PI searching being disabled

omega666

Yeah I know that this has come up previously so im obviously not the only one wondering. From a search of old threads here on Feedback the reason given for the search in PI being disabled seems to be for privacy reasons.
I can understand that but surely that’s what the annomounus posting function is there for? Is a user had an embarrassing issue that they want to be kept private then the vast majority are going to post anonymously so you don’t know who the user is anyway,

Users post in PI because they have a problem and the first thing you want to do if you have a problem is to search to see if anyone else has the same problem and what recommendations they were given?
Also if different users are creating new threads for the same issue they are not getting much feedback because users get fed up of posting the same advise on multiple threads. I’m sure a lot of posters don’t want to create a new thread and a search of old threads would suffice with providing them with the general info that they are looking for.

I think disabling the search function seriously takes away from the usefullness of the PI forum which is a great help to many people.

my 2cents!

tbh

You would imagine that people post problems on boards because they want to reach as wide a population as possible. There are so many people on boards now that I feel there is no advantage to excluding pi from search. We recently enabled search in tGC for these very reasons

Dudess

Friend of mine was going through something a while back and I remembered a PI thread where the OP had been going through pretty much the exact same thing, and I endeavoured to search for it but of course couldn't. A pity, because it would have been a help to her - it was a really long thread too with lots of different advice.

Insect Overlord

Try arranging threads by views/replies in different time frames. It can sometimes help tracking down threads without a proper search function.

IITYWYBMAD

Why not use Google to do your searching? You can search PI in a number of ways:

Example 1

Example 2

tbh

IITYWYBMAD wrote: »

Why not use Google to do your searching? You can search PI in a number of ways:

or to rephrase your post, given we can search PI in a number of ways through google, why not just make it searchable like every other forum?

Silverfish

Interesting points.

We (the PI mods) will have a chat about it and get back to you.

IITYWYBMAD

tbh wrote: »

or to rephrase your post, given we can search PI in a number of ways through google, why not just make it searchable like every other forum?

True..but I think the VB search function can be a bit more "specific". For general searching, I'd use Google, not that I have any reason to search PI, as my life is perfect... :-}

Nevyn

Because few people will bother with google search and the the majority of those that doe are usually genuine people looking for info where as using the site seach tends to be used by those looking to dig up 'dirt' on other posters. It it were possible to not have people's posts in PI show up in the the last 20 posts search I'd be all for that.

tbh

Thaedydal wrote: »

Because few people will bother with google search and the the majority of those that doe are usually genuine people looking for info where as using the site seach tends to be used by those looking to dig up 'dirt' on other posters.

is there any evidence for that, other than anecdotal - don't mean that question to be aggressive, just curious as we've enabled search in tGC.

Silverfish

tbh wrote: »

is there any evidence for that, other than anecdotal - don't mean that question to be aggressive, just curious as we've enabled search in tGC.

Yes, but it won't be possible for us to prove that to you without linking to posters or deleted / snipped posts.

IITYWYBMAD

Thaedydal wrote: »

Because few people will bother with google search and the the majority of those that doe are usually genuine people looking for info where as using the site seach tends to be used by those looking to dig up 'dirt' on other posters. It it were possible to not have people's posts in PI show up in the the last 20 posts search I'd be all for that.

While that's unfortunate, it seems to be to be a bit over the top to me.

Nevyn

tbh wrote: »

just curious as we've enabled search in tGC.

If that is working out for ye over there then great but that forum has a broader remit and a wider range of topics then PI and it's subforums.

tbh

Thaedydal wrote: »

If that is working out for ye over there then great but that forum has a broader remit and a wider range of topics then PI and it's subforums.

I know but do you have any evidence other than anecdotal evidence?

tbh

Silverfish wrote: »

Yes, but it won't be possible for us to prove that to you without linking to posters or deleted / snipped posts.

the yes is sufficient, thanks sorry - didn't see this post before I replied to thaeds, hence repeating the question.

Silverfish

The thing is, when we find posts linking to mocking or parodying a PI thread, we request it be deleted rather than leave it there as an example.

Part of PI modding is damage control on the rest of the site

I have seen people using posters PI threads against them in arguments on AH, and other forums - and even in signatures - so to date I haven't seen a reason to enable searching - I feel the burden of responsibility is towards the people who HAVE posted already, even years ago, under their own usernames, rather than people who don't want to post there at all.

tbh

Silverfish wrote: »

The thing is, when we find posts linking to mocking or parodying a PI thread, we request it be deleted rather than leave it there as an example.

which is fair enough, and also a reason that people aren't aware of the extent of the problem, eg:

I have seen people using posters PI threads against them in arguments on AH, and other forums - and even in signatures -

jesus like, really? rhetorical question, btw, I believe you.

Ickle Magoo

I think the lack of search function helps encourage posters to post their own thread rather than bumping or hijacking someone elses - which means they get advice tailor-made to their issue rather than someone elses.

I don't see any evidence that there aren't sufficient PI posters to answer each and every advice request regardless of how many variants have been posted, either.

Even in the short time I've been modding PI, there's been several occasions of posters using another posters PI as a springboard for their own discussion - if you could search for any topic or issue then I imagine there would be an increase in those kinds of threads - which isn't fair on those posting their issues.

omega666

Thaedydal wrote: »

Because few people will bother with google search and the the majority of those that doe are usually genuine people looking for info where as using the site seach tends to be used by those looking to dig up 'dirt' on other posters. It it were possible to not have people's posts in PI show up in the the last 20 posts search I'd be all for that.

In fairness I would doubt the majority of posters that use the PI search are just looking for dirt on other posters.
I would say the majority are genuine people looking for info also with a few occurrence’s of morons looking for ‘dirt’ previously.

It just seems a bit OTT to disable the entire search function for everyone because of the above. As i said before, the anonymous function is there for a reason, Im not sure why people would post personal issues under their regular username on a public forum if they wanted to keep them private.

Ickle Magoo

I guess it depends on what official function PI has...is it a library resource for everyone or somewhere for individuals to ask advice on their issue... ?

Nevyn

omega666 wrote: »

In fairness I would doubt the majority of posters that use the PI search are just looking for dirt on other posters.
I would say the majority are genuine people looking for info also with a few occurrence’s of morons looking for ‘dirt’ previously.

It just seems a bit OTT to disable the entire search function for everyone because of the above. As i said before, the anonymous function is there for a reason, Im not sure why people would post personal issues under their regular username on a public forum if they wanted to keep them private.

The Op is usually unregged but we get a lot of people replying to threads with their account and sharing experiences and advice and it is part of what makes the forums work.

Changing the protections for the PI forum becomes retroactive for all the previous post which people made knowing those protections were in place and to do would be extremely unfair.

omega666

Ickle Magoo wrote: »

I guess it depends on what official function PI has...is it a library resource for everyone or somewhere for individuals to ask advice on their issue... ?

Can it be both?

In fairness i understand the reasons given and i'm more aware now of all
of the issues the mods dealing with PI are trying to control.

seems a bit crazy, it’s like entering a library but not being able to get past the first shelf! Just think there's a lot of advise sitting there that could
somehow be useful to a lot people. Probably the most valuable information in the whole site.

Nevyn

The thing is while on the surface it looks like the same problems coming up again and again there are always differences and nusances. Also some of the information given in older threads becomes out of date, websites change as do phone numbers and when clinics are on and best practices, there are often new better options and services.

tbh

omega666 wrote: »

Just think there's a lot of advise sitting there that could
somehow be useful to a lot people. .

that's true, but it's not as if the mods punish someone for starting a thread someone else has already started. I've been posting on PI for about six years or so, and the same (roughly) ten or so topics come up all the time:

-does he/she like me
-could I be pregnant
-don't have sex with my partner anymore
-is he/she cheating
-nightmare parent/sibling/roommate

etc.

I make the point because for any of those threads, the advice sought is likely to be specific to that case, rather than generic advice. A poster is more likely to get advice that useful to them by starting their own thread, than by reading advice given to someone else in slightly different circumstances.


edit: I took thaeds post and did a wibbs on it

Ickle Magoo

omega666 wrote: »

Can it be both?

In fairness i understand the reasons given and i'm more aware now of all
of the issues the mods dealing with PI are trying to control.

seems a bit crazy, it’s like entering a library but not being able to get past the first shelf! Just think there's a lot of advise sitting there that could
somehow be useful to a lot people. Probably the most valuable information in the whole site.

See, I'm not sure it should be a library. There is certainly some great advice given but as Thead says, people ask for advice and give advice knowing that there is no function to search out what they have said and when - and I think that's an important part of the forum in terms of posters being more honest and sharing their experiences.

I'm not convinced that the relative anonymity of poster or advisor should be compromised purely for the sake of opening the entire back-history of PI to people who, in that instance at least, aren't actually adding anything to the forum and just want to piggy-back off others who have had the courage to post; or worse, use past posts or topics to attack or mock posts, advice or the situations that some PI/RI posters find themselves in.

There is also an awful lot of heart-wrenchingly honest posts in the bereavement forum and I would certainly be against any action that would make it easier to troll or act the muppet with regards to historical posts in that section.

Nevyn

Oh tell me about it been modding PI for the last 7 years, but while it may be possible to do a flow chart for those problems with the info that is not the sum of what the forum is about, it is about also support, it's people posting about their issues which alone can be of great benefit and getting replies knowing that other people hear them and they are not the only one to have gone through it as well as helpful advice and information.

Stop Wibbsing my posts, I am trying to be brief :P
and it's like saying candyman he'll appear and put us to sleep with a sprawling epic in the pros and cons
and then say he's on the fence personally as he no longer mods PI :P

up for anything

I'm one of those who spill my own guts when replying to other people's problems so I'd prefer to see it kept search free although it does make it difficult sometimes to keep up with what threads I've posted in.

omega666

Fair points by all, Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Just checked the google search linked the ealier poster and you
can search PI by username anyway so it kinda make the privacy issues mute.
Sure it not as straight foward as a forum search but anyone intent on causing trouble will put in the effort im sure.

Wibbs

Thaedydal wrote: »

Changing the protections for the PI forum becomes retroactive for all the previous post which people made knowing those protections were in place and to do would be extremely unfair.

This would be my biggest issue with it. That and those who link into threads in there or look to start trouble with people and like has been said that certainly went on and still does. Even innocently where someone will quote an OP's problem in another part of the site. Only last week I snipped one of those and I've snipped a fair few of the more dodgy ones too. I've seen PI posts and references come up in AH, tLL, humanities among others. The respective mods are very good at snipping them but it happens. Hell I have even gotten a couple of PM's where people wanted to know could I tell them who was posting anon in PI/RI as they thought they knew them. I never took it further up the chain, just respectfully told them to fcuk off.

Wibbs

tbh wrote: »

I've been posting on PI for about six years or so, and the same (roughly) ten or so topics come up all the time:

-does he/she like me
-could I be pregnant
-don't have sex with my partner anymore
-is he/she cheating
-nightmare parent/sibling/roommate

etc.
)

Yea and you could also say roughly the same advice is given too

Generic reply wrote:

Ahh OP, just be yourself, see a counselor/doctor, things will work out

In the end it doesn't really matter most of the time, it usually helps people just to type down their problem and know that someone is willing to reply to them in particular.

Ickle Magoo

omega666 wrote: »

Fair points by all, Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Just checked the google search linked the ealier poster and you
can search PI by username anyway so it kinda make the privacy issues mute.
Sure it not as straight foward as a forum search but anyone intent on causing trouble will put in the effort im sure.

Providing an in-house facility for those who wish to cause trouble to save them any added effort surely wouldn't be a rational reason to re-instate the search function anyway, would it?

IITYWYBMAD

Wibbs wrote: »

That and those who link into threads in there or look to start trouble with people and like has been said that certainly went on and still does. Even innocently where someone will quote an OP's problem in another part of the site. Only last week I snipped one of those and I've snipped a fair few of the more dodgy ones too.

And do you think that the search function being disabled is actually preventing more incidents of this nature? As I've pointed out earlier in the thread, those who want to act the muppet, can, quite easily tbh. There are already mechanisms in place to address those issues, as you yourself highlighted above.

The retrospective argument doesn't really hold water, as there are actually two forums setup to discuss change, and a number of such changes, if implemented, will have effect retrospectively.....I really don't see why PI gets this "special" treatment tbh.

Anyhow, it's no skin off my nose, it just seems to be using a sledge hammer to crack a nut...

IITYWYBMAD

Ickle Magoo wrote: »

Providing an in-house facility for those who wish to cause trouble to save them any added effort surely wouldn't be a rational reason to re-instate the search function anyway, would it?

There's the home page right there. With a Google search customised for Boards. My point being, it's already there.

Nevyn

IITYWYBMAD wrote: »

The retrospective argument doesn't really hold water, as there are actually two forums setup to discuss change, and a number of such changes, if implemented, will have effect retrospectively.

When the new more open S&S forum is created it will be created brand new and there will be no retroactive exposing of posts which were made in a more protected setting.

IITYWYBMAD wrote: »

....I really don't see why PI gets this "special" treatment tbh.

Fair enough, plenty of us do.

IITYWYBMAD wrote: »

Anyhow, it's no skin off my nose, it just seems to be using a sledge hammer to crack a nut...

You are entitled to your opinion.

IITYWYBMAD wrote: »

There's the home page right there. With a Google search customised for Boards. My point being, it's already there.

PI forums threads don't appear on the generic front page, they were removed some time ago.

Wibbs

IITYWYBMAD wrote: »

And do you think that the search function being disabled is actually preventing more incidents of this nature?

Yep I do and have seen it. EG when PI threads were listed on the front page of the site we got a lot more drive by muppetry and it was noticeably lessened when that was changed

The retrospective argument doesn't really hold water, as there are actually two forums setup to discuss change, and a number of such changes, if implemented, will have effect retrospectively.....I really don't see why PI gets this "special" treatment tbh.

Lots of forums get "special" treatment. Every single private forum out there for a start. Each forum has it's own rules and vibe and what you would post in one forum would not be welcome in another. So I really don't see why you think PI should be any different, while suggesting it is at the same time.

IITYWYBMAD wrote: »

There's the home page right there. With a Google search customised for Boards. My point being, it's already there.

Yes and no. The google search on the site is much harder to narrow down to PI or any forum for that matter. Yes one could search like you suggested on page one and get it more narrowed down, but the main page boards search isn't as easy. Hey maybe the mods want a better class of troll who does know how to do it. Simply put it would make it a lot easier for trolls and trouble makers to kick off if PI was searchable. So while it can be done, the current policy limits it and I personally don't see what's wrong with that. The only thing I see as the disadvantage is what dudess remarked on earlier, namely someone genuinely looking for a previous thread that may be relevant.

Anyway if your point is that its already there, why have issue at all?

IITYWYBMAD

Thaedydal wrote: »

When the new more open S&S forum is created it will be created brand new and there will be no retroactive exposing of posts which were made in a more protected setting.

That's not what I was referring to, but example is not a valid argument tbh...

PI forums threads don't appear on the generic front page, they were removed some time ago.

I know that. I'm not talking about what posts appear on the front page, I'm talking about the big "Search Boards.ie" on the right hand side of the page, which will give you every conceivable search option for all forums.

Ickle Magoo

IITYWYBMAD wrote: »

I know that. I'm not talking about what posts appear on the front page, I'm talking about the big "Search Boards.ie" on the right hand side of the page, which will give you every conceivable search option for all forums.

Exactly, so it makes tracking posts or posters specifically in PI more difficult while allowing posters to search a generic topic of interest to them...I thought that was the point of the current set up?

IITYWYBMAD

Wibbs wrote: »

Yes and no. The google search on the site is much harder to narrow down to PI or any forum for that matter.

No it's not.

Simply put it would make it a lot easier for trolls and trouble makers to kick off if PI was searchable.

My point is (was) that PI is as searchable as any other publically searchable forum, whether the VB search is enabled or not. I think easier is quite subjective tbh.

So while it can be done, the current policy limits it and I personally don't see what's wrong with that.

I have no issue with the "rule" per se, I'm merely pointing out that if somebody is sad enough to go around cross forum linking, for the purpose of trolling, whether the forum is "searchable" or not from the mods perspective is moot.

Anyway if your point is that its already there, why have issue at all?

Reasoning and discussion, is that ok with you?

Ickle Magoo wrote:

Exactly, so it makes tracking posts or posters specifically in PI more difficult while allowing posters to search a generic topic of interest to them...I thought that was the point of the current set up?

I disagree, and I could show you exactly why, but tbh....at this stage, I couldn't be arsed..../ tips hat

Ickle Magoo

I'm not following...and storming out the thread isn't particularly helpful either. If there's an issue with searching/not searching some forums or posters open to abuse then I think that warrants discussion - possibly further action in terms of the search parameters of the homepage, if that's possible.

I always viewed it as; if someone wants to know if anyone else has posted about a break up caused by cheating then they can search for that and pick out the PI posts that are relevant to them. At the same time if someone wants to have a nosey about what topics X poster answers and asks in PI/RI/Bereavement then they have to trawl through possibly hundreds or thousands of other posts - even by doing a search on a particular handle - and what's more if they go to the added effort and use the information to troll, we know they had to do that to get the info and they can't hide behind "I just did quick search of the forum and look what popped up"...

omega666

Ickle Magoo wrote: »

I'm not following...and storming out the thread isn't particularly helpful either. If there's an issue with searching/not searching some forums or posters open to abuse then I think that warrants discussion - possibly further action in terms of the search parameters of the homepage, if that's possible.

I always viewed it as; if someone wants to know if anyone else has posted about a break up caused by cheating then they can search for that and pick out the PI posts that are relevant to them. At the same time if someone wants to have a nosey about what topics X poster answers and asks in PI/RI/Bereavement then they have to trawl through possibly hundreds or thousands of other posts - even by doing a search on a particular handle - and what's more if they go to the added effort and use the information to troll, we know they had to do that to get the info and they can't hide behind "I just did quick search of the forum and look what popped up"...

i think he making the point, on the front pages of boards is a Google search facility which if i simply input personal issues "omega666" and search it will bring up my personal issues posts.

So you don’t even have to leave the boards website to find what you want, making disabling the search in the forum itself for privacy reasons pointless.

IITYWYBMAD

Ickle Magoo wrote: »

I'm not following...and storming out the thread isn't particularly helpful either.

I'm not storming out (I actually tipped my internet cap) , I just find some of the replies hmmm....agendized, and I have no reason to get into an argument about something I have experience in. (Not a slant at you btw)

My bottom line is, that Google is a multinational public cloud computing and Internet search technologies company with a budget of billions. It's very powerful. Using it is not actually that difficult, and anybody with a bit of research can whittle down searches to a minutia.

There's a Google CSE on the front page, which can return customised results, it works.

omega666 wrote:

i think he making the point, on the front pages of boards is a Google search facility which if i simply input personal issues "omega666" and search it will bring up my personal issues posts.

So you don’t even have to leave the boards website to find what you want, making disabling the search in the forum itself for privacy reasons pointless.

That, and I could specify the dates I want, keywords, where in the post I want to see certain words, thread title, thread starter,etc..........

I hope that clears up my point.

Ickle Magoo

I know you chivalrously tipped your hat but you also said you couldn't be arsed; I'm interested in what you have to say. I'm a newbie mod and I don't view the points you are making as a slant on me, it's good to have issues or glitches pointed out.

While I appreciate it's certainly do-able, searching using another engine does takes the extra time and effort...I just tried a search of someone on PI and the google home page search shows three posts at a time and none of the three were actually from PI...it takes trawling through the posts to build up any discernible picture and it's certainly not as neat and easy for everyone to do a search as it would be if the forum search function were available.

I'm just not sure why there would or should be motivation to make abuse of PI/RI/bereavement posts/posters even easier.

Wibbs

Ickle Magoo wrote: »

I'm just not sure why there would or should be motivation to make abuse of PI/RI/bereavement posts/posters even easier.

It boils down to this. Why make it easier? Where's the benefit? Plus you(IITYWYBMAD) may say it being easier is subjective, but I would argue you're being subjective when you're saying that. For you it's easy enough as clearly you know what you're doing, many, if not most(especially web newbies) actually don't. Check out helpdesk on a daily basis... Like has been said it would make it far easier if searching was enabled and yes it would mean more drive by idiocy. I have seen it for myself quite noticeably as a mod in there when just the PI threads were on the front page. The dodgy traffic went up. That traffic went down when it was removed. Simple as that. In that case it was even easier just to click into the PI forum and see the threads. On the back of that experience I would be 100% sure they would get more signal to noise going on with search switched on.

The other aspect to this which I don't think has been mentioned yet is the dragging up of old threads. Zombie threads are frowned upon sitewide. They happened in PI the odd time, but with search enabled they would get a lot more of them. People jumping in on dead threads rather than starting their own(some were even people looking for updates on long dead threads and it often felt for prurient reasons). In there it was common enough where folks would dive in on an existing thread with a somewhat related PI of their own(sometimes not even connected that much) and mods would have to start splitting threads etc. Again IMHO search would ramp that up. It would get messy. If nothing else you would need even more mods and more coverage to cover it. That's fine in one sense as PI IME never had too many, but again where is the benefit? That for me is what it would boil down to in the end.

PS the stuff about the "special nature" of PI is a red herring and a well old one at this stage. I never really understood some people having issue with that TBH. Damn near every forum on Boards has a special nature to some degree or other.

tbh

there's a definite and defined benefit wibbs, and that is that the total pool of knowledge becomes more easily available to the people who aren't technically able to find it through google. We'd only be able to quantify that benefit by allowing search in PI and trying to figure out how much traffic was generated by it - which I think we all know isn't going to happen.

I feel it's a red herring to say there's no benefit to be had, but it's totally fair to say that the benefit may not be worth the cost.

Nevyn

PI posts are not just data/info/knowledge they are posts containing people's hopes, dreams, dreads, sorrow, worries and misery; and that should be respected and not just turned into 'Data' for searches.

seamus

I would be in favour of enabling PI searches and pruning the forum on a daily basis - delete every thread where the least post was more than a year ago. This would of course create problems with stickies and the like but not insurmountable.

Perhaps even allow users to delete their own threads? The obvious implication here is that a problem posted today is something that I want people to see and to comment on, but that doesn't mean I want people to be able to see and archive it forever more. PI is a special forum, and I've always said it. Yes, it should exempt from things which apply to other forums specifically because it has a different function than just being a standard discussion forum.

Nevyn

Given that PI and it's subforums can easily see between 20 and 60 new threads a day, deleting that sort every day or evening every few days may cause issues with the database.
But I am not opposed to that idea but I would still be against enabling site search.

Google search does bring in people who type their problem into google and get PI and then start their own thread.
We can get zombie threads bumped by this but the Pi mods just move the posts to a thread of it's own.

IITYWYBMAD

Wibbs wrote: »

It boils down to this. Why make it easier? Where's the benefit? Plus you(IITYWYBMAD) may say it being easier is subjective, but I would argue you're being subjective when you're saying that. For you it's easy enough as clearly you know what you're doing, many, if not most(especially web newbies) actually don't. Check out helpdesk on a daily basis... .

Again, I disagree. While your example of HD is a valid example of useless threads, compare that against the traffic this site gets on a daily basis, and it's a fraction of a percent.

Anybody with web access can find out, within 15 minutes, how to use web searches, and this is not confined to google....

As an aside I would introduce a CAPTCHA hack specifically for HD to stop the useless posts. Have you ever "googled" the useless posts on HD?

Like has been said it would make it far easier if searching was enabled and yes it would mean more drive by idiocy.

My point is, that it would not, and it does not.

tbh wrote:

there's a definite and defined benefit wibbs, and that is that the total pool of knowledge becomes more easily available to the people who aren't technically able to find it through google. We'd only be able to quantify that benefit by allowing search in PI and trying to figure out how much traffic was generated by it - which I think we all know isn't going to happen.

I feel it's a red herring to say there's no benefit to be had, but it's totally fair to say that the benefit may not be worth the cost.

Totally agree.

Thaedydal wrote:

PI posts are not just data/info/knowledge they are posts containing people's hopes, dreams, dreads, sorrow, worries and misery; and that should be respected and not just turned into 'Data' for searches.

I see where you are coming from, but to be honest the same could be said about a lot of posts on Soccer (and a lot of other forums), and yet they are searchable? I'm not being factious here but your POV is tinged by your connection to PI.

At the end of the day, all posts on PI are data, despite your protestations otherwise. I understand where you are coming from, and I actually think that most of the advice you give is ok, but I still think you have to come to terms with the realisation that, at the end of the day.......'it's the internet'...

seamus wrote:

I would be in favour of enabling PI searches and pruning the forum on a daily basis - delete every thread where the least post was more than a year ago. This would of course create problems with stickies and the like but not insurmountable.

Perhaps even allow users to delete their own threads? The obvious implication here is that a problem posted today is something that I want people to see and to comment on, but that doesn't mean I want people to be able to see and archive it forever more. PI is a special forum, and I've always said it. Yes, it should exempt from things which apply to other forums specifically because it has a different function than just being a standard discussion forum.

I think the above is a great suggestion.

Nevyn

So you won't accpet any of the opinions/arguement of PI mods cos we are 'tinged', fair enough.

The Recliner

IITYWYBMAD wrote: »

Anybody with web access can find out, within 15 minutes, how to use web searches, and this is not confined to google....

The fact is though they don't, it is more effort then people are prepared to do

My point is, that it would not, and it does not.

Experience modding the forum tells us it would, the effect of being removed from the front page was remarkable
Drive-by muppetry came to a halt and became a miniscule part of Modding the place whereas before it would take up a large part of our time
Thread traffic suffered for a while but soon came back up to previous levels and the forum is much better for it imo

I see where you are coming from, but to be honest the same could be said about a lot of posts on Soccer (and a lot of other forums), and yet they are searchable? I'm not being factious here but your POV is tinged by your connection to PI.

At the end of the day, all posts on PI are data, despite your protestations otherwise. I understand where you are coming from, and I actually think that most of the advice you give is ok, but I still think you have to come to terms with the realisation that, at the end of the day.......'it's the internet'...

Just because it is there doesn't mean it should be searchable

I have yet to see a single reason for enabling search that would make the forum better for the users and that is the most important thing imo

I think the above is a great suggestion.

I don't see what that would add at all to be honest, surely if you are in favour of treating everything as data and having it available for all to see then deleting data is the exact opposite of what you want

IITYWYBMAD

thaedydal wrote:

So you won't accpet any of the opinions/arguement of PI mods cos we are 'tinged', fair enough.

Where did I say that? Your histrionics are getting silly.....(and I mean that in the scientific definition)

The Recliner wrote: »

The fact is though they don't, it is more effort then people are prepared to do

That's actually beside the point.

The Recliner wrote: »

Experience modding the forum tells us it would, the effect of being removed from the front page was remarkable
Drive-by muppetry came to a halt and became a miniscule part of Modding the place whereas before it would take up a large part of our time
Thread traffic suffered for a while but soon came back up to previous levels and the forum is much better for it imo

Removing it from the front page, and disabling VB search are two totally different things.

The Recliner wrote: »

Just because it is there doesn't mean it should be searchable

I have yet to see a single reason for enabling search that would make the forum better for the users and that is the most important thing imo

I've no idea what you mean about it not being searchable tbh, but I agree with your premise that it may not make the forum better.

The Recliner wrote: »

I don't see what that would add at all to be honest, surely if you are in favour of treating everything as data and having it available for all to see then deleting data is the exact opposite of what you want

I actually chuckled at the "treating everything as data" comment. It is data, whether you like it or not.