# Vanity searches **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [November 10, 2010, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/560158 "2010-11-10T12:10:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/560158/1 "2010-11-10T12:10:55Z")
Don’t know what else to call them but if I do a search for my posts going back six month or more, I’m given maybe enough time to look through one page before being told that “No results are available----please try different search terms.” This, after being assured that the original search turned up multiple pages and far more posts than I’m allowed to peruse. Is is just me? Why does the SDMB hate me? Tell me what conduct I need to change and I’ll try harder to fit in; I promise. Really, why am I allowed to search but not allowed to see all, or even most, of the search results? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/560158/2 "2010-11-10T14:45:17Z")
Try this Google search: LouisB site:straightdope.com That should give you all your posts, and nothing but posts by or about you (since “LouisB” is unlikely to be used for anything else – when I do it, I find discussions of _Buffy_ and of various sporting figures). ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/560158/3 "2010-11-10T15:29:33Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > Don’t know what else to call them but if I do a search for my posts going back six month or more, I’m given maybe enough time to look through one page before being told that “No results are available----please try different search terms.” Stop hitting the back button - open any threads you want to view in a new tab or browser window. Also, use Google - it’s much easier and stable. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/560158/4 "2010-11-10T18:04:47Z")
Damn, you can do anything with Google, can’t you? Learn something new everyday if you keep your mouth shut and your eyes and ears open. Thanks, guys, I appreciate it. ---
**Author:** ![Kyrie\_Eleison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kyrie_eleison/32/7682_2.png) [@Kyrie\_Eleison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyrie_Eleison)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/560158/5 "2010-11-10T18:04:48Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Stop hitting the back button - open any threads you want to view in a new tab or browser window. Also, use Google - it’s much easier and stable. Also, search results will eventually time out. If you get multiple pages of results, it can be helpful to immediately open each page of results in a separate browser window or tab. Then you can peruse them all at your leisure without worry. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/560158/6 "2010-11-10T19:30:24Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > Damn, you can do anything with Google, can’t you? In the ATMB sticky [FAQ - Technical issues for Posting](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=384827) we can find this post [HOWTO: Search the SDMB using Google](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=11650034#post11650034) ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/560158/7 "2010-11-11T02:00:05Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > In the ATMB sticky [FAQ - Technical issues for Posting](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=384827) we can find this post > > [HOWTO: Search the SDMB using Google](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=11650034#post11650034) I admit I didn’t look, it being so much easier to complain. As I get older, it gets much easier to complain and to become very pissed off over nothing. It does concern me. Mea Maxima Culpa. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/560158/8 "2010-11-11T19:55:45Z")
Google can be problematic for vanity searching. AFAIK there’s no way to search for posts that include your name without also getting posts that are \*by \*you, which kind of defeats the point. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/560158/9 "2010-11-11T20:16:50Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Google can be problematic for vanity searching. AFAIK there’s no way to search for posts that include your name without also getting posts that are \*by \*you, which kind of defeats the point. As mentioned upthread search results time out, so get 'em while they’re hot. As a charter member, my problem is that a search for all my old posts runs into the 750 results limit on searches; I have to break it down by date and forum. Here’s another option: if you click on someone’s name header on a post, you get the option of going to their View Profile page. On that page, choosing Statistics allows you to click either all posts by that person or threads started by that person. Finally, in your own User Control Panel, under Edit Options, if you have always had Default Thread Subscription Mode enabled, then every post you’ve made will be in your Subscribed Threads list. (Sadly, at one point I didn’t understand this and nuked most of my old history by deleting my subscription list. ☹ ) ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/560158/10 "2010-11-11T20:17:08Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Google can be problematic for vanity searching. AFAIK there’s no way to search for posts that include your name without also getting posts that are \*by \*you, which kind of defeats the point. True, but what could be vainer than admiring one’s own posts? ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/560158/11 "2010-11-11T21:13:05Z")
Duh, just realized I totally misread the OP–they’re not searching for people talking \*about \*them, they are in fact searching for \*their own \*posts, in which case my point is moot. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/560158/12 "2010-11-11T21:18:08Z")
You’re so vain… You probably think this post is about you…