AnimeSuki Forums

Magin · 2016-06-04, 23:09

This is probably the better way to ask this, instead of going into the Spoiler Faq thread and pointing out issues that are impossible to solve without pissing everyone off... is it possible to find a way to make the Search function actually work? Even just trying to find a simple anime thread by title is impossible enough, and it certainly wouldn't help with why I'm asking this (again, because I swear I've asked about this before):

I tend to watch anime long after it's finished- that way, I can do almost a marathon and get it over with, instead of the "wait a week (or even longer!)" approach. Now, as far as I know with spoilers, after reading through the actual FAQ, I understand it's okay to post source material comparisons. Which I tend to open immediately as I read through the anime thread to see the old discussion. However, here's the next issue: for those of us who want to know how the story continues, I assume those spoilers are not allowed in the thread; instead, you have to now go to the source material thread (again, I'm assuming this is the case). However... by the time the anime finishes, the source material thread has LONG since moved on. In this case, we're talking about LNs, and I'm actually making my way through Overlord. Anime adaptations usually only do the first 2, maybe three volumes, and by that date, the source material is on volume 6+. And since I've actually been in a thread where this happens, when you want to find out how the story continues after the anime, they play the READ THE F***ING NOVEL! card. Please note, this generally happens in the novel threads that only have the single thread. And while searching through the thread would eventually yield the answers... we're talking about searching through over 100, 200, even 300+ pages. I undertand that in some cases, links to outside summaries have been put in the first post, but this seems to happen in a minority of thread.

So ultimately, is there any way to make the search function work so that you can put in specific key words and get specific results, instead of get search results that are all over the place?

Kotohono · 2016-06-05, 03:00

I am not in a position to comment on AS's ability to do this. However unofficially if you find AS's search lacking, I'd suggest attempting to use site:http://forums.animesuki.com/ + your keywords on google & see if it deliveries better results for what you're looking for as an alternative for now.

***NightWish*** · 2016-06-05, 04:58

Can you give us an example of something you were searching for and how you tried to search for it? For example, assuming you've trawled the forum to find what you want, and you've found a specific post, or set of posts, buried in a novel's single-thread: What thread and which posts? What search terms did you try that didn't yield the answer? If I know this, I can review the search for myself and see why it isn't giving you the results you want.

I ask for this information because the results you get depends which search you're using.

Tags are hit and miss. Fairly self explanatory and useful for broad topics, but only if people actually tag things properly. Plus they are at a thread level so won't help in this case.
The standard "search forums" search is pretty useless and probably best avoided most of the time.
The "quick search" (see the search at top of each page) is actually a Sphinx search, has been since GHDpro enabled it.
The standard "search this thread" search is normally better if you have simple keywords that can focus the search. As you may have observed it breaks down once the thread gets really long and each post is similar in terms of the keywords used. The exact situation you have with long novel threads, making this useless for your purposes.
The Sphinx search, also accessible via the advanced search page, should give good results but you need to learn how to use it.

In addition to what I mentioned in the post I linked above (your previous search question), we might be able to expose the sphinx search interface through the normal search interface and use the thread context, making for better results without you having to think about which thread you want to search. Has yet to happen in over a year though, so don't hold your breath

For now, you can achieve something similar manually by understanding Sphinx:

For example, lets say I wanted to know about the gold purity and I only wanted to look for the answer in the General Questions Threads. I would go to the advance search, put the following in the sphinx search box and hit search. It defaults to searching posts.

@title "General Questions Thread" @body gold purity

I picked this example randomly by choosing an arbitrary post. The same topic in a different search engine (or without the field search arguments) gives less specific answer. Maybe try with your own topics.

2016-06-04, 23:09	Link #1
Magin #1 Akashiya Moka Fan Author Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Where magic is real Age: 35	A working Search function This is probably the better way to ask this, instead of going into the Spoiler Faq thread and pointing out issues that are impossible to solve without pissing everyone off... is it possible to find a way to make the Search function actually work? Even just trying to find a simple anime thread by title is impossible enough, and it certainly wouldn't help with why I'm asking this (again, because I swear I've asked about this before): I tend to watch anime long after it's finished- that way, I can do almost a marathon and get it over with, instead of the "wait a week (or even longer!)" approach. Now, as far as I know with spoilers, after reading through the actual FAQ, I understand it's okay to post source material comparisons. Which I tend to open immediately as I read through the anime thread to see the old discussion. However, here's the next issue: for those of us who want to know how the story continues, I assume those spoilers are not allowed in the thread; instead, you have to now go to the source material thread (again, I'm assuming this is the case). However... by the time the anime finishes, the source material thread has LONG since moved on. In this case, we're talking about LNs, and I'm actually making my way through Overlord. Anime adaptations usually only do the first 2, maybe three volumes, and by that date, the source material is on volume 6+. And since I've actually been in a thread where this happens, when you want to find out how the story continues after the anime, they play the READ THE F***ING NOVEL! card. Please note, this generally happens in the novel threads that only have the single thread. And while searching through the thread would eventually yield the answers... we're talking about searching through over 100, 200, even 300+ pages. I undertand that in some cases, links to outside summaries have been put in the first post, but this seems to happen in a minority of thread. So ultimately, is there any way to make the search function work so that you can put in specific key words and get specific results, instead of get search results that are all over the place? __________________ Gifted...or Cursed? R+V fanfic- Chapter 4 of A Water Bride and a Vampire is now up at FF.net! All fans of Inner or Outer Moka, come join her fanclub!

2016-06-05, 04:58	Link #3
*NightWish* …Nothing More Administrator Join Date: Mar 2003 Age: 44	Can you give us an example of something you were searching for and how you tried to search for it? For example, assuming you've trawled the forum to find what you want, and you've found a specific post, or set of posts, buried in a novel's single-thread: What thread and which posts? What search terms did you try that didn't yield the answer? If I know this, I can review the search for myself and see why it isn't giving you the results you want. I ask for this information because the results you get depends which search you're using. Tags are hit and miss. Fairly self explanatory and useful for broad topics, but only if people actually tag things properly. Plus they are at a thread level so won't help in this case. The standard "search forums" search is pretty useless and probably best avoided most of the time. The "quick search" (see the search at top of each page) is actually a Sphinx search, has been since GHDpro enabled it. The standard "search this thread" search is normally better if you have simple keywords that can focus the search. As you may have observed it breaks down once the thread gets really long and each post is similar in terms of the keywords used. The exact situation you have with long novel threads, making this useless for your purposes. The Sphinx search, also accessible via the advanced search page, should give good results but you need to learn how to use it. In addition to what I mentioned in the post I linked above (your previous search question), we might be able to expose the sphinx search interface through the normal search interface and use the thread context, making for better results without you having to think about which thread you want to search. Has yet to happen in over a year though, so don't hold your breath For now, you can achieve something similar manually by understanding Sphinx: For example, lets say I wanted to know about the gold purity and I only wanted to look for the answer in the General Questions Threads. I would go to the advance search, put the following in the sphinx search box and hit search. It defaults to searching posts. @title "General Questions Thread" @body gold purity I picked this example randomly by choosing an arbitrary post. The same topic in a different search engine (or without the field search arguments) gives less specific answer. Maybe try with your own topics.