Yeah, this is really amazing, but I've discovered that I can usually find answers much faster when searching within DP. Am I alone in this?
Yea, i really dont like forum search features. I usually just go on google and search for "keyword digitalpoint" or the one you have mentioned.
So then you would use site:digitalpoint.com +keyword Is this correct? I also find search features horrible on forums, i find the similar thread feature much more helpfull actually.
Lol, this forum is getting ridiculously large when you can do that. The VB search really does need help, though. They should strike a deal with Google where Google powers their search results, and forum owners have the option to automatically display ads. Would work out well for all parties, IMO. I know you can do it with Adsense for search, but it would be nice if it was integrated.
The vBulletin search actually seems pretty good to me (especially with the more recent versions of vBulletin). I'm curious what kind of thing you are searching for that you aren't finding with the internal forum search?
When I use the default VB search for "vbulletin", the second result is this thread. The only place vbulletin is mentioned is in the footer. Not a good ranking algo imo I get OK results for one word phrases, but multiple word searches seem to produce horrific results.
yeah, its the multiple word searches where it falls apart. Advanced search is a little better, but if you try and search for a phrase that I know is posted somewhere, it takes forever to find it.
er... http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?p=592448&highlight=vbulletin#post592448 Sure looks like the keyword is in a post!!!! (Search a thread to find where something shows up in a thread.) The vbulletin search only searches thread posts, titles, and keeps track of who made each post and when.
Oh, vbulletin is mentioned on page 2 of an 8 page post. The search results showed the entire thread. That's efficient searching My point is that I don't get great results with VB search, that's all. I did a search for Vbulletin, that thread came up as #2 result. Not extremely relevant IMO.
The main problem is that there isn't an option to list by relevance, rather than chronologically. A radio button to ignore the freshness of the thread would be cool.
Go to advanced search, tell to give results as individual posts, then save your preferences (that will apply to searches without advanced mode then too).
Ahhh, thanks. I guess I need to further explore the intricacies of advanced search, I'm usually disappointed with search results. I still think that integrating Google search could be good for both of them. I guess it's not exactly huge business in G's eyes, but forums are rapidly becoming a more popular form of internet media.