Searching on arachnoboards

[moricollins]

Searching on arachnoboards:
There are two ways to search on arachnoboards: through the site itself, and through Google

I'll walk you through both methods.

First, let's start with searching on arachnoboards itself.

For this example we're going to search for information on Phormictopus auratus.

On arachnoboards there's a search button (magnifying glass) on the top menu bar:

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• moricollins
• Jun 11, 2020

Click on the magnifying glass

Next click on advanced search

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• moricollins
• Jun 11, 2020

Next click on "search threads"

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• moricollins
• Jun 11, 2020

Next enter the search phrase (in the case of our example "Phormictopus auratus")

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• moricollins
• Jun 11, 2020

Now, because we're looking for information on a tarantula and aren't looking to see the for sale/classified ads, we're going to deselect "all forums", and then scroll down and select the two main tarantula forums, and then press "Ok"

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• moricollins
• Jun 11, 2020

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• moricollins
• Jun 11, 2020

Next click on Search (with the handy magnifying glass beside it) and the search engine will search for all threads in the tarantula chat and tarantula discussions forums that contain the search words.

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• moricollins
• Jun 11, 2020

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• moricollins
• Jun 11, 2020

Now onto the Google method, we'll look for the same species of tarantula on arachnoboards.

Go to Google, in the search bar enter Phormictopus auratus site: arachnoboards.com

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• moricollins
• Jun 11, 2020

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• moricollins
• Jun 11, 2020

This will search for all content on arachnoboards containing the words Phormictopus auratus.

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• moricollins
• Jun 11, 2020

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• moricollins
• Jun 11, 2020

If you have any questions, or need help with searching, you can contact @moricollins , he'll be happy to help you search.

 

[Smotzer]

I love that you did this , but you know there will still be some who just don’t do this and your title will remain arachno search engine

 

[DomGom TheFather]

This is helpful. Especially for newbies
but it doesn't get them into a conversation.
I'm pretty sure most people just want someone to talk to. The information is secondary.

 

[moricollins]

I love that you did this , but you know there will still be some who just don’t do this and your title will remain arachno search engine

Oh, I know.

I have a follow-up post that I'm working on, which is linking keywords to limit / filter the search results.

This is helpful. Especially for newbies
but it doesn't get them into a conversation.
I'm pretty sure most people just want someone to talk to. The information is secondary.

That I can't fix (and do not understand, I'm all about the information not the talking, but that could just be my personality ).

For people that want the conversation, searching would get them threads they can reply to in order to get conversations going

 

[jrh3]

The new person is not going to think to use the search function to search for how to search for info.

 

[moricollins]

The new person is not going to think to use the search function to search for how to search for info.

Dang it, a flaw in my plan

 

[DomGom TheFather]

Oh, I know.

I have a follow-up post that I'm working on, which is linking keywords to limit / filter the search results.


That I can't fix (and do not understand, I'm all about the information not the talking, but that could just be my personality ).

For people that want the conversation, searching would get them threads they can reply to in order to get conversations going

When I first joined I accidentally posted on a thread where no one had been talking for years. I was politely informed but that was the end of the conversation. Lol

 

[Smotzer]

When I first joined I accidentally posted on a thread where no one had been talking for years. I was politely informed but that was the end of the conversation. Lol

I did the exact same thing when I joined I dredged up a 7yr old thread when trying to use the search function

 

[EpicEpic]

I did the exact same thing when I joined I dredged up a 7yr old thread when trying to use the search function

Yeah. Pet peeve--Why do people care if threads are resurrected? I'm not looking for OP...

Im looking for new and updated info on a topic that was touched on 10 years ago without creating a new thread.

 

[moricollins]

Followup information:

If you put quotes around the search words the forum will search for that exact phrase on the forum, for example if you enter "auratus enclosure" and search it limits the results to threads containing that exact phrase:


You can do a similar filtering on Google by putting + between the keywords

 

[jrh3]

Yeah. Pet peeve--Why do people care if threads are resurrected? I'm not looking for OP...

Im looking for new and updated info on a topic that was touched on 10 years ago without creating a new thread.

I find it interesting and keeps the forums active, when I see a resurrected thread Sometimes I think wow why haven’t I seen this one before. If everyone searched and never posted the forum would just be a big archive.

 

[FrDoc]

No, no, no, we need none of this! I love logging in and wading through the “Is my snuggle muffin in pre-molt?” And, “I fed my 1/4” sling a superworm yesterday, and he didn’t eat this morning. Is he dying?” You’re taking all the enjoyment out of this...

 

[viper69]

This is helpful. Especially for newbies
but it doesn't get them into a conversation.
I'm pretty sure most people just want someone to talk to. The information is secondary.

That’s a very interesting concept; I believe you’re right for many of them.

@moricollins there was a google page which listed all the basic logic commands to give better search results. I’d throw that up there too if it still exists.

 

[moricollins]

@moricollins there was a google page which listed all the basic logic commands to give better search results. I’d throw that up there too if it still exists.

Here's a page giving suggestions:

https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/2466433?hl=en

 

[Vanessa]

Okay, you know how much I advocate for the search option to be used... however, there are problems with it.
1. The minimum amount of characters that you search on is too high. You cannot search on egg sac, for example. You receive an error. You cannot use "egg sac", because a lot of people are going to use sac by itself.
2. When the forum is filled with subject lines like... HELP!!!, HELP!!!!!!, URGENT HELP NEEDED!!!!!, URGENT!!!!, you can literally end up with your search results coming back with a whole slew of threads with those subject lines that you now have to wade through to see if they are even really relevant to what you're searching on. Do you really expect people to go through three pages to find out that the words they searched on were mentioned one time half way down the third page? Those subject lines render the search function almost useless for emergency situations and that is where people need it to work the most. When I brought this up, a moderator deleted my comment instead of changing the subject line to something more helpful and relevant. I cannot blame someone for skipping the frustration and just asking the question again.
3. The search function is not going to find what you're looking for if you have misspelled a word, or the word is misspelled in the thread. Moderators should be ensuring that the subject line of the post is spelled properly.

 

[Arachnid Addicted]

Okay, you know how much I advocate for the search option to be used... however, there are problems with it.
1. The minimum amount of characters that you search on is too high. You cannot search on egg sac, for example. You receive an error. You cannot use "egg sac", because a lot of people are going to use sac by itself.
2. When the forum is filled with subject lines like... HELP!!!, HELP!!!!!!, URGENT HELP NEEDED!!!!!, URGENT!!!!, you can literally end up with your search results coming back with a whole slew of threads with those subject lines that you now have to wade through to see if they are even really relevant to what you're searching on. Do you really expect people to go through three pages to find out that the words they searched on were mentioned one time half way down the third page? Those subject lines render the search function almost useless for emergency situations and that is where people need it to work the most. When I brought this up, a moderator deleted my comment instead of changing the subject line to something more helpful and relevant. I cannot blame someone for skipping the frustration and just asking the question again.
3. The search function is not going to find what you're looking for if you have misspelled a word, or the word is misspelled in the thread. Moderators should be ensuring that the subject line of the post is spelled properly.

I didnt ran into these character problems until I read your post and went to test it. What I find interesting, though, is that you can't find "egg sac", but "eggsac", "eggsack" or simply, "sack", complete the search. Lol.

 

[moricollins]

I didnt ran into these character problems until I read your post and went to test it. What I find interesting, though, is that you can't find "egg sac", but "eggsac", "eggsack" or simply, "sack", complete the search. Lol.

This approach works

Okay, you know how much I advocate for the search option to be used... however, there are problems with it.
1. The minimum amount of characters that you search on is too high. You cannot search on egg sac, for example. You receive an error. You cannot use "egg sac", because a lot of people are going to use sac by itself.
2. When the forum is filled with subject lines like... HELP!!!, HELP!!!!!!, URGENT HELP NEEDED!!!!!, URGENT!!!!, you can literally end up with your search results coming back with a whole slew of threads with those subject lines that you now have to wade through to see if they are even really relevant to what you're searching on. Do you really expect people to go through three pages to find out that the words they searched on were mentioned one time half way down the third page? Those subject lines render the search function almost useless for emergency situations and that is where people need it to work the most. When I brought this up, a moderator deleted my comment instead of changing the subject line to something more helpful and relevant. I cannot blame someone for skipping the frustration and just asking the question again.
3. The search function is not going to find what you're looking for if you have misspelled a word, or the word is misspelled in the thread. Moderators should be ensuring that the subject line of the post is spelled properly.

Hi Vanessa, thanks for bringing this up.

Searching isn't going to be foolproof, unfortunately.

Sometimes I can't find the things I'm looking for when I search, and I'm pretty familiar with the searching functions.

1. You can put an * beside the term to make it long enough that the search will work, for example sac* should work. (* Are wildcard characters)

2. People would need to search for the actual issue they're looking for help on , for example instead of : "urgent help" the person would need to search for: "impaction" or "unresponsive" if that's what they think the issue is.

3. Not a whole lot anyone can do if the user is misspelling the word when they search. The search functions search within the threads and posts, so if it's spelled correctly somewhere then the search should find it.

 

[Vanessa]

2. People would need to search for the actual issue they're looking for help on , for example instead of : "urgent help" the person would need to search for: "impaction" or "unresponsive" if that's what they think the issue is.

Yes, I know that. The problem arises when someone searches on 'stuck molt' and the search results come back with a slew of useless titles - HELP!, URGENT!!!!!, HELP ME!!! - that are not relevant to 'stuck molt' and the person has to wade through all of them to figure out if they are relevant.
A thread is going to be listed even if 'stuck molt' is found one time in any of the thread responses. How is the person supposed to know that HELLLPPP!!! is about stuck molts, or is about something else entirely with 'stuck molt' being mentioned in one of the responses?

 

[viper69]

The problem with searching has little to do with software, and everything to do with lazy people who want to be spoon fed info like this is a fast food joint.

No software is perfect, but people should accept responsibility here.

They spend time “researching” what they want but not how to care for a living animal.

 

[Smotzer]

The problem with searching has little to do with software, and everything to do with lazy people who want to be spoon fed info like this is a fast food joint.

I wonder how many post would get resolved if everyone always searched and read multiple threads before posting.
it’s funny though if they did what the hell would be going on here on a daily basis without all the repetitive help molt and other similar threads