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nocalprof
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« on: April 27, 2007, 12:01:34 AM » |
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Would it be possible to get a search function that actually works?
I've been frustrated many times, but here's my most recent example:
Search for "deadlocked" (as in, a deadlocked committee)
Many many many of the results don't even have the word show up ANYWHERE in the thread - why is that?
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trabb
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« Reply #1 on: April 27, 2007, 07:37:50 AM » |
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I was thinking today that it would be very helpful to be able to search for a term and specify that it must be in a thread started by one person. An example: today I tried to find a thread I started asking if VAPs should write recommendation letters. A search for "recommendation" with the poster's name being "trabb" turned up over 500 results. I suspect if I could have limited that to threads started by trabb, the results would have been far more manageable.
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concordancia
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« Reply #2 on: April 27, 2007, 09:43:47 AM » |
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I am happy to report that this was the second entry when I searched for "search function." Of course, number one was a request to keep the forumites updated about a job search, no function in sight.
Is seems to me that we have complained about the performance of the search function without inquiring into the original purpose of it. Perhaps it was not designed to facilitate information gathering and reduce repetitive threads. What if it was designed with a more literary purpose? It creates interesting results that defy logic but encourage deconstruction while simultaneously fostering a whole new genre of fora.
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I like money. I like to buy stuff and experiences with money.
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fiona
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« Reply #3 on: April 28, 2007, 04:25:38 PM » |
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Maybe the search function is a vast psych experiment to drive us insane.
I am keeping sane by not attempting to use it.
The Fiona, only mildly crocked
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The Fiona or perhaps La Fiona
Professor of Thread Killing, Fiork University
The Right Reverend Fiona, PhD, Bishop of the Fora
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mbassow
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« Reply #4 on: May 02, 2007, 02:13:11 PM » |
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Hi all,
We are ready to put a fix in place for our current search problem. We are creating a full-text index in the forum database which will vastly improve its performance.
We hopefully will no longer have the maddening unexpected search results, and searching in general should be faster.
Trabb requested a way to search only first posts on a thread. SMF does allow you to adjust the 'importance' or 'weight' of text in the first post, but now that we will have a full text index, relevancy should be much improved. So we'd like to leave the 'weights' at their default setting.
So... it looks like we've solved this problem... and what will it cost you???
We'll need to put the database in maintenance mode while the index is created. It should take only 5-10 minutes, but during that time, the forums are essentially down.
We plan to do this around 5 pm EST TODAY. We'll put a new thread in "Questions, Comments ?" about 1/2 hour before we do the upgrade.
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voxprincipalis
Foxaliciously Cinnamon-Scented (and Most Poetic)
Member-Moderator
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 17,442
Has potentially infinite removable wallets
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« Reply #5 on: May 02, 2007, 03:12:55 PM » |
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Bless you, thank you.
VP
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If you need me, I'll be hiding under a rock until mid-August. Try not to need me, unless you come bearing Chinese food.
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mbassow
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« Reply #6 on: May 02, 2007, 04:08:02 PM » |
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VP I think you spoke too soon.
The index is up... search is still wonky
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voxprincipalis
Foxaliciously Cinnamon-Scented (and Most Poetic)
Member-Moderator
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 17,442
Has potentially infinite removable wallets
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« Reply #7 on: May 02, 2007, 04:11:14 PM » |
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Hmm... you're right. :-)
Nevertheless, I appreciate the idea that you guys are working towards a better search function! Even if it's not "fixed" yet, the effort is very much appreciated.
VP
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If you need me, I'll be hiding under a rock until mid-August. Try not to need me, unless you come bearing Chinese food.
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mbassow
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« Reply #8 on: May 02, 2007, 04:12:57 PM » |
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Well, now maybe I spoke to soon. Try some searches and let me know what you think.
Boolean searches should also work... try
' harvard -university '
without the quotes....
I'll check back in a bit. Let us know what you think.
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husqvarna
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« Reply #9 on: May 02, 2007, 04:18:12 PM » |
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I am happy to report that this was the second entry when I searched for "search function." Of course, number one was a request to keep the forumites updated about a job search, no function in sight.
I just tried nomadicnomore's "search function" search and this came up number 1 rather than number 2! ...although now that I think of it, maybe hu's post is the reason why it's #1 now. Oh well. |
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I am not surprised that you are confused ... [t]hat confusion may well be chronic if not congenital. |
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concordancia
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« Reply #10 on: May 02, 2007, 04:36:20 PM » |
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I seem to more consistently get posts where the requested information is in the the thread title.
Only time will really tell.
But for the record, the fact that this is being worked on deserves a great big KUDOS, even if it takes a while yet to work out the kinks.
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I like money. I like to buy stuff and experiences with money.
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voxprincipalis
Foxaliciously Cinnamon-Scented (and Most Poetic)
Member-Moderator
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 17,442
Has potentially infinite removable wallets
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« Reply #11 on: May 02, 2007, 04:45:30 PM » |
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Well, now maybe I spoke to soon. Try some searches and let me know what you think.
Boolean searches should also work... try
' harvard -university '
without the quotes....
I'll check back in a bit. Let us know what you think.
Well, taking my previous example (from somewhere on the fora) about searching for "hu" ... I still get husband, humanities, and all sorts of other miscellaneous folderol. Searching for 'harvard -university' yields a handful of relevant results... but then also includes a bunch of posts that don't mention Harvard at all. Other posts show up later that actually do mention Harvard, so it seems that the "relevance" function is still not really working. (I left the settings on the default "show by relevance"; I usually actually get more relevant results if I tell it to show most recent posts first.) Also, the Boolean searches aren't working for me in general. Is there a special syntax? Caps? No caps? Are we using pluses and minuses, or ANDs and NOTs? (I've tried both.) VP |
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« Last Edit: May 02, 2007, 04:46:09 PM by voxprincipalis »
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If you need me, I'll be hiding under a rock until mid-August. Try not to need me, unless you come bearing Chinese food.
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husqvarna
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« Reply #12 on: May 02, 2007, 04:52:00 PM » |
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I seem to more consistently get posts where the requested information is in the the thread title.
Good. I haven't tried much searching yet, but this was the most annoying thing for me. Thanks, mods! |
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I am not surprised that you are confused ... [t]hat confusion may well be chronic if not congenital. |
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mbassow
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« Reply #13 on: May 02, 2007, 07:51:36 PM » |
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Hi all,
I think we are making a few steps in the right direction. Let's continue to post good examples of weird search behavior here in this thread.
But... when you post examples, please let us know if you are using the 'quick' search box which appears near the top of every page, or if you are using the 'advanced search' by clicking on the 'search' navigation in the blue nav bar.
We'll continue looking into this issue, and your 'real world' examples are always helpful.
I've reduced the maximum number of total matches from 1200 to 500. That's still 17 or so pages of results.
On the boolean question, the help text only shows the use of double quotes and the '-'. I've had some good results, but it doesn't appear to be consistent :(.
Thanks again for all of your help.
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castafiore
~past compare~
Member
Posts: 161
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« Reply #14 on: May 02, 2007, 08:58:51 PM » |
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OK, I did a search just before the fix (which I am excited about!) and just did the same search w/ similarly lousy results. I used the quick box at the top and searched for Boice b/c I was looking for similar advice books for the TT. (I know, it is really another form of procrastination.) 17 pages come back, most of which do not have Boice anywhere on them. Strange....
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