# Seriously guys, do we really still need a FIVE MINUTE delay on search? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 19, 2009, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-guys-do-we-really-still-need-a-five-minute-delay-on-search/503516 "2009-07-19T07:26:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-guys-do-we-really-still-need-a-five-minute-delay-on-search/503516/21 "2009-07-21T07:20:44Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Google search is nice and all, but I can’t tell Google search to show me threads with the search terms in the title only, and only from Cafe Society, or whatever. Apparently you can, but it takes some effort. > **[HOWTO: Search the SDMB using Google](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=518829)** > > \*\*HOWTO: Search the SDMB using Google \*\*Please post your own useful example searches in this thread. You may also be interested in my Doper RSS guide. \*\*Searching the entire board or within a forum \*\*Note that Google has not yet finished indexing... ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-guys-do-we-really-still-need-a-five-minute-delay-on-search/503516/22 "2009-07-21T11:12:55Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Let me rephrase my question: When exactly was it put in place, and is my memory serving me correctly that we were told it was to be temporary? The five minute fix has been in place for several years. It was last revisited by Jerry in the fall of 2008 when we migrated to the new server. Even with the new server and the system upgrade it was found to be necessary to remain in place. As far as I know there are no plans to change it. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-guys-do-we-really-still-need-a-five-minute-delay-on-search/503516/23 "2009-07-21T11:55:44Z")
Another thing, IIRC, the five minute search was originally implemented because some people where trying to bring down the servers by searching over and over and over and over again. Wasn’t that the case? I tried looking for it, but got a database error and I have to leave for work so I can’t try searching again right now. ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-guys-do-we-really-still-need-a-five-minute-delay-on-search/503516/24 "2009-07-21T14:47:57Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Another thing, IIRC, the five minute search was originally implemented because some people where trying to bring down the servers by searching over and over and over and over again. Wasn’t that the case? I tried looking for it, but got a database error and I have to leave for work so I can’t try searching again right now. You’re probably remembering [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=418641), where Jerry rather overenthusiastically branded eight searches in a row as abusing the search function. It did crash the board, true, but it seems unlikely to be intentional. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-guys-do-we-really-still-need-a-five-minute-delay-on-search/503516/25 "2009-07-21T17:01:35Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > The five minute fix has been in place for several years. > > It was last revisited by Jerry in the fall of 2008 when we migrated to the new server. Even with the new server and the system upgrade it was found to be necessary to remain in place. As far as I know there are no plans to change it. Were we or were we not told it was to be temporary/short-term? And has a lesser restriction or no restriction been field-tested? ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-guys-do-we-really-still-need-a-five-minute-delay-on-search/503516/26 "2009-07-21T17:31:03Z")
Simmer down. She has to search to see if that’s what was said. This will take roughly 12 weeks. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-guys-do-we-really-still-need-a-five-minute-delay-on-search/503516/27 "2009-07-21T18:55:36Z")
Was it meant to be permanent? Probably not. IIRC it was hoped that by updating the software and having more server capacity the system would be able to run fine without it. But that’s not what happened and so the search delay had to go back in, it has proven to be necessary. As was stated earlier it’s a tradeoff for better overall system functionality. Without the delay in place there’s more problems with reading and writing to the board and other necessary functions. I don’t think I’m putting words in Jerry’s mouth by saying this but I do believe he had come to the conclusion that the only thing that would fix the search situation would be to go to a third-party search engine altogether. This has been considered in the past and might be considered in the future if time and resources are available. But as far as I know Jerry has no plans to do anything else to the system at this time so what you see at the present is what you get and should be what you expect to see and get until such time as changes are announced. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-guys-do-we-really-still-need-a-five-minute-delay-on-search/503516/28 "2009-07-21T19:07:42Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > What difference does it make? \ > > It’s obvious that it’s here for the long term. ☹ Off topic humorous anecdote: I was reading the thread and at the bottom of my screen was post number 16 by **Cisco** , and I thought to myself “Hmmm, wonder why **DSYoungEsq** hasn’t jumped in yet.” And then I was pleasantly rewarded as I scrolled to the next post. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-guys-do-we-really-still-need-a-five-minute-delay-on-search/503516/29 "2009-07-21T21:37:41Z")
Yes, but this time I was critical! Notice the sad smiley! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-guys-do-we-really-still-need-a-five-minute-delay-on-search/503516/30 "2009-07-21T23:05:45Z")
The question that never seems to get answered: how is it that just about every other equally large, if not larger vBulletin-based message board can function perfectly well without having a 300-second delay between searches? ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-guys-do-we-really-still-need-a-five-minute-delay-on-search/503516/31 "2009-07-22T00:16:17Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > The question that never seems to get answered: how is it that just about every other equally large, if not larger vBulletin-based message board can function perfectly well without having a 300-second delay between searches? Actually, I know of at least one medium sized board that I participate on that has eliminated the search function to avoid over-taxing the servers. It is always a function of resources, and we’ve never had sufficient resources for this Board. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-guys-do-we-really-still-need-a-five-minute-delay-on-search/503516/32 "2009-07-22T00:50:38Z")
Can we at least agree that it’s disingenuous to say that “it was ascertained” that the 5 minute delay has to stay, despite the new server, when nothing else was ever tested? It was decided, but it wasn’t decided based on actual, you know, evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-guys-do-we-really-still-need-a-five-minute-delay-on-search/503516/33 "2009-07-22T00:53:54Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > It is always a function of resources, and we’ve never had sufficient resources for this Board. It seems like if the people are here, the resources should be a direct result. At least that seems to be the case on every other large messageboard I know of. The only other large board that I know of that charges money is Something Awful but I believe (someone correct me if I’m wrong) they have A LOT more functionality than us. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-guys-do-we-really-still-need-a-five-minute-delay-on-search/503516/34 "2009-07-22T01:10:21Z")
Why not eliminate “New Posts”, for a time? As much as I hate to say it, perhaps that could be doing it? ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-guys-do-we-really-still-need-a-five-minute-delay-on-search/503516/35 "2009-07-22T01:24:04Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Why not eliminate “New Posts”, for a time? As much as I hate to say it, perhaps that could be doing it? Do you mean ‘go to first new post’ or elminating new posts entirely? ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-guys-do-we-really-still-need-a-five-minute-delay-on-search/503516/36 "2009-07-22T03:05:12Z")
> [@tumbleddown](#): > > Can we at least agree that it’s disingenuous to say that “it was ascertained” that the 5 minute delay has to stay, despite the new server, when nothing else was ever tested? It was decided, but it wasn’t decided based on actual, you know, evidence. No, because that’s not what happened. We did try going without it, the board locked up, we put the delay back in, it stopped locking up. How much more evidence is needed? ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-guys-do-we-really-still-need-a-five-minute-delay-on-search/503516/37 "2009-07-22T03:14:00Z")
Since the new hardware installation, has anything shorter than 5 minutes been tried? If so, what were the results? If not, perhaps a gradual shortening of the delay period could be attempted; try reducing the delay period by a minute at a time until a noticeable impact is observed? \*\*\* Ponder ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-guys-do-we-really-still-need-a-five-minute-delay-on-search/503516/38 "2009-07-22T03:50:00Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > We did try going without it, the board locked up, we put the delay back in, it stopped locking up. How much more evidence is needed? When I get a call at work from a client who’s having a performance problem, my first goal is to get them up and running again. Sometimes while troubleshooting, I inadvertently find a workaround, similar to how Jerry found that increasing the search delay to 300 seconds seemed to prevent the board from locking up. It would be extraordinarily lazy of me to just advise them to use the workaround forever, kind of like when Jerry decided to leave the search delay at 300 seconds indefinately. I know, Jerry’s busy, has lots on his plate, many other responsibilities and demands on his time, yadda yadda yadda (I sure wish my clients would buy that excuse). Maybe he’s already run a trace to find out where the search process is hanging, researched whether other boards have had this problem on this version and how they fixed it. I don’t know. What I do know is that if he had put a fraction of the effort into fixing this problem that you, Ed, and the other mods have put into defending him, it would be resolved by now. By the way, telling us to just go use Google is even more pitiful because you’re basically admitting that Jerry is just not up to the task of fixing it. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-guys-do-we-really-still-need-a-five-minute-delay-on-search/503516/39 "2009-07-22T03:55:29Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Actually, I know of at least one medium sized board that I participate on that has eliminated the search function to avoid over-taxing the servers. > > It is always a function of resources, and we’ve never had sufficient resources for this Board. One medium-sided board does not equal most larger boards. Insufficient resources? We don’t know what’s really powering the SDMB, except new dedicated servers every couple of years that should be able to handle a busy message board. I hope the powers that be aren’t knowingly purchasing servers they know are woefully underpowered for the task at hand. We’re never given the specs of the servers, and to suggest fixes violates an unwritten “no junior administrating” rule; I got smacked down with a warning about that a year or so ago. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-guys-do-we-really-still-need-a-five-minute-delay-on-search/503516/40 "2009-07-22T07:23:39Z")
Can someone teach me how to do a google search on the SDMB? It can’t be as simple as just opening the Google homepage and typing the text below, right? “Maastricht” AND “\” 😕 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-guys-do-we-really-still-need-a-five-minute-delay-on-search/503516.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-guys-do-we-really-still-need-a-five-minute-delay-on-search/503516.md?page=3)