Better Answers

Google is so successful that we don't expect it to get better, but there is always room for improvement.
Today I looked for the words "Table of Contents" on QTsearch and got 3 answers – the first was exceptionally good because it described what a "Table of Contents" is and the others were good enough because they brought an example of a "Table of Contents". In Google I got 230,000,000 results and the top 10 were good enough examples of a "Table of Contents". I thought that if search engines will see to it that the first answer for any query will be an answer to the question "what is this" users will feel much more satisfied than in the current situation, in which they get confused by the many examples and don't get the overall picture.

So here are the sources for this recommendation: (you can repeat this little experiment and see for yourselves):

QTsearch:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?title=Table_of_contents
A table of contents is an organized list of titles for quick information on the summary of a book or document and quickly directing the reader to any topic.Usually, printed tables of contents indicate page numbers where each section starts, while online ones offer links to go to each section. In English works the table of contents is at the beginning of a book; in French it is at the back, by the index.

Table of contents for the Pachypodium genus : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?title=Table_of_contents_for_the_Pachypodium_genus
Table of Contents for the Pachypodium Genus

Infotrieve Online : http://www.infotrieve.com/journals/toc_main.asp
Table of Contents (TOC) is a database providing the display of tables of contents of journals.The TOC alert service delivers tables of contents to you as they arrive from the publisher based on journal titles you've pre-selected and entered into your TOC profile. Only titles marked with the icon are available for alert and delivery.

Google:
Web Style Guide, 2nd Edition - 12:22am
... by Design book cover Buy Sarah Horton's new book, Access by Design, at Amazon.com • Web site hosted by Pair.com • Print table of contents. Jump to top ...

www.webstyleguide.com/ - 20k - 21 Jan 2006 - Cached - Similar pages - Remove result
Abridged Table of Contents
Abridged Table of Contents ... How to Cite • Editorial Information • About the SEP • Unabridged Table of Contents • Advanced Search • Advanced Tools ...
plato.stanford.edu/contents.html - 101k - Cached - Similar pages - Remove result

Smithsonian Institution
Composed of sixteen museums and galleries, the National Zoo, and numerous research facilities in the United States and abroad.
www.si.edu/ - 59k - 21 Jan 2006 - Cached - Similar pages - Remove result