# Can the search time limitations be reduced? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [February 24, 2013, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-search-time-limitations-be-reduced/651283 "2013-02-24T20:41:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2013, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-search-time-limitations-be-reduced/651283/1 "2013-02-24T20:41:22Z")
I fully understand why the search feature on a forum - especially a busy, well-populated forum with a very deep of threads and posts - needs to be limited. Server load, abuse - got it. But the two-minute search limit really gets annoying sometimes. I guess I could live with having to wait two minutes between, say, New Post searches, but the limit affects EVERY search and I am frequently having to wait out the timer to do some simple next thing. If you click on New Posts and it lags, never giving you a search list… you have to wait out the timer to try again. If you accidentally double click on New Posts… you get the time warning and no list. If you’ve done any search, including listing your own or another poster’s topics, two minute delay until any other search. Is it possible to separate the search types so that searching for, say, Czarcasm’s last post doesn’t mean a delay before checking New Posts? Or would reducing the wait to 1 minute, or even 30 seconds, really drastically hit server performance or up some kind of nebulous abuse? ---
**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:** [February 24, 2013, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-search-time-limitations-be-reduced/651283/2 "2013-02-24T20:55:04Z")
Seconded. In fact, I think there should be no limits. Why is there a need for time limits for searches? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2013, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-search-time-limitations-be-reduced/651283/3 "2013-02-24T20:58:37Z")
> [@Anonymous User](#): > > Seconded. In fact, I think there should be no limits. Why is there a need for time limits for searches? Some of the reasons are stated in the OP itself. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2013, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-search-time-limitations-be-reduced/651283/4 "2013-02-24T21:19:25Z")
Be grateful – it used to be _five_ minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2013, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-search-time-limitations-be-reduced/651283/5 "2013-02-24T21:43:16Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Be grateful – it used to be _five_ minutes. If it can’t be reduced to something more sensible from a user perspective, I’d hope for an adequate explanation of the need for such a long interval. ---
**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:** [February 24, 2013, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-search-time-limitations-be-reduced/651283/6 "2013-02-24T21:57:06Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > If it can’t be reduced to something more sensible from a user perspective, I’d hope for an adequate explanation of the need for such a long interval. Search for other threads on this topic. Do you think you’re the first poster to ever bring this up? Just be sure not to search too often! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2013, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-search-time-limitations-be-reduced/651283/7 "2013-02-24T22:17:58Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Search for other threads on this topic. Do you think you’re the first poster to ever bring this up? Since the About subforum only has 14 threads in it… there are no current answers available. If it’s a server limitation, fine. If it’s some kind of anti-malness practice, fine. If it’s arbitrary, I’d like to see it changed. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2013, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-search-time-limitations-be-reduced/651283/8 "2013-02-24T22:28:39Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > **Since the About subforum only has 14 threads** in it… there are no current answers available. > > If it’s a server limitation, fine. If it’s some kind of anti-malness practice, fine. If it’s arbitrary, I’d like to see it changed. At the bottom, you can change how far back to look. The default is 2 days. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2013, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-search-time-limitations-be-reduced/651283/9 "2013-02-24T22:34:15Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > If it’s a server limitation, fine. If it’s some kind of anti-malness practice, fine. If it’s arbitrary, I’d like to see it changed. 6-12 years ago, it was indeed a server limitation. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2013, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-search-time-limitations-be-reduced/651283/10 "2013-02-24T23:34:57Z")
[HOWTO: Search the SDMB using Google](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=638051) Not only is Google faster and allows nearly instant retries, it’s a heckofalot better. The current board only indexes full words four letters long or longer. So, you can’t search for “IBM” and a search for “rifles” won’t hit on “riffle”. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-search-time-limitations-be-reduced/651283/11 "2013-02-25T09:39:06Z")
The internal search engine in vB is clunky and very server intiensive, hence the limit. You are encouraged to use Google, which is outside of vB and much more efficient. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-search-time-limitations-be-reduced/651283/12 "2013-02-26T15:33:20Z")
Thanks, all. I somehow overlooked the Google option.