"Search problems" Topic

Why can't I search the archives any longer? Is it because of the 'Java' debacle? or is there a problem on the TMP site as a whole?

I wanted to find a thread where I posted pictures of Cavalie Mercer's sword and all I get is a blank page even if I use my user name 'dibble'

Paul :)

The editor disabled the search function weeks ago.
I use Google. You can type something like this "Mercer dibble site:theminiaturespage.com" and see what pops up.

Is there a way to send a personal message on TMP ?

Yes, Digby, but that function is restricted to sponsoring and supporting members.

Rakkasan:

Thanks for that bit of information.

I must have missed the notification about the search function being disabled.

Paul :)

It is a great pity that the search function is disabled, hopefully it will be repaired soon – it was a key way I used TMP. I thought it might have been done to reduce instances of the posting bug(s), but that doesn't seem to be related.

The Google search function works better than tmp search..

The Google search function works better than tmp search..

It works better for finding a specific post where someone writes something specific, or a general browsing search. I like the TMP search better for finding what specific posters have posted.

I use the TMP search function to find threads I've posted on that have fallen off my front page but may still be active.

The search function was very useful for authors of postings, poor for topic titles and hopeless for content of postings. But that is not unreasonable…it does take up quite a bit of computing power (a statement I will laugh at in a couple of years I expect, as with every IT system's exponential growth)

The editor's explanation for turning off the search feature was that he found it was slowing down the whole site. But, as others noted above, this reduces the functionality of TMP in finding your own or others' previous posts. Google is NOT a substitute, as it returns posts in random order, not by date as the TMP search feature did. For frequent posters, it can take a long time to locate a specific one if you don't remember an exact title or phrase.

Here's a copy & paste of what someone more computer savvy than I am wrote about working around this problem:

Schogun Supporting Member of TMP 25 Jan 2018 5:29 a.m. PST

Google:

site:theminiaturespage.com/boards/ [searchterm]

Make sure there's a space before your search term (although try it both ways; sometimes you get different results)

For example, to search for me:
site:theminiaturespage.com/boards/ Schogun

Hits will show my name as an Author or Post or Title. Problem is, there's no order to the results. You may have to scroll through pages to find the post you're looking for (if specific).

This also works for News items:
site:theminiaturespage.com/news/ [searchterm]

@War Artisan
Thanks for that info.
I'll check out supporting and sponsoring.

Must be me but I keep getting an error message telling me the page no longer exists……….because of course the search facility has been disabled.

Does strike me a major loss…or frankly a mistake!

@ attilathepun

Problem is, there's no order to the results. You may have to scroll through pages to find the post you're looking for (if specific).

There is a way round that.

When the results come up from the initial search, click on Tools on the right just under the magnifying glass.

Then click on "Any time" and change this to a custom date range.

Then click on "Sort by relevance" and change it to "Sort by date".

The results now come up newest first. The oldest of the "Schogun" search is on page 19 of the results and is this thread:
TMP link

The newest is this thread from 27 February:
TMP link

If you know roughly when the post you're looking for was made, change the search range to dates around then.

In order to provide some encouragement, perhaps the Editor could pledge to stop accepting fees from supporting members and advertisers until the bugs have been fixed and the search function is running again.

Thanks 4th Cuirassier!

Much as I enjoy TMP I also think that its probably an old piece of software.
I notice that they shut down each night for maintenance
The ideal would be for TMP (and another Napoleonic site, to switch to one of the off the shelf forum software programs.)
But of course I don't know how practical that is.

I also think that its probably an old piece of software.

No, it's quite current as software goes, but the database is of an older design and limits what we can do. That is not a software problem, but a problem of the underlying programming language.

The ideal would be for TMP (and another Napoleonic site, to switch to one of the off the shelf forum software programs.)
But of course I don't know how practical that is.

Not practical, as the feature set doesn't match.

I thought the most useful (and indeed reliable) was to hunt for authors of topics. Titles and content keywords never really worked and fully understand the challenges. No chance of just reinstating that.

Often wondered what "Time out waiting for lock" meant…….now I think I can guess.

Still a great forum…….