Post: the web doesnt want to be browser

src/blog/posts/2024/2/are-there-any-browsers-that-dont-suck.md

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+---
+title: The web doesn't want to be browsed
+tags:
+    - browsers
+    - tech
+    - rant
+---
+
+Arc Browser published a... [controversial update](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIeJF3kL5ng) this week. The TL;DR of it is that it's got a feature that will automatically open the top search result for you, rather than taking you to a search engine.
+
+I've seen a fair emount of criticism of this decision on social media, and I'm not hugely keen on the idea either. I like that Arc are trying to do something different, that's admirable, but this approach feels like it's further separating users from the actual web.
+
+One of the defining things about the progression of the web over the last 3 decades has been the gradual reduction in choice & discoverability. We went from lots of disparate, small-ish websites & communities for different topics, to most of the web being consolidated over 5 or 6 places. Discoverability is determined and restricted by algorithms (unless you pay up to get to the top).
+
+Now this is an extension of that, a further obfuscation of the web; now you don't even search, your browser picks what website it thinks is best for you. I don't think this is a good thing; it might be _faster_, but it won't be better in the long-run. I don't need my browser to be a huge productivity-boosting, do-everything-for-you magic box, I just need it to _browse the fucking web_.
+
+But apparently browser vendors disagree; the web doesn't want to be browsed, it must be consumed.