Searching in the forum

[Roderick Smith]

I really do like the look and the power of the new php software.  Eddy has put in a lot of time to make the change a success, and of benefit for all members.

I am very much a research person, so I have concentrated on that aspect of the new version.
Today I modified an old post of mine (PV Betsy, in the lengthy APAM lopm thread), and hinted that others could get there using a search.

Some tips:
The search function works on key words, so these must be in the text of the message or the file name of a photo.
The search itself will bring up a message, but not any photo attached to that message.
The key step now is to note the forum/thread and date when that message was posted.

Now go back to that thread.
If it spreads over lots of pages, it will give you a choice such as 1, 2, 3...15, 16.
The new feature is that, clicking on the dots, it gives you the choice of any page.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
Pick a page half way.
The message which you want might be on that page, or might be older, or might be more recent (that is why you took note of the date).
If it isn't on this page, you now know whether to go half way back, or half way forward.
Keep going by halving until you have hit the right page.

This is a surprisingly quick and effective method, even for threads with a vast number of pages.
In computer jargon it is called 'half-interval search' or 'binary chop'; I taught it to secondary students as the 'Goldilocks method': this one is too long, this one is too short, this one is just right.

It is an overkill for threads with no more than four pages: you may just as well go through the lot.

I do invite you to try the technique on the photo which I posted today to APAM, showing PV Betsy.  Then you will have the technique and the skill for any other search which you wish to make in future.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Eddy Matthews]

Thanks for taking the time to write the tutorial Roderick, greatly appreciated!

[steamboatmodel]

Hi Roderick,
I love you renaming of Chopping to Goldilocks.
"In computer jargon it is called 'half-interval search' or 'binary chop'; I taught it to secondary students as the 'Goldilocks method': this one is too long, this one is too short, this one is just right."
Regards,
Gerald

[Roderick Smith]

Improvements seem to be appearing by the hour.
In all of today's searching, the thumbnails do appear with the message, hence saving a lot of time.
I was updating my Paradise Queen post to show the removal of the fake sternwheel.  Searching on Paradise Queen brought up lots of red herrings, but searching on Paradise Queen Yarrawonga narrowed the field.
Having done that update, I did a quick search across the whole forum on Oscar W: lots of red herrings.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor