Lazarus411 on 13/2/2006 at 14:20
This is probably obvious, but I was just wondering. If I do a forum search for something, does the forum record my searches?
David on 13/2/2006 at 14:43
Searches and their results are cached for one hour to improve search engine performance.
Once the hour is up the record is deleted.
Technically what you search for, along with everything else, is stored in the webserver log, but retreiving that data is more trouble than it is worth, as we generate massive amounts of logfiles.
Lazarus411 on 13/2/2006 at 16:22
Ok, thanks.
Mortal Monkey on 13/2/2006 at 16:28
But if you knew the username, couldn't you just... search for the right one?
But on a more serious note, it seems awfully silly to limit searching to once every 20 seconds when using that search cache, as should be the case when you only refine your search.
To give an example: I want to find morrowind sex. I do a search, but quickly realize that I'd want to choose the morrowind subforum. I search again, but this time ony within that forum. I get a message to please wait 7 seconds. gngngngn >:|
David on 13/2/2006 at 18:00
But it is another search! It uses the same resources as the inital search, so you need to wait. After all, 20 seconds is not that long.
Mortal Monkey on 13/2/2006 at 19:03
Well then what's the use of the cache? I could see why someone might want to search for the exact same thing multiple times (i.e. forgetful dromedders), but not within a one-hour demention period.
Unless this cache you're talking about is just the results page you have to store because links don't open in a new window for some or other reason.
David on 13/2/2006 at 19:06
You'd be suprised how often the cache is used. It looks like around 1 in 6 or 7 searches is pulled from the cache.
mopgoblin on 13/2/2006 at 22:18
Quote Posted by David
But it is another search! It uses the same resources as the inital search, so you need to wait.
Even when it's the exact same search (so presumably cached) and no one has posted to that forum in between, it makes you wait. The same search from another account doesn't appear to use the cached result either (it has a different searchid). Is the cache ever actually used?
I seem to remember the forums caching search results for a lot longer than an hour a few years ago. Surely it'd make more sense to cache the results for longer, so any equivalent searches can just search the posts modified since then, and combine with and update the cached result? It'd enable people to link to search result pages, too.
David on 13/2/2006 at 22:31
Until we upgraded to vB 3 the searches were never cached.
Caching is kept to one hour so that cached results actually have quite a high chance of ending up being shown in the correct order.
If you cache longer and then just search for new posts you also have to consider updating things like new posts in cached threads so that ordering (primarily by last post date) is correct, and at that point, and depending on the amount of results for the search, that could end up being just as intensive as repeating the search from scratch.
I would like to see a "Link to this search" um... link on the search page, and it is something I do plan on looking at at some point.
Turtle on 14/2/2006 at 04:55
Quote Posted by Mortal Monkey
I want to find morrowind sex.
I daresay you have bigger things to worry about than waiting 20 seconds to search again.
