PLEASE USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION BEFORE STARTING NEW THREADS

[Rock-climby-Dave]

PLEASE USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION BEFORE STARTING A NEW THREAD.

A simple search is found in the top right of the page, below your user control panel. An advanced search function is found by clicking the gear button next to (far right side) it. Alternatively, click on ANY of this text, I've helpfully made it all a nice hyperlink to the advanced function page.

[proffrink]

Please get Devastator to reduce the search query character length minimum to 3 rather than 4. Will clear up a lot of issues.

[djben9]

unless ive misread, I typed in G36 and found nothing, G36c and 26 pages

 

time to have a read

[proffrink]

I missed a trick by not opening a new thread to ask if we could have the search character limit reduced. Ya win some ya lose some I guess.

[Rock-climby-Dave]

'Proffink, 0 warning points'

Yeah, I guess you missed a trick. also would have been a good laugh to add some to the big fat 0 you have there

[Sacarathe]

I missed a trick by not opening a new thread to ask if we could have the search character limit reduced. Ya win some ya lose some I guess.

 

Not sure you'd have gained much, devastator hasn't been on for 40 days. Sucks.

[proffrink]

'Proffink, 0 waning points'

 

Yeah, I guess you missed a trick. also would have been a good laugh to add some to the big fat 0 you have there

What can I trade my points in for?

[Rock-climby-Dave]

Timeouts and IP Bans!

[proffrink]

Na, I'll just take the yo-yo.

[Sacarathe]

I feel like a bigger problem is all the threads with titles like:

 

 

Need recommendation, which is best?, help, what do you think?, where can I play (but not saying near where).

 

And all the threads in general discussion which could EASILY be categorised. I've almost stopped opening threads with sh*t titles.

 

EDIT:

 

And people who open a new thread on a subject related to a thread from the same day, which is too personalised to deserve a separate discussion.

[proffrink]

Well, there's really no solution to that unfortunately.

[ImTriggerHappy]

Well, there's really no solution to that unfortunately.

Babysitting section?

 

Really want to play airsoft but to stupid to use google section?

 

Never going to play but want to waste your time asking stupid questions section?

 

Please help I am idiot who cant do anything for myself section?

 

What model combat machine goes best with a sheep outfit section?

[Sacarathe]

Well, there's really no solution to that unfortunately.

 

Im glad i'm not a moderator, i'd fix all those threads in no time with new titles after the existing title with square brackets. TBH mods should do this just to keep up appearances for casual visitors and new visitors not yet signed up, to keep a good impression.

[Rock-climby-Dave]

TBH mods should do this just to keep up appearances for casual visitors and new visitors not yet signed up, to keep a good impression.

 

TBH we can't really do that:

We do this voluntarily.

We all have full time jobs, other commitments, health issues, kids etc to deal with just like the rest of you. We like to participate in the community when we can and try to avoid becoming power crazed and aloof like mods on other forums do. Sadly for us to participate we need to moderate first.

Changing a topic title takes maybe a minute per topic. times this by however many threads we get a day that are nonsense titles and we suddenly can't participate in the community as our time is all gone.

 

We would end up with 5 threads a day titled 'tell me to buy a combat machine'

 

This is already a guideline on our rules page. http://www.airsoft-forums.co.uk/index.php/topic/2-rules/

[Jedi_Master]

Hersey, but maybe you need some guest Mods who could tidy up the forum a little. Share out the burden. Not me, I am too pedantic and possibly a grammar N**I (I cry whenever I see the English language so badly used and abused by some of our members, and I am not kid friendly).

[Sacarathe]

 

TBH we can't really do that:

We do this voluntarily.

We all have full time jobs, other commitments, health issues, kids etc to deal with just like the rest of you. We like to participate in the community when we can and try to avoid becoming power crazed and aloof like mods on other forums do. Sadly for us to participate we need to moderate first.

Changing a topic title takes maybe a minute per topic. times this by however many threads we get a day that are nonsense titles and we suddenly can't participate in the community as our time is all gone.

 

We would end up with 5 threads a day titled 'tell me to buy a combat machine'

 

This is already a guideline on our rules page. http://www.airsoft-forums.co.uk/index.php/topic/2-rules/

 

I'm sorry if my tone went a bit awry. I was speaking generally, and did not intend a slight against the moderators here. While I am willing to do that, i'm not going to offer, because even if it was what people wanted, the scope for erroneous perception is too high, that is to say, just because I am willing, does not mean I am suitable. But just because someone is willing, does not mean those already in a position to do something 'should (have to)' - as I said, do it.

 

That said, much like a wiki (spending time for the benefit of others), spending time editing the topics with unclear titles, decreases search times, both for people browsing the sub forums, SEO, and new content surfers, it makes content easier to find, and inevitably leads to threads being moved to more appropriate areas. I might not be a moderator, and you might not have the time. But I can assure you there will be someone who does have the time, and is willing to do it - if a need exists.

 

This place is a mess, a very polite mess with non arbitrary light touch moderators, but a mess (outside the scope of typical moderator duties), though. Anyhoo, that's enough on this subject, I let devastator know what I think a month ago, and i will let him respond.

[djben9]

 

TBH we can't really do that:

We do this voluntarily.

We all have full time jobs, other commitments, health issues, kids etc to deal with just like the rest of you. We like to participate in the community when we can and try to avoid becoming power crazed and aloof like mods on other forums do. Sadly for us to participate we need to moderate first.

Changing a topic title takes maybe a minute per topic. times this by however many threads we get a day that are nonsense titles and we suddenly can't participate in the community as our time is all gone.

 

We would end up with 5 threads a day titled 'tell me to buy a combat machine'

 

This is already a guideline on our rules page. http://www.airsoft-forums.co.uk/index.php/topic/2-rules/

 

totally understand that, I used to be a moderator on another forum from the start, good fun and was enjoyable, but due to lack of interest in hobby and due to work, redundancy x 3, money, life and children really, I had to give up.

 

Its a job you can only do when you have the time logged on and you also want to participate as well so can be difficult, luckily I could do a lot at the time and at work

 

What we did do was enrol forum helpers, so not so much of the big stuff but more of directing people, moving the odd topic and changing titles etc, merging similar topics into one to stop the double or triple topics, deleting duplicates, removing picrures from quoted replies and pointless one word posts etc....

 

what they didn't have was the power to block IPs and ban people etc, that was always done to the mods or admin

 

 

EDIT:

** remove pictures from posted replies added!

[Michael218]

unless ive misread, I typed in G36 and found nothing, G36c and 26 pages

[Jedi_Master]

The search function only works on a minimum 4 character limit. Therefore MP5, 416, HPA etc will not be found but MP5K, HK416, High will be. Frustrating, and several of us have requested a new search limit of 3 characters. In the meantime you need to search wider or with different terms.

[Sitting Duck]

there is always the option of refined search via googley woogley:

 

eg: "mp5 AF-UK"

 

brings up a small listy poohs....

 

then click on: more results from www.airsoft-forums.co.uk

(there is a little bit in invisible ink that says - ya feckin' noob that still hasn't gone onto solids just yet)

 

Alas as saying goes:

 

Make something completely idiot proof

and life makes a better idiot

 

but yup the search feature on here is a bit of pot luck - even looking for some of my epic war n peace novels it has been hit n miss

googley woogley is my friend - sometimes I think my only friend....

but annoys me that google must be female and often tries to finish my sentence/search criteria for me - what a bossy bitch

(I have one at home just like that already thanks)

[proffrink]

Or use the Google Search syntax to do this:

 

tm mp5 site:airsoft-forums.co.uk

 

Then you'll only get results from here.

[Jedi_Master]

Now that we have the wildcard * (astericks) to fill in missing character(s) there should be no excuse not to find "mp5*" or "hpa*"

 

Edit: initial enthusiam deflated on realising that this will not work for only 3 characters

Edited January 4, 2016 by Jedi_Master

[proffrink]

Unfortunately wildcards aren't the solution because - and correct me if I'm wrong but this is my understanding - they can't be a nil value (i.e. a 'space'), so if I put in 'mp5*', I would still only get results 4 characters long but it could return results like 'mp54' or 'mp5a' but not just regular old 'mp5'.

 

This makes sense in the context of IPB and vB and other board software because they don't want you circumventing the '4 character search limit' by using wildcards as a three letter query can return literally thousands of results (and puts a huge strain on databases if many users are doing this). That's the very reason the 4 character limit exists in the first place - to keep search results to a manageable amount.

 

Sorry

[Jedi_Master]

Yes, you are correct, I just tried a search on HPA and it only gave about 8 results because the post had HPAs, etc. So the * is not a blank after all, and we are back to the original issue.

[proffrink]

It's a bummer but it makes sense - why build in a default 4 character minimum then allow people to circumvent this with wildcards, heh.