How do we find things in all the thousands of posts in the forum?

The bigger the forum becomes, the more info (vaulable and otherwise) exists in it's myriad of threads. But it also becomes harder to find anything specific. I want to collect the search-and-find methods members have found useful in retrieving information from the forum, then move these tidbits into an archive thread.

Please add any search suggestions you have below. After a collection period, I will glean the wheat from the inevitable off-thread chaff and archive the results.

Theo's Search Tips: (value debatable)

1) If you know a member who posted in the thread you are looking for, it may be faster to go through the list of his/her posts than to use "search" to look for the info. This can be expecially time-saving if you know the member who started the thread - you can just look at the threads they've started (a much smaller list).

2) Including a pertinant forum member name in the appropriate search block can be a good tool for winnowing down the number of hits. If you know JoeShmoe87 posted on subjects like what you are looking for, try adding Joe's name in the search parameters.

3) Getting an astronomical number of hits when searching is all the forum categories? Narrow the field by searching likely categories one at a time. (Don't look for aeration info in the dam construction area.)

4) Don't forget the time parameters for searching. If you know what you are looking for was discussed in the last month or so, only search in the last two months. If it's been a while since you saw it here, try searching in blocks of time starting maybe 6 months back.

Last edited by Theo Gallus; 02/16/08 01:13 PM.
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