Add https://searx.thefloatinglab.world

[FransVeldman]

Requirements (make sure to read all of them)

• [X] It is my instance. I bought the domain myself and I own this domain. Free domains (e.g. Freenom) and shared domains (e.g. noip.com) are not allowed.
• [X] I'll keep my instance up to date, at the very least 1 week old. Example program for keeping up to date: watchtower, cron, ouroboros.
• [X] I give the right to check.searx.space to check my instance (every 3 hours for the response times, every 24 hours for the other tests).
• [X] I acknowledge that managing a public instance is not an easy task and require spending time to keep the instance in good health. E.g. look after your instance by using a monitoring system.
• [X] I guarantee to keep an uptime per month of my instance at minimum 90%. Please ask for a removal of your instance if there is a planned long downtime or notify us here for a short downtime.
• [X] I do not track the users of my instance with any analytics or tracking software.
• [X] I won't try to manipulate the ranking of my instance in a way that give an unfair advantage over the other public instances in the list. (e.g. caching requests for searx.space server)
• [X] I control the final webserver (software) that is serving the requests to the users of my instance. Here is a non-exhaustive list of forbidden hosting types: Cloudflare, PaaS, managed (hosting provider controlled) HTTP(S) load balancer (e.g. AWS ALB), shared Web hosting. TCP load balancer is fine. Cloudflare DNS only (grey cloud) is fine.
• [X] If needed, I can restrict users from accessing my instance for the only sole reason of keeping my instance in working conditions for the other users (detailed description - evidence need to be provided when asked). Other means of restriction is forbidden.

Bot protection requirement

• [X] Yes I have configured the server.public_instance parameter.

Source code URL

No response

Comment

No response

[github-actions[bot]]

Please consider joining our Matrix room for public instance maintainers by joining our Matrix room: https://matrix.to/#/#searxng:matrix.org then pinging @ unixfox, @ dalf and @ mrpaulblack for asking to be invited to the Matrix room. We discuss troubles managing a public instance, sharing some advices (like how to protect against bots), announcing big changes in searxng and more.

[github-actions[bot]]

@maintainers Warning, instance found in the commit history, make sure to wait 1 week before adding the instance if needed. See here for more information: https://github.com/searxng/searx-instances#add-a-previously-submitted-instance

Commit ID: 889f187afa01e3abc3de4a8bd64dc893d8b6b7d4
 - Date: Fri Dec 1 16:17:51 2023 +0000
 - Description: removing outdated instances
 - Author: Émilien (perso)

Commit ID: 53b523ed4a200ede6a3fc019df26ca40838db4a5
 - Date: Thu Mar 9 15:56:43 2023 +0000
 - Description: Add https://searx.thefloatinglab.world
 - Author: xuechen

[ononoki1]

Please enable server.public_instance parameter.

[FransVeldman]

Done. I remember having it set to true, but somehow it was false.. Probably something went wrong when pasting in my old config into the new config. Anyway, it is set to "true" now, and the service has been restarted.

[unixfox]

hello @FransVeldman, make sure to keep your instance up to date. your instance needs to be at the very least 1 week old, it's 5 months old!

when there will be a second warning, your instance will be removed and won't be able to be added again.

[FransVeldman]

Hello Émilien,

On 10/01/2025 20:47, Émilien (perso) wrote:

hello @FransVeldman https://github.com/FransVeldman, make sure to keep your instance up to date. your instance needs to be at the very least 1 week old, it's 5 months old!

I have updated it now... but: Consider it a compliment that I did not find any reason to update it earlier. Everything just worked to my satisfaction.

I'm not the kind of guy who routinely fixes things that ain't broken, with the risk of breaking it in the process.

when there will be a second warning, your instance will be removed and won't be able to be added again.

Can you be a bit more friendly? Instead of dealing "warnings" you can just ask why somenone has not updated (someone can be ill, or just lost a family member), or at least give a more friendly hint. I'm doing the community a service by hosting SearxNG for free and making people SearxNG aware, which is also in your interest. There are better ways to start a dialogue and to keep volunteers interested in the project. A friendly reminder would have worked just as well and would have spared you this email.

Isn't the idea of your instance list that, with all the details, including version number, visitors can decide for themselves which instance they want to use? And if they are ok with using one which is only 5 months old, why do you care?

I remember that there were over 100 instances when I joined the list, the number is now down to worldwide just 71. And then you threathen to remove a volunteer for no other reason than just not updating when you want it? A more friendly attitude would serve the project better.

Regards, Frans

[unixfox]

Hello Frans,

I'm sorry if you were offended by my comments.

It's hard to keep a list of good instances that people can choose from and be sure that they will get the best experience of SearXNG for a very long time.

This is why I have to be a bit strict and uncompromising with everyone. Also, why the rules are strict too.

I would like to remind you that you have agreed the rules and one of them clearly notice that you must keep your instance up to date:

I'll keep my instance up to date, at the very least 1 week old. Example program for keeping up to date: watchtower, cron, ouroboros.

I hope we can continue having your instance on the list and that you will keep updating your instance frequently.

[return42]

@FransVeldman please update your instance regularly (2025.3.9+8b1d73c5b is to old). @unixfox has already asked you to do so and also explained that we have to pay attention to a minimum of quality in the instances offered on searx-space.

I hate to say it and in all politeness, your SearXNG instance is unfortunately to often conspicuous ... and not in a positive sense.

We welcome the fact that you are making an instance available to the public, but we must also ask you to observe the rules and invest a minimum of maintenance

Related:

• https://github.com/searxng/searx-instances/issues/298

[FransVeldman]

On 30/04/2025 13:14, Markus Heiser wrote:

return42 left a comment (searxng/searx-instances#568) https://github.com/searxng/searx-instances/issues/568#issuecomment-2841936620

@FransVeldman https://github.com/FransVeldman please update your instance regularly. @unixfox https://github.com/unixfox has already asked you to do so and also explained that we have to pay attention to a minimum of quality in the instances offered on searx-space.

Well, it just happened. I had a bit of free time and ran the update command, and now Searxng is broken. Something with a missing whitenoise module.

Luckily I didn't, as you suggested, routinely update searxng, or it would have caught me at a moment when I had no time for troubleshooting.

I wanted to search the internet about this whitenoise module, but with my own searxng instance broken, I went to the instance list to find another site.

I did two unpleasant discoveries:

The first one was that the two instances at the top of your list were completely broken. I ran a search with their default settings for "searxng whitenoise". The first site came with travel directions and other information related to Stonehenge. The second one came with equally unrelated results but in the French language (while the setting was English). See attachments. If I would just be a casual user trying to see what SearXNG is about, I would never come back after this hilarious experience.

The second discovery is that my, until then, perfectly working SearX instance with an uptime of 100%, had disappeared from your list, without notice.

So, if I understand correctly, your idea of "maintaining a minimum of quality" is to have a few broken instances at the top of your list, while removing a reliable and perfectly working instance because the owner is a bit more cautious with updating stuff and only wants to put stuff in production after he has verified that it works correctly, and was thus a few weeks "behind"?

Anyway, after some consultation on the Matrix list, it was suggested that the docker version is way better maintained and should not have a high risk of breaking after an update, and if it does, it doesn't take the rest of the system down with it.

I have now converted to the docker version and run an automated update command, just like you want it.

Can you now put me back on your list please?

Thanks, Best regards, Frans