Testing out a new search tool :)

middlemamma 1/6/2011, 2:54 pm

Hey everyone....

I know it has been said numerous times that our search tool is slightly less than efficient...as it only searches titles and not the body of our posts.

SO!!! Boffer, the wonderful man that he is discovered this new tool that seems to be far superior to our current search tool.

When you search a word on our forum, it appears (with preliminary testing) that it pulls up that word found in the BODY of threads!!! Yea!!!

So we are going to test it for a couple weeks roughly. Please use it...use the heck out of it! And if there are any problems or complaints please send them to me in a PM, or post here on this thread.

If I get many complaints we will remove it...no harm no foul.

If everyone likes it then we will keep it and get rid of the current search tool.

Smile

HAPPY SEARCHING EVERYONE!!!!

elliephant 1/6/2011, 3:28 pm

I just noticed this by accident as I was searching for info on mosaic viruses. Works great!

Blackrose 1/6/2011, 3:55 pm

boffer is a genius! (I can hear his head growing from here Razz

)

I just played around with the new search function it worked beautifully! okay

middlemamma 1/6/2011, 4:03 pm

Camprn was looking for a cold fram thread a while ago and I don't know if she ever found it, but if she didn't I would like to see if this allows her to find it. Smile

It is very exciting isn't it?

Thank you Boffer!

boffer 1/6/2011, 4:14 pm

At the moment, I'm feeling like a knucklehead! It's not displaying properly in FF, but it does in IE and Chrome. Grrrrr! lousy computer

Should look like:
Testing out a new search tool :) 59010

I gotta play around some more.

I've been able to find a lot of stuff that I couldn't before. But I can't find the corn rootball thread that Megan referred to in this thread. And it was my thread! Mad

Megan 1/6/2011, 9:30 pm

Um... but I have FF and it DOES look like that????

Sorry you can't find your rootball!

middlemamma 1/6/2011, 9:35 pm

I know...it looks good for me too. Smile

boffer 1/6/2011, 9:41 pm

I've put this search feature on 4 forums. In FF it looks good on two, and incorrect on two. I upgraded today to 3.6.13; still does it. Hmmmm....I guess if no one else can tell... chicken dance

LaFee 1/7/2011, 4:32 am

I'm using 3.6.13 and it displays just fine.

**sfg4uKim** 1/7/2011, 8:01 am

I'm running the same version as Lafee. I tried searching on "Kim" and got 3 of my posts and 3 for Kim Kardashian from :Kim site:https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/ LOL one of these did reveal that she "doesn't like pepper or peppers."

Laughing

SFGHQSTAFF 1/7/2011, 12:47 pm

Boffer, you are the MAN! I tried this on several searches, and I believe it is far superior to our current tool. Awesome! Great job! cheers

LaFee 1/7/2011, 1:55 pm

Any feedback as to why it's picking up Kim Kardashian's Twitter feed?

I guess I'm jaded, but I get suspicious when it kicks up weird stuff like that, ESPECIALLY when if I "search site" for "kim" on my Google toolbar, it returns all kinds of posts with the name 'Kim' in them...but it doesn't pick up the Twitter feed.

middlemamma 1/7/2011, 2:13 pm

ok...this is my guess...

I typed Kim into my google bar and got the twitter feed about halfway down the page

I think she probably just has an geeky up to the minute web/publicist etc person. They are always coming up with new ways to get their crap to pop up in a search...

I thought I remembered an old post on here where someone made a joke about her and I thought that might be why it was populating??? But, LOL I can't find THAT!

Smile

**Furbalsmom** 1/7/2011, 2:33 pm

I thought this would search only in the SFG Forum, not other places like twitter and facebook

LaFee 1/7/2011, 2:43 pm

that's my point..something's weird if it's returning a Twitter feed.

I use the Google toolbar, and it lets you search just the current site -- when I search 'kim' with THAT, it returns JUST what shows up here on the forum.

If it put the Twitter feed out there, too, then I'd say okay, there's something weird in the search logarithm...but if the "powered by Google" search returns something that the *Google* search doesn't, then something's fishy in Denmark.

(That's not to mean that it's nefarious, although it might be...just that something's not right somewhere.)

middlemamma 1/14/2011, 6:28 pm

What does everyone think?

Better? Worse?

Keep it?

Trash it?

LaFee 1/14/2011, 6:30 pm

other than as a test, I haven't been using it...I've had a rash of little computer issues of late, and just got them sorted out...and the twitter feed really makes me nervous.

middlemamma 1/14/2011, 6:43 pm

For what it is worth...

I have used it for multiple searches and the only time twitter has populated has been when I searched a name. If I search a topic, vegetable or garden lingo it hasn't happened.

I don't know that it is that big of a concern, the tool really isn't for searching a name...

I personally think it does such a better job of searching for posts it's worth changing to.

Jen

**Furbalsmom** 1/14/2011, 6:51 pm

Has anyone else noticed that when you get to the results page, all entries are dated September 18, 2010. That will be confusing especially to new members.

Sometimes I know what I wanted was in the last few weeks and that date throws me everytime,

To be honest, I haven't checked the results individually to see if they are posted in date order most recent last. Guess I should do that.

middlemamma 1/14/2011, 7:48 pm

I actually did not notice that...but it does do that. Hmm wonder why?

**camprn** 1/14/2011, 8:14 pm

I have not had a chance to use it yet, but I am guessing I probably will the closer we get to planting time. I know I will be looking for previous threads and some valuable info to be found there.

CarolynPhillips 1/14/2011, 11:34 pm

I like the old search.

LaFee 1/15/2011, 5:26 am

there's no doubt in my mind that the FlashVortex search works better than the old one, as it actually searches the text of the posts -- the old search only works if the word you're searching for is in the *heading* of the posts.

But the FV search says it's powered by Google, but it doesn't work like using a Google site search...which makes me twitchy.

(FWIW, if you have a Google toolbar, you can search the contents of a website...and it works with the forum posts...without the oddities like altered dates or Twitter feeds)

I see other sites that have a Google search box, with the option to "search this site" or "search the web" - maybe that's available for free?

middlemamma 1/18/2011, 5:25 pm

Ok trying another search tool. Now there are three. When we figure out which one works the best we can pick just one. The two on top search the forum using google and hopefully will help us search within threads, not JUST the titles like the third one. Smile

Feedback please. Smile

Jen

Blackrose 1/18/2011, 5:54 pm

I just did a couple of searches with the new tool for various vegetables, names, etc. Even searched for "Kim". I didn't see any twitter feeds come up. However, it still dates all the search results as September 18, 2010.

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