# Can keyword \*and\* user name searches be done?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-keyword-and-user-name-searches-be-done/162730
**Category:** About This Message Board
**Created:** [March 20, 2003, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-keyword-and-user-name-searches-be-done/162730 "2003-03-20T04:23:33Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-keyword-and-user-name-searches-be-done/162730/1 "2003-03-20T04:23:33Z")
With the search engine, you can search for a keyword, or by a user name, but I haven’t been able to get anything trying to search for a keyword by a poster. Can it be done?
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### Author:  [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-keyword-and-user-name-searches-be-done/162730/2 "2003-03-20T04:40:55Z")
I just cannot keep up with the name changes.
It’s never worked for me either, but many have told me it worked for them. I thought it was because my combinations really don’t yield any results.
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### Author:  [@donkeyoatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donkeyoatey)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-keyword-and-user-name-searches-be-done/162730/3 "2003-03-20T06:00:14Z")
Works for me.
[Search](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=496260&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending) for **Earl Snake-Hips Tucker** (no keyword).
[Search](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=496265&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending) for **Earl Snake-Hips Tucker** (keyword “keyword”).
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-keyword-and-user-name-searches-be-done/162730/4 "2003-03-20T19:50:40Z")
It doesn’t search for posts where a specific person used a keyword. What it does is looks for a thread where that person posted, and where that keyword was used, but not necessarily in that post.
So, for instance, if you search for username “Biggirl” and keyword “keyword”, this thread will come up, even though **Biggirl** didn’t use the word “keyword” in her post.
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### Author:  [@donkeyoatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donkeyoatey)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-keyword-and-user-name-searches-be-done/162730/5 "2003-03-20T21:39:22Z")
You sure **Chronos**?
[This](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=497661&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending) is a search for **Biggirl** (keyword “combinations”).
[This](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=497681&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending) is for **Biggirl** ( keyword “keyword”).
And [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=497688&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending) for **Biggirl** (no keyword).
I had this ready to post and then tried to find a word that appeared in **Biggirl’s** post and someone else’s, saw that "name " fit the bill, tried it and got nothing. Hmmm. No other words are common, but I tried some more in **Biggirl’s** post,
**Biggirl** (keyword “changes”) gets nothing.
**Biggirl** (keyword “results”) does find the thread, but “results” isn’t highlighted.
**Biggirl** (keyword “thought”) works like it should.
😕
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### Author:  [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2003, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-keyword-and-user-name-searches-be-done/162730/6 "2003-03-22T16:52:08Z")
Remember that some words are on the “too common to search index” list. Searching for them will not yield results, because the are omitted before searching.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2003, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-keyword-and-user-name-searches-be-done/162730/7 "2003-03-24T02:38:33Z")
And for the record, no, I’m not sure. Once upon a time, the search engine behaved in the way I described, but that was several versions ago.