OT: new way to search, should get rid of annoying topics :)

ok. since i (along with many others) have gotten really tired of the search feature, i decided to try to find a better way. it turns out that google really is my friend

here is what you do:
goto google.com
type: "site:boards.theforce.net" and whatever you may want to search for, (such as "lightsabers")... or just click this link and add what you would like to search for to the text box... http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=site%3Aboards%2Etheforce%2Enet
search, look a little and you should find what you want

i really hope this helps everyone and helps us avoid unnessessary topics that have already been answered.
(if this is too OT, then i will lock, or mods, feel free to also, but i think this is helpful )

 

That's actually the old way to search, before the search feature was implemented.
Not sure if we used google though, I think it was the same method, only another search engine...

Anyway, good idea to bring that up. The board's own search engine isn't as accurate as this, in general.

 

ya, i figured that if it wasnt something that everyone thought of, it could help also, this isnt just using google, its searching THIS site, not all the web

 

Woohoo!

 

What's wrong with the current search feature?

 

I tried using it to find part of a thread I remembered from over a year ago with no luck. From my experience, the board's search function only searches topics that haven't been closed.

I did find what I was looking for when I discovered that you could view every post you ever made through your profile.

 

It comes up with a whole bunch of unnecessary topics like if you put the word "in" inside the search bar, things will come up sometimes as "Anakin" or "think". Kind of annoying and irrevelant.

 

Not being in a place to complain since my site doesn't even have one, but I agree, the search is pretty weak.

-GS

 

also, its incredibly slow and only displays a very small amount of results (what is it? 15?)

with google, it will always come up with what you want (i think) assuming that what you search for is actually in the thread you want. that way, it will just be up to the user to find specific terms to search for... and its FAST!

 

The current search feature is.... icky. I don't know why, maybe durbnpoisn could explain the difference, but most of the time, I have to remember the thread name, and then search through thread manually for what I want. It's a pain.

 

lol... i am thinking about the times that i have 2 windows open and then start a search in one and while that is happening, look in the other window. i usually find the thread first by looking and then the results dont even include the thread i wanted
/rant

 

Does anyone know if the board search allows boolean opperators?

--Jamball

 

So I'm not the only one who's not happy with the current search feature?

 

you ARE

 

maybe durbnpoisn could explain the difference

Actually, I have more than a few thoeries. But I won't bore anyone with that...

Suffice to say the TFN search does not work at all. I've tried searching for a single word and gotten 0 results.

I've resorted to searching for threads by finding users that I know posted in them, and searching thier list.

I like this Google idea... I've used it, and it's a good idea. Only, remember that Google is routinely 2 months behind. So results may not be current.



In fairness, I decided to go back and try it again.
EDIT: Ah crap... The markup failed. Go to the search and type in "disaster at naboo". Watch the result set you get.

That's what's wrong with the search feature.