12 replies to this topic

[chrono]

The custom google search box that appeared at the top of every forum page disappeared in the format update. Wanted to see what other people thought of its usefulness, and how difficult it would be to get it back.

I thought this was an incredibly helpful feature. The fuzzy search algorithms made finding a topic based on a number of key words a snap. Instead of wading through dozens of results on any particular topic in the forum search, the first results are more likely to be relevant.

This is particularly useful in the supplements/nootropics section. Finding individual aspects of any particular substance (dosage, specific side effects and properties, combinations and interactions, etc.) is a hugely powerful research tool. Not to mention that it cuts down on the number of bewildered "OMG where do I even start?" and UTFSE threads.

Also very useful to find previous threads to post in, reducing the chance of fragmenting discussion needlessly into a new topic.

I'll note that you can still do this by adding site:imminst.org to a google search, but it's considerably less convenient without the custom search box.

[chrono]

Guess the 'ayes' carried it :D Thanks for bringing this back.

[caliban]

So clicking on the little google icon next to the search box takes you down the same page for google custom search.
We also have a search on the frontpage, but that doesn't work yet.

Guess the 'ayes' carried it :D

I'd love to say yes, but thats not the real story regarding the current campaign of tweaking the forum layout.
Some of it has to do with a vision for the site.
Most with technical or layout constraints.
But really its got to lot to do as well with what I can afford to look at, mainly when I need distraction from other, frankly more important and certainly more lucrative work.
Given that, I'm sure people will understand that requests and complaints will be viewed more positively if they are not couched in the usual strident tones.
This is not about this poll, just a general remark.

[chrono]

I was more poking fun at the fact that I was the only one who voted. Thanks again for your hard work, it's much appreciated.

[chrono]

A problem with the google seach function is that it seems to include everything on the page. For instance, if one of the search terms is also the name of a forum (calorie restriction, any region/country with a subforum, etc), it effectively acts as a wildcard term because it will be on every page (dropdown menu at the bottom).

Is there a way to limit the google search to the content area of the page? I don't remember this happening with the previous software version.

EDIT: Forgot to say that the shoutbox is also indexed by google; this can have the same negative effect on search results, if every forum page effectively contains every word in the chatbox. You've said elsewhere that it acts as a separate public forum; might it be possible in the new software to remove this from the search area, or have the chatbox indexed as its own separate page?


EDIT2: Thankfully, these concerns no longer apply, a year on.

Edited by chrono, 08 November 2011 - 10:08 PM.

[chrono]

This seems to have been lost in one of the upgrades. Any chance we could get it back? It's a lot better than the software search for pretty much anything except a chonological list of all topics containing a single word. Having the bar at the bottom of every page is a lot easier for most people than using the advanced search strings in a separate google page.

[computeTHIS]

What happened to the advanced search option? I used it all the time, it was much easier to filter out unwanted results. Can we get this back?

[caliban]

Advanced search still exists - click on the magnifier icon next to the search box

[niner]

Advanced search still exists - click on the magnifier icon next to the search box

I'm noticing a trend in user interfaces in general, not just here, toward smaller, less obvious, more hidden controls. This is fine for established users who are willing to put in the effort to figure out the new UI, but it's not the best approach for a site that is also interested in recruiting new members to our community. We might be at the mercy of IPB designers on this, but to the extent that these things are under our control, I think we should strive for clarity in the UI, even at the possible expense of aesthetics.

[howtodisappear]

I was just looking for a place to post re the search box. Has it changed in the last few days?

I used to put a search request in the box and it would give me the longecity results, now I get just a standard web search. Is it just me, because the way it worked before was great.

[rwac]

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. it should be fixed now.

[aim1]

Unless it's me, I still don' think the search function is right.
When I do a search, I want to search ImmInst, not the web. Is there a setting I am missing?
One other thing, while I am at it is, when I go to Recent Topics and click on one of them, when I return to the main Recent Ttopics page, most times that topic is gone.

[rwac]

There's some trouble with the imminst search at the moment, not clear what's going on.

Sounds like you've chosen "Content I have not read" on the left. any of the other options should do what you want.