# Something wrong with search? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 16, 2008, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-wrong-with-search/463790 "2008-09-16T03:31:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-wrong-with-search/463790/21 "2008-09-27T19:06:15Z")
Still not working for me, and I’ve made several attempts since yesterday. Most of the time it just reloads the search page immediately, with no message whatsoever. Occasionally I get the error **MaceMan** posted. Every once in a long while, it works. Mods/Admins, is Jerry aware this is still a problem for a lot of people? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-wrong-with-search/463790/22 "2008-09-27T19:10:52Z")
I verified it’s not browser related, I reproduced the error case where it reloads with no message in IE, Firefox, and Chrome. I’ve also tried clearing the cache on Firefox, with no change. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-wrong-with-search/463790/23 "2008-09-27T19:16:30Z")
More info: The ‘Find all posts by’ and ‘Find all threads started by’ searches from a user’s profile has never failed for me, only the search from ‘Search Forums’ at [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php) FYI, if Jerry or anybody needs any more info regarding this issue that I can provide, feel free to contact me via email (revtim at gmail dot com). ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-wrong-with-search/463790/24 "2008-09-28T09:25:58Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > …it just reloads the search page immediately, with no message whatsoever. Same for me. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Stilettos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Red\_Stilettos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Stilettos)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-wrong-with-search/463790/25 "2008-09-28T14:39:49Z")
I’ve also been unable to search. As for others, it just loops me back to the search page with some, but not all, of the defaults reset. For instance, it keeps the keyword, but changes the post date and forum search back to the defaults. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-wrong-with-search/463790/26 "2008-09-28T14:48:41Z")
> [@Darth\_Nader](#): > > Same for me. Ditto ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-wrong-with-search/463790/27 "2008-09-28T23:49:19Z")
Still not working. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-wrong-with-search/463790/28 "2008-09-28T23:54:04Z")
Mods/Admins - can we get at least an acknowledgment that you are aware that this is still a problem? ---
**Author:** ![fruitbat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@fruitbat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fruitbat)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-wrong-with-search/463790/29 "2008-09-29T00:12:04Z")
It has never worked for me since the upgrade. In other words this isn’t a temporary issue. I am simply unable to search on any of my computers. ---
**Author:** ![Mbossa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Mbossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mbossa)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-wrong-with-search/463790/30 "2008-09-29T00:15:28Z")
Advanced search was working for me fine, but as an experiment I tried selecting ‘Clear Search Preferences’ at the bottom of the page (and clicking Go). After that, search stopped working for me and I’d always be redirected back to the search page. Then I tried selecting ‘Clear Search Preferences’ again and search started working for me once more. So to those of you whose searches are just redirecting back to the Advanced Search page, try selecting ‘Clear Search Preferences’ on that page and see if that makes a difference. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-wrong-with-search/463790/31 "2008-09-29T00:25:28Z")
It used to be that I could click on my username and see all of my posts in the order that I had posted to the topic. Now I have to go to the search function, and I get results in the order that anyone else has posted to the topic. Can I still do it the old way? ---
**Author:** ![Mbossa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Mbossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mbossa)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-wrong-with-search/463790/32 "2008-09-29T00:26:16Z")
I’ve also noticed that if I select ‘Save Search Preferences’, I’m redirected back to the Advanced Search page, but the fields are prepopulated with weird values. Both Keywords and User Name are populated with the word ‘Array’, and more-or-less random values are selected in the Search Options fields. The URL in the browser bar also becomes: ```auto http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?query[]=&searchuser[]=&exactname[]=1&starteronly[]=0&tag[]=&forumchoice[]=0&childforums[]=1&titleonly[]=0&showposts[]=0&searchdate[]=180&beforeafter[]=after&sortby[]=lastpost&sortorder[]=descending&replyless[]=0&replylimit[]=0&searchthreadid[]=0&saveprefs[]=1&quicksearch[]=0&searchtype[]=0&exclude[]=&nocache[]=0&ajax[]=0&userid[]=0 ``` which has a much longer query string than I usually see on that page. This obviously isn’t a major problem since it’s easy enough to click ‘Reset Fields’, but I’m mentioning it just in case it helps with diagnosing the other search issues. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-wrong-with-search/463790/33 "2008-09-29T00:41:33Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > It used to be that I could click on my username and see all of my posts in the order that I had posted to the topic. > > Now I have to go to the search function, and I get results in the order that anyone else has posted to the topic. > > Can I still do it the old way? After clicking your username, then go to ‘statistics’. These searches have been consistently working for me. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-wrong-with-search/463790/34 "2008-09-29T04:55:55Z")
> [@Mbossa](#): > > Then I tried selecting ‘Clear Search Preferences’ again and search started working for me once more. > > So to those of you whose searches are just redirecting back to the Advanced Search page, try selecting ‘Clear Search Preferences’ on that page and see if that makes a difference. I tried that. When I hit Go I get a page that says ‘Search Preferences Saved’ and the it bounces back to the Search page and the option says ‘Save Search Preferences’. It doesn’t want to clear. ---
**Author:** ![Mbossa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Mbossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mbossa)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-wrong-with-search/463790/35 "2008-09-29T05:20:33Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I tried that. When I hit Go I get a page that says ‘Search Preferences Saved’ and the it bounces back to the Search page and the option says ‘Save Search Preferences’. > > It doesn’t want to clear. Interesting… **Musicat** told me via PM that the same thing’s happening to him. But every time I’ve tried it’s said ‘Search Preferences _Cleared_’ as you’d expect. Like you, ‘Save’ option is preselected when I’m bounced back to the search page, but I think that’s just because it’s the first in the list. If you’re willing to experiment, what happens if you try selecting ‘Save Search Preferences’? I bet all these weird phenomena around the search page have the same root cause, which will be something mundane like a comma missing somewhere in some script. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-wrong-with-search/463790/36 "2008-09-29T09:53:13Z")
I have been completely unable to search since the upgrade. No matter how I try to set it, it simply bounces me back to the search screen. It’s gotten to the point where I’ve almost given up trying. I am genuinely trying to be patient, but this crippling of a major feature of the board for such a length of time is becoming really frustrating. [Asking Nicely]Is it possible to have some form of update on progress from Jerry or anyone authorised to speak on his behalf? Please?[/AN] ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-wrong-with-search/463790/37 "2008-09-29T14:10:27Z")
Search works for me MOST of the time… Sometimes what’ll happen (when it doesn’t work) is: I’ll search something and the page will sort of refresh and be right back on the search page (I’m talking about the advanced search page)…but that’s happened MAYBE 4 or 5 times. The rest of the time it’s seemed to work fine (used it just a few hours ago and it was working fine). At least for me. ---
**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:** [September 29, 2008, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-wrong-with-search/463790/38 "2008-09-29T17:39:09Z")
Ed posted a few days ago that Jerry was working on other projects. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=10233205#post10233205](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=10233205#post10233205) ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-wrong-with-search/463790/39 "2008-09-30T22:00:20Z")
I’ve been trying to search for hours, but I keep getting kicked back to the advanced search screen as soon as I submit my search. And the guy who was supposed to make sure this upgrade actually got finished and everything worked correctly isn’t even working on it anymore? Somehow, I am not surprised. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-wrong-with-search/463790/40 "2008-10-01T04:13:14Z")
> [@neutron\_star](#): > > I’ve been trying to search for hours, but I keep getting kicked back to the advanced search screen as soon as I submit my search. And the guy who was supposed to make sure this upgrade actually got finished and everything worked correctly isn’t even working on it anymore? > > Somehow, I am not surprised. Well, with Creative Folding apparently hurtling down the gurgler, I suspect that this board and its maintenance is not currently their number one priority, so I doubt it’s Jerry’s fault. Think solvent thoughts. Think solvent thoughts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-wrong-with-search/463790.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-wrong-with-search/463790.md?page=3)