Can I find my recent posts by any other method than clicking search on one of my earlier posts? It called up everything I’d ever posted. The old search function by user name was helpful as it only called up my posts from the previous 5 days. But it seems that has been turned off too. Seems like a waste of computer time to call up everything just to see where I’ve been recently.
Thanks for thinking of me.
Qadgop
Sorry, Anthracite, but I for one like seeing everyone’s ideas, even if many of them ultimately won’t work. Here’s my noise…
Like everyone, I hate to see the search any date feature go. (Having to search forums idividually is certainly a reasonable restriction if it’s for the greater good.) I can’t imagine anyone using it often since it’s not the default and it usually isn’t even desirable… but it was great to have it there when you needed it.
How about this for a suggestion… make the search-any-date feature available only to registered users. If that doesn’t restrict its use enough, then ration it to registered users on a rotating basis alphabetically by username. There are any-date searches I’d like to make for which I’d be willing to wait until next Tuesday, if that’s when us B’s can use it.
I understand what you’re endeavouring to do but I’d concur with CnoteChris’s comments that this move will be effectively the same as purging posts after 3 months.
I think what’s being tested will have minimal effect on the chat forums but will really do a number on GQ/GD. Now if that the way the Adminstrator want to go, that’s fine. I’m just not convinced the move fits well with the theme of this board.
As a trivial example, I was introduced to SDMB via a GQ thread that was over 2 years old.
Sure, you can work on the “Other posts by” option if you know the name, but that’s a bit rough on the newbies and those who aren’t daily lurkers/posters.
Maybe SDMB could consider amending it’s slogan to “Fighting ignorance for the last 90 days (Its all our servers can handle)”
(BTW I recognise this isn’t being very helpful in solving the load problem, sorry, just being selfish.)
Well, I hate these changes to the search functions. The most crippling one is not being able to search for threads older than 90 days. That’s a pretty short period of time. The other change is just incredibly annoying and probably won’t cut down on searches all that much. (It is more computationally expensive to initiate multiple searches or to search all forums once and get it over with?)
Why? I really don’t want to pick on you, but why is it useful to have suggestions about modifying a PHP-SQL-Web software package that do not have any technical backing to them - or any ability to work at all? Isn’t this akin to saying “I don’t know anything about Microsoft Word, but can’t someone just make it play chess for me?”
First, I would imagine that the majority of the searches are done by registered users. It would take some serious effort reading the logs to discover this. It’s easy on my little Board, as the few searches done stand out like sore thumbs in my logs. On a busy Board…it is much more difficult.
Second, these idea of rotating User Names will only work with an enormous amount of person-effort, both up-front and continuing. In other words - sorry.
I will agree to the extent that I would never suggest hacking the code. (Even running boilerplate financial systems such as GEAC<==(D&B<==M&D) General Ledger, I always argue to run the “vanilla” code to reduce errors and increase the probability of support from the vendor.)
On the other hand, I don’t see the problem with asking the question “Will the/Can the software do X?” After 20 years of coding I still listen to raw, untutored users who ask those questions. Often, the phrasing of an old question in a slightly new way is enough to inspire me to see a way around a problem that has seemed insurmountable.
Certainly, there is no point in asking the same question a dozen times or demanding that the code be hacked to our pleasure. Asking a specific question about an existing (if possibly overlooked) feature of the software just seems to make sense to me.
If you really want to search all fora, then they’re the same amount of effort for the computer. If you’re only searching some of the fora, then it’s easier to only search those. Personally, I can’t think of any member who regularly participates in all eight fora, so one would imagine that people very seldom actually need to search all eight.
currently, only registered users can do any search at all.
Most of the time, I post (or read) in five fora (MPSIMS, GD, GQ, BBQ, and IMHO). There isn’t much action in CSR, CCC or ATMB. But if you click on “search” down there, you’ll see I’ve been in seven fora in the last 24 - 25 hours. (CSR is the exception.)
Melin has asked me to post this since she cannot do it herself.
There are old posts of both Wally’s and Dr. Watson’s that she – and maybe others – would like to be able to review and save. She did this for old Dr. Watson posts from the pre-2000 cut-off, before the purge date. Currently those old posts are not accessible, since it has been a year now since Wally died, and since Dr. Watson last posted here.
Is there any way that these old threads can be made accessible for at least a little while, so that they can be searched and posts can be saved by anyone who wishes to do so?
Thanks,
We’re not done fiddling with the search function yet,you may yet have access to those areas. Not right this second, though. And there’s every possibility that some of those posts would end up archived anyway, so they may yet always be with us.
your humble TubaDiva
Administrator
One quick suggestion. Could you make a time based search function? Like during the peak hours the search is limited, but during off peak hours a “search any date” function is enabled.
While I sympathize with what must be enormous frustration on the part of the admins, this ain’t the answer. It seems just as slow as ever at peak times, and everyone else has brought up everything that sucks about disabling the Search All. And it is the same as killing everything more than 90 dayus old, which REALLY sucks.
I’ve long wanted to have some choices other than “any date”, since if I know I’m looking for something over a year old, and it’s a lot of somethings, I have to wade through endless pages to get where I want to go. I like the suggestion of
90-120 days
120 -365 days
or some such. The ability to give more specific parameters. I think it would be great if we had the same options with the forums…instead of “All”, have radio buttons rather than a drop down, and pick exactly the fora one wishes to search.
But this situation is terrible. Hate it much. My .02
stoid
You know, I feel like I’m bitching around here when really I’m not. I don’t mean to accept your offer to come over for dinner and then proceed to tell you your gravy sucks, and where are those rolls I like too!
I fully understand I’m just a guest, and as a guest, I only have guest status. I’ll be happy with what I have, not necessarily what I want.
But if you tell me your tinkering with your gravy recipe, and ask me what I think of it, and ask me to offer you suggestions, I’m not going to beat around the bush with you- it’s a waste of time.
I’m clear now on the issue of the archive. And now that I’m clear on it, I agree with the others that it sounds like a great idea. But until it’s up and running, why limit how far back we can search?
I thought the issue is the ‘search all’ function?
If it is an issue of ‘search all’ function, then why add on to that restriction the limit on how far back we can search too? It’s like going forward two steps instead of one, the effect of which is making 90-day-old posts now obsolete.
Why not disable the ‘search all’ function but keep the amount of time like it was before?
I mean, I like your gravy. I just don’t know if it needs that much changing to make it great.
Here is what you should do. Get a CHEAP server(just some cheapo pentium 2 box would be perfect). Convert all old threads regular HTML files and stick them all on the new server (just some cheapo pentium 2 box would be perfect). Then people can search that server 24-7 and it won’t affect the SDMB server. Also, regualr search engines will be able to find thread content. The SDMB archive could also be offered for sale on CD to raise profits for more upgrades.
If you say there isn’t enough man power to convert the threads to regular HTML, just enslave the Teeming Millions. A lot of use will copy, paste, format, and upload if it will help the SDMB. During the thread movement the server would probaly be extremely bogged down, but it would be worth it.
Anyone see any problems with this idea?
I can’t help feeling that the amount of server work due to the occasional newbie asking about “gry” or baby pigeons is tiny in comparison to the load which is down to people worrying about them.
How often will we see one of these innocently started threads? Once a month or so? The mods will promptly close them, the newbie will learn, and the threads will live their short life then disappear. This seems preferable to having newbies slow the search function down time and time again with the same inane question. So, I think I have to reluctantly agree with the search function being curtailed.
How 'bout a simple text document with a cross-indexed alphabetical (non-exhaustive) list of topics, and their thread numbers? A bit more work, but easy on the server.
I have no problem with the disabling of the “Search All Forums” option. Like Lynn says, we can search the likeliest forums one at a time.
And if that makes it impossible to do a ‘search all’ for our username once a day, well, that’s life.
But I concur with tomndebb and others on the issue of dates. When I’m here a lot, I’m mostly a GD person. Many debates tend to recur. (C/E, anyone?) Being able to locate that thread from the spring of 2000 where someone made a point particularly succinctly, or that contains links to raw data sources that everybody can mine to support their arguments, is exceedingly helpful.
I have no problem with not being able to search all timeframes at once, even within a single forum. But until the old threads are archived, an option to search for threads ‘more than 90 days ago’, or some such, seems absolutely essential. Otherwise, we’re little better than the LBMB, where the old threads would disappear, and you’d have to make the same damned arguments all over again from scratch.
If they’re there but you can’t access them, they might as well be gone.
Just wanna say that I personally don’t have any problem with trashing any and all threads over 90 days old. This is an Internet message board we’re creating here, people, not Shakespeare or the Lascaux caves. It’s not Art, it’s not Literature, it’s not even Salon.com.
Bonzo posts over at a Pokemon MB, and nobody over there ever complains about “the vanished opus”, or, “Oh, no! What happened to my classic thread?” All those pre-teen Pokemasters live very much in the moment, and maybe we Serious Grownups ought to take a page from their book.
Kudos to Tuba and the Techs for at least trying to fix this, whatever it is. I effectively can’t get on the boards at all anymore during Central Time business hours, Monday through Friday. Sometime between 8:15 and 9:00 a.m., it’s like a lid comes down, and it’s bye-bye Straight Dope.
Saturday mornings, however, are excellent, which makes me think that the board slowness isn’t directly connected to Search, but is more a function of simple log-on numbers.
I’d be very curious to have them re-enable the “There are currently X number of Members and X number of Guests on the boards” function, if only for a couple of days.
I’m not against the idea of limiting how far back the search can go, DDG. If that’s what it takes to speed up this board, then so be it.
Honest, I won’t cry at it’s loss.
But it’s been said that it involves issues outside of the, ‘How many total posts are here’ deal, and even Ed himself admidts as much is his latest notice to posters.
If that’s truly the case, then why dink around with how far back the search can go? Especially when the key issue that’s being blamed for the slowdown is already being addressed? That is, the disabling of the ‘search all’ function?
Go ahead and disable it and see what happens. Then move on to other things.
This idea of draconian measures straight out of the box seems ill advised, in my opinion.
Not being able to search all forums simultaneously: no big deal.
Not being able to search for posts by “any date”: enormously big deal, totally unacceptable. Not that the old solution was exactly wonderful anyway. OK, we don’t (necessarily) need “by any date”, but the options provided are rigged in favor of recent threads. Heck, if its a recent thread I’m looking for, I’ll go to the likely forum and run back in time until I hit it! It’s the OLD threads I"m most likely to be looking for. How about the following options?
Or at least SOME way of searching old threads!
Hmm, are the message board threads effective indexed by Alta Vista or one of the other “spider” search engines?