If someone does a search and no results are returned, could you have it so that another search can be done right away? Right now I have to wait 300 seconds before another search. Sometimes the search fails because I used the wrong keywords. Sometimes it fails because I had a typo. In the cases where no results are returned, it would be nice if I could redo my search right away.
I started a thread about this the other day, but now that Google is crawling the boards, it’s faster and easier to use google to search the boards than our own search engine. For what it’s worth.
I forgot about that. I’ll remember it for next time. Although it won’t work in all situations. Sometimes I’m looking for keywords just in titles, or threads started by a specific person. The SDMB search allows me to do that, but I don’t think google would.
Well, you can do keywords in titles, since the title of thread is also the title of the html page.
Allintitle: keyword site:boards.straightdope.com
And if you include the username in your search, it helps, because that’s part of the text that Google searches.
Those are all great suggestions. I’ll be sure and use them next time. I still think it would be good if the SDMB search didn’t impose the timer on a failed search. It seems like the right thing to do and most people won’t know about those tips.
The system can’t discriminate between a failed search and a successful one – it’s all the same. Sorry.
I started this same thread on Sunday and then shut it down before posting. It was one of those: wait 5 minutes, search, have the board time out, and then have to wait 5 minutes kind of days, and I was pretty annoyed. But then I decided I needed more sunlight anyway and just went for a walk.
That’s what I figured. And, anyways, wouldn’t an unsuccessful search be just as taxing on the server as a successful one? I mean, doesn’t it still have to look through all the same posts?
I assume the timer is there to keep the board from grinding to a complete halt. Remove the timer from any search, and someone could easily spam the search bot and crash the board (or at least slow it down where nobody else could get on). Yeah, we’d know who did it, but not until after the board already crashed. I know of people who did this on another site I frequent.
While I hate the restriction, it serves a very good purpose.