So one of the biggest issues with modern forums is the search functionality. The problem basically comes down to resources. In order to index the site and make it as efficient as a Google engine would take millions of dollars in hardware on a site as large as the HAMB. As such, forum software has some limitations when it comes to searching. A good example of this is that you can't search efficiently for terms such as "32". Two character results are just too damned resource intensive. So, you get stuck searching for "1932" and you lose out on some results. I've been talking about this with Google for some time now and they have agreed to help me out by providing a custom search engine for us. They are developing this feature as I type and will continue to tweak and test in the coming weeks. However, we are releasing it today in BETA. Here's how it works: Step 1. Perform a search how you normally would: Step 2: When the search results return, you will now have two tabs to choose from: The "Site Results" tab simply returns the results as we have always had them. These are the standard HAMB results. The "Google Results" tab returns results from the Google search engine as it searches through jalopyjournal.com only. A couple of things to note: 1. As it stands, Google results can't be restricted to only search a specific forum or thread like standard search can. When you look at google results, you are seeing content from the entire web site. 2. This is still very much in development and things will probably drastically change in the coming weeks.... for the better...
I tried it this morning and had a problem,I went back and deselected Search this forum only and the Google search worked great. HRP
Down the road, you may wish to provide a tutorial for HAMBers concerning how best to word posts in order to maximize search functionality (thinking about your comments on "32" and why that doesn't work) for us without advanced programming savvy. I have had great results with the "search Google" approach when viewing a photo found God only knows where on the web. Anyway, great news. Funny about how eager we are for progress on a retro oriented site like the HAMB.
Do you (or should we) have any concerns with how aggressively Google tracks activity and records information ?
Using the google results will be the same as using Google.com. Meaning, they will drop a cookie I'm sure. If that isn't your thing and you don't use google, just don't use that tab.
Hahaha.... I already use Google to search the site! A welcome addition! Thanks dude! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Did spot the google button earlier today , but just thought my old eyes must not have seen it before, ( correct as it wasn't there) Awesome work Ryan, it just keeps getting better.
This is a great feature....I have been searching through google with "site:jalopyjournal.com" for years....
Alternatively, simply go to Google.com and type your search in the following format, where "searchterm" is whatever term for which you want to search: Code: searchterm site:jalopyjournal.com You can then sort your search results based on date or relevancy, something you can't do if using the Google results returned by the forum search. If you don't like using Google, you can do the same with Bing, Yahoo, etc.
The Jalopy Journal
