Uwe wrote:

I've done my utmost to purge everything Google out of my life, and there hasn't been a downside. Google searches have been irrelevant for the longest time because of how they manipulate the results in way that favors their business model. And now with AI being forced down our throats, it's even worse. I predominantly use DuckDuckGo with the AI modules turned off, and it works well for me.  
 

I hate Google, as well, but unfortunately Google dictates the vast majority of worldwide search traffic, and this forum will continue to be largely invisible and unlikely to rebound unless this issue is fixed. I agree with the sentiment of people using alternative browsers--I use them too--but I don't think the forum being hidden from Google really does anything other than hurt the forum.

I hope this doesn't sound to argumentative--it is not intended to. I am satisfied that everyone who needs to know about the problem is aware of it now. I was hoping it was just some simple fix in a forum setting somewhere and once you knew about it is could be fixed.

Uwe wrote:

If we end up paying a subscription to keep the forum going, I will ask about the Google issue. There's nothing on the admin end that deals with search engine visibility or offers any SEO controls. As it is, I will need to do a massive purge of users that are registered (a long time ago) but have zero posts.

Cool. Thanks, Uwe.