Technical Problem Am I missing a tab on the search function?

[Fornax55]

Hey! Just wondering if I'm missing something with the search function. I always make a point of searching before asking a question, but the BL search for me has never really worked.

It only shows me the most recent posts loosely related to my search. On my browser (Chrome) I can't find a preference to sort by relevance, date, etc. and the stuff that appears isn't really relevant in the first place.

Even if I'm super specific about what I'm searching for I always just end up getting results about random stuff from the last 2 days. I feel like there's an advanced search setting somewhere but for some reason I can't find it.

 

[CFC]

Hey Fornax, sorry you're having trouble with the search function.

While XF's inbuilt database search isn't great (and many still use Google, Bing etc, which work well), it is nevertheless capable of various advanced settings.

You can search by keywords (using operators eg OR AND NOT and wildcard * to narrow things further), show results only from specific users, show posts newer than a set date, search posts and titles or titles only, return results only above a selected minimum # of replies, require specific thread prefixes, limit searches to specific forums, order results by date, order results by most replies, as well as the ability to search your own PMs ("Search Conversations").

Although these functions are not explained in individual detail in our Support FAQ, by following this link and the elements highlighted, you should be able to figure it out easily enough. If you're having trouble finding the advanced settings, here's the full URL:

Search

www.bluelight.org

 

[Fornax55]

Hey thanks for the detailed reply! I did know about those settings though. I guess the search function just isn't that great for digging up old archived posts or answering specific questions?