Minimum Search Criteria

[vf2ss]

Just wondering if you could shed some light on minimum parameters for conducting a search?

Sometimes I receive "Sorry - no matches" performing a search for words such as "OEM", yet they exist. Usually if the word is too small/too common, I get "The following words are either very common, too long, or too short and were not included in your search" which makes sense, but on occasion, searching seems to yield no results at all.

A perfect example of this is let's say I was trying to locate the thread entitled "17/18 best value" which was started a few months ago and all I can remember is 17/18. I search for that...no results. If all I can remember is best value...no results. If I happened to remember the entire name of the thread 17/18 best value...still no results. Then I restrict searching in advance mode to Titles Only...no results. Then I restrict to just "Show posts"...no results. And if I add quotes to specify an exact match...no results (does this even work?).

Is there a way I can "force" it to search specific terms when I run into this? I've been doing tag searches to work around this which sometimes yields better results but not everyone properly submits tags (including myself) when posting a thread. Thanks.

 

[ChitownNSX]

I feel your pain. Im wondering the very same thing!

 

[otto_joe]

Just wondering if you could shed some light on minimum parameters for conducting a search?

Sometimes I receive "Sorry - no matches" performing a search for words such as "OEM", yet they exist. Usually if the word is too small/too common, I get "The following words are either very common, too long, or too short and were not included in your search" which makes sense, but on occasion, searching seems to yield no results at all.

A perfect example of this is let's say I was trying to locate the thread entitled "17/18 best value" which was started a few months ago and all I can remember is 17/18. I search for that...no results. If all I can remember is best value...no results. If I happened to remember the entire name of the thread 17/18 best value...still no results. Then I restrict searching in advance mode to Titles Only...no results. Then I restrict to just "Show posts"...no results. And if I add quotes to specify an exact match...no results (does this even work?).

Is there a way I can "force" it to search specific terms when I run into this? I've been doing tag searches to work around this which sometimes yields better results but not everyone properly submits tags (including myself) when posting a thread. Thanks.

You mean this thread?
http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1203252

I just use google and enter in:
site:nsxprime.com "17/18 best value"

Hope that helps.

Otto

 

[vf2ss]

Yes that thread, (I knew where it was) just using as an example to demonstrate.

I just use google and enter in:
site:nsxprime.com "17/18 best value"

This is another excellent work around, and yes it is very helpful, but again, it is just that...a work around. My point is having to do this defeats the purpose of this forum having a built-in search function, right?

No doubt if everyone used the above method, we would see less and less noob's being told "search is your friend" as Google can pick up just about anything, but as of now when people say they've tried our tendency is not to believe them, think they're lazy, etc. which may not be entirely the case.

All I'm wondering/hoping is if the search criteria vbulletin uses can be refined to improve the forum's experience. Heck, maybe it's just not possible to be as sensitive as Google hence why they're so good at what they do.

 

[otto_joe]

Yes that thread, (I knew where it was) just using as an example to demonstrate.



This is another excellent work around, and yes it is very helpful, but again, it is just that...a work around. My point is having to do this defeats the purpose of this forum having a built-in search function, right?

No doubt if everyone used the above method, we would see less and less noob's being told "search is your friend" as Google can pick up just about anything, but as of now when people say they've tried our tendency is not to believe them, think they're lazy, etc. which may not be entirely the case.

All I'm wondering/hoping is if the search criteria vbulletin uses can be refined to improve the forum's experience. Heck, maybe it's just not possible to be as sensitive as Google hence why they're so good at what they do.

Ok, how about doing a search for "17/18 best value" from here?

Yes, I know it's still google, but it's a link right on NSXprime. I personally have never had any luck using the vBulletin search function on any of the forums I have been on. I do not feel this is a NSXprime issue. It's a vBulletin issue.

Otto

 

[Acura NsX Pilot]

Not related to search but I subscribe to the threads I am interested to so I can just go back to it in my user control panel and yeah the search function here is not so great

 

[vf2ss]

Yes, I know it's still google, but it's a link right on NSXprime. I personally have never had any luck using the vBulletin search function on any of the forums I have been on. I do not feel this is a NSXprime issue. It's a vBulletin issue.

Otto

Great post Otto and good point...for the time being, I think I'll just never use the red menu bar search function. From a user functionality standpoint, it's not the best design to have two search buttons fairly close to each other where the one that seems to have more clout and sway is less functional than the more covert one. Especially for new members I'd imagine it more of a snare than a help if anything by essentially beckoning primers/new members to use the one in the red bar as it seems more official and the other one seems more like the "duplicate" many sites offer at the top or bottom just in case you miss the glaring obvious one...but like you said and I agree...it's not a prime issue, it's a vBulletin one. My original question has still not been answered though...are we safe in just assuming that the answer is poor at best and unimprovable?

<img src="http://www.vf2ss.com/transfer/search.png" border="0"/>

 

[otto_joe]

My original question has still not been answered though...are we safe in just assuming that the answer is poor at best and unimprovable?

I'd say it's very limited.
http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=208232
http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=227885

 

[NSX Prime]

vbulletin / mysql have some search limitations as far as what is practical.

Also, see this brief discussion http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123688 - I still haven't gotten around to setting the minimum back to 3 characters, partly because I added a new google search to the drop-down forum search menu. If you click the arrow next to search instead of just clicking on the word "search" you should see a google custom search box. That should accomplish the same thing as the "site:nsxprime.com xxxxxxxxxx" search suggested above without having to remember that syntax or open a new tab, go to google, and type all that in. If that is not working for other users let me know - I only tested it logged in as me and it worked fine, but if there is a security issue with it or something let me know and I'll work to fix it.

You are right, I do need to clean up the top nav bar. The search and a couple other things are outdated.

I'll also put changing the minimum vBulletin search back to 3 characters back on my to do list.

 

[vf2ss]

If you click the arrow next to search instead of just clicking on the word "search" you should see a google custom search box... ...If that is not working for other users let me know - I only tested it logged in as me and it worked fine...

If I followed your instructions correctly by just clicking on the arrow next to search (of course their is no arrow if you are not logged in and just lurking), I am not getting the custom google search box you have described. I tested it on Camino, Safari, Firefox, Opera & IE7 browsers to no avail (all on a mac using cross platform software). I'm assuming that there are probably some issues

Thanks for looking into this and your efforts towards improving the Prime user experience.