DIY search engine takes on Google
(BBC) Backed by free software activists, YaCy aims to literally [take it out of Google's manipulating hands and] put search into the hands of users by distributing its indexing engine around the Net.
Anyone can download the YaCy software and help the search system improve and spread the load of queries.
Its creators also hope YaCy will be much harder to censor than existing systems that pipe queries through centralized servers.
The YaCy search page was opened to the public on Nov. 28, 2011 and currently has about 600 participants or peers that share the load of queries and the task of indexing information.
"Most of what we do on the internet involves search," said Michael Christen, YaCy's project leader in a statement. "It's the vital link between us and the information we're looking for."
"For such an essential function, we cannot rely on a few large companies, and compromise our privacy in the process," he said.
YaCy (pronounced "Ya See") is supported by the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) which campaigns on digital rights and tries to help people control their own digital destiny. More
