I did a search today for a term that I know matches a post I made the day before. I requested search in all forums and all posts since a week ago, so it should have matched. I got no matches. Is there a problem with the search function?
I cannot answer if it is a problem, but I can report that ever since the upgrade, this happens to me on a continuous basis. I essentially have stopped using Search in most cases, as a result.
A search for all posts by KellyM in the last week turns up the following six:
Where are you on the Kinsey Scale?
So when are you to old to breast feed?
Judge orders hospitals/clinics to turnover records
Non-heterosexual women of the SDMB: A Poll
I have no idea whether this list is complete or not. The search engine is frustrating when searching for terms. I wanted to search for something yesterday that required use of the word oil; three letter search terms just won’t fly.
I wasn’t searching for my own posts, but for a term that I coincidentially had used in one of my own posts (I wasn’t looking for that post, but for other posts with the same term). In retrospect, it’s possible that I simply misspelled the word, or perhaps used the plural in the post while searching for the singular.
The search function could be better.
It is very difficult for us to debug alleged problems with the search function without knowing what search parameters are being used.
Search the threads for fritz and it doesn’t find this one: Help! My mouse is on the fritz and I need keyboard navigation skills! It’s not because it’s only a word in the title, other threads can be located this way. Neither is the thread completely absent from the search index. Search for the contained word iFeel, and you find it.
Here’s another one: “Attractive Nuicance” laws. Search for nuicance = nothing.
Perhaps the same glitch that incorrectly updates the post database also screws up the search index. Both were multiple/lost OP threads. Is it only them, or can someone give links and search words to unlocatable ‘regular’ threads?
How did “Ouch” become the universal word for pain? Searching for ouch and “Ouch” doesn’t find it, ouch does. But search for nuicance = still nothing.
Is there somewhere a little more detailed description of how the vBulletin search feature works than in the standard FAQ? Something like a quick intro to how it handles spaces, word delimiting, quotes and phrases, wildcards, and such.
Arnold, I’m not comfortable posting the details of my searches in public; do y’all have a preferred email contact I should use in the event I experience anomalous behavior in the future?
KellyM, you can e-mail any of the administrators. If you do find a bug in the search it probably wouldn’t be fixed anyway (until/unless we upgrade to a new version of vBulletin where the bug is fixed)
My educated guess: sometimes, when the server is slow, the thread creation process is not complete (as we have all seen with threads with no Original Post). Indexing the subject of the thread is probably part of that process and when the process is interrupted the indexing doesn’t happen.
Arnold-
Do you mean it’s a temporary glitch and it only affects that particular search at that time? Or is it permanent, and the term will never come up, now or tomorrow?
Because I’m in the same boat as Anthracite- it misses so many things it’s almost a waste to use it.
Is there a convenient way to email an administrator, other than trying to remember who they are, finding their profile somehow, and hitting “mail”?
You could always look at the forum page and click on Arnold Windelried.
Or, you could click here- [Arnold Winkelried’s e-mail address](awinkelried@earthlink.net <awinkelried@earthlink.net>)
CnoteChris, I think … insists on adding “http://”. For email addresses use … instead.
“Arnold Windelried”… Nice typo, that’s a good one. 
Any German speakers here?
I checked ‘fritz’ and ‘nuicance’ on different days before. You’re never sure there isn’t more than one glitch, but it seems this one occurs when the data gets indexed, and then the search index remains incomplete.
From our technical FAQ:
I think it’s time to give those changed parameters a try. Better slower board than faster glitches, what do you think?
Well I’ll be darned, I never knew that. I was so sure it OK, I didn’t even check it after it posted.
KellyM must really be getting frustrated now!
I assure you it was a mistake… whatever horrible gaffe I apparently made.
A little help? What did I call him?
Shoot.
I may not be a big searcher, but the few times I’ve used it, it’s been invaluable.
Windel = diaper
Now there’s the image in my mind of Arnold complete with diapers, rattle, and pacifier. Oochie woochie coochie coo!
:D, again.
At least for the search index there is no real data loss. The likelihood of new glitches would make it quite pointless until this gets fixed, but we can re-build the search index from the post data. Last time (for the upgrade) it took a week or so…
My guess is that it’s permanent, at least until the index was completely rebuilt, which takes a very long time so it’s not going to happen.
As CnoteChris said, all the moderator names can be found on the forum home page. Look at their profiles to see which ones are administrators. Currently it’s TubaDiva, C K Dexter Haven, Lynn Bodoni, Gaudere, and Arnold Winkelried.