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Search doesn't cut it

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30 replies

by jdclyde

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.

Several times I have tried to search for an old discussion and have been unable to find it.

I have even known the title of the discussion, but the search engine is just the little train that couldn't.

What is up with this?

Is there anything that can be done?

Shouldn't I be able to put in a title and find it? After all, this IS one of the options in the "Advanced" search?

Or a topic or poster. Get a list of all the discussions a poster has participated in? A certain topic in multiple discussions?

Many that I have been looking for are pre-tags, and with all the side discussions even tags won't always work.

30 replies

by dr dij

that stuff seems to disappear eventually. If you posted in that discussion, is there a way to look up all your own posts?

They may have overflowing storage problems so want older stuff to fade away.. Too bad, there is lots of good info in old discussions, witness that some technical ones (not just political ones) are often resurrected with people just reading them.

by m_a_r_k

The discussions listed under your "Discussions Participated In" are listed by discussion start date. And the list only has 20 discussions. So it only shows the newest 20 discussions. If you have a few long-duration discussions (like jd's Divorce discussion), I guess you have to try the useless search engine to find it because that one dropped off my list years ago. Or use google.

by dmambo

They used to sort the My Discussions by the date of the last post, which made it easy to see if there was anything new. They have since changed to sort by the date of the original post. I'm guessing that this was prompted by member requests. Some folks don't want to see a discussion at the top of the list after posting once and having no desire to return. Personally, I prefer the old method. I'll bet the new sort causes discussions to run out of steam faster since the easiest link to open it disappears as new threads are added.

by jdclyde

to keep track of the discussions.

If you don't want the email notifications that go with it, have that go through your gmail account and then add your gmail account. Then just don't forward it, or if you do, see if you can filter out the "[TechRepublic] Recent activity on your discussion subscriptions" subject line.

Lotus Notes would do it, but who knows if M$ will.

by m_a_r_k

It's not shortage of hard drive space. TR still has some old discussions, and I mean really old discussions. For example, they have 4685 Miscellaneous discussions stored away. Here's the link to the oldest Miscellaneous discussions.
https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5205-6230-0.html?forumID=8&start=4675

These go way back to August 2000. That's before some of our younger TR members were even born. It's pretty interesting browsing through there. Looks like the Miscellaneous discussions actually used to be about miscellaneous [b]IT[/b] topics! They didn't veer off course into the social and political realm until about a year ago.

by m_a_r_k

I agree that the search engine is lousy. In addition to jd's list, wouldn't it be reasonable to have a search engine that could:
1) search for words in a discussion title (not all post titles)
2) search for messages posted between two specified dates
3) search only tags (what good are tags, anyway?)
4) find all messages posted by a certain user and all discussions started by a certain user

Aren't these posts stored in a database? These types of searches should be pretty straightforward.

by charliespencer

Just click a member's name to link to his profile. That'll give you the last 20 discussions, Q&A, etc. Then you can use your browser's search to find the member's name.

by jdclyde

I shouldn't have to go one place to look one way, and a completely different place to see it another.

And what if I want to see what three members have been up to? Then I have to bee-bop around to each profile? I don't think so!

Just give me exactly what I want, when I want it, and I will be happy! :D

by m_a_r_k

Why totally nuke the old way when they add a new feature? I wish they'd give us the option to sort by last post date (the way it used to be) OR discussion start date (is now).

by jdclyde

for the ability to sort by author, date of post, and date of last post.

The same is true in the "post by my contacts" list. I would love to sort that by the author.

by firestar1

Many sites give you a sorting option. It really wouldn't be that difficult and so much more convenient. I think everyone would prefer that.

by jdclyde

I am trying to remember back that far, but they say the mind is the first thing to go. I just can't remember what the second is! :D

It seems that things were off topic, just not like it is now.

What would be cool, would be to look at the traffic patterns and compare it to two years ago. Total traffic vs total membership, and compare the watercooler today with what it was. What percentage shift has their been?

I know of about a dozen people that I have sucked into the Misc void over that last 8 months. Some had been members for years and just never posted, and a FEW who joined TR specificly to post in the Divorce discussion. It is cool to be me! B-)

by dmambo

That didn't sound right....

In any case, the divorce thread was one of the first I posted to despite being a member since 2001 or something. Probably some wimpy advice like "forgive her" or something like that.

Since then, it's all been good and/or fun.

by jdclyde

for innocence, huh Mambo? :O

Wow, I couldn't even reply directly to him, it sounded so bad!

Hey everyone, I like girls! Really! Pay no attention to the man with his pants around his ankles! ;\

by charliespencer

I also liked the old sequence of sorting by most recent activity. I don't remember seeing an announcement about the pending change or any survey asking which method the members preferred. I'd love to know where to submit a request to change back.

by m_a_r_k

What happens between two consenting adults is their own business. hahaha jd, I've got ammunition now for all of the steer crap you've been throwing at me! :^O ]:)

by jdclyde

I only receive! ]:) So it is obvious that he is either lying or fantasising! :O

What is wrong MARK, you don't like getting hit with steer crap? :D

[i]
Mambo, just look what you have done now!

by dmambo

IT WAS A DUMB JOKE!!! I did think that it sounded pretty funny.

Thanks folks, I'll be here all week. Be sure to tip your waitresses.

by maecuff

Saying that you 'only receive' really isn't helping too much...

It's OKAY. You have to be true to yourself..

by Member 25348569

Is this another one of your "All American" sports like your silly version of football (where you rarely kick the ball)?

Just asking...

Neil :p

by jdclyde

It is definately just a "Texan" thing! :\

In Michigan, we just put it in a paperbag on your porch and light it on fire and run! Stomp THAT one out! ]:) (lots have cement porch so you don't burn down their house!)

by m_a_r_k

From wikipedia: "A cow chip is a flat, round, hard piece of cow feces. Cow chips are occasionally thrown for sport, and the World Cow Chip Throwing Championship is held annually in Beaver, Oklahoma."

It's definitely not "just a Texas thing". :D Where's Wisconsin? Isn't that somewhere near Michigan. Looks like you Midwesterners do it too, jd http://www.wiscowchip.com/chuckinrules.htm :^O

by smorty71

Search is one of those things that sounds easy on paper; however, it can often be tough to get right. I think our current search implementation is definitely in need of some (serious) tweaks.

I can't make any promises; however, I hope that we can address search at some point in '06.

by jdclyde

It is frustrating to have to use Google to find anything on TR.

It seemed to work decent a while ago. Now trying to search on user is real bad.

by charliespencer

Any chance of going back to the old "sort by most recent activity" on the "My Discussions" page instead of the "sort by initial participation"?

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