DO A SEARCH!?!?!?

88persuader · #1 10-10-2007, 01:43 AM

OK here's the topic. I was just reading another thread in a different part of this forum and someone got upset because a thread was started about an old subject that gets tossed around on this forum all the time. They typed in very big letters "DO A SEARCH" and went on a little about how the topic is always coming up and apparently it irritated them.

(They were mad ... not me

)

Personally I HATE doing searches unless I have a VERY specific equipment based question with a specific answer. If it's a topic about OPINION I NEVER do searches. the reason is I don't want to hear YESTERDAY'S OPINIONS ... part of the reason I'm here is for some interaction. People don't only come to forums for dry facts or conversations that were had 3 years ago ... they come to be part of a community and interact. Yeah I can't believe people are still arguing about the pros and cons of the Fender Precision Bass but the fact that they still are proves people like the interaction and are still interested in this conversation /debate.

So here's the question ... how do YOU feel about the search function? When do you use it and when don't you use it and why? Do you think people are jerks for not using it?

It's possible this question has already come up ... I didn't use the search function!

rfclef · #2 10-10-2007, 01:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 88persuader

So here's the question ... how do YOU feel about the search function? When do you use it and when don't you use it and why? Do you think people are jerks for not using it?

Look. If you want to know how we feel about this, do a search... we may have already answered this.

Hawaii Islander · #3 10-10-2007, 03:07 AM

Searches shouldn't be required for polls. Polls are done over and over again in the real world to get current feedback. There are new members joining that were not around when the old polls were done.

I do searches on equipment related topics and reviews.

The BurgerMeister · #4 10-10-2007, 03:28 AM

when i need to find something, i search for it. it's just a fact of life.

i think what's annoying is when people are less than diplomatic or understanding about a new member's way of getting a question answered. i find that just saying "DO A SEARCH," is less effective than answering the question (or a part of it, at least) as well as suggesting that a search be done.

one thing i like about searching is that it opens up a veritable "can o' worms" of info. i'll search for a specific thing and be looking for a specific answer, but along the way to getting that answer i'll learn a ton more than i originally intended to learn.

"Cuz Knowledge Is Power!"

Dave Muscato · #5 10-10-2007, 03:52 AM

I *always* use the search function before starting a new thread. I usually use it when I'm posting to answer someone's question, if it seems like something that's probably come up before. If it's an opinion related thing (what do you think of my bass tone? etc), I won't search, of course

Correlli · #6 10-10-2007, 04:24 AM

I did a search on "do a search".

http://www.google.com/custom?hl=en&c...w.talkbass.com

morf · #7 10-10-2007, 04:34 AM

I use it, even for opinions, because yesterday's opinion might be worth more than today's, but I still create a new thread and ask my question anyway.

Asa Samuel · #8 10-10-2007, 04:49 AM

i always use the search function before posting a new thread just incase someone has already put one up like it before.

88persuader · #9 10-10-2007, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rfclef

Look. If you want to know how we feel about this, do a search... we may have already answered this.

Apparently you didn't read the part of my post stating why I don't like the search function for subjects like opinions. If I did a search I wouldn't be able to appreciate your sarcasm!

**Josh Ryan** · #10 10-10-2007, 06:30 AM

I hate seeing the snarky do a search comment posted. If you don't want to read or answer a thread, just don't. No need to be a donkey's nut about it.

KJung · #11 10-10-2007, 06:34 AM

I find the search function relatively useless in answering anything but very specific questions about a very concrete issue (e.g., 'what is the scale length of an FBass).

It actually bothers me when TBers get nasty with those who don't 'live on this site' like some of us do, and post a thread about a topic that has been covered before. As posted above, there is always interesting additional information, and many times, the most interesting comments are buried in a long thread.

I can't quite figure out why someone would take the time to enter a thread they personally feel has been discussed before anyway

What harm does it do for those who think the thread is 'beating a dead horse' to just stay the heck off the thread!

88persuader · #12 10-10-2007, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jetpackbassist

when i need to find something, i search for it. it's just a fact of life.

i think what's annoying is when people are less than diplomatic or understanding about a new member's way of getting a question answered. i find that just saying "DO A SEARCH," is less effective than answering the question (or a part of it, at least) as well as suggesting that a search be done.

one thing i like about searching is that it opens up a veritable "can o' worms" of info. i'll search for a specific thing and be looking for a specific answer, but along the way to getting that answer i'll learn a ton more than i originally intended to learn.

"Cuz Knowledge Is Power!"

Personally ... on a forum I think "yelling at someone" to DO A SEARCH is rude and uncalled for. As I said I search for facts ... in regard to opinions I enjoy and look for interaction. IF I were only going to use the search function this place wouldn't be a FORUM ... it would be a database! When was the list time you received enjoyment from reading a DATABASE?

lefty007 · #13 10-10-2007, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blisshead

I hate seeing the snarky do a search comment posted. If you don't want to read or answer a thread, just don't. No need to be a donkey's nut about it.

+1

Vandelay · #14 10-10-2007, 07:37 AM

I think it's a good idea to attempt a search before creating a new thread. This site is so active that I often discover the topic was discussed within the last few months. So the old threads are very relevant and useful to me.

Heck, yesterday someone created a new thread asking for Halloween setlist ideas, and the very same topic had been discussed just ONE DAY earlier. He wouldn't even have had to do a search, it would have appeared on the first page of topics for that forum. So I said "Search is your friend", and I gave him a link to the other thread. I wasn't snarky about it, I just gave him a friendly nudge, and I still gave him the link.

Funkus Barfucal · #15 10-11-2007, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawaii Islander

Searches shouldn't be required for polls. Polls are done over and over again in the real world to get current feedback. There are new members joining that were not around when the old polls were done.

I do searches on equipment related topics and reviews.

+1

Chipsonfire · #16 10-11-2007, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blisshead

I hate seeing the snarky do a search comment posted. If you don't want to read or answer a thread, just don't. No need to be a donkey's nut about it.

I have to ask... Dane Cook?

Anyway, I'll usually do a search before asking a question if it's on a particular item. If I just want opinions, I'll just post a thread. It also depends on which section I'm in: the Amps section tends to hate responding to my newby questions

MysticMichael · #17 10-11-2007, 04:57 PM

Well the give-and-take and interactivity of the site is all very nice, but I'm always using the "search" function - because I find it to be a valuable research tool. Mostly concerning gear, but sometimes about other things as well.

And contrary to some, I don't necessarily find a thread that's three, four, five years old or even older to be irrelevant. Nor do I find much distinction between "opinion" and anything else: most everything on here is someone's opinion...

The longer TalkBass continues and the more threads and reviews it generates, the more extensive the growing archive of information becomes. It's one of my main reasons for remaining part of the community...

MM

grovest · #18 10-11-2007, 05:28 PM

The 'do a search' responses almost always seem rude to me. For one, the search box is not especially prominent on TB. For another, the syntax parser of the TB search is weak. The three-character limitation can be troubling. The 10-second timeout is irritating. The way results are cached but only for a limited period is a nuisance when diving in to 20-page results.

But there are more problems still:

If everyone 'did a search', TB would be much smaller. Furthermore, many opinions would not be voiced because many members weren't around to answer a thread the first time the topic came up. Or alternatively, TB would be full of threads spanning 5-years. It is probably better to have a few redundant threads that are connected in time than to have a many-page thread across 3 years.

It surely takes more system resources to perform a search than to just retrieve a single thread. And, can we assume TB will always keep every article ever (I think there was a change in 99 already)? If not, even though there was once a topic archived it may have since been pruned.

Just some thoughts... among others.

88persuader · #19 10-11-2007, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MysticMichael

Well the give-and-take and interactivity of the site is all very nice, but I'm always using the "search" function - because I find it to be a valuable research tool. Mostly concerning gear, but sometimes about other things as well.

And contrary to some, I don't necessarily find a thread that's three, four, five years old or even older to be irrelevant. Nor do I find much distinction between "opinion" and anything else: most everything on here is someone's opinion...

The longer TalkBass continues and the more threads and reviews it generates, the more extensive the growing archive of information becomes. It's one of my main reasons for remaining part of the community...

MM

The thing is ... the longer this forum exist the more information is on it. When do you reach the point where EVERY question and EVERY opinion has been asked and it becomes a boring database, not an interesting forum? The example I used was the Precision bass. It's the most basic of designs that's been around our whole lives yet when theres yet ANOTHER new thread started about them the thread always has a long life and hundreds of replys. This is because this IS a forum not simply a database. People "like me" don't want dry information. Spending time on a forum is an interactive way to waste extra time and in some cases get needed information. I enjoy throwing around ideas and debating opinions with others in a simi-live way. Just the same way I'm responding to YOUR live opinion on this subject. I wouldn't get that interaction reading a 4 year old post regardless if the whole post mirrored this one. So again that why FOR OPINION topics I don't use the search. I DO use the search for black and white type of information like for example who makes a replacment pickup for a Fender Jazz bass or what type of fuse goes in an Ampeg SVTPRO-5 bass head? When there's an ANSWER I do a search ... an opinion is not an answer ... it's often an interesting semi-LIVE debate.

And beyond that part of THIS SEMI-Live debate ... another point is I feel offended when people YELL at someone to DO A SEARCH. And BTW I DIDN'T start this thread because someone yelled at ME. Someone yelled at someone else and I thought to myself they were complete JERKS who for some reason think THEY have more right to this forum then others. Soooooooo I started this tread to get a feel how many people would react to the topic like jerks and how many would contribute like adults . Regardless of opinion MOST people who replied to this topic I'm happy to say did so as respectful adults with a pro or con opinion.

**bassybill** · #20 10-11-2007, 11:48 PM

If the question is about a topic that's been discussed many times, then a polite suggestion to use the search function (with maybe some advice about key words to include or how to make the search more selective) is a good way to respond.

Just posting "DO A SEARCH, NOOB!!! This topic has been done to death!" doesn't really help much.