# This is why I don't use the search function **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 30, 2014, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-dont-use-the-search-function/689612 "2014-05-30T02:14:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-dont-use-the-search-function/689612/21 "2014-05-30T19:22:28Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > > [@VinylTurnip](#): > > > > Yeah, but we should aim higher than [boards.goodluckfindingshit.com](http://boards.goodluckfindingshit.com). > > Isn’t that the Nigerian president’s website devoted to finding the kidnaped girls? Ha! [I see what you did there!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodluck_Jonathan) ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-dont-use-the-search-function/689612/22 "2014-05-30T20:45:05Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > So wait more than 8 seconds. You math weird. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2014, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-dont-use-the-search-function/689612/23 "2014-05-30T20:49:59Z")
Could be worse – it used to be five minutes, remember? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-dont-use-the-search-function/689612/24 "2014-05-30T21:31:29Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Could be worse – it used to be five minutes, remember? No. That’s your job. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-dont-use-the-search-function/689612/25 "2014-05-30T23:12:11Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > What’s so bad about it? It seems perfectly fine to me, apart from the waiting time in between. Okay, so you do a search. The hamsters commit suicide, so you get page not found. You reload the search page and now have to wait just as long to search as you would if you managed to actually get any search results. That pisses me off a lot more than waiting between sucessful searches. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-dont-use-the-search-function/689612/26 "2014-05-31T00:26:44Z")
That’s a complaint about the waiting time, not a flaw with the search itself. And on other boards with a shorter time, the wait’s not so bad. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2014, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-dont-use-the-search-function/689612/27 "2014-06-03T19:59:44Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > So wait more than 8 seconds. What really gets me is when I wait what seems like a decent amount of time, submit the search again and get told I have to wait two more seconds. Really?! So you have to generate a whole page just to tell me to wait two seconds? Why not just wait two seconds on my behalf and then give me the results! Yea, I know, I know. If they let two seconds slide, then everyone will want three seconds. Then before you know it, some greedy users will want FOUR seconds. Slippy slope and all that. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-dont-use-the-search-function/689612/28 "2014-06-05T02:24:44Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > What really gets me is when I wait what seems like a decent amount of time, submit the search again and get told I have to wait two more seconds. What really gets _my_ goat is when it says, “Please try again in 1 seconds.” SecondS! Plural! That should be “Please try again in 1 second.” ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-dont-use-the-search-function/689612/29 "2014-06-05T07:04:52Z")
Back in the day when I was a programmer, that used to be the exception I found it most annoying to have to code for. A line of code that says _only_ do something in _nearly every_ case. The idea of it offends me. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-dont-use-the-search-function/689612/30 "2014-06-05T13:00:36Z")
I think someone once posted a screenshot of it telling them to wait -1 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-dont-use-the-search-function/689612/31 "2014-06-05T19:26:40Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > So you have to generate a whole page just to tell me to wait two seconds? Why not just wait two seconds on my behalf and then give me the results! Because those are separate subroutines in the code. One subroutine verifies if the 2 minutes has passed or not, and if not, it displays the page and inserts the remaining time. It would take another subroutine coded into the system to compare remaining time “if remaining time \< 2 seconds, wait 2 seconds, then complete search; else display blah blah blah”. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2014, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-dont-use-the-search-function/689612/32 "2014-06-15T09:58:05Z")
The search function on this forum sucks Bully Sticks. I’ve never seen a worse abomination in all of my time on the Internet. And no, don’t tell me to use Google. As an old math professor of mine once said, that’s like going to Pittsburgh by way of Buffalo. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2014, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-dont-use-the-search-function/689612/33 "2014-06-15T21:31:35Z")
Google works only for general-type searches. If you want to limit it by, say username or date or forum, you’re SOL. Google worked great when I wanted to see if there have ever been any threads on the board about Undercover Boss. It wouldn’t have worked for turning up every time a certain poster who shall remain nameless used the word “belly” in a post. > [@Chronos](#): > > The built-in search function sucks on all vBulletin-based boards. Some may allow you to use it more often than we do, but why would you want to? - Because your first search glitched out - Because you typoed a search term - Because your first search showed you that you need to use different search terms. The longest vBulletin wait time I’ve seen other than here is 30 seconds. That’s tolerable. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-dont-use-the-search-function/689612/34 "2014-06-16T00:08:38Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Isn’t that the Nigerian president’s website devoted to finding the kidnaped girls? No, that’s goodluckfindingchits. Easily confused. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-dont-use-the-search-function/689612.md?page=1)