please please PLEASE fix searches!

[Blaine0002]

somone recently referred me to a 'RPG Integration Hack v3.5.1 Patch Level 2' in one of my threads asking if they integrate, so i figure i would check it out, so i paste it in the search box.

Error: you cant have anything less than 3 characters in your search
or something of the sort

i narrow it down a bit and enter Integration Hack v3.5.1 Patch Level

Lo and behold, i get 20 pages of results, and not one on the first page has anything to do with rpgs or integrations :P

This is just an example, i have had many a problem with the search system on vb.org and its really becoming a pain to find anything

[Wayne Luke]

Searches aren't really broke, they just have a 4 character minimum limit. The admins here can't change it either as all the vBulletin servers would have to be taken off line for quite some time to change it. It could actually take several days to change all the databases and the sites would have to be completely offline during that time. This means no vb.org, vbulletin-germany.com or vbulletin.com. No sales or support either during that time. Not something we're willing to undertake at this time.

[Paul M]

Pretty much as Wayne says.

There is nothing broken to fix - I really don't understand why people think the search here is any different to anywhere else - it isn't - it's the standard vbulletin/mysql full text search used by thousands of other vb forums.

Even the mysql 4 character limit is the same as almost all installations, as that is the mysql default - and almost no one ever changes it.

[Blaine0002]

Its not even the limit, i was only using that rpg thing as an example, its hard to search for exactly what your looking for and find it without wading through many pages of search results.
is there not an options of rebuilding search index?

[Freesteyelz]

An alternative is to search using Google's define. Enter text in Google's search box:

vb.org: RPG Integration Hack v3.5.1 Patch Level 2

The first result will be that of the mod. The search will have no character restrictions and it seems to eliminate most false postives. If anything, I'd like to see an open search box, such as Google, on this site for alternative searches.

[Marco van Herwaarden]

Or use less search words:

Searching for: Integration Hack v3.5.1 Patch Level
Will give you all threads that have somewhere in the posts: Integration OR Hack OR Patch OR level

Try searching for only "Integration" and select to search only thread titles.

[Paul M]

Originally Posted by Blaine0002

is there not an options of rebuilding search index?

No, that option only applies to the old vbulletin search system, most forums these days (inc us) use the mysql search system.

[Dean C]

Always use quotation marks when searching for a phrase such as welcome panel

[Opserty]

site:vbulletin.org "Some mod"

On google, beats a general vBulletin search any day

[nix]

rpg*

2nd result.