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Suggestion: delete the search function

Bill D

Diamond
Joined
Apr 1, 2004
Location
Modesto, CA USA
I would like to suggest that the search function be deleted. Folks who have been here awhile know it does not work but it may confuse newcomers who find the site and use the search function. It never returns any hits for me. I just looked for metric tap sets and got no hits. Then I used google for that same string and added "practical machinist" returning 108,00 hits.
By deleting the search function more newcomers will find what they are looking for and come back. Maybe make it a link to google with "practical machinist" already into the search box?
Bill D
 
Well, I just entered the same terms on the site search tab, 'entire site' and got 1700+ returns. It was automatically a google search and said so right next to the search box. When I entered it into the 'search forums' tab it returned 28 pages of results. I might add that the 'entire site' search returned many forum post hits too.

So, while it has limitations I personally think its better than nothing by a long shot.
 
Bill,

The search works, but it's borderline acceptable and is far from being good or smart. I have no idea (and would like to know) if the board software allows any modifications and improvements to the search function. I really hope it does.

Re-routing to Google is a good second option. But if the built-in Search can be improved, that's all what's needed, IMHO. In any case, I wouldn't get rid of it.

P.S. I just tried Search-Search Forum Discussions for "metric tap sets" and got over 600 hits. Maybe there is something in your settings that affects the results.
 
I have also had difficulty getting results, mostly from multi-word queries. It would be useful to have some sort of function to refine searches by exact word order, contains all words, etc. I thought eBay's search function was quite good up until they seemingly dumbed it down for users who had no clue about Boolean operators. In any case, some additional capability here would be very useful, I think.
 
Which is the very last thing that some of us want .... luckily I have google thoroughly blocked.
It gets harder every day to stay google free. It is almost amazing how many domains they run to avoid alphabet inc blockers. I have my laptop with google repellant as much as I can; finally broke down on my desktop, which is now part of Skynet- and uses bandwidth to sell us all just what I didn't need.
 
The search function can be useful. Yes, it could be improved, but there are other things I'd rather see tinkered with first (e.g.,implementing 1-click logons). I have to say I personally don't share the OP concern with "newcomers" who run away because...

I was about to finish that sentence with: "...entering 'round tube with square hole' didn't produce any results." Then I thought I really ought to test the search function first to see if in fact it just might recognize 'round tube with square hole'. I did so, and promptly got referred to 4 pages of PM posts relating to round tubes with square holes.

-Marty-
 
I was about to finish that sentence with: "...entering 'round tube with square hole' didn't produce any results." Then I thought I really ought to test the search function first to see if in fact it just might recognize 'round tube with square hole'. I did so, and promptly got referred to 4 pages of PM posts relating to round tubes with square holes.

-Marty-
But if you try "square tube with triangular hole" (don't forget to include the quotation marks), you'll see that the Search doesn't work.
;)
 
You must understand, ALL internet searches are SALES TOOLS. Every single one of them is paid for by the ADVERTISERS who pay for the privilege of being on the first page of all searches that have even a hint of relevance to the terms that the poor user enters.

You may have blocked Google, but ALL the others do the same thing as Google. They record your search and sell it to anyone who wants to pay for a list of people to send sales pitches to.

The internet needs a good, non-commercial search engine. One that returns results based on the actual search terms and not on what paid advertisers want.



Which is the very last thing that some of us want .... luckily I have google thoroughly blocked.
 
You must understand, ALL internet searches are SALES TOOLS. Every single one of them is paid for by the ADVERTISERS who pay for the privilege of being on the first page of all searches that have even a hint of relevance to the terms that the poor user enters.

You may have blocked Google, but ALL the others do the same thing as Google. They record your search and sell it to anyone who wants to pay for a list of people to send sales pitches to.

The internet needs a good, non-commercial search engine. One that returns results based on the actual search terms and not on what paid advertisers want.

Try DuckDuckGo, they don't save or use search histories to alter results, and don't save or sell your personal data. However, they are still commercial and have a partnership with Yahoo, Amazon, and ebay, so YMMV as to whether or not that counts as an improvement regarding the influence of other peoples' $$$. I don't use it at this time, but I'm considering it now that I've dug a little deeper to fact-check my own post here.
 
The internet needs a good, non-commercial search engine. One that returns results based on the actual search terms and not on what paid advertisers want.
Absolutely agree with you. Mr. Berners-Lee would as well. Sometimes I wonder if he would have let the web loose on the world if he could have foreseen what would happen to it.

p.s. Paying for a subscription to an honest search engine would be okay with me.
 
The internet needs a good, non-commercial search engine. One that returns results based on the actual search terms and not on what paid advertisers want.

Indexed databases cost money to set up and operate.

Before the internet was even a factor, one of the Directors of one of my companies asked for "emergency" help, 24 hour response.

Seems another, far larger and richer, company he was on the board of was about to novate a new subsidiary with a really good sounding name and he had an uneasy feeling it was not new. Could we help?

Eight Mike Foxtrot THOUSAND dollars later in Compuserve and Dialog fees and we had both ID'ed a whole passle of companies already registered with the nice-sounding name, one a component of a Fortune 100 firm with lawyers dripping out of their orifices, EG: "not to be f**ked with, IP-wise"...AND .. found him a short list of just as good names that NO one had yet registered, worldwide.

He/they picked a good one, were happy as punch to have avoided waaay more in potential legal fees and corporate identity do-over, pass-through of our out-of-pocket costs only, no fee for a 24 hour run of labour.

Jump forward... even less-powerful engines than google work "well enough" if a bit of human search-fu is applied.

Want info out of Spain, Italy, or Germany?

Motor your browser URI over and use THEIR localized search engine.

Same is true with PM's "built in". It still does SOME things better than Google does.

One just has to adapt to the tools each is best suited to.

Both work.
 
To get back to the original topic on this thread, I, for one, DO NOT want the PM forums search function removed. I used it at least weekly, and successfully. I only ever "Search One Content Type", "posts".
 
Not to be impolite, but that topic has already been beat to death and those sets suck. :)

Search works great for me, but I generally use it with rsther specific terms. If you're just perusing with vague terms it's less helpful....as would be expected.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
 
Umm...I thought the issue was the new guys didn't use the search button...

:scratchchin:

...And when thy doo, finding "locked" post's , but not seeing the lock down below,
nor caring "hey the poster got an answer, who cares if it got locked ?"

and maybe the OP can stop posting "Harry Homeshop Crap" so much, and thereby not filling PM with page after page of useless drivel.
 
Search works great for me, but I generally use it with rsther specific terms.

Not hard to see WHY, either.

ANY thread you are in or pull up, just scroll down to the "chin whiskers" right at the end of it.

Take note of "tags for this thread", and observe they seldom have SQRT-FA to do with what a human would consider its main points. Or even CLOSE.

Fortunately, that's just the "fast search" pre-indexed metadata.

Might take several tries to structure a meaningful query, but PM actually CAN return useful search responses.

Better yet? When PM does "get it right" there is hardly any of the irrelevant drivel google will also overload nearly any search with.
 








 
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