# Search failing to find known threads **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 30, 2019, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-failing-to-find-known-threads/837899 "2019-07-30T21:32:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-failing-to-find-known-threads/837899/1 "2019-07-30T21:32:40Z")
I’ve failed to find several posts that I know contain unique phrases that I’ve searched exactly for. Neither Google nor the board’s internal search is working. Any advice? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-failing-to-find-known-threads/837899/2 "2019-07-30T21:36:16Z")
I think the board’s search function only looks at individual words, not phrases, but I could be wrong. If you know that you (or someone else in particular) posted in the thread you’re looking for, that can help narrow it down. You wanna run the phrases by us and see if we have any luck? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-failing-to-find-known-threads/837899/3 "2019-07-30T21:55:59Z")
I can find plenty of partial matches that **should** include what I’m looking for but don’t, so it’s not just a question of matching phrases. Also, the longer I think about it the less sure I haven’t substituted words, so let me get back to you on that. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-failing-to-find-known-threads/837899/4 "2019-07-30T22:58:26Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I’ve failed to find several posts that I know contain unique phrases that I’ve searched exactly for. Neither Google nor the board’s internal search is working. Any advice? I’ve repeatedly had SDMB threads fail to pop up when I’ve googled for them, and I’ve then gotten hits using the exact same search terms with bing. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-failing-to-find-known-threads/837899/5 "2019-07-30T23:02:19Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I’ve repeatedly had SDMB threads fail to pop up when I’ve googled for them, and I’ve then gotten hits using the exact same search terms with bing. Just to be clear, do you mean ‘old’ threads or just recent stuff that may not have been fully indexed by Google yet? ETA: Whenever I can’t find old posts/threads, I assume they must have been made during ‘Our Winter of Missed Content’[sup]TM[/sup]. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-failing-to-find-known-threads/837899/6 "2019-07-30T23:31:43Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Just to be clear, do you mean ‘old’ threads or just recent stuff that may not have been fully indexed by Google yet? Yep, ‘old’ threads. Off the top of my head, I can google: “other waldo pepper” “empedocles” -or- site:boards.straightdope.com “empedocles” …and, either way, I don’t get [this](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=526260) thread, which I posted in roughly ten years ago today. But put either of those searches into bing? Yup, shows right up. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-failing-to-find-known-threads/837899/7 "2019-07-30T23:40:50Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Yep, ‘old’ threads. Off the top of my head, I can google: > > “other waldo pepper” “empedocles” > > -or- > > site:boards.straightdope.com “empedocles” > > …and, either way, I don’t get [this](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=526260) thread, which I posted in roughly ten years ago today. But put either of those searches into bing? Yup, shows right up. I had to try it too, and I got the same result you did. (Plus, the thread showed up when I used the Board’s search function, putting in **empedocles** as a keyword and **The Other Waldo Pepper** as a username. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-failing-to-find-known-threads/837899/8 "2019-07-31T01:11:36Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I’ve failed to find several posts that I know contain unique phrases that I’ve searched exactly for. Neither Google nor the board’s internal search is working. Any advice? Often this is due to a faulty memory. I’ve been in the same situation, and when I’ve eventually tracked down the quote, they didn’t use the exact words I remember. Another problem is the index doesn’t consider certain frequently-used words that are too common or too short. A unique phrase might consist entirely of un-indexed words. And sometimes a thread you remember has been wished to the cornfield. Can you give any specific examples of what you are looking for? Maybe we can help. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-failing-to-find-known-threads/837899/9 "2019-07-31T01:35:22Z")
Ah, Bing DID find it: [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=685565&page=2](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=685565&page=2) Specifically my post #53 and the response #55.