1Bean1 Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 Google search engines are great. You might be able to use google as an alternative method for searching topics at Arnie's (not really, but for just laughs): http://www.google.com/search?q=%22three+po...ficial&filter=0 <{POST_SNAPBACK}> davedawg, are you still around? Thank you for posting the "Googling Arnies" technique, it is better than the built in Arnies search for multiple search terms. If any mods are reading this, multiple term searches are not functioning in a reasonable manner, eg. +spring +rest +nozzle yields NO results. While the google equivalent yields 10 pages: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&cli...ums&btnG=Search The advanced search was getting frustrating until I ran across that google technique. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HappyHunter Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 davedawg, are you still around? Thank you for posting the "Googling Arnies" technique, it is better than the built in Arnies search for multiple search terms. If any mods are reading this, multiple term searches are not functioning in a reasonable manner, eg. +spring +rest +nozzle yields NO results. While the google equivalent yields 10 pages: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&cli...ums&btnG=Search The advanced search was getting frustrating until I ran across that google technique. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I think it's because when you put in '+', it searches for all three terms, whereas if you look at the google seach, the most you come up with is two of the words. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
1Bean2 Posted February 13, 2006 Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 I think it's because when you put in '+', it searches for all three terms, whereas if you look at the google seach, the most you come up with is two of the words. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> HappyHunter, thanks for the possible tip, however default google searches return matches which contain all search terms. The results page may not show all of the search terms in the summary listed underneath the link, but the page itself will contain all of the search terms. There's probably something wrong with the ArniesAirsoft search database, as was hinted somewhere earlier in the thread. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RoosterCogburn Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 after reading this entire thread i still feel the same way. this site is great but the search option is the WORST ive ever come across on any forum on the internet. it doesnt find anything you search for. what it should be doing is first finding your search in forum titles, and then in the forum itself, and then by date. 100% poor design and planning. the number one error in all problems. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
R22Master Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 As has been mentioned, using the "Search Titles Only" option will normally sort out most searching issues. Some search engines prioritise importance, correct for typing errors, use intelligent reasoning and get you the results you need in the best fashion possible. Examples of these are Yahoo and Google and they cost millions to develop and operate. What we have is a forum search engine. It does (as Arnie pointed out) EXACTLY what you ask it to, nothing more. As such you do need to be careful that you are entering valid terms in the right way. Using the host of available options as well will SERIOUSLY improve your results. When I first joined I couldn't find anything and was continuously bombarded by unrelated junk in the results. Then I stopped, took a look at the options available and read the "Advanced Help". I then spent 3 minutes trying a few different options and that was it! I can now find exactly what I want in moments. It wasn't "100% poor design and planning". It was me not using the system correctly. Take a couple of examples.... 1. I Want to know if dry-firing damages my gun! I type "dry" in to the search box. I select "Airsoft *chaffinch* Chat" as the search area. I select "Search Titles only" These are the results... http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forums/inde...cs&highlite=dry 2. I really want to buy a Steyr AUG from the For Sale forums in the UK. I type "Steyr" in to the search box. I select "For Sale" in the UK Classifieds subforum as the search area. I select "Search Titles only" These are the results... http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forums/inde...&highlite=Steyr -------------- As you can see I got EXACTLY what I wanted both times and hardly anything I didn't want. That's because I kept the terms simple, searched titles, and selected where I wanted to search. That's it. The system is great, you just have to use it correctly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
R22Master Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 This is maybe a little off topic, but I think people need to remember that someone new to airsoft may not yet know enough to do a proper search. For instance, if I want info on a full metal, cheap Beretta, I know to search terms like "Beretta" "HFC" "KJW" etc. Someone new isn't going to know what they're looking for, so there's no point flaming him for not being born with the encyclopedia of airsoft knowledge we all possess. Also, could we maybe be a little harsher on people saying "You should have searched" but who don't provide links to things they found searching? For instance, the other day, someone got flamed for asking how many brands of AEG MP5K there were. Now, there's no thread discussing this prior to this one that I'm aware of. And I can't imagine how even a Google search would turn up this information, unless you were prepared to look through every airsoft website. So why was this an unreasonable question to ask? It takes, what, a minute, to post "There is one brand of MP5K AEG in production, the TM, and there have been one or two others in the past. These are no longer made, so you would be best to focus on the TM." Compare that to the time taken to search every airsoft website. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Agree ENTIRELY! Yes, we should. I would now start giving out neg points to those who flame a newbie to search but without providing the links themselves. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I already do this. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hah, guess they'll get another one from now on. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Make that two (or more). As I pointed out in this thread almost a year ago... http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forums/inde...showtopic=17424 ...flaming without providing search results is something we could well do without here, so I would urge all users not to do it, and all moderators to assign a warning point to anyone seen doing it. Many thanks Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gazchap Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 Personally I wish we could do away with the flaming altogether, whether they provide search results links or not. There's no need for it. I see it on almost every forum I use. All it does is scare people away. The whole "Search Gestapo" movement really irks me The way I see it, telling people to search because repeated threads just clutter up the site/database is fruitless because they've already made the thread, so the "damage" has been done. The search engine here is also not "good" as such. Arnie is right, it does exactly what you tell it to do, but the problem is that the vast majority of people are not really computer literate and/or don't have an understanding of some of the more complex parts of using the web. I expect most people use the search engine here making the (quite reasonable, IMO) assumption that it will work in a similar way to Google et al. Putting +s before words is not intuitive which is why most people forget it. I'm not familiar with this forum software, but if it uses the FULLTEXT search capabilities of MySQL then it should be possible to order search results by relevance. </rant> Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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