There are some peoples posts that I would like to read but I have a hard time finding it. How can I do a better search for their post?
The SDMB search engine is a bit limited, and acts a bit wonky for some folks. You can do a more powerful and flexible search using google. Instructions are in the sticky at the top of this forum, or click here:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=638051
There are instructions on how to search for a specific user, and you can combine that with keywords or other things like date ranges.
If you want to use the SDMB search and just search on a particular user’s name, just click on Search (near the top, towards the right), select advanced, then enter their user name in the search box that says Search By User Name.
It’s easier to click on the person’s name, and then click on “find all posts by…”.
If you want to find all the posts by someone in a thread, click on the number of replies, and you’ll see a list of all the posters and how many times they posted. Click on their number, and you’ll see all their posts in that thread.
Isn’t this internet stalking?
I mean, searching for a particular subject is one thing. But wanting to read some one’s posts on what ever subject/thread they happen to be posting in seems a little weird to me.
It doesn’t have to be internet stalking. A user might have a particular writing style that another user finds witty and entertaining, causing that second user to follow all of the first user’s posts just for the enjoyment value of it. Or, a particular user might post a lot on a particular subject, and if another user finds that subject interesting they may search all of the user’s posts to find those.
But if taken to extremes, it can certainly become internet stalking.
I guess I’m being stalked if somebody reads one of my books and decides to read more. Or stumbles across my blog and likes the cut of my jib and pages back to read more.
My god I should call the police and go into the panic room. I mean, I don’t know this has happened but it MIGHT HAVE.
It’s one of the basic features built into vBulletin. They even built two ways of searching; all posts or all threads started by. How is this possibly stalking? It’s a message board and we want people to read other poster’s input.
Seriously? Seriously?
Yes, it just seems odd to me.
If you follow a particular author it’s because you know their writing style and you like the genre they write in.
If you follow someone’s blog, it’s because you know what they’re on about.
But to be so enamored with someone you have to read every mundane thing they write about ranging from “Do you wipe up or down?” to “PB&J: Jelly side up? Or down?” Seems a little obsessive to me. It’s like one step away from: “I just want to watch you sleep.”
Are you sure you’re not just projecting here? 
I tend to search other posters’ histories to see, for instance, if they’re routinely trollish/spammy/otherwise ill-behaved posters, or just that one time in that one thread. “Was that really bizarre post a one-off, or this actually how they work?”
I’ll grant you weird but there is more than one step between clicking into the profile and seeing all threads started by a poster, and watching them sleep. Those steps include: discovering their true identity; finding out where they live; driving to their house; finding a hide-out where you can see through their bedroom window; getting out your binoculars…
It’s needless to say those are HUGE steps.
Not really. I can totally see why many, many people would want to search for and read my posts. I do it, and I find myself to be very insightful!
Hardly easier, let alone easier for the hamsters.
Go to Boardreader.com (http://boardreader.com/)
Type in John Mace (or John Mace SDMB)
This may not be all John’s posts though.
It also shows a graph of his activity by the day, week month. (344 in April, 430 in June)
(I’m not stalking you John, but it appears Board Reader is :))
It’s easier to do all that than to click twice? And not necessarily get full results? I’m skeptical.
Fine, if you have their profile before you. If you don’t, it’s far more than 2 clicks.
Nonsense. I click on the username at the head of the post. Then I move the mouse down a bit and click on Find all posts by username.
That does only return the last 500 posts, so if you really really really super duper love someone you will have to use other tools to read their complete posting history.
That’s true, but it’s good enough for purposes of eyeballing someone’s history, as gnoitall mentioned above. And if I’m looking for something specific, like do you rescue your child from a burning car or just shoot them, I’m not going to go browsing through all posts. As you say, you need other tools too. (google, in this case)
you can do all of the above with a public record search and google street view, one of my favorite time wasters…
You would not like Reddit, where it’s not even a search. There’s just a page with all your posts, available if you click on the person’s username.
I mostly use it to see if someone who seems to be a jerk is actually a troll.