# Search sucks **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [April 3, 2015, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-sucks/716747 "2015-04-03T21:29:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-sucks/716747/1 "2015-04-03T21:29:40Z")
The problem here is that 120 seconds apparently must elapse between searches, even if no actual search was made. I was trying to see if there had ever been a thread about a dog, specifically, Rin Tin Tin. So it turns out the search thing will not do three-letter words (which I knew, but had forgotten). So I immediately went to try again using rin-tin-tin. Nope. Gotta wait two minutes, even though the first search was not actually a search. Just the right amount of time to type and post this message. I’m betting it won’t work as a hyphenated search term either. It seems to me that, if the search terms are not met by a given search, the search mechanism should somehow SAY THAT rather that just penalizing you for putting in a term it can’t find anyway. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-sucks/716747/2 "2015-04-03T21:33:11Z")
Yeah, the search function does have its share of issues. This might help: HOWTO: Search the SDMB using Google [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=638051](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=638051) ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-sucks/716747/3 "2015-04-03T21:42:46Z")
There has > **[Rin Tin Tin on 1980s-90s TV?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=252418)** > > Anyone remember seeing any of these shows? 1988: “Rin Tin Tin: K-9 Cop”, a.k.a. “Katts and Dog” 1990: “Rin Tin Tin Jr.” 1999: “The New Adventures of Rin Tin Tin” Of the three, “K-9 Cop” is the only one I’m sure actually existed, and I don’t know... ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-sucks/716747/4 "2015-04-03T21:45:47Z")
This link [site:boards.straightdope.com "rin-tin-tin" - Google Search](https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Aboards.straightdope.com+%22rin-tin-tin%22&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8) should take you to a list of Rin-Tin-Tin threads. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-sucks/716747/5 "2015-04-03T23:22:01Z")
Although a null-result search bypasses the cost of building and displaying a list of threads, it can still cost as much as successful search in terms of system resources; IOW the system needs to do just as much processing to determine that a keyword isn’t indexed as it does determine the opposite. One improvement that occurs to me is automatically eliminate chronological filtering when a single thread is searched. If you search for a name or a quote in a five-year-old thread, the time constraint should not default to “two months ago or later”. And finally with regard to names, it must be the case that the universe of Doper screen names must be far smaller than the universe of SDMB keywords, so would it be possible to eliminate the 120 second waiting period on a zero result name search? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-sucks/716747/6 "2015-04-03T23:28:01Z")
Here’s how I search the Straight Dope Message Board. I go to Google and type “SDMB: Rin Tin Tin”. (Without the quotes BTW.) The first few hits will be from the Dope, and then “More results from [boards.straightdope.com](http://boards.straightdope.com)” will appear right under that. It works like a charm. Every time. No exceptions. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-sucks/716747/7 "2015-04-04T04:30:30Z")
Nice tip Leaffan! I’ll be using that. Faster than typing out site:… ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-sucks/716747/8 "2015-04-04T15:16:08Z")
Twelve years posting here, and you just discovered that the SEARCH function sucks? 🙂