Search Sucks!

[eJM]

I find it unbelievable that, in all the years vBulletin.com forums have been around, no one has every used the term "subscription notification." That is my search criteria and I get this message:

The following words are either very common, too long, or too short and were not included in your search:
"subscription notification"

Yet when I use Google to do a specific site search for that term, I get 628 results.

Isn't it long past due that vBulletin software have better search capability?

Jim

[Zachery]

Google, has millions of search systems, and has refined itself over the last 16(?) or so years its been around. They're th king of search, no one comes close.

While we'd love to have a better search, its not realistic to think we'll ever get to google.

We are working towards it.

[eJM]

Oh, I don't expect the same kind of results as one gets using Google or other dedicated search engines. I just thought the search term would have produced SOME results.

[Zachery]

The problem is, search for subscription on vbulletin.com in google, and notification. I bet you it comes up a ton. I don't know if licensed members have access to boolean search.

[AdrianH]

Advanced search >> posts only > term = subscription notification.

Results in 10 pages >> https://www.vbulletin.com/forum/sear...archid=8460314


Same search in forums results in zero results found ............ vB search is weird

[Wayne Luke]

Advanced search >> posts only > term = subscription notification.

Results in 10 pages >> https://www.vbulletin.com/forum/sear...archid=8460314


Same search in forums results in zero results found ............ vB search is weird

Not really... How many forums have subscription notification in their descriptions on this site? The forum search searches forums and their descriptions. This is a different content type than threads or posts.

[Alfa1]

vbulletin 3 search was already inaccurate, but vbulletin 4 search is really bad. Often search results are displayed in random order. (not chronological)
But at least DigitalPoint has created a good sphinx search product, which more than fixes the problem.

[AusPhotography]

I wrote a very simple Google search (CSE) for vB...

http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=266449

[Wayne Luke]

vbulletin 3 search was already inaccurate, but vbulletin 4 search is really bad. Often search results are displayed in random order. (not chronological)
But at least DigitalPoint has created a good sphinx search product, which more than fixes the problem.

Means your search order is by relevance. If you want chronological, do an advanced search and save your preferences.

[Mark.B]

A new search is coming in vB5, apparently.

However, realistically it's still not going to be wonderful, if you're comparing results with what Google can do. Just not feasible.

If you have a VPS or dedicated server, you could install Sphinx search (or get your host to), then use EITHER the free vBulletin 4 plugin (unsupported), OR use DigitalPoint's paid supported plugin (costs next to nothing).
You will find search results, while still not as good as Google, improve dramatically.

[Alfa1]

Means your search order is by relevance. If you want chronological, do an advanced search and save your preferences.

Thanks! That is very useful. I wish I had known this 2.5 years ago. I dont know how often I have given up on searching for something.
So basically vb4 search can be much improved just by adding a global setting to sort search results by date?

[Wayne Luke]

If ordering by date is what makes the search work better for you then yeah.

[Arkham]

I find it unbelievable that, in all the years vBulletin.com forums have been around, no one has every used the term "subscription notification." That is my search criteria and I get this message:



Yet when I use Google to do a specific site search for that term, I get 628 results.

Isn't it long past due that vBulletin software have better search capability?

I think you're doing it wrong. I went to advanced search and Posts tab, and got tonnes of results. Same results as if I put the two words in the search bar.

[Wayne Luke]

It is a misconception of what searching the Forum content type does. I put in a JIRA ages ago to remove that content type from searching but it was never implemented.

The search isn't perfect. Default settings aren't the best and the algorithm can be fine-tuned and so forth. However it isn't as bad as many people make it out to be. I use it every day and while there are times I can't find what I am looking for most of the time it works fine.

[Alfa1]

If ordering by date is what makes the search work better for you then yeah.

I think that most people would expect that. As results are not ordered by date, its easy to assume that search is broken.