# Search question **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 22, 2003, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-question/183576 "2003-06-22T13:03:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2003, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-question/183576/1 "2003-06-22T13:03:09Z")
This may have been asked before and I just don’t remember the answer-- If you put a username in the search by username field\* and\* a word in the keyword search field would you get all instances of that username using that particular keyword or any thread which contain both the keyword and username any old where. Incidentally, I have never yeilded any results when using both fields. Since other people have, I assume that there really no results for those combinations-- but now I’m beginning to wonder. . … ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2003, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-question/183576/2 "2003-06-22T14:14:56Z")
This previous thread might help you out, **Biggirl**. [Can keyword _and_ user name searches be done?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=171116) ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-question/183576/3 "2003-06-23T04:32:57Z")
A search of the ATMB forum only, with “remember” in the “Search by Keyword” field and “Biggirl” in the “Search by User Name” field (“Match exact name” checked) turns up this thread. The same search except with “Ice Wolf” in the “Search by User Name” field gets no results. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-question/183576/4 "2003-06-23T04:39:42Z")
Would the latter experiment’s failure be because the first part of my nick has only 3 letters? I know it’s why I can’t do vanity searches (which, of course, is a darn good thing for all concerned). ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-question/183576/5 "2003-06-23T06:23:43Z")
Well, _this_ is screwy–a search for keyword “latter” paired with user name “Ice Wolf” (exact name) in the ATMB forum gets no results–but a search for keyword “vanity” paired with user name “Ice Wolf” in ATMB _does_ find this thread. The hamsters move in mysterious ways, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-question/183576/6 "2003-06-23T11:30:44Z")
I’ve also found that you need to click on the search button every time. If you just page-back to re-do a search, it doesn’t always take. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-question/183576/7 "2003-06-23T18:48:39Z")
I can explain the “latter” problem. I found a copy of vBulletin’s badwords.php on the web. “latter” is in it, so that word doesn’t get indexed and you can’t search on it. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-question/183576/8 "2003-06-23T19:50:25Z")
“Latter” is a “badword”? Why would that be? And is there a link-accessible list of such words? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-question/183576/9 "2003-06-24T11:22:04Z")
It’s not a bad word, it’s a common word. Words that are too common are on the list to ignore for indexing, because they’d show up so often as to be useless. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-question/183576/10 "2003-06-24T11:34:35Z")
Latter is a common word? I can understand not indexing “a,” “an,” and “the,” but “latter”?? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-question/183576/11 "2003-06-24T12:01:15Z")
I didn’t say “latter” was a bad word, **Irishman** , but a “badword” (no gap there) as in “badwords.php”. Still no link to the list? ---
**Author:** ![NE\_Texan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e99b99/32.png) [@NE\_Texan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NE_Texan)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-question/183576/12 "2003-06-25T14:23:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ice Wolf \* > \*\*Would the latter experiment’s failure be because the first part of my nick has only 3 letters? I know it’s why I can’t do vanity searches (which, of course, is a darn good thing for all concerned). \*\* The 3 letter rule is only relevant (as far as I can tell through using the search function) in the keyword box, not in the User Name box. I know if I try to search by keyword for “NE Texan”, it will tell me that “NE” is too short. If I put “NE Texan” in the User Name box, it will return posts I have made. So putting “Ice Wolf” in the “Search by User Name” box should work fine, as long as there is a post to be found that meets the other criteria. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-question/183576/13 "2003-06-25T17:25:53Z")
Y’know, there was a thread once about vanity searches. Wolfie tried it then, had no joy (this with just Ice Wolf in the user name field, left at all forums, last 7 days kind of thing). This morning – not a problem. All the perishers are there in the results. 🙂 The hamsters _do_ indeed move in mysterious ways. (And no, I still won’t do vanity searches – got enough vices, ta very much!) 😃