# ingratitude, and the search function.



## Benjy

now that the search function has been back for a while, i feel its nigh time someone complained about it 

is there any chance of tinkering with it so instead of just listing results by date there could be some kind of a thread rating system whereby if the thread is linked a lot or the keyword is much more frequent it gets listed higher on the search results page?

thhinking of things for other people to do,
ben


----------



## elie707

ya... i think so too...


----------



## lauranazario

Benjy said:
			
		

> now that the search function has been back for a while, i feel its nigh time someone complained about it


I too have been somewhat frustrated ever since the search function came back. I feel it's not as accurate as before. Previously, if I typed in a sentence (or rather a reasonable fragment like _"speaking of big brown cows"_), the search function was able to isolate it... whereas now the search function will provide threads containing the word "cow" as well as the users whose name may include the word "big".

And the Google Search box at the bottom of the page is not reliable either, as it is totally dependent on whether Google's spiders have perused through a thread or not.


----------



## Jana337

lauranazario said:
			
		

> I too have been somewhat frustrated ever since the search function came back. I feel it's not as accurate as before. Previously, if I typed in a sentence (or rather a reasonable fragment like _"speaking of big brown cows"_), the search function was able to isolate it... whereas now the search function will provide threads containing the word "cow" as well as the users whose name may include the word "big".
> 
> And the Google Search box at the bottom of the page is not reliable either, as it is totally dependent on whether Google's spiders have perused through a thread or not.


Laurita, I typed in the following query: +speaking +big +cows
The only thread the system spits is this one. 
But _"speaking of big brown cows" _in quotation marks yields the same.
Where's the problem? 

Jana


----------



## jacinta

Hi, Ben!  

I'm so glad you brought this up.  I rarely use the search since I find it so tedious.  I now only use the dictionary and look at the threads it lists for that particular word. Very useful. Hang the search!

Sorry, Mike, but it must be said.


----------



## Jana337

jacinta said:
			
		

> Hi, Ben!
> 
> I'm so glad you brought this up. I rarely use the search since I find it so tedious. I now only use the dictionary and look at the threads it lists for that particular word. Very useful. Hang the search!
> 
> Sorry, Mike, but it must be said.


Well, the dictionary lists thread with "your" word in the title only. I am a die-hard search fan. Mike, don't give up! 

Jana


----------



## lauranazario

Jana337 said:
			
		

> Laurita, I typed in the following query: +speaking +big +cows
> The only thread the system spits is this one.
> But _"speaking of big brown cows" _in quotation marks yields the same.
> Where's the problem?


Oh my God... OF COURSE I used a fake example when expressing my dissatisfaction with the current search function not yielding the results I was able to get before. If I had to provide a real example, I would have been forced to use the search function... which would have been deliciously oxymoronic, don't you think? 
This "gripe" or "complaint" about the search function has a collective background (as in, it has yielded unsatisfactory results in a number of instances).

Thanks,
LN


----------



## Jana337

lauranazario said:
			
		

> Oh my God... OF COURSE I used a fake example when expressing my dissatisfaction with the current search function not yielding the results I was able to get before. If I had to provide a real example, I would have been forced to use the search function... which would have been deliciously oxymoronic, don't you think?


I knew that your example was fake - I wanted to stress that you won't get threads with "big" or "cows" if you use those +. I use them very often and cannot complain. I haven't even noticed a change in the performance of the search function.

Deliciously oxymoronic - my passion! 

Jana


----------



## mkellogg

You know you have a problem when your moderators decide to start a conversation in public about a subject. 

I agree.  It is awful.  Let me see if I can put something together that would be better than vBulletin's search.

Mike


----------



## mkellogg

But what do you want for free???

Try this demo and let me know if it works any better.
http://it.wordreference.com/fr/forumSearch.asp?enfr=smile&dict=&B=Rechercher

The text box works, but only for French/English right now!

Mike


----------



## cuchuflete

For free?  A good search function, lots of chocolate, a round trip ticket to.....

Hey, Thanks Mike, this is neat.   It just helped me find all sorts of obscure Benjois folk sayings.

cuchu


----------

