is there a limit to how much the MeFi search will look for?

February 3, 2003 9:09 AM

Re: this comment, is there a limit to how much the MeFi search will look for?
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posted by Su to Bugs at 9:09 AM (11 comments total)

I was curious, so I tried the search. It doesn't work. If you search for only "National Geographic" or "Swimsuit Issue" though, both threads magically appear. But once you expand the search to "National Geographic Swimsuit", for example, it fails again.
posted by Su at 9:10 AM on February 3, 2003

The search is exact, so those four words must occur together in order for it to work. Otherwise, try the google search.

Personally, I search for one key phrase ("swimsuit" or "national geographic") or a key URL (nationalgeographic.com) to find matches.

Again, I'm not a search engine programmer so what is offered is really basic.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 9:18 AM on February 3, 2003

Thanks for the backup Su. Being a good and longstanding member, I was very careful to check against a double post before marring the front page. Next time, I'll try a few variations of the search string before posting.

Still, (though it means more work for Mr. Haughey) this is something that should be worked out - especially given the venom unleashed when one posts a stale link.
posted by aladfar at 9:23 AM on February 3, 2003

I suspect the search is doing a search for the entire phrase (e.g. it is the same effect as surrounded the phrase in qoutes in google). So no one said "National Georgraphic Swimsuit" next to each other, but they did say "National Geographic" and "Swimsuit Issue" in separate places.

Might be good to note that that is how it works on the search page.

On preview: Uh, what mathowie said, I'll still post this as I think the suggestion to add a note on the search page is worthwhile.
posted by malphigian at 9:26 AM on February 3, 2003

FYI, a non-exact matching search can get very expensive. If you do this through basic SQL without any additional threading or indexing, you are effectively multiplying your search time by the number of words in the query.

Before: SELECT CommentID from MefiComments where CommentText Like "*National Geographic Swimsuit*";

After: SELECT CommentID from MefiComments where (CommentText Like "*National*" AND CommentText Like "*Geographic*" AND CommentText Like "*Swimsuit*");
posted by PrinceValium at 9:51 AM on February 3, 2003

Any IIS experts out there want to comment on the cost or dfficulty of using Indexing Services to index the database? Wouldn't Indexing Services separate index be more efficient than a SQL search?
posted by timeistight at 10:15 AM on February 3, 2003

IIS comes standard with Indexing Services, which can be switched on or off at will. The application still has to support it.

Does does however take up a whole lotta space on the harddrive.
posted by sebas at 10:37 AM on February 3, 2003

Sorry, SQL Server does come with Full Text Search.

Here is some more information.

I need to go home and sleep.
posted by sebas at 10:40 AM on February 3, 2003

Otherwise, try the google search.
Umm, it's right there on the search page - why do so many people perceive the need for a dedicated search engine tying up precious resources when there is a better one provided free of charge (and overhead)? Maybe a better solution would be to remove the MeFi search and just use the Google one?
posted by dg at 2:44 PM on February 3, 2003

Maybe a better solution would be to remove the MeFi search and just use the Google one?
The only problem with this would be the lag before Google's index of the site. None of today's posts are showing up in a Google search.
posted by modofo at 3:14 PM on February 3, 2003

dg,
The Google search is not reliable for recent posting searches, until google crawls the thread it is not in google.

As of right now, google hasn't indexed the thread from a week ago [try searching google for "Life imitates an old joke" from the original post]. The MeTa search is current as of right now.
posted by DBAPaul at 3:16 PM on February 3, 2003