Question About the Search Function

My question is related to the search results we get.

It appears to me that the list of search results is not organized by the date of the last post on the searched topic.

So what is the basis? Is it supposed to be relevance?

reply to post by Mary Rose


I have no idea, sorry, but I would like to say that Google Search has an advanced search function, which allows you to choose how the stuff is sorted, that may be a better option than the custom search on site.

reply to post by iamaperson


Can I use it to search this site?

The reason I'm asking is that I need a good way to search before I start a new thread.

reply to post by Mary Rose


Yes, go to advanced search, there is a field "Search within a site or domain:"
Add

www.abovetopsecret.com...

to that box, and that will limit the search to the forums here.


Sorry, the code function does not work properly here...

reply to post by TKDRL


Thank you!!

reply to post by Mary Rose

I agree with iamaperson. I got this tip from another poster which works really well. In its normal search mode you can just begin the search field with site:abovetopsecret.com followed by your search criteria. It lists them in the order you're looking for and you can specify relevant time frames from the left column if needed. The advanced search will give you even greater power if you need it. I've found quite a few difficult to find old threads using Google.

Also, the search function from the upper blue bar in ATS brings up a multi-field search which seems to give you better results than the single field one that's displayed on most pages. A mod suggested that option to me once.

As long as we're on the subject I'll throw in another tip I've learned along the way. Searching for titles, if it's an article you're looking for, is usually useless since different media organizations often use different ones. Searching by specific, distinguishing, keywords will sometimes work just fine for a recent thread to show up within the ATS multi-field search.

There's some options and advise for you. Good luck searching!

reply to post by Three_moons


Thanks! Now I've got some new stuff to try out.

reply to post by Mary Rose

You're welcome. Have fun.

Originally posted by Three_moons
In its normal search mode you can just begin the search field with site:abovetopsecret.com followed by your search criteria. It lists them in the order you're looking for and you can specify relevant time frames from the left column if needed.

Using Google as you describe above, and after getting the search results, using that left column to click on "Latest," is working like a charm for me. Now it's easy to check what's already out there before starting a new thread.

reply to post by Mary Rose

Glad it's working out for you. In my ATS dreamland everyone would be as conscientious as yourself about starting duplicate threads. At least there's some people there.