Searches - or the lack thereof

[p38arover]

I've just been going through AULRO Technical Chatter moving LPG topics to this new area.

That exercise really brought home just how many of you don't use the search features. The same questions are being asked over and over again. I must admit that I often don't bother to answer questions anymore (on here or other LR fora) because they have been answered so often and people can't be bothered to search.

[Vern]

post count:D

by the way ron, you have a few;).

[Narangga]

I agree Ron.

[wardy1]

Hey there Grumpy!
I think alot of the threads you refer to are from 'newbies'. It takes a while to settle into a site like this one. I've been here a while and I'm probably guilty of being bit lazy from time to time.
You were new here once too...... although with that many posts, it must have been a loooong time ago ;)

[alien]

I have noticed that too,
But.....until you have been on here while it's hard to work out how and where to look;)
What about a sticky of how to search at the top of each of the pinicles???

[sam_d]

Part of the problem may be that AULRO is becoming a victim of its own success (I mean this in a good way) and that some of the answers found in a search can contradict each other.

For example, my recent inquiry in the Technical Chatter was asked because I did a search but it yielded a great many results with a lot of conflicting information - I asked to get some clarification which was thankfully forthcoming.

[GEK064]

As a newbie I got to agree - the search function is not the easiest to use. It's not exactly 'google'. This site is an incredible brain trust of information, some I find, some I have to ask.......it's hard to find an opinion in an old thread. On behalf of all us newbies thanks for the patience in the past, the present and the future......oh yeah a question - how can I save the results of my searches for future reference....months ago I found the way to wire up a rear work light and do you think I can find the thread again?

[p38arover]

\how can I save the results of my searches for future reference...?

Save the page to your Favorites.

[p38arover]

Hey there Grumpy!
I think alot of the threads you refer to are from 'newbies'. It takes a while to settle into a site like this one. I've been here a while and I'm probably guilty of being bit lazy from time to time.

But most fora are similar so once you've used one, then that knowledge is easily portable to another.

[Narangga]

As a newbie I got to agree - the search function is not the easiest to use. It's not exactly 'google'. This site is an incredible brain trust of information, some I find, some I have to ask.......it's hard to find an opinion in an old thread. On behalf of all us newbies thanks for the patience in the past, the present and the future......oh yeah a question - how can I save the results of my searches for future reference....months ago I found the way to wire up a rear work light and do you think I can find the thread again?

I tend to bookmark/favourite threads so that I don't have to re-search.

[wrinklearthur]

Hi Ron
A little thing that I have noticed, is that the wrong choice of key words can leave you without what you are looking for. espechially iv thay r spedt wronge. :angel:
Cheers Arthur
ps I was next to your site at Cooma,

[GEK064]

Ahhhhh.......I just spent 5minutes looking in FAQ for 'favorites' and even used the search function for favorites (slept it favourites and had to wait another minute) and it just clicked......the browser bookmark/favorites.....I'm now sending myself an email with the chosen thread for filing in outlook. A thread for newbies on 'how to' would be a good idea.

[The Brun]

G,day guys Im in the same boat. Ive tryed searching to find some thing that mite help me fit 35s under my disco1 like what i need to do to get them to fit (photos of where to cut and all that) but find my self reading everyones opinions and cant realy find any thing much that helps. Although have found other things easy. Im not the best on computers either so i find myself at a disadvantage from the start. I thank all you guys that point us ones that cant work these things out in the right direction. BIG THANKS ;)

[GEK064]

Just an idea.....Is it possible for moderators to see fact from opinion by sorting and storing information in HOW TO threads that paid subcribers would have access to? Access could be paid for by the day/week for those that are looking at their first purchase?or access proportional to subscription .......or am I making a mountain out of a mole hill?

[p38arover]

Hi Ron
A little thing that I have noticed, is that the wrong choice of key words can leave you without what you are looking for. espechially iv thay r spedt wronge. :angel:
Cheers Arthur
ps I was next to your site at Cooma,

G'day Arthur - I'm trying to remember your face. :(

I agree about keywords. A good example is a recent topic on head lining repairs. If one uses "head lining" one might get x results. One then needs to try "roof lining" to get more results.

Ditto with spelling. A lot of people can't spell so they put their version of the spelling into the search and don't get the results they need.

Equally, someone who can spell might put in the correct word and not be able to find a topic because the original poster misspelled the word.

Because of that, I'll often go in and edit a post to correct at least one instance (usually in the subject line). In that way, the good speller will find it on a search and so will the original bad speller.

[abaddonxi]

Just an idea.....Is it possible for moderators to see fact from opinion by sorting and storing information in HOW TO threads that paid subcribers would have access to? Access could be paid for by the day/week for those that are looking at their first purchase?or access proportional to subscription .......or am I making a mountain out of a mole hill?

Check out The Good Oil, under Tech.

[one_iota]

As a newbie I got to agree - the search function is not the easiest to use. It's not exactly 'google'......


But you can use Google to do a search of AULRO:

By entering "site:aulro.com" before the search term you are after.

For example:a search in Google of AULRO for "LPG" would be site:aulro.com LPG

And the result is:

AULRO LPG - Google Search

Now I'm not saying that it is perfect but it's a bit less cumbersome than the site's search engine. You also get the benefit of Google's search filters.

By the way Ron that search delivers 5,150 results ....looks like you are going to have a very full retirement.:p;)

[p38arover]

By the way Ron that search delivers 5,150 results ....looks like you are going to have a very full retirement.:p;)

:eek:

Actually, that's why I opened and read the first post (or more) of every thread that came up with LPG in a search of Technical Chatter - to see if it needed to be moved to the LPG section.

Not all topics were specific to LPG questions but LPG was mentioned in the thread. They didn't get moved.

[Ace]

So whats better, Husqvarna or Sthil? Im looking to buy a new chainsaw and dont really know what to get :D:wasntme:

[p38arover]

I've got a McCulloch that Langy gave to me.

[sschmez]

I find the biggest PITA when searching is the delay between searches...

you search something specific and get no results and then have to wait before you can search again, or get so many results that need narrowing down and you're waiting again:mad:

Stevo

[Ralph1Malph]

I often use the search function but equally as often only get some or part of the answer I am after.
For example, I searched for a thread on replacing engine mounts and came accross someones step by step guide. Great stuff! Thanks to that member.
In contrast, tonight I posted a thread asking about H/T v A/T.
A search revealed lots of threads regarding A/T and a few mentioned H/T, but none actually answered my query on what folks thought of running a set of H/T during week and A/T on W/E. Forumites posted their exp which may help me decide.

I think it's about whether previous threads actually answer your specific question or generally talk about the same topic.

Ralph

[jerryd]

I've recently spent hours on here searching for info on "Holden" powered landrovers, it seems there are many threads but they tend to drift off topic and/or contradict each other.

Now I'm totally confused :confused::confused::confused:

So maybe it is sometimes easier to ask a question and get an answer, rather than looking at posts from 2005 and then sit and scratch your head pondering !!

So....what is the difference between a six cylinder firewall, a six cylinder gearbox,why would you change a six cylinder engine for a holden motor,will a 200 tdi fit this gearbox,if the 2.25 lr motor is so good why did people change them............:confused:

[p38arover]

I've recently spent hours on here searching for info on "Holden" powered landrovers, it seems there are many threads but they tend to drift off topic and/or contradict each other.


Did you look through this area of the forum: Holden powered Series Land Rovers - Australian Land Rover Owners (http://www.aulro.com/afvb/holden-powered-series-land-rovers/)

[jerryd]

Certainly did Ron, I think that's why I'm so confused now ;)

[p38arover]

Diana (Lotz-A-Landies) is in the process of moving all Holden threads over to that new area.

[d2dave]

I seem to have similar problems that others are having. I can read a thread and six months later some one either here or on LROCV's forum ask a question.

I remember reading about it so I go and search for it to post a link but I can never find it.

Dave.

[slug_burner]

I have a better chance of finding a topic if I know that it was dicussed before. You then know you have something that a search should turn up. As a new member you need to be good at constructing searches and even then they can turn up so many threads that it is just easier to ask a group of people instead of a dumb machine that only does what you ask of it.

Any way if we followed the search approach to its logical conclusion the only active areas should be the ones dealing with new models. By now the older models should have been done to death and we should not be talking about them and simply using the search function to find previous answers to the same questions. Hmmmm I don't think so.

[abaddonxi]

If all of the good questions have already been answered it's a bit hard for new members to join in. Of course they could put up an introduction, but some prefer to have something concrete to talk about rather than just saying G'day.

There doesn't seem to be a shortage of members willing to answer questions.

[one_iota]

I agree with that Simon.

This place might be a great resource but it isn't meant to be Wikipedia...it's as much if not more about interaction and sharing ideas as about being a repository of knowledge.

I know on occasion that I have been irritated by the same old questions being asked but I figure I don't have the right to feel superior because I know that the question has been asked before.

If someone has made an attempt to join in then I'm happy to help if I can.

[Andrew D]

Appears not to be working at the moment (at all). Is someone tweaking it?

[d2dave]

In the technical chatter some one posted a question about repairing a head lining. Ron(p38arover) got into the bloke for not using search as there is a stack of threads on this issue. He even put a link to find.

So I had a look and this is what I found. When searching if you typed in hood lining there were lots to choose from. If you typed in headlining the only thing that came up was the thread in question.

Now I have always known it as a head lining not a hood lining(not saying either is wrong) but if I came to AULRO and typed in headlining I would get nothing and therefore post the question. Which is the reason a lot of people post a question on something that has been well covered. I have many a time failed when trying to search.

Dave

[p38arover]

Yes, that is a problem - knowing what other terms may be used and even how they are spelled.

[VladTepes]

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/02/20.jpg

Oh right, the spelling thing.....

[87County]

Ron, I have used the search function often enough to be aware that it has shortcomings and that users could get so frustrated with it that they give up.

Being aware that there is no thread title consistency and that spelling errors in titles do not get corrected, the most annoying aspect becomes the enforced "delay" between searches - most other forums I look at do not have this problem (eg. Graybeard Outdoors - Index (http://www.go2gbo.com/forums) ).

I suppose there must be a good technical reason for inc to have the "delay" installed in the software for this site.

As others have also intimated, the lack of appropriate spelling and thread titling certainly does not help a user find info - is there any reason why moderaters do not check and correct thread title definitional and spelling errors as they are posted ?

The other inconsistency that does not assist one to search a specific forum arises when a thread with technical specifics can be posted in any forum from General Chat, through Technical and The Pinnacles, to REMLR - yet another problem for skilled moderation ?

As someone recently posted - it is simpler to use the search function straight from google to search aulro than the aulro site search function.

Hope this helps - laurie

[p38arover]

I think the delay only applies to non-subscribers. It applies to a number of fora of which I am a member but not a subscriber.

Spelling? I do correct many titles - of those threads I read. The problem then arises that the original poster can no longer find it because he consistently spells the words incorrectly. One way around this is how I approach it. I leave at least one incorrect version in the post.

Of course, this doesn't help when the posts are correctly spelled to begin with and the searcher cannot spell - this far more common than one would expect.

Using Google doesn't always help. Even on the wider 'net, one needs to think "how would others spell this".

For example, I wanted a picture of a calender but most searches bring up a calendar. Why? Because a lot of people spell the book of dates with an "e" at the end instead of an "a". Try it in Google images and you'll see what I mean.

Calender:

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/02/10.jpg

Calendar:

http://asnailpace.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/ps-calendar-template-july-2008-cover.jpg

[abaddonxi]

<snip>

As others have also intimated, the lack of appropriate spelling and thread titling certainly does not help a user find info - is there any reason why moderaters do not check and correct thread title definitional and spelling errors as they are posted ?

The other inconsistency that does not assist one to search a specific forum arises when a thread with technical specifics can be posted in any forum from General Chat, through Technical and The Pinnacles, to REMLR - yet another problem for skilled moderation ?

As someone recently posted - it is simpler to use the search function straight from google to search aulro than the aulro site search function.

Hope this helps - laurie

I think the delay is to reduce server load.

There are very few moderators, even fewer that can spell, and 1,100,000 posts.

When you create a thread there is an option to add keywords or tags to the thread. Use it.

[akelly]

The reality is if users wanted a Google experience they would use Goolge. Perhaps they come to this site hoping to converse with someone that has/had the same issue with the same model vehicle and can swap information/experience? Perhaps people dont want to trawl through 4 pages of threads that meander on/off topic (which is cool) only to find no definitive answer to their question? Perhaps users want to ask a question that is not 100% covered in the answers they find by searching? Perhaps the headlining/roof lining in a P38 is not the same as the one in a defender 130, so its not relevant how much it cost to repair the P38 in 2007...?

If you dont like the way people use the site, you probably need to talk it out with a counsellor and accept that not everyone uses the site exactly the same way... what does it matter if the same question comes up a lot, is it really hurting anyone?

Either way; I love this site, use it almost daily and find the search function to be good but not great - I understand that it needs the delay and its not Google - thats why I post questions!

Have a great day everyone! :D

Adam

[Hamish71]

OK, we are agreed. Spelling is an issue. Done.

Here is another issue. There is a lot of bloody good information in "The Good Oil", and the Projects and Tutorials sections. However, it is bloody poorly organised and indexed. Often, someone posts a single thread which has hyperlinks to other threads. This DOES have the benefit of removing a search, but to be honest, it still means trolling through reams of posts to find (maybe) the gem you are after. This again is a result of what is a pretty average text search tool. Until people can quickly and easily find what it is they are after, questions are going to be asked, over, and over again.

What I am about to suggest is a lot of work. All of the Good Oil info needs to be catalogued in such a way that info is easily found. This might mean a table or matrix showing which thread is elevant to your vehicle type and problem, (via hyperlink?), or it might mean just retitling all of the posts so that it reflects its content. It might mean breaking up these posts into multiple posts. Each of these threads needs to have "search words" added. For example, a thread on where and how to do hood linings would have a post which contained "hoodlining, hood lining, rooflining, roof lining, roofliner, roof liner etc". There then needs to be some way to identify to the moderators that a "gem" has indeed been discovered during a particular discussion, and should be added to the good oil or relevant section. Currently, that involves a "shout out" and then hoping it gets picked up.. Perhaps there is a way to "quote" the text and identify it on a jobs list for the moderators? This might be a "function" of the tool, or perhaps just an agreed process that involves PMing the responsible moderator. It might also be reasonable to assume that Moderators can "assign" development of an idea to a forum member for clean up prior to posting in the good oil. Im sure there will be volunteers....and of course Ron, you can proof read my crappy typing.

There are some good examples in this area, but there are some very poor ones. I completely understand a newb asking a question if after three or so attempts at search, they dont get what they want. I for one, will always give them a quick answer, and then perhaps drawing on my knowledge, give them some search criteria that will work.

On the whole...I call myself a car nut. I have been on various dirt bike, car, and 4wd forums for about 15 yrs. This one, by far, embodies what a forum should be about. A community. And this one contains a higher ratio of knowledgable, and helful people than any other forum I have participated in. Yes, we have some post whores, and yes, we have some who are perhaps talking beyond their capability.....but gees this place is good. Thats why newbs come here, thats why they ask "us" for advice.

[abaddonxi]

<snip>

What I am about to suggest is a lot of work. All of the Good Oil info needs to be catalogued in such a way that info is easily found. This might mean a table or matrix showing which thread is elevant to your vehicle type and problem, (via hyperlink?), or it might mean just retitling all of the posts so that it reflects its content. It might mean breaking up these posts into multiple posts. Each of these threads needs to have "search words" added. For example, a thread on where and how to do hood linings would have a post which contained "hoodlining, hood lining, rooflining, roof lining, roofliner, roof liner etc". There then needs to be some way to identify to the moderators that a "gem" has indeed been discovered during a particular discussion, and should be added to the good oil or relevant section. Currently, that involves a "shout out" and then hoping it gets picked up.. Perhaps there is a way to "quote" the text and identify it on a jobs list for the moderators? This might be a "function" of the tool, or perhaps just an agreed process that involves PMing the responsible moderator. It might also be reasonable to assume that Moderators can "assign" development of an idea to a forum member for clean up prior to posting in the good oil. Im sure there will be volunteers....and of course Ron, you can proof read my crappy typing.

<snip>

First off, if anyone thinks a post is worth adding to The Good Oil, press the report button at the top right of the thread - https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/09/127.jpg - and add text to suggest it gets added to The Good Oil. Or send a PM with a link and a suggested thread to add it to or suggest a thread title for a new thread.

The Good Oil is maintained by moderators - but Pedro and I don't actually read every thread anymore so suggestions and help are always welcome.

Some links in Good Oil go direct to the relevant post - there is a permalink option at the top right of each post. Most links go to a whole thread. It's a fine line. Often threads have several relevant posts. The rule I try to follow is if there is only a single relevant post, permalink to it only. If there are several good posts, link to the whole thread.

Every new thread has the option of adding keywords or tags to it. Use it. I edited many of the Good Oil threads when Inc. added the tagging option - for just this reason.

Other than tagging it is almost impossible to add all the relevant keywords to a thread title without making it confusing, cryptic, or just too long. Last time I reorganised The Good Oil I made compendium threads - Brakes, Diffs, etc.

I also looked at all of the threads in Good Oil and made any thread with more than 2000 hits sticky, so that the most referenced threads are on the first page.

There are only so much time that any moderator can dedicate to this kind of stuff. If anyone has a suggestion, suggest it.;)

Cheers
Simon

[Hamish71]

If anyone has a suggestion, suggest it.;)



I did :)

And I just learnt something...actually,a couple of things.....what the "report" icon actually is/does.....and the use of the keywords part of a new post (cant do it if not the OP though can you?)....but still to work out what the perma link thingy does.

[one_iota]

Firstly (for the debate):

Do we need a wiki? I'll restate what I said earlier:


.......
This place might be a great resource but it isn't meant to be Wikipedia...it's as much if not more about interaction and sharing ideas as about being a repository of knowledge.


The resources, hardware, software and wetware (people) required to impose the discipline that a wikipedia type setup requires would be horrendous.

Even without a wikipedia setup we would have to establish a Technical Committee (currently a two mod show) to classify verify and edit every post of a technical nature. Then that information would need to be checked regularly for currency. :eek:

Secondly:

Spelling.

None of us is perfect when it comes to spelling or typing (not even Ron :o). That is why the https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/03/1319.jpg in the Reply to Thread page is there....to check the spelling and offer suggestions for correction. Not fool proof but useful.

[trobbo]

I generally find search easy enough but then I have also been around here for a while. I will also often search in my specific section only but then get frustrated as others say having to wait a minute when my search fails


G,day guys Im in the same boat. Ive tryed searching to find some thing that mite help me fit 35s under my disco1 like what i need to do to get them to fit BIG THANKS ;)

Members rides are often a good source of information on modifications. Its about people who have been there and done that.

here is my D1 under which I could run 35's. Sorry I dont have pics of the doors/guards getting cut. You get instructions with the flares for that.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/members-rides/52756-subtle-disco-1-a.html

BTW putting a 4 door rrc on 35's and a 4 door D1 is the same process except in some cases you need a RRC steering shaft on the D1 as it is a little longer.