How to more effectively Search this forum board???????

[Triton]

I want to ask the community here if there are better ways to use the search function to get the results that you are looking for.   I have silently visited this forum for years.   Most searches that I did were general fact finding and not extremely specific.  Now that I'm picking up a cabinet this weekend and already have some items that I plan on working on, I am needing to be more specific in my searches.

What I do:
Select only the forums that would contain the info that I'm looking for rather than checking all of the catagories
Use quotation marks surrounding the words that the result must contain in order to be relevant
Search Titles only (if need be)


In paying attention to good forum board ediquette, I always search before posting a new topic.   Knowing that most everything has already been covered, I don't wanna be the "noob" that spams every time I run into an issue or have a question    


 So, any suggestions on how to search more effectively would be great!

[severdhed]

sounds like you are doing it right....unless there is some secret that i dont know about.  i have always tried searching alot also, but i don't often find what i am looking for.

[Triton]

I agree.  Most of the key terms that I use are SO common.   Arcade, jukebox, speakers, amp, joystick, button, light gun, ect.........    Using those words will narrow down a Google search.  But those words are found in almost each thread it seems like.

[CheffoJeffo]

Sometimes you do get eleventy results.

One option is to use Google to search for you:

Search for 'site:arcadecontrols.com critique my cp'

That will return results from all portions of the site (Main, Forum, Wiki).

[Grasshopper]

I agree that using google to do the searching is the best option.

Unfortunately, the search function on this site has never worked properly. In my experience the problem is not getting too many hits but too few.

[tikbalang]

search only the TOPIC, not the entire message body.

[Ummon]

It's just not a good engine. On occasion, I've put in (some of) the exact words, and order of them, in the subject line and the topic didn't come up. Also say you want to look at a person's latest posts. If you can't find something they've EVER posted on, then you're hosed, because you can't then find their profile.

[Level42]

If you think this forum has a poor search engine, go try the one on the KLOV forum 

[erictrumpet]

I suggest you make at least one honest attempt to search the forums, and after that inevitably fails, just post your question here. After a handful of smart alecks tell you to use the search function, the wonderful and generous regular contributors here will provide you with plenty of helpful answers.

On a related topic, have you all seen this? It is a great way to poke fun at a friend (we all have a few like this) who ask you things in email that they could very easily google. Check it out... I pre-loaded this one to answer the question who shot Abraham Lincoln...

http://www.letmegooglethatforyou.com/?q=lincoln+assassination

Eric.

[Ummon]

Well, I've found many things by searching here. But there are anomalies. It doesn't seem to search in the regular fashion, in some cases only giving me results that are years old.