Robin in Tx Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Maybe this can be fixed? You can not search for any word that contains less than four letters. For example, you can't search for posts about R&S English, because R&S is less than four letters. I discovered this when I decided to "test" the search feature to see if it pulled up the thread on the HS board re: BJU and TT math. This means that if we use terms like SL, etc., we won't be able to find those threads later when we try to search for them. Most homeschool acronyms that I can think of are just two or three letters, so I see this as a pretty big deal. Am I overlooking something? If not, hopefully Bob will see this and consider changing the search requirements. Robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readwithem Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 That's probably right. This is the same software as SL (see there's that two-letter acronym :) and it's that way over there. I had just told a girl on SL that I liked the format of WTM - at least the threads stay in the same order, so you can sort of remember how/where each topic was in relation to the others. How are you all doing? Tell R. hello from E. She placed 2nd in a piano contest yesterday, it was over at I-10 and the Beltway - that has to be THE worst place for construction - ugh. Now she's got district (the next level) in March- we can practically walk there :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in Orlando Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Every other board I participate on is in this format. You just have to suck it up and type those few extra letters/words to get your search. That's been my experience on this same format. It's really not much of a stretch, is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenschooler Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 I sure hope that can be changed, or we're all going to be lost. Just think of how many two letter abbreviations we have for curriculum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Hi Robin -- I agree. A 4-letter minimum search isn't helpful. The problem is that lowering that number will further degrade the Forums' performance right now. After we move things over tonight (please read the announcement, available at the top of each thread), we should be able to make an adjustment to the search. Keep in mind, though, that making the number too low--even to a 2--will likely return too many search results to be helpful. We will have to find the "sweet spot." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraceinMD Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 at least the threads stay in the same order, so you can sort of remember how/where each topic was in relation to the others. (I mean, you don't have to explain how I'm clueless! That part I know!) The threads that I see are jumping all around, and I keep finding new posts for threads that I'm not interested in - but those are moved to the top...and my replies/threads scroll right onto the next page.... I know that I can subscribe to certain posts, so I'm not talking about that. (I didn't like this format on SL, and .... well, I'm trying here!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Glad it's just one. Maybe it is simply b/c I am stressed to the max by life in general, but I don't like the new format. I miss how the other board allowed conversations with ebbs and flows. They twisted and took on life and were interesting. This format is just soooooo......ummmm.......boring. The thread titles hold all the power and unless you take the time to click on them and skim through them, you have no idea what discussion is taking place. It is very sad for me. :( I'm moving in 9 days and leaving friends I love dearly here (and my oldest son). I always felt like the WTM board was a refuge of friends. A place I could turn to for cheery, interesting conversations. You know....a comfy place to put up my feet, drink my coffee, and chat. This is so formal and controlled. It is probably a good thing for me though. I was spending too much time here anyway. I just don't think I'll be able to put the time and effort into making this a new "Cheers." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy loves Bud Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 I think she meant the previous WTM boards. If not, I'm clueless with you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenschooler Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Every other board I participate on is in this format. You just have to suck it up and type those few extra letters/words to get your search. That's been my experience on this same format. It's really not much of a stretch, is it? Well, then shouldn't we make up new abbreviations, so people can search for them? No more LL, PL, LC, CLE, TT, HO, TOG, LfC, RS, R&S....so many are under 4 characters. My point is that how will they be searchable, if people are still typing the short abbreviations in their posts? Who kept the abbreviations list for the old board? Maybe she'd be willing to compile the new one. Robin, can you change the title of this thread to show that we have an emergency on our hands? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraceinMD Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 OH!!!! I clearly need sleep ... thanks - I do see NOW what she meant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenschooler Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 But if there were something in the search to be able to define, say, I'm searching for LL (as one word, both capitalized) then wouldn't that just give me posts about LL, not every word with 2 l's in it? Like 'search case' - what was it called on the old board? I forget, but I used it all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in Orlando Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Well, then shouldn't we make up new abbreviations, so people can search for them? No more LL, PL, LC, CLE, TT, HO, TOG, LfC, RS, R&S....so many are under 4 characters. My point is that how will they be searchable, if people are still typing the short abbreviations in their posts? Who kept the abbreviations list for the old board? Maybe she'd be willing to compile the new one. Robin, can you change the title of this thread to show that we have an emergency on our hands? :D LOL - I'm all for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenschooler Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 :(That makes me sad, Mom of 7. I hope you have a low-stress move, get settled in and comfy, and get back here! Pssst ..... I've been reading and posting in hybrid mode. I just can't skim as well in this linear. Go to your display modes at the top of this thread, and switch over. It's almost like being *home*. (And I'm not going to use italics, because we didn't have italics on the old board, and we LIKED IT). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readwithem Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Oh sorry about that - I meant the OLD boards. I liked that aspect about the OLD boards. :) Now I'm going to cause this thread to jump to the top of the board :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenschooler Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Hi Robin -- I agree. A 4-letter minimum search isn't helpful. The problem is that lowering that number will further degrade the Forums' performance right now. After we move things over tonight (please read the announcement, available at the top of each thread), we should be able to make an adjustment to the search. Keep in mind, though, that making the number too low--even to a 2--will likely return too many search results to be helpful. We will have to find the "sweet spot." I'm afraid to ask, but what does 'move things over' mean? We're not moving again, are we? Like a whole new board, re-registering and all that? Someone please slap me, I'm panicking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin in Tx Posted January 21, 2008 Author Share Posted January 21, 2008 I have some of the same feelings. I'm trying. I'm really trying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraceinMD Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 No, no, mea culpa. Now my question is - why cdn't I reply with "Quick Reply" to this post of yours? (Except I AM replying with Quick Reply - it's just that there was no "Quick Reply" icon at the bottom of your post..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin in Tx Posted January 21, 2008 Author Share Posted January 21, 2008 Congrats to E! Give her a big hug from both of us! I was wondering about you just yesterday... how the transfer is going. We need to get together. I'm going to miss threads staying in the same order, too. I'm sure if I were used to this format, though, I wouldn't like the other. I'm an old dog. I don't like new tricks :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in Orlando Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Not trying to be snarky, but how much harder is it to type in the name of the program instead of two letter? In terms of your day, we're talking seconds. AND, if you have to type it out once or twice, how much easier for the new people jumping in? They may not have to decipher a code. Seems like a lot of fuss for a few keystrokes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenschooler Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 In the midst of all of this, I see I finally managed to get a post under the person I was replying to. Too bad I have no idea how I did it! Wait a minute, no I didn't. Everything is in the right order in hybrid mode, but now looking at the linear, it looks....like a bunch of people replying to someone that isn't there.:p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindyg Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 which I HATE, go to the bottom of the screen and change the Display Options to Sort By Thread Start Time. Unfortunately, you have to do this every time you come to or return to a board, which is a total pain. I wish they could make this a default! But it is somewhat helpful, and makes the boards a tad more like the old boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraceinMD Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Robin, I'm truly not trying to hijack your post --- because I'm struggling with this format, too (OK, struggling is too strong of a word, but ....). But! for those of us with overloaded plates, who can't recall what they did 3 minutes ago - here's a good function: the forum won't let you post the same thing twice --- that is, I just wrote a reply (down below) and thought I'd submitted it, but it didn't show up --- so I hit "submit" again, and a kind message popped up: "You just submitted that message." THAT'S what I need - an accessory brain! And of course, you know I was *really* just posting to become a larva.... (watch her emerge....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin in Tx Posted January 21, 2008 Author Share Posted January 21, 2008 No, not a stretch at all... if there were only a few other extra letters to type! But there's not. That's sorta my point. If I want to search for posts about Rod and Staff Math, if I put in Rod and Staff the search will abort because the words "Rod" and "and" are three letter words. If I put in R&S, the search will abort for the same reason. I'd be happy to suck it up and type in a few extra letters to get my search, if someone could show me how! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenschooler Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Not trying to be snarky, but how much harder is it to type in the name of the program instead of two letter? In terms of your day, we're talking seconds. AND, if you have to type it out once or twice, how much easier for the new people jumping in? They may not have to decipher a code. Seems like a lot of fuss for a few keystrokes. It really isn't, but if most people aren't doing it, it's not searchable. But you're right, if it's in even one post in the thread, it will be searchable. And new people will be looking either for the name or the subject, so it will work out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin in Tx Posted January 21, 2008 Author Share Posted January 21, 2008 See my post above, and tell me what I'm doing wrong. I'd be happy to type a few keystrokes if it would deliver my search results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenschooler Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 which I HATE, go to the bottom of the screen and change the Display Options to Sort By Thread Start Time. Unfortunately, you have to do this every time you come to or return to a board, which is a total pain. I wish they could make this a default! But it is somewhat helpful, and makes the boards a tad more like the old boards. I don't see this option. I only have display modes, then linear, hybrid, and threaded. Other people have mentioned this capability - are you on a Mac? Or am I blind? Ok - I found it. It's at the bottom of the page for that board, and I was looking at the bottom of the thread. Good to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenschooler Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 What if you searched 'staff'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin in Tx Posted January 21, 2008 Author Share Posted January 21, 2008 Yeah! Another good feature... no more duplicate posts! How many times have I cluttered the other board with that mistake! Welcome, larva. We are being assimilated :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin in Tx Posted January 21, 2008 Author Share Posted January 21, 2008 That certainly would work... but it wouldn't pick up any threads that referred only to R&S. Hardly anyone types it all out. And of course, I'm just using R&S as an example. What's the solution? Not use acronyms anymore (not if you want your comments to be "findable" by anyone searching the forums)? I'm sure this can and will be worked out, but it's going to take some thought and possibly effort on our part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenschooler Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Yeah! Another good feature... no more duplicate posts! How many times have I cluttered the other board with that mistake! Welcome, larva. We are being assimilated :) Who you callin' larva? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin in Tx Posted January 21, 2008 Author Share Posted January 21, 2008 Thanks, Heather. Is it not possble to tell the search to match exact words only? If you select that feature, then any search for MP will return only results with the *word* MP... not a word with the letters mp in it. Does that make sense? Thanks for checking into this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenschooler Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 That certainly would work... but it wouldn't pick up any threads that referred only to R&S. Hardly anyone types it all out. And of course, I'm just using R&S as an example. What's the solution? Not use acronyms anymore (not if you want your comments to be "findable" by anyone searching the forums)? I'm sure this can and will be worked out, but it's going to take some thought and possibly effort on our part. Well, I guess I could find all the threads and go around and say, "R&S? Oh, yes, we love Rod & Staff." Or..... :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin in Tx Posted January 21, 2008 Author Share Posted January 21, 2008 Beware linear mode. This is all hard enough to keep up with as it is! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise in IN Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 No, not a stretch at all... if there were only a few other extra letters to type! But there's not. That's sorta my point. If I want to search for posts about Rod and Staff Math, if I put in Rod and Staff the search will abort because the words "Rod" and "and" are three letter words. If I put in R&S, the search will abort for the same reason. Robin, I'm not sure if I'm understanding what you're saying here, but you can have three letter words in a search, but you can't have only one word with less than three letters. So, for example, you can search for "rod and staff", or "r&s english", but you can't search for just "r&s". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenschooler Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 ...you can have three letter words in a search, but you can't have only one word with less than three letters. So, for example, you can search for "rod and staff", or "r&s english", but you can't search for just "r&s". Well, then, we have no problem, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elisabeth in IL Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 I had just told a girl on SL that I liked the format of WTM - at least the threads stay in the same order, so you can sort of remember how/where each topic was in relation to the others. You can make you theads stay in the same order, it just isn't permanent. When you first enter the General Board, for example, go down the the very bottem of the first page and change the sorting to when the thread posted. Push the thread butten and voila the threads are in original posting order not the most recent thread and they stay in order while you are on that board. If you switch boards or leave, you have to redo the sorting order. I'm not using the exact terms as I can't remember them. I hope that this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.