelines at the following link:

http://www.google.com/support/news_pub/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=40787

We know it can be frustrating to not have more information about this but we appreciate your efforts and understanding. Please keep in mind that we will be unlikely to review your site for at least 60 days following this email.

Thanks for your interest in Google News.

Regards,
The Google News Team.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

158 COMMENTS

  1. 60 days, eh? Well then, sounds like another opportunity to apply then.
    I’m curious to know what it would mean to “investigate and break more gun news.”

  2. TO: Farago
    RE: Forget ‘Don’t Be Evil’ Evil Google

    I have. I use Ask for my searches.

    The sooner intelligent people forget Google and any of its derivatives, the better we’ll all be.

    Regards,

    Chuck(le)
    [Don’t be ‘evil’….like Google is evil. Flee from evil wherever you find it.]

    • This was not a “which search engine is better” post. I figured I point that out to you, since your dumb ass was probably too busy writing a memo to actually read and understand the question, which was:

      “The question is, should TTAG look to investigate and break more gun news—a labor-intensive process that could decrease posting frequency—or stick with the current formula?”

      The clue that that was the question you were supposed to answer was in the first three words: “The question is…”

      • What are you even talking about? Without a subject and intended recipient on your post I have no idea who you are addressing or what it’s in regards to.

        Also, please sign all your posts, and include an idiotic postscript after you do that.

        • No worries Matt; their posts speak for themselves.

          And I’ll have to admit, I too on occasion “jump the gun” in my haste to hop aboard my own soapbox.

        • Everyone’s post speaks for itself. Why don’t you guys take your own advice – here you are bad mouthing a guy named “Chuck” stating that he isn’t answering the question to the blog when you yourselves aren’t addressing the question in your criticizing post to “Chuck.”

          It’s okay Chuck. Welcome to TTAG and don’t let these guys bother you. This is a comments section – you can really write whatever you want here. Don’t let these guys bother you. You can answer whatever question you like… even if it isn’t asked. Ultimately – it’s for discussion purposes anyways.

        • Ah – the Anonymous ambassador to TTAG!

          I didn’t critique Chuck’s answering of the question; I tooled on him for his doofy posting style. If he was just some new guy I wouldn’t have said a thing. But he ain’t… he’s a holier than thou doucheball I’ve crossed in other sections, so I said what I said. Terribly sorry to have offended your delicate sensibilities.

        • Anonnermus: My actual response to the question is further down the page. If you check the timestamps, you’ll see I wrote it before I addressed Chucklehead.

      • I enjoy Chuck(le)’s comments. He butchers written shit even better than me. And he doesn’t take himself too seriously.

  3. Do they generally include single-topic publications? I’ll have to see if I can get it to pull up AutoBlog, or any of the music sites I frequent. It might make sense for ya’ll to reach out and ask around to similar sites as well.

    That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if the answer was simply that Google doesn’t like guns and prefers people only get one side of the story.

    • My edit apparently didn’t make it.

      I just Googled my new car, the newest Pagani Zonda, under news. Tons of automotive publications pop up.

      Maybe respond and ask what it would take for TTAG to make the grade. It couldn’t hurt.

        • Yup. Totes. It’s right next to my McLaren F1s. I have 7 so they don’t have to be daily drivers.

          To be fair, I can’t tell if you’re joking either. Apparently my humor is dryer than I thought. Or less funny. It’s one of the two.

        • You know you have it made when you have a 8 car garage and your Bently has to sit out in the rain.

        • Blinkey… we need to meet up so we can put your Zondas up against my Bugatti Veyrons on the drag strip. If I wrap one around the Christmas tree, I’ll just hop into one of my dozen others. 😉

        • Apparently when someone on the internet claims to be buying a $3 million car that isn’t available in the US “bullshit” is more likely that “he’s joking.” Or maybe I just didn’t make that clear enough.

        • “Or maybe I just didn’t make it clear that I make that much money.”

          Fixed that for you.

          Pagani Zonda +1

        • Love the Zonda… I love that they’re still making it along side it’s (ugly, in design and name) replacement.

          I also love the Tumbler. And building one would probably be well cheaper than a Zonda.

  6. For what it’s worth, Ammoland.com appears to be the only gun-related news site I can find in Google News results — and their listed content appears to be all press releases.

    Seems like anything more controversial than “sponsored shooter X wins match” or “company X announces product Y” is verboten.

  7. I think your current formula is fine. I didn’t even know Google News was a “thing,” and I spend a lot of time on the internet.

      • Folks,I really like this site as is. I enjoy the “community” of folks that reply, leave suggestions, etc.
        Love the candid reviews.
        A plus is the writing style of Dan, Nick, especially Robert.
        Just my two cents.

      • Me, three! I didn’t find the site through Google, and I’ve never used Google News. I only stumbled on the site a couple of days ago by way of some other news item about the current gun grab attempts, (or maybe the new 3D printed lower receiver) and I can’t think of a single thing I’d do to change TTAG. I’ve even already learned a couple of new acronyms! 🙂

        Who needs google anyway? I admit I use it to look up stuff like crossword puzzle clues and who some name is, but other than that, let them suffer. They’ll eventually learn the hard way, or not, that Truth is more powerful than lies. People who will benefit from the site will find it, one way or another.

  8. I like the structure, a good mix of news, opinion, snarky rants and reviews.

    It seems their own standards would allow you to tag which articles are news and which aren’t. It may by possbile with a little web restructuring to have META tags or some simple web directory organization split things up and make yourself good to go.

    I’m no techie though… check with your resident nerd…

  9. Hi Nicholas,

    Thank you for your note.

    Thank you for your interest in sharing your content with us. However, when we reviewed your site, we found that we cannot include it in Goebbels’ News at this time as you do not fit our propagandist narrative. If you should ever fall in line with “common sense” gun control efforts, for the children’s sake, we may change our (small) minds. Or not.

    Joe for
    Team Goebbels’

    Fixed it.

  11. Your current format is fine. I use Google News to find material to supplement my TTAG reading, not the other way around. :p

  12. Add me to the list that dropped Google like a hot potato and now use Bing! Besides, I took the BingItOn challenge and yes, I DID like their search results better.

  13. TTAG still shows up on searches just not on news. Bing, Yahoo will probably reject as well since it is not purely “news” but commentary.

    I use RSS readers on my phone and it all seems to work well. I never use Google News

  14. Ammoland.com appears on Google News when I searched AR-15. Maybe they don’t like Leghorn? Because we all know that Google is the great embracer of freedoms and would never deny any of their services or control the access of legal information or any access by anyone seeking information on anything. The great Google loves freedom. Must be a mistake.

  15. Google has always been anti-gun.
    They rejected me in the earliest days of Google Adwords when I wanted to sell bumper stickers that said “Self-defense is a human right” because they thought the message was inappropriate.
    It’s bullshit, but as a non-state actor, they have the right to discriminate based on content if they want. And I have the right to avoid them when I can, and say they’re hypocritical childish morons if I want to. So there.

        • That’s because people suck at reading comprehension.

          Either that, or they can’t handle non-instant gratification. They read just far enough to think, “Ooh, I can contribute some of my brain-vomit” (and sometimes that’s after reading no further than the headline), and they scroll to the bottom and faceroll the keyboard, having completely missed the point of the article, or the question being asked.

        • I aslo atended the Evelen Woodhed sped redin cours.
          My reeding compression improved 10 hundred percent.

        • Holy crap, Tom! I was going to say that your comment was right up there with the best comment I’ve ever read, this one, and when I went looking for it to cite it, I discovered you wrote that one too!

          Truly, you are a master of your craft.

        • I agree David. The article is about Google rejecting TTAG. If people want to slam Google for it in the comments section and not answer TTAG’s question – so be it. However some people having emotional or intellectual development appropriate to someone younger think it pertinent to act in a moderating sense and resort to the lowest level of the debating pyramid:

          http://fablegod.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/disagreement-hierarchy.jpg

          In my opinion, these people who think that other people’s posts don’t provide any quality substance should re-read their own.

  16. I think a move towards more of an emphasis on journalism would be nice, but the question is division of resources. Nick is a great reviews and now 3gun author, but maybe, just maybe, 1 of your other contributors could take on more of an investigative slant. Obviously, this is a blog, not long-form journalism, but if you don’t investigate these things, who will? USAToday certainly isn’t going to break from the party line, and neither will MSNBC, CNN, CBS, ABC, or even FOX. Look how little attention fast & furious got compared to Benghazi or even Petraeus’s dropped zipper.

    • Actually, I take back some of what I said earlier.

      TTAG is still my primary source of all news ‘gun’, but having an investigative reporter honestly could open up a lot of room for discussion on topics that otherwise might not be scrutinized heavily enough.

      Such articles could also wind up being a good, citable resource in Pro/Anti flame wars for years to come!

      It would, however, require more staff. I wouldn’t want to sacrifice some of the good content we otherwise see here. (Except the TTAK cross-posts 😉

  17. keep it the way it is. But hen I’m an old fuddy that doesn’t do change well. GET OFF MY LAWN!

  18. On topic: I like the mix. I wouldn’t go less news, but I also wouldn’t go more news until you’re ready for more staff.

    Off topic: You really want to make a news cycle, get either Drudge Report to pay attention or a Twitter aggrigate like Twitchy (which happens to be pro gun).

  19. More news, please. We are in a perilous time. MAIG is out with this vid, again with an actor who knows nothing about guns with his finger on the trigger:

    http://www.guardamerican.com/index.php/blog/35-politics/784-nv-maig-attacks-gov-sandoval

    There will soon come a time when the news we need will be exceedingly important. Develop the resources now. And, yes: I’m serious.

    This November millions are going to find out what ObamaCare really means. And things are going to be, ah, tense.

    Screw Google. They are part of the problem, and deeply wedded to a very different America where super-lux-elites get to farm the peasants. Keep it up, Robert.

    • Obamacare isn’t the best thing ever?! Next you’re going to tell me that it is series of almost two dozen new taxes (including a 3.5% real estate sales tax), increases government growth and complication, and is enforced by a less than honorable government agency known as the IRS. That just can’t possibly be, because Obama said its awesome and he can’t possibly be wrong because be sounds so reasonable.

      Edit to Matt in FL:
      I am thoroughly aware that my response was off topic, and I’m just fine that TTAG stays exactly as it is. If readership declines or accelerates more slowly, then TTAG could pursue this more thoroughly. I think the issue is that Google has a problem with TTAG’s pro-gun politics, and that their rejection letter is full of sh!t.

      Also off topic: working for the government has likely diminished my reading comprehension. Thankfully, my adoption of zero tolerance has eliminated the need to think.

  21. While I like the current formula, your idea of more breaking gun news would be a nice expansion of the site. The time commitment if you do it all yourselves would be a significant consideration.
    What you might be able to do is ask for volunteers to cover certain news areas for you. If you have a reasonable number of stringers (say, three or so per subject area, with maybe a dozen subject areas), then they can submit articles to your “editorial board” for approval and publication.
    After a couple of months of that, then perhaps the site would meet the google criteria.

    • This would be my answer too.

      I enjoy the commentary (mostly), but I’d appreciate seeing more gun news. I wouldn’t mind trading some of one for more of the other.

      Getting into Google News would be a good thing — probably for TTAG’s bottom line as well as informing the public. A lot of people check it for current events and breaking news, and having a source that actually tells the truth about guns would be a nice little counterbalance to all the mainstream anti-gun propaganda out there.

  22. Keep using Facebook. Google News is not the end all. Let the mountain come to Muhamed not the other way around. Google is not the main way we get our information. Do your thing and do it well, don’t let Google direct what you do or you might as well be an asset of Google.

  23. “Should TTAG look to investigate and break more gun news—a labor-intensive process that could decrease posting frequency—or stick with the current formula?”
    Why not, you are after all, the truth about guns?

  24. Quite honestly, I’m actually very close to removing TTAG from my Facebook News Feed because I find the commentary a bit too much. I’m interested in actual gun related news more than I am the commentary that surrounds it and contributes nothing to the story. FWIW.

    • To your question, Robt.
      Yes, stick with formula.

      F*ck Google and their News. They’ll probably drop that after awhile anyway.
      I use DuckDuckGo too. Even more so after the NSA-Google revelations in the news, thanks to Drudge.

      PS: Matt. FakeBook. Really?

  25. I come here mostly to keep an eye on what the antis are doing. You hit most of the high points, in close enough to real time. I like the mix the way it is.

    • I should also explain that drinking 24 OZ of coffee is now officially considered a mental disorder due to withdrawl

      • I can believe that, sorta. I don’t drink a lot of coffee, but I should own stock in Pepsico, because I inhale that stuff. If I go more than about 8 hours without some form of caffeine, I get a hellacious headache.

  27. Looks like they did give you an explanation as why they rejected you. Either conform to Google’s guidelines or don’t.

  28. I likewise check this for info on the anti’s, and whatever else gets put up I skim to kill time

  29. I use Google news usually to see how popular or current a news item is.

    And to avoid an annoying “that wasn’t the question” reply, it depends on how much you think being included will increase your page views, and thus your ad revenue. Personally, I like the current volume of articles.

  30. @ RF;

    You can always do a test run for a week and see how it is accepted.

    Personally, I like the current format.

  32. should TTAG look to investigate and break more gun news

    Yes. And what the fvck is Google News?

  34. I’ll see if I can sneak this past Matt in FL.

    I like the current content and format.

    Google can pound sand.

  36. I enjoy TTAG as an aggregating service of firearms-related news from around the web. Some of the reviews are helpful (searching for one on a particular handgun was how I stumbled upon TTAG in the first place), others are less so. Editorials are a mixed bag: some are rote platitudes, others are way off base, but others are interesting and sometimes present information that I was previously unaware of. Original content and the sense of community are the long term value adding angle, though, because RSS feeds can do the aggregation and people can find other communities to belong to.

    So there’s room for improvement in the original content side, but do so gingerly so as not to erode the solid paradigm of funneling firearms news into one convenient site.

    If any policy change is in order, though, how about a “No Assholes” rule in the comments section? TTAG is EXTREMELY cliquish at the comments level. The section is clearly dominated by a very few long time regulars and their very rigid orthodoxy of what’s appropriate to say, think and write regarding firearms; as evidenced by the comments on this article. Sometimes I feel embarrassed to be here, by way of association with some of these people, and that specifically prevents me from telling friends/family about this site.

    I know, I know, it’s a gun blog, it’s the Internet, it can get rough, so wear a cup. Blah blah blah. I’m already plenty tough without hanging out with rude keyboard commandos. So how about just toning down the chorus from the Asshole, er, I mean, Peanut Gallery, and letting a more hospitable idea exchanging environment emerge? Or don’t. It’s your clubhouse, do whatever you want and let the site traffic chips fall where they may.

    • My ears are burning. I love you man. You can be part of the club.

      As far as your requested rule goes, the problem with that is it’s pretty subjective. Some people get offended really easily, others not at all. Sometimes person A will get offended on person B’s behalf, when B just thought it was funny and didn’t worry about it. RF’s rule is that you can’t directly flame other people (which I’ve been guilty of on occasion), you can’t flame the website, and you can’t flame the commentators. Directly abusive, in other words. I think all of us who have been here a while have been slapped down for crossing that line, and that’s fine. If you see something that you think is over the line that doesn’t get caught by the editors, send an email to [email protected] and they’ll take a look at it.

    • Occasional rigidity is a good thing, but I find it occurs with less frequency as I age. Oh, wait, different topic. . .

      Good observation, Jonathan. There does seem to be the odd bit of internecine strife in here every now and then. The moderation seems to help, but sometimes it does seem like the inmates get the keys.

      At the end of the day, it is RF’s toy, but I do appreciate what he’s trying to do here.

      “Can we all get along?”
      -R. King

    • rigid orthodoxy of what’s appropriate to say, think and write regarding firearms; as evidenced by the comments on this article.

      Can you be specific?

    • “rude keyboard commandos”

      Nice description… I’m going to use this later.

      What an articulate post. Very well written. You should stick around.

      We like the freedom to post our opinions and Robert gives us uncensored freedom (we like freedom). Freedom in the end I think is a better goal don’t you? When we start setting rules down left and right it changes things. Usually not for the better. We may be stubborn and opinionated – but I think most people are like that. You should join in.

    • So far as I can tell, the orthodoxy of TTAG’s comment section, as enforced by Ralph and Matt in FL and a few others, simply amounts to “don’t be stupid.”

      Judging by this comment, it seems like you (Jonathan) are an articulate and reasonable guy who could fit that orthodox mold quite well.

      There are a few abrasive wingnuts here, but any open group on the internet will have its share. The bad news is you can’t avoid them; the good news is that at least here they rarely go unchallenged and they don’t run the show.

    • Jonathan- hey man, like your style. Dont hold back in the future, tho, and in full disclosure mode – ya, my ears are red, I could probably lighten up.

      But A$$holes? well, like they say, takes one to know one. So in the spirit of open-ness and welcoming of course, kumbaya, all that… lets just double-check, going by your comments, how ya might fit in: http://electricpulp.com/guykawasaki/arse/

      Going by your comments-

      1. yes
      2. yes, well- kinda- afraid to be seen as one, by friends and family by association here.
      3. yes- you dont trust your family to not judge you for what other a$$holes say here.
      4. not conclusive- you are tough tho…I give it a yes for ya.
      5. yes.
      6. yes
      7. no telling but I got a feeling its yes
      8. 9. 10 . yes
      11. unclear
      12. 13.14.15 yes
      16 17 unclear
      ah f*ck it, you already passed, you are in the true a$$hole category.

      Dude! Welcome to the club!

  37. Did you really expect to be included? I understand that you guys cover topical stuff and I really enjoy some of your posts but, most of your posts are either commentaries or just like stubs. I’m fine with it–you’re a gun blog so it’s what I’ve come to expect and I read TTAG because I find it entertaining. But it’s not my news source for a number of reasons, not the least being you guys don’t have an even tone. I wouldn’t be butt hurt about it. Just be proud of who you are.

  38. I read TTAG every day. Google News has never attracted me but to be fair I can see it is important for the viability of growing the TTAG readership.

    After reading the Google News Guidelines, however, it struck me that they say they do not allow links to push marketing but almost every article that pops up (like from Ammoland) is a thinly veiled marketing push. Having used Google ad words a lot in my business, it is highly likely that Google News may approve your application if you provide marketing revenue for them.

  39. All the more reason to ditch the ‘all too eager to comply with illegal warrantless FBI-requests’-acquiescent NSA-Google; better late than never to return the favor by you promptly stop using them as your default search engine.

    Use “StartPage.com,” the world’s leading anonymous non-IP tracking search engine, instead.

    But hey, on the bright side, you should take solace in the fact that now you’ve joined the ranks of Alex Jones & his InfoWars.com and PrisonPlanet.com, who also faced the same fate, despite the fact that their headlines and reports have been finding their way onto News.Google, FOR YEARS.

    What’s hilarious is that about 80% of Alex Jones’ sites are merely aggregating MSM headlines (which frankly, other than the nature of topics discussed and aside from your OpEds, MSM article commentary, and guns/gear reviews, is no different than what you do, Farago) the ‘geniuses’ at the privatized NSA lackeys ‘just’ found out about a year or two ago that the little old redneck from Austin, TX could ‘game’ their own system by “Google-Bombing” his own custom headlines by leveraging his 3~5Million daily audience to search specific terms and headlines, thereby literally setting the “Trending” trajectory of whatever topics he wanted covered.

    Crafty lad, that Alex Jones.

    No matter: by any measurable objective metric, the Drudge Report is who really drives news traffic around the English-speaking world, because most MSM scribes are both too dumb and lazy to do anything on their own.

    Guess you better figure out a way to “Google-Bomb” your own headlines and OpEds to make it on their “trending” topics, or find a way to get on DrudgeReport.com more often, too. Because Alex Jones already has: in fact, his Alexa numbers are growing by the day, with or without Google News blocking them.

    Drudge, Farago, Drudge.

      • Their loss Nick.
        I prefer the old adage about a mind being like a parachute. Works better when open.

      • I’ve always wondered why TTAG didn’t show up there. I’ve had a couple articles I’ve found at gunwire get referenced from some other source than the one there. All makes sense now.

        If I may be so bold, what problems do they have with Mr. F?

    • Never heard of either of those places. If TTAG is paradise they are the brothels at the last exit before you enter the mother-of-pearl-handled gates.

  41. I think many people are realizing Bing gives less-censored results. I’ve pretty much switched from Bing for all of my searches.

  42. I think TTAG should stick with the current formula. Having gun and gear reviews and news, etc. Maybe a reader doesn’t necessarily see the news but finds your gun review. After all, the news will die over time, but a gun/gear review doesn’t as long as that item is still available for sale. I was originally brought to TTAG February of 2013 not for gun news but from a handgun review – and it was an older gun.

    • Addendum to the above – Some posts (such as Nick’s 3 gun videos) are neither news nor reviews but are still entertaining and add value to the site and another point of view to those who are not involved in those kinds of sports. They may not necessarily add more viewers to TTAG – but they may add more gun owners to the populace that take up 3 gun. The short story is… adding some entertainment every once in a while is beneficial also.

  43. More news and rigorous legal and policy analysis. Less punditry. More reviews, 3-gun, and reloading data. Less snarky rant.

  44. Go for broke: investigate and break more news. I love the frequency of your posts, but think you could accomplish more for gun rights by reaching a larger audience.

  45. TTAG is my only source for news, period. Now could you add local weather forecasting?

  46. Appeasing Google News editors is not the path that I would suggest, because it’s pointless. Their hard-left bias was well documented back in 2003, when they dropped blogs that dared to suggest that perhaps bringing freedom to downtrodden and removing a despot that sent children their mothers’ heads in plastic bags might possibly help someone other than Big Oil. Producing stories in-house may not be a bad idea, if you can. Just don’t think it’s going to win hearts at Google.

  48. I think moving TTAG toward news generation would be a great idea.

    First, creating a news clearing house that both provided original stories and commentary on existing content would help the 2A cause.

    Second, I suspect you’ll be able to reach a much larger audience by getting your content picked up by sympathetic news feeds.

    Third, I suspect a large number of organizations that currently exist could really benefit from this service. You might be able to partner with pro 2A organizations that gets involved with lobbying or are pro conservative in general. If you prepared your content appropriately, you could probably appeal to a lot of middle of the road organizations that might support gun rights if they didn’t come wrapped up in an overly ideological package.

    I enjoy your blog and would hate to lose it, but I think becoming a news content creator would give you a much bigger voice in the 2A debates.

  50. Say hello to the new gatekeepers
    Same as the old gatekeepers
    The sheeple will be fooled again

  51. Screw Google. They suck. Blah, blah, blah.

    Okay, now that I’ve got Matt’s attention: decaf, dude. Switch to it. :p

    On topic, I like having most of the news story consolidated, so yay for the new editor being able to do that. Otherwise, always more reviews and sweet, magicky science.

  52. “…we will be unlikely to review your site for at least 60 days following this email.”

    at LEAST 60 days, meaning potentially forever.

  55. I say you guys are doing great just as the site is. I repost a lot of your stuff to my facebook page and you have gotten more traffic from friends that read my posts and now regularly check your site. I am sure I am not the only one driving people to your site, so keep doing what your doing.

  56. Google’s an arm of the NSA. Nick, why don’t you ask the NSA for TTAG’s files?

    • “The Justice Department is defending the government’s refusal to discuss — or even acknowledge the existence of — any cooperative research and development agreement between Google and the National Security Agency. The Washington based advocacy group Electronic Privacy Information Center sued in federal district court here to obtain documents about any such agreement between the Internet search giant and the security agency. The NSA responded to the suit with a so-called ‘Glomar’ response in which the agency said it could neither confirm nor deny whether any responsive records exist. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington sided with the government last July.” – SonicSpike

  57. I find the TTAG as one of the most fair and open to different views (truth) as you are going to find in today’s world ,,, Google is another left (sold out) rag , Like in NEW WORLD ORDER… it is easy to see if they will do anything to please RED COMMUNIST CHINA but liberty loving Americans can forget it. I WILL NOT use Google , Another pack of RATS. I find Bing does a better search job anyhow.

  58. I always wondered why Google’s shopping search practically never yields any useful links to gun related merchandise – now I know.

    As much as I dislike Microsoft products, at least Bing has decent gun product search results, and their video search is quite good….so I hear…..

    -ted

  59. Adding some original reporting could be a great addition. Coverage of gun issues is one area where most news providers fall flat, having TTAG enter the space could provide new information and discipline the rest of the market.

  60. Thank you to all the editors out there running TTAG. Truly appreciate the gun news.
    More interviews with industry heads, politicians and armed citizens would be a good addition.

  61. I’ve applied for Google news before for different websites and it can give you a huge boost in traffic, but with a gun related site I’m telling you it’s going to be almost impossible to get in.

    • Need to start seeding other sites with articles about TTAG.
      Like this very item, how the NSA partner Google has suddenly started blacklisting the webs most popular gun website. Hmmmm, coincidence? Would-a-thunk entire groups of people would be audited and financially harmed by the IRS simply based on political beliefs?

      Plenty of conservative/libertarian sites that might like to report on that.

      Then the searches at those Not-Yet-Blacklisted-By-Google-Fascists would show those links with TTAG and guns, which drives eyeballs here.

      How about Drudge? Instapundit? Media Matters? Powerline?

      Or posts in the comments with links at those and others?

      Maybe a media campaign to boycott Google?
      With an Army of Davids for 1A support of 2A supporters?
      Like Glenn Reynolds says- “punch back twice as hard”.

  62. +1 vote for keeping site focused as it is now.

    I prefer the greater frequency of postings (current format) vs trading off for more “in depth” news reporting (proposed format).

    And yes, I read the site and almost every thread, every day, multiple times.

    To RF et al, running the site: many thanks, and keep up the good work.

  63. As a contributor to the site, I find that whole “quality” comment in their response a little offensive. While TTAG may include articles that don’t fit Google’s definition of “news,” the quality of content on the site is second to none. The coverage of all things firearm related is a true representation of the gun culture, from the fight to preserve our 2nd Amendment to the shortages at our local gun shops to the reviews of the latest hardware. TTAG has taken the ramblings of a diverse group of gun guys and brought it all together with a dash of offbeat humor to create something special that no other site has managed to duplicate. We may not be politically correct or even newsworthy in Google’s eyes, but TTAG is certainly not lacking in quality. I, for one, am proud to be a part of it all. Any change in emphasis or format to suit someone else would only serve to dilute the magic formula that has made TTAG successful, especially when that someone is the same company who has made some very questionable moves that don’t exactly support our constitutional right to bear arms.

  65. I like TTAG the way it is. It is your site so run it the way you wish. I have seen site formats change and not often for the better. I am attracted to sites because of content and format. The question is do you gain more viewers than you lose.

    I use Ixquick so what you do to please Google has no effect on me. I suspect that you will either have to quit reporting about guns or start declaring guns as evil masses of steel forged in the fires of hell to impress Google.

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