Google doesn't like balisongs

Balisongs are dangerous. It's a little-known historical fact that people were never murdered before balisongs and switchblades were invented. Brutus stabbed Caesar with a balisong.
 
Originally posted by KWM
...There is a huge backlash against knives right now... I do not know if it is possible to change the public conception of this knife. I doubt it.
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I think about this a lot, and I mean A LOT. And the question still lingers in my mind, how can we change this type of thinking? What can any of us do? I wasn't around in the 50's or 60's, but I do know that knives in general did not have a bad rep like they do all of a sudden. Oh sure, maybe the "bad" kids carried a switch blade that they would flash when trying to get a kid's lunch money, but the general consensus was that knives were an acceptable tool to carry on oneself, along with a watch, pen or what-have you. I would even venture to guess that they weren't given a second thought.

As Ed Fowler puts it in his book, "Knife Talk", "When I was a kid, we all had pocketknives. We earned the right to carry a pocketknife and under no circumstances would we abuse that right. Along with the pocketknife, we learned something more important. We learned trust and responsibility, that we earned respect when we respected others."

He later goes on to say, "Somehow, somewhere along the line we, you and I, let this happen. I don't know how it happened; I don't even know if it can be corrected. I do know that anyone who figures pocketknives are weapons rather than tools can't be smart enough to prepare our children for life outside the public school system. It is time we start challenging the system that can set a policy such as this. With a little luck, maybe we can change the government and our educational system just enough that folks who dream up these kinds of ideas may be looking for a new job."

Now one could get technical and say that a Balisong is not a "pocketknife", but I think the general term can be used in this situation.

So here is our dilemna. We view knives as one thing (i.e. tool) and "they" (Google in this case), view them as anything but. Does anyone have any idea how we can correct this, as Ed said? As for myself, I am going to challenge the system, even if in small ways, such as a letter of complaint with an explanation of the true purpose of knives. Any thoughts?
 
E-mail sent. I doubt it will change anybody's mind at Google, but at least they'll realize they offended a significant group.

All should chime in on this, with courteously- worded messages.
 
Nice email sent. Damn shame I always used google oh well. Anyone have a suggestion of a new search engine to use. Bad enough I have to send letters to countless government officals but now corporations as well. BTW, anyone have a good email address for google?
 
An email will be sent to Google shortly.

Other Popular search engines...

My personal favorite...
www.ixquick.com

Another one I use a lot:
www.metacrawler.com

This one is awesome if you have DEEP searching to do and don't mind paying:
www.karnak.com
Karnak can also email you and let you know the status of your search.

Those are the two that I use the most. Sadly Google seems to be the best at searching a specific website.

Tip: Use ANY search engine to search for "Search Engine Rewview"
I do this about once a month. I also search for "metasearch engine reviews"

SquirrelNet's Top 20

1.Overture
2.Yahoo!
3.Google
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6.HotBot
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8.AltaVista
9.MagPortal
10.Netcraft
11.Dogpile
12.AOL Search
13.Go
14.About.com
15.Netscape
16.Direct Hit
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18.Lycos
19.Looksmart
20.Ask Jeeves

Others you may want to check out.
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Bah, anyway, If you can't find it with Ixquick, Metacrawler, Direct Hit, Yahoo! , or karnak, you're not searching right. Thats MY take on it anyway.
Good luck.
Chris
 
Balisongs are dangerous. It's a little-known historical fact that people were never murdered before balisongs and switchblades were invented. Brutus stabbed Caesar with a balisong.
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Not to be a total idiot, but what kind of drugs are you on? So, Cane slew Abel with a balisong, eh? That was the first murder in history, unless fratricide(the slaying of one's brothers) was legal in that time. :rolleyes:

Caeser wasn't stabbed with a balisong, as the design doesn't go that far back, and that was BC. Provide me one fact that can prove either of your points. It can't be done.

Yes, I own a balisong, a model 42 as a matter fact, and have found that there are virtually no crimes committed with a balisong in the United States. Do the correct research and you'll see that I speak the honest truth.

You are more likely to be stabbed with a butcher knife or a pocket knife than with a balisong. That's a proven fact.
 
They just got a diatribe from myself.., and 13 other people at UCLA Medical Center.

Thanks for the "heads-up" on the Balisong Forum Chuck...






"Hunters seek what they [WANT].., Seekers hut what they [NEED]"
 
This one is awesome if you have DEEP searching to do and don't mind paying: www.karnak.com
Click to expand...

I never heard of it. But, I'm checking it out as we speak.

I'm showing my age here, but I remember the first general search engine on the internet, Infoseek. And you had to pay a subscription fee to use it. I never minded paying for it. A good internet search engine is an invaluable tool.

Google has been pretty good for me. Had this issue not come up, I would have just stuck with 'em and not even looked around. But, since if they don't recan't this anti-knife position, I'm gonna have to drop 'em, I'm now gonna start to look around at the other sites suggested here. If google hadn't done this, I would have never even looked.

BTW, I e-mailed Google a polite letter this morning, got the automatic reply that many of you have that promises a personal reply, and I have not received any presonal reply yet. I hope that that's a good sign. In my letter to them, I pointed them to this thread and explained that BF.C has upwards of 15,000 members world-wide. My hope is that they're reconsidering right now and will shortly say, "Sorry, it was all a big misunderstanding."
 
Sorry, but I don't understand the big to do over this. I don't even look at the adds when I use Google or any other search engine. I would imagine that there is a corporate policy on certain items that might offend the general public. Do that and you are out of business. It is not like we are the majority here. If we were, bali's, auto's and all knives would be legal everwhere. But this is the real world and that is never going to happen. Yes, I mean never, now way, nada, not in anyones lifetime. So, move to Oregon.
jump3.gif
 
Although moving to Oregon has crossed my mind more than once. I'm young and stupid so I don't think I'll give up on the political system just yet.
 
Originally posted by Blackjack_21

Not to be a total idiot, but what kind of drugs are you on? So, Cane slew Abel with a balisong, eh? That was the first murder in history, unless fratricide(the slaying of one's brothers) was legal in that time. :rolleyes:

Caeser wasn't stabbed with a balisong, as the design doesn't go that far back, and that was BC. Provide me one fact that can prove either of your points. It can't be done.
Click to expand...

Congratulations Blackjack 21 (or should I call you Perry Mason?) You've singlehandedly destroyed my case! BTW that sound you're always hearing is the sound of jokes flying right over your head.

I'm in awe of the superhuman effort it must have taken to completely and utterly miss the point of my post.
 
Dear Brian -

Please read the enclosed thread:

Dear Google....

It has been brought to my attention that you have a problem advertising "Balisong" or "Butterfly" knives on your site.

The Butterfly knife is a design that is hundreds of years old, originating in the Philippines.

I'm saddened to see that your company has such an intolerant view on a tool that is legal in many places, and collected for their beauty and artist value...

With your attitude towards such items, it won't be long before you outlaw knives, guns, hunting and fishing equipment altogether, while you allow pornography, Bomb making instructions and the sort.....

I suggest you review your policy on Butterfly knives before you start to turn away more customers than you already have.

It companies and policies such as yours that make the knife into an evil weapon instead of the useful beautiful tool that it is, that can give life as easily as it can take it...

Until you do, I will do business with another search engine, remove your link from my site and encourage others to do the same.

Eric E. Noeldechen
On/Scene Tactical
Canadian Heritage Leaves
http://www.mnsi.net/~ericn
Real Canadian Gifts, Not Imported Offshore Trinkets!

On-Scene Tactical Products
http://www.mnsi.net/~nbtnoel
Leading The Way In Quality, Custom, Synthetic Sheathing Systems




Dear Eric -

Thank you for your feedback.

However you have really addressed your own concerns with this statement.

"an intolerant view on a tool that is legal in many places"

This would suggest it is illegal in others. And it is.

Our current technology does not allow us to target advertising by state so
we must take the only route allowed us and NOT show the advertising anywhere.

We continue to show thousands of results when you search for either "balisong"
or "butterfly knife" so we are not prohibiting your research or enjoyment in exploring
anything regarding these items.

Google is still the finest resource for accessing information on the internet.

We hope you will reconsider your stance.

Regards -

***********************************************
Bart Woytowicz
Director Ad Ops/Sales
Google Inc.
2400 Bayshore Parkway 650-318-0200 x 1073
Mountain View, Ca. 94043 bart@google.com
***********************************************
 
Apparently this has nothing to do with Google's stance on Balisongs, rather has everything to do with local laws. Because it's illegal in certain states, advertising for bali's does not comply with those laws. Thus, it is not in our best interest to boycott Google (thank Dog). Rather, we need to contact our local representatives and have the Balisong removed from the "freak people out" category.

Also, we need to get in touch with some hotshot screen writer/director who will do an action flick with the hero using only his bali as tool & weapon. That way, people will think bali's are cool and not dangerous. Maybe even incorporate a scene in where he discusses the benefits of his bali over other knives. LOL! That'd be funny, but i'm sure no one would ever do it. No self-respecting actor anyway. Maybe Steven Segal or Jean-Clodd would do it, but then people would hate bali's even more! What a laugh!

Anyway, let's all write letters to our local reps. Maybe that'll help.
 
So if a "Model 0 Sticky Widget" is outlawed in Podunk California, and ONLY in Podunk, CA, then Google won't advertise it because it is "illegal somewhere?"

Or does it take TWO intolerant cities or townships outlawing something to get their attention?

It would be interesting to see if Google has ads for any pocketknives with 2.6"+ blades (illegal in Boston now, and at least two cities in Ohio), boxcutters (illegal on airliners), or alcohol (illegal in some Islamic countries).:rolleyes:

What do you all think? Is this a well-reasoned business response to restrictive laws, or a COP OUT?

More to the point, is it ILLEGAL for Google to post ads for things that are restricted/outlawed in certain areas, at least in the U.S?

What about 1SKS's "Sandsharks" ad? I bet that gets all over the world...is Spark still in charge, or is the Greater Marvellia Foreign Service Police hauling him off to an internment camp somewhere on the other side of the world as we post here?

Karl
 
So they're saying that because they're illegal in some places, that they're disallowing them? That's asinine. EVERYTHING is illegal somewhere.
 
I just went to Google and put in a search for "Butterfly knives" and came up with 28,500 matches. (1SKS even made the top ten!)

Hardly seems to be rabidly anti-knife just cuz they don't want 'em on the front page.

If the business that they denied the advertisement to were a sex shop instead of a knife dealer, and they didn't to let him advertise the top selling prosthetic penis of the month on the front page, would we all write them letters for being anti-sex?

I know I'm not taking the popular stand here, but that's just kinda what occurred to me. I'll re-read this thread another time or two, and maybe see what point/s I'm missing.
 
Just wanted to edit the number of matches found. It was 25,800. I've also re-read this thread twice, and still haven't found any evidence that they would want to limit or confiscate what any of us carry.

Sorry guys (and gals):(
 
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