Site Issues Notification Thread

Still, it shouldn't be that you get no results in the existing search engine(s).

Using the existing standard one, I certainly get results on Bharatpur, as expected. For a phrase as in the second example, you'd of course need to put it in double quotation marks, ".

It looks like you may get some standard article (or so) results first, maybe you should scroll down the search results page a little? I think this current search engine allows you to specify you want to search just e.g. thread titles, as well.* I don't know, I still use the old search engine. It certainly allows for this, and gives very precise results in reverse chronological order, with no spurious results thrown in.

On a closer look, it looks like searching for "which bird is this," which is of course a thread title here, after some apparently spurious article hits or so indeed (or perhaps also triggered by any of those keywords?), you do get that thread as a first result -- then followed by a whole list of threads containing any of those words. That is of course not how it should be.

The old search engine doesn't have this failure.

* Edit: In fact doesn't look like it. That's another hindrance. Maybe it's under "advanced search options," those never stick with or seem to do anything to me, do they to others?

Even more comical btw, clicking the "What does 'Advanced Search' mean?" button there, I get a standard page saying I don't have permission to view that page I in fact don't think this advanced search in the newer engine has ever been implemented, is that thought correct? I think that explanatory button once would at least lead you to a page describing some advanced options, that however I've never gotten to work.

Mach I got results today when I searched but the day I was posting I was surely getting no results.

I think it was broken then Mridula.

Still, I always use Google in preference nowadays.

Do you search a lot Mridula?

Aha, it does indeed sometimes go bust. Doesn't happen to me a lot, but it happens. Certainly with no more frequency than the occasional regular site glitch, or on that scale, rather less often.

OceanTragic many times I go to a thread by searching for it, particularly the bird thread.

Mach the day I posted it happened for the first time for me hence the query.

mridula, do you not have a "subscription" to the bird thread, since you are a frequent contributor to that particular thread?

Theyyamdancer I do have a subscription but sometimes I do not visit the thread when I get a new alert and delete it and later search for the thread.

<cross-posted with Mridula just now>

I had made a comment to this effect above, then removed it, thinking it could be construed as a site criticism. It isn't really meant to be:

However, I would still advocate the old search engine to avid searchers here. It has its advantages over a Google search even; notably again those reverse chronological results you get. Google can't do that, and I think the newer search engine (that has nonetheless been in existence for years now) only with some extra steps, if indeed at all.

The old engine is still to be found on the full current search page here, at right bottom. When recently I linked to it directly however, that link got removed, in what I thought was something of a strange act of auto-censorship by the site. I mean it is just available, right. I can see why it would be preferred to promote the newer one, and now with an even newer one coming up, but why pretend the other one doesn't exist, except for those in-the-know?

I do hope the old one will be kept intact for much longer, since I do prefer it, and others have expressed that wish. It may well be that I'm just being conservative and never allowed myself to get used to the newer one, that's entirely possible, and as recently and I thought courteously discussed elsewhere.

Aren't you speaking of the alerts you get in your mailbox with regards to additions to your subscribed threads? (I have those turned off btw, find it annoying. It also tends to lead to some people getting all heated in discussions, thinking they've been personally addressed when they haven't, just because a message pops up in their mailbox).

However, with your subscribed threads, there are probably several ways to get there, but if you go >Quick Links at top right of most pages, in the drop-down menu you get is an option >My Subscribed Threads. You can go here, and find all your subscribed threads indeed, ordered by the ones last responded to. It is how I keep track here, of whatever I've gotten my sorry head into

(To further explain, I think by default you'll get subscribed to any threads you start or respond to. Somewhere in your personal settings, this can also be turned off, if so desired. Alternatively, you can subscribe or unsubscribe to any thread, through the "thread tools" button on top of any opened thread.

So this is independent of any e-mail alerts you have on or off.)

(About those e-mail alerts then, I think though indeed haven't used it for ages that these can be set to receive notification of a) Private Messages (PM's) to you, or b) new additions to your subscribed threads. I think but can't be sure if there are more of the latter, you should receive just one such notification per day. I also think but can't at all be sure it may be possible to indicate you want to receive notification of updates only to specific threads.)

Yes, I was referring to the drop down menu which includes "My Subscribed Threads".

Interesting. I didn't make any changes to the settings. Images loaded onto the site before the settings were made would still have the 800 limit. Anything loaded after should have the 1024 limit.

The new search engine brings up the results in the first link in the threads section: http://www.indiamike.com/search?qry=...sort=relevance

Hmmmm... I could have sworn there was a 90 min limit to editing a post. It's interesting that you were able to edit 8 hours later. I'll take a look and see what's up.

I removed the link for a couple of reasons. First, because the original thread was a request for feedback on the upgraded version of the search engine, and redirecting users to the old search engine was off topic. Second, the old search engine is not supported and is a drain on the database, so I don't want to promote traffic to it.

I have edited a post just now, in that same thread, that I first posted yesterday,ie 29 hours ago.

Have you seen Jonathan Spollen? Missing in Rishikesh since February 3rd, 2012

I've seen new members here apparently not being able to edit their posts very soon after posting (since they mentioned so over the course of threads); whereas like the Capt. reports, I think I have some two-three days or so to do it. Maybe some forgotten function to allow established members a little more flexibility was introduced at some point?

Aha. Why is it a drain, and more so than any newer versions? Is that not resolvable?

If it can't be resolved, I guess it better had not be supported, at all, i.e., be done away with, indeed. I would just miss it, since indeed it is an important tool to me in browsing and disclosing this site. I take it some others feel similarly, then.

Actually me still not being very happy with the new photo galleries (I mean to get restarted on posting my pics soon, was then thinking of specifying what I'm not happy with, and on the appropriate thread. I think it's disgruntled a number of members btw), then should the search engine become something not to my liking, that would probably get me seriously disgruntled with the site. As swiftly looking up stuff and usually for others is no little of what I do here.

I mean take away some of that smoothness, and the fun might just be gone. I'm all for improvements, but sometimes it's not so easy to see where is the improvement.

Thanks Nadreg.

That is very possible, indeed. I do remember making that setting change for senior members.

Mach, as for the upgrades for the search engine and images section, it is abundantly clear to me through this thread and others that you're not a fan of the improvements. Another general debate on the subject is not going to be a good use of our time.

On another note, I get a small heart attack every time I see a new post on this thread, so please keep this thread for reporting site issues only.

Thanks.