# Any reconsideration of the two minute search interval? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [April 22, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reconsideration-of-the-two-minute-search-interval/656423 "2013-04-22T18:53:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reconsideration-of-the-two-minute-search-interval/656423/1 "2013-04-22T18:53:53Z")
The two minute search interval was instituted years ago, when the SDMB server had all the computing power of a [Raspberry Pi](http://www.raspberrypi.org/faqs). Since those dark years where random brownouts, slowdowns, and crashes were all a part of the SDMB experience, the site’s performance has improved considerably. No, really. Despite being hosted on what I assume is modern hardware, the two minute search interval persists. I’m made painfully aware of this every time I make a typo in the search form, and have to wait while a photon travels about 22,354,000 miles (35,975,000 open-minded and tolerant European units of distance) before I can attempt another search. Have the powers that be considered dropping the interval between searches to something more reasonable? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reconsideration-of-the-two-minute-search-interval/656423/2 "2013-04-22T19:05:03Z")
I’d like to see a 30 second interval. More of a speed bump to prevent hyper-searching. Fwiw, I also find the 2 minute window to be excessive and annoying, especially when the aforementioned typo ensues. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reconsideration-of-the-two-minute-search-interval/656423/3 "2013-04-22T20:25:20Z")
Just to get it out of the way. [How to search the SDMB using Google](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=638051). I only ever use this anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reconsideration-of-the-two-minute-search-interval/656423/4 "2013-04-22T21:07:20Z")
Won’t someone think of the hamsters? ---
**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reconsideration-of-the-two-minute-search-interval/656423/5 "2013-04-22T21:11:15Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Won’t someone think of the hamsters? The hamsters need to toughen up. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reconsideration-of-the-two-minute-search-interval/656423/6 "2013-04-22T21:36:46Z")
I get annoyed when I inadvertently double click and am incumbered by the wait. The Google search will not eliminate all incidence of the two minute wait, such as double-clicking ‘new posts’ will it ? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reconsideration-of-the-two-minute-search-interval/656423/7 "2013-04-22T21:46:46Z")
Isn’t this on the same level as asking for longer than 5 minutes to edit posts, or doing something about Zombie threads? That is to say… it comes up every few months and the answer is always the same: _Your request is very important to us. But no fucking way._ ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reconsideration-of-the-two-minute-search-interval/656423/8 "2013-04-22T21:50:00Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > _Your request is very important to us. But no fucking way._ I don’t recall any mention of it being important 🙂 Seriously though, I understand the frustration/annoyance but I’d rather see the mods use their time for other stuff when there’s an easy Google fix. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reconsideration-of-the-two-minute-search-interval/656423/9 "2013-04-22T21:53:02Z")
I haven’t paid much attention to the threads on this subject, but the two minute thing annoys me. So, is there a way for the admin to easily change that? Is the only problem the impact on the server with more searching? I ask that because I think my cell phone could serve faster than whatever this runs on. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reconsideration-of-the-two-minute-search-interval/656423/10 "2013-04-22T22:01:08Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > I don’t recall any mention of it being important 🙂 > > Seriously though, I understand the frustration/annoyance but I’d rather see the mods use their time for other stuff when there’s an easy Google fix. So you seriously believe it’s less trouble for every Doper to learn the clumsy google syntax (or more realistically, a small percentage to learn the clumsy google syntax, and the rest to continue waiting two minutes per typo), than for one person to change “120” to “30” in a config file? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reconsideration-of-the-two-minute-search-interval/656423/11 "2013-04-22T22:34:04Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > So you seriously believe it’s less trouble for every Doper to learn the clumsy google syntax (or more realistically, a small percentage to learn the clumsy google syntax, and the rest to continue waiting two minutes per typo), than for one person to change “120” to “30” in a config file? Assuming that there was a reason not to do so before the awareness of the Google fix, yes. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reconsideration-of-the-two-minute-search-interval/656423/12 "2013-04-23T00:05:50Z")
I think instead of changing the search interval, we just need to change the SDMB motto to better set expectations. For example: THE STRAIGHT DOPE Where technology goes to die or THE STRAIGHT DOPE We’ll get to your request (It’s taking longer than we thought) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reconsideration-of-the-two-minute-search-interval/656423/13 "2013-04-23T00:39:37Z")
Leave the search at 2 minutes but remove the limit for any search following one that returned no results. We had this before. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reconsideration-of-the-two-minute-search-interval/656423/14 "2013-04-23T00:42:33Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > I don’t recall any mention of it being important 🙂 > > Seriously though, I understand the frustration/annoyance but I’d rather see the mods use their time for other stuff when there’s an easy Google fix. Without saying that this is something they _should_ do — it being entirely up to them — you are severely overestimating the time it takes to alter a setting — or add an extension — in vBulletin. Two minutes to effect a change would be overkill. Any time spent reaching that decision can be long indeed; but even then, expressing an opinion for a vote really isn’t onorous unless one has a moderatator who loves to object to stuff for the sake of objecting to stuff. ---
**Author:** ![cardinal\_fang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal_fang/32/15316_2.png) [@cardinal\_fang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cardinal_fang)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reconsideration-of-the-two-minute-search-interval/656423/15 "2013-04-23T00:49:19Z")
For those interested, I posted the following in a similar thread a while back. You can use your browser’s toolbar to search the SMDB via Google. No weird syntax to learn/remember. > [@Search Slowing Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-slowing-down/644147/5): > > If you would like to search the SDMB via Google right from your browser’s toolbar, I added a search engine entry to the Mycroft Project. It should work in Firefox, IE and Chrome. The entry can be accessed and installed from [here](http://mycroft.mozdev.org/search-engines.html?name=sdmb) (click on “SDMB (Google)”). Once installed, it’s available as a search option in your browser’s search bar. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reconsideration-of-the-two-minute-search-interval/656423/16 "2013-04-23T02:18:20Z")
The Google search that many are suggesting replace the SDMB search does not seem well-suited to the search I do often - checking threads where I’ve posted say, in the last five days. Google advanced search lets you opt for a search interval, but its gradations are very coarse, something like last day, last week, last month, and last year. I prefer the flex of the SDMB search in that regard. And, since Google does not present the results in chronological order, there’s no quick workaround (for example, if Google gave them in chronological order, then I could simply search for my name and review the results for whatever interval I was interested in) So, count me in with those who would ask for a much shorter wait time for the SDMB search to reactivate. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reconsideration-of-the-two-minute-search-interval/656423/17 "2013-04-23T03:28:16Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > The Google search that many are suggesting replace the SDMB search does not seem well-suited to the search I do often - checking threads where I’ve posted say, in the last five days. Why not just automatically subscribe to each thread you post in (with no email notification). Then clicking **User CP** will bring up a list of your subscribed threads that have new posts. No searching needed. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reconsideration-of-the-two-minute-search-interval/656423/18 "2013-04-23T03:34:13Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Why not just automatically subscribe to each thread you post in (with no email notification). Then clicking **User CP** will bring up a list of your subscribed threads that have new posts. No searching needed. I did not know that (but, then again, I’ve only been here for 13 years). Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reconsideration-of-the-two-minute-search-interval/656423/19 "2013-04-23T04:08:19Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Why not just automatically subscribe to each thread you post in (with no email notification). Then clicking **User CP** will bring up a list of your subscribed threads that have new posts. No searching needed. That will work, but only until the [ongoing read/unread glitch](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=678122) kicks in. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reconsideration-of-the-two-minute-search-interval/656423/20 "2013-04-23T04:48:22Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Isn’t this on the same level as asking for longer than 5 minutes to edit posts, or doing something about Zombie threads? Not really. At one time, the SDMB had a much shorter interval between searches. IIRC, the two minute search interval was put into place when the SDMB remained on a slow server even as traffic and activity increased. Searches apparently took up a lot of processor power, and back then, when the SDMB was operating on a server with all the power of a Chinese knockoff “iFone”, every little thing that could relieve server load helped. Most message boards have very short intervals between searches; from no delay to 10 seconds or so. How easy it it to change? [Very](http://i.imgur.com/kOSLUp0.png). It’s not like the two minute interval between searches is some cherished part of SDMB culture, and that changing it – provided the server can handle it – is akin to introducing avatars, animated smileys, or something like that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reconsideration-of-the-two-minute-search-interval/656423.md?page=2)