Re searching for topics

Post by **gary** » Fri Jun 13, 2003 7:45 pm

I notice that the moderators frequently have to remind people to search before posting. Frequently, although certainly not always,it is new visitors to the forum who post without searching.

I recall, from when I first came here, that I only realized one could and should search existing topics, by reading a few threads in which the originators were advised to search before posting in future.

Why not make the suggestion to search more explicit and in advance? For example, change the name of "Support" to "Support (please search for your topic, using the Search tool above, before posting)". That title may be a little long, but something like that might save the moderators a bit of work.

Post by **roth377** » Fri Jun 13, 2003 10:51 pm

Unfortunately, I disagree with you Gary. Not that it's a bad idea, but it's just not needed.

The fact of the matter is, users should read the FAQ's and forum rules before they post. That's just (un)common message board etiquette. Those that don't do that will probably ALSO not take the time to search for posts.

I agree, it's a sad state, but something the mod's (unfortunately) will have to live with.

Now on the other hand, I think they SHOULD consider changing the default number of days to search back from.

Post by **gary** » Fri Jun 13, 2003 11:09 pm

Well, in principle, I agree. People using the board ought to do searches and ought to know the proper etiquette. On the other hand, I teach and I know that many people often only "know" what is right in front of them - if you want them to learn you need a put reminder in front of them, frequently.

However, this was just a suggestion to ease some pf the moderators burden. And as I am not a moderator it won't make much difference to me in the long run

Post by **batigolaso** » Sat Jun 14, 2003 12:11 am

I don't know how much that will help, gary. Some users will naturally search, others will naturally not even read anything on the board and just post their problems. Some users are just like that.

Roth: as for the search days, I've talked to the guy who runs the board, and he said he can't change that

.

Post by **roth377** » Sat Jun 14, 2003 1:34 am

Roth: as for the search days, I've talked to the guy who runs the board, and he said he can't change that .

Hmm. Too bad :-/
Now if it was an open source forum program...wouldn't be a problem

Post by **McBain** » Sat Jun 14, 2003 2:38 am

Hmm. Too bad :-/
Now if it was an open source forum program...wouldn't be a problem

I think it's open source: http://www.yabbforum.com/

Post by **roth377** » Sat Jun 14, 2003 5:12 am

I think it's open source: http://www.yabbforum.com/

Well shoot, if that's the case, then it HAS to be customizable ;)
If need be, I'm willing to download the forum program and go through the source code! ;D

Course, I wouldn't want to step on admin's toes :-/ :-[
He/she may have their reasons...

Post by **McBain** » Sat Jun 14, 2003 6:20 pm

They also got at forum for support.. mabye someone can help you there

Post by **TomServo** » Thu Jun 26, 2003 5:58 pm

Um... why not just edit the page that the search forum is on and change the 7 to 777 and save? I beleive it is hardcoded. Otherwise there is a cfg file that has the 7 set there.. if the board author has any brains..

Post by **batigolaso** » Thu Jun 26, 2003 6:03 pm

tom, i've asked the guy who controls the forum. He told me it could not be done. Don't know what else to tell you.

Post by **Taomyn** » Wed Jul 02, 2003 11:10 am

tom, i've asked the guy who controls the forum. He told me it could not be done. Don't know what else to tell you.

You could tell us that perhaps he's really saying that he hasn't the time or can't be bothered. Sorry to be blunt, but having dealt with developers for nearly 20 years, of course it can be done.

Post by **ZeroFill** » Sat Jul 05, 2003 11:06 am

yes, i agree, it has to be able to be done--the 7 didn't pop out of thin air.

also, is there a way to get the search to just show the topics? A lot of the searches i perform have no relevance to what i'm looking for. being able to preview only topics will help save time overlooking those posts that aren't related -- i wish all forums had google's search algorithms

"show this phrase" -not -these -words "this phrase too"

Post by **roth377** » Sat Jul 05, 2003 9:31 pm

also, is there a way to get the search to just show the topics? A lot of the searches i perform have no relevance to what i'm looking for. being able to preview only topics will help save time overlooking those posts that aren't related --

In theory I agree with you. Problem I have with that is the assumption that all the posts will have accurate and informative subject headingsl, something I don't always see

Post by **ZeroFill** » Mon Jul 07, 2003 3:56 am

yeah, you're right. those posts that say something like "When I...." really annoy me; I usually just pass over them. One would think a more descriptive subject would be more appropriate than having us guess at the content. It's not like they send emails with the subject "help me with..." and "a problem" or do they :-/

Post by **mariuz** » Mon Jul 07, 2003 4:51 am

OK, now max age is 999 days. ::)

Now there issnt any reason to NOT use the search-option.

Enjoy and behave.

Post by **Sara** » Mon Jul 07, 2003 4:58 am

Thank you, kind sir

Sara

Post by **batigolaso** » Mon Jul 07, 2003 5:03 am

OK, now max age is 999 days. ::)

Now there issnt any reason to NOT use the search-option.

Enjoy and behave.

Grazie! Now we can REALLY search

Post by **ZeroFill** » Mon Jul 07, 2003 5:11 am

waaaa give us show topics only :P

Post by **batigolaso** » Mon Jul 07, 2003 5:41 am

zerofill: show topics only is just not a very good idea in my opinion. You just have no idea what the person wrote about...esp. when users aren't specific in their topic naming.

Post by **ZeroFill** » Mon Jul 07, 2003 5:54 am

zerofill: show topics only is just not a very good idea in my opinion. You just have no idea what the person wrote about...esp. when users aren't specific in their topic naming.

that's true but by searching though the body of all posts, i end up getting more irrelevant threads. like if i want to find all threads related to "favorites," a lot of those threads dont deal directly w/ the "favorites" search. the first couple hits i found when searching for "favorites" talk about newbies, using the mouse, and someone talking about his favorites. yes, there are relevant threads in between (and the same thread over and over and over), but it'd be a lot easier if we could just search the topic/subjects. there are probably more appropriately labeled topics than we might think. IMHO, searching only topics results in less false-positives. yeah, i might miss a few of those mislabled topics but topic searching brings results faster and i can always go back to searching full body text if no topics work.

[edit]
Ok, i'm officially blind. there's a checkbox that lets us select what field to perform the searches on -- Subject / Message

someone bring me my cane

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