Forum Search options (and recommendations?)

[tschock]

This is based off of a legitimate question I have and search I was trying to perform. Is there a list/location of the T205 back variations AND their relative scarcities?

So I thought I would use the Search facility here rather than ask that question (and get the curmudgeonly type response of "this has been discussed multiple times on various threads"). But the problem I run into is trying to actually get something useful AND appropriate when I search.

For example, try searching for something like "T205 Drum back" in the search facility. You get hits for items with ANY of these words, but I have not found a way to limit this to hits that contain ALL of these words. I've tried some of the usual search methods (plus sign, ampersand, quotes, parenthesis, etc) but so far no luck. What is the magic incantation for getting a search result for an item contain ALL words or an EXACT PHRASE?

I'm pretty sure it can be done, since the FAQ Search (see, I went to the FAQ) allows for the option of exact phrase, results containing ALL words, and results containing ANY words (which seems to be the default of the forum search).

If I am missing something obvious here, please feel free to use a curmudgeonly response pointing that out.

A ) If not, it would be great to be able to do the same type of general, forum searches that you can do in the FAQ search.

B ) At the same time, in poking around, it would be good to have a place for these type of "technical/user" questions as well. The water cooler area didn't seem quite right (and my apologies if this is where this post should have gone).

I thought it might be better to post here in case other newbies had the same question/concerns rather than just ping a moderator. Please move/delete THIS thread as appropriate.

[Leon]

It's a great question. I just did a search on this forum and used the terms

T205 back scarcity


I looked down the page for a thread title that was close to that and had a lot of responses. Here is the thread I picked. It took me 5 seconds. Practice makes perfect...

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthr...+back+scarcity


.

[EvilKing00]

hmmmm not sure - BUT here - http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=157949

[cubsfan-budman]

didnt test it, but in google and the like, putting your search in quotes causes it to search for that exact phrase.

Like, "T205 Drum back"

[tschock]

Thanks Leon, EK. I believe this is one of the threads I was looking for (but are there others?). At the same time, for a "newbie", it isn't obvious from the title of the thread. I think the search ability similar to what pops up in the FAQ search would be much better.

The real problem is that the MORE specific you get in your search, such as "T205 Piedmont White miscut", the MORE hits you get back when the opposite should be true. I'm not sure this specific search example would produce any hits using ALL words; it's just an example. Also the more "generic" the term is, the more weeds you get when stringing (somewhat) generic terms together, such with the example above. (Similar, but to the other extreme, with "rare" terms. Searching for "1928 Yuengling" you are better off just searching for "Yuengling".)

It seems like the search engine can handle it (base on the FAQ search ability). So why not "expose" that ability for general use? My 2 cents...

[bn2cardz]

I have issues using the search feature also. So a lot of the times I go to google and type " site:net54baseball.com" then put my search words in.

So for your particular search it looks like " site:net54baseball.com T205 Drum back"

This will search anything from this site only. I have found navigating old threads has been a lot easier this way at times.

[tschock]

Originally Posted by cubsfan-budman

didnt test it, but in google and the like, putting your search in quotes causes it to search for that exact phrase.

Like, "T205 Drum back"

I did try it. Doesn't work. Hence my post. (also try using the other "normal" string delineators (sp) such as + , () etc... with the same (lack of) results)

[EvilKing00]

Originally Posted by tschock

Thanks Leon, EK. I believe this is one of the threads I was looking for (but are there others?)

There are other T205 back threads, I would search "backs" or "T205 backs", BUT that is the best thread with the latest back count given by Josh, from 22,000 T205 cards. Really gives you a great look into the rarity of each back.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by EvilKing00

BUT that is the best thread with the latest back count given by Josh, from 22,000 T205 cards. Really gives you a great look into the rarity of each back.

And that is the link I posted above. I am not sure there is any better analysis of that data anywhere.

[tschock]

Originally Posted by EvilKing00

... I would search "backs" or "T205 backs"...

EK, again, THANKS for the actual thread I was looking for.

But the problem with the search is that if I search for "T205 backs", I will get MORE hits (for threads that have "T205" OR "backs") than just searching for "backs" alone. This is counter-intuitive and not how most search engines work. So far, I've not found a way to indicate an "AND" symbol to search for posts/threads containing some/all of the words I put in the search.

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by tschock

EK, again, THANKS for the actual thread I was looking for.

But the problem with the search is that if I search for "T205 backs", I will get MORE hits (for threads that have "T205" OR "backs") than just searching for "backs" alone. This is counter-intuitive and not how most search engines work. So far, I've not found a way to indicate an "AND" symbol to search for posts/threads containing some/all of the words I put in the search.

Again. Just put this in a google search engine:
site:net54baseball.com "T205 backs"

It will search all of the threads on net54baseball. It is a workaround but it works.

[tschock]

Andy, Thanks for the workaround!

[itjclarke]

Originally Posted by tschock

Andy, Thanks for the workaround!

+1, thanks for the Google suggestion.. I've also had issues narrowing down my searches for past threads