Search Disabled

[bluephoenix]

I'm not trying to sound like a monkeys *** on this as I really like this forum...

But why is search always disabled? And if this site earns ad revenue how come there isn't enough money to enhance bandwidth?

I for one would be willing to deal with a couple more ads if it meant I could actually find what I am looking for in the forum.

[beerguy]

"always disabled?"

You've only tried twice in the last 90 days.

[search]

[BigSkyBart]

well, ya see, both times it was, hence "always"

I just had to do that!

[55semireef]

Thats why there is so many threads on this site because no one can ever go back and look up the great threads. Its just a way of having more threads on this site. I one time tried searching at 3:00 A.M. and it said traffic to busy. Who's on in 3 in the morning using the search????

[beerguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9267434#post9267434 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 55semireef
Thats why there is so many threads on this site because no one can ever go back and look up the great threads. Its just a way of having more threads on this site. I one time tried searching at 3:00 A.M. and it said traffic to busy. Who's on in 3 in the morning using the search????

The answer to who's on at 3 in the morning? about 1,000 people. Had you been up at that hour you could have searched based what I'm seeing in the logs.

I realize that our solution isn't perfect and realize that it bothers some folks. I do, however, get annoyed when folks try to vilify us using false statements. The last time you even attempted a search it was November 8th at 9:52 PM EST. You've also never searched at 3AM and you've only ever attempted about 5 searched total. Do you have another user name that I should be aware of?

As for trying to just bump up the number of threads; that's silly. In the link that I posted above it explains why the search engine gets throttled; that's the honest truth. It also contains a link, that we provide, to facilitate Google searching our site. That method, while not perfect, works no matter how busy we are.

FWIW in the last hour there have been 91 successful searches by non-premium members.

Cheers

[55semireef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9267505#post9267505 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by beerguy
The answer to who's on at 3 in the morning? about 1,000 people. Had you been up at that hour you could have searched based what I'm seeing in the logs.

I realize that our solution isn't perfect and realize that it bothers some folks. I do, however, get annoyed when folks try to vilify us using false statements. The last time you even attempted a search it was November 8th at 9:52 PM EST. You've also never searched at 3AM and you've only ever attempted about 5 searched total. Do you have another user name that I should be aware of?

As for trying to just bump up the number of threads; that's silly. In the link that I posted above it explains why the search engine gets throttled; that's the honest truth. It also contains a link, that we provide, to facilitate Google searching our site. That method, while not perfect, works no matter how busy we are.

FWIW in the last hour there have been 91 successful searches by non-premium members.

Cheers

No it wasn't my username, it was my friends and he saved his password on my computer and I was too lazy at the time to sign off at the time. lol. It was 3 in the morning after all.

[dc]

A likely story!

[55semireef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9268134#post9268134 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dc
A likely story!

Should I publish it???

[Anemone]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9268345#post9268345 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 55semireef
Should I publish it???

No, she meant it was a likely story that you actually had a friend!

That's because she's really, really mean.




Kevin

[55semireef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9268568#post9268568 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Anemone
No, she meant it was a likely story that you actually had a friend!

That's because she's really, really mean.




Kevin

Except for the fact she is like one of the nicest mods out there with you completely the opposite


jk

[Anemone]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9269761#post9269761 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 55semireef
Except for the fact she is like one of the nicest mods out there with you completely the opposite


jk

We get points for that, you know?

Kevin

[griss]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9269761#post9269761 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 55semireef
Except for the fact she is like one of the nicest mods out there with you completely the opposite


jk

For the record, Debi (dc) is NOT nice. She's as mean as cat poop.

[dc]

These guys are just jealous!

[twon8]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9270181#post9270181 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by griss
For the record, Debi (dc) is NOT nice. She's as mean as cat poop.

i've never found cat poop to be particularly mean; crunchy, yes.

[sasscuba]

That is one reason why I have not paid for the premium membership......I would be happy to pay more if they could upgrade to a better server. It would cut down on the number of posts and I could search for my answers. My search usually works very rarely and I do search at 3am until 3:30am until site maint. goes down and even then it does not always work.

[DJ88©]

sasscuba,

Did you read the link Beerguy provided? Or just gloss it over?

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=714296

I'll quote some of it for you..

Reef Central currently serves approximately 350,000 unique page views per day; making it one of heaviest trafficked bulletin boards on the Internet.

Members that have been here a long time can recall "the old days" when the board would yield to a high user load by essentially going off line. We resolved the issue by limiting search access when server load was too high to support it.

Since that time, we've gone from having one computer plugged in at an ISP to having a rack full of machines, hosted by an enterprise class provider, on a dedicated fiber connection to the Internet. Advertising dollars and support from users have facilitated that ongoing upgrade path.

This is being run on quite a setup I can assure you. It isn't as simple as adding another or newer server. If it was that simple don't you think it would be done? Actually it has been done. Many times over. At some point it goes beyond just ading another piece of hardware. If the software isn't able to keep up then it doesn't matter how many RACKS of servers you have. It isn't going to make a difference. And if we were to upgrade the software many unique features written into the code for this site would be lost and then you most likely would ask why they were gone... So we are between a rock and a hard place. Complain about the servers or complain about the software. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.....

$24 a year donation.. It's your choice. but if you don't feel that the pennies a day is worth it.. then sorry. I guess we can't keep everyone happy with this FREE site.

Thank you for your input...

[RobbyG]

It always amazes me that people won't spend the $24. I have so many books on Reefkeeping that cost me more than that, and yet they don't even provide 10% of the Info I can get from this forum. I know some will say they can't afford the $24 but jeez if you can't afford that then how the heck are you affording all the expensive stuff that's needed to make a Tank work?

[sasscuba]

It's not a matter of cannot afford it, it is principal. I want the search to work 100% of the time. My other main scuba diving board upgraded and wiped out all the threads and started over and it is a better forum because of it. It eliminated all the same posts and BS. People including myself ask the same question over and over here because the search button works when it wants to. Wiped out every thread and start over I say. Believe me the information and posts will return.

Who is going to search through Threads: 1,027,820, Posts: 9,164,569 anyway?

[beerguy]

Sure it works every time - there's nothing left to search for.

Why didn't I think of that?

[sasscuba]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9272296#post9272296 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by beerguy
Sure it works every time - there's nothing left to search for.

Why didn't I think of that?

[dc]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9272259#post9272259 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sasscuba
People including myself ask the same question over and over here because the search button works when it wants to. Wiped out every thread and start over I say. Believe me the information and posts will return.

Who is going to search through Threads: 1,027,820, Posts: 9,164,569 anyway?

Kind of like this search question. It's kind of like Groundhog Day

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

RC has been moving rather slow lately though i've noticed....no doubt to their ever increasing membership. Still, slow is slow, and people will always complain about slow.
You know, a clean wipe could be good with software upgrade.
If given announcements and schedules, people could save the info they feel they need. Just a thought.

Happy Reefing!

[sasscuba]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9272945#post9272945 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by E-A-G-L-E-S
RC has been moving rather slow lately though i've noticed....no doubt to their ever increasing membership. Still, slow is slow, and people will always complain about slow.
You know, a clean wipe could be good with software upgrade.
If given announcements and schedules, people could save the info they feel they need. Just a thought.

Happy Reefing!

Agreed.

[55semireef]

I love this forum more than any other combined. I am not complaining anymore.

[melev]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9272259#post9272259 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sasscuba
It's not a matter of cannot afford it, it is principal. I want the search to work 100% of the time. My other main scuba diving board upgraded and wiped out all the threads and started over and it is a better forum because of it. It eliminated all the same posts and BS. People including myself ask the same question over and over here because the search button works when it wants to. Wiped out every thread and start over I say. Believe me the information and posts will return.

Who is going to search through Threads: 1,027,820, Posts: 9,164,569 anyway?

That would be me, I guess. I do it quite often, and go back several years sometimes.

While wiping the entire slate clean might be good for you, I tend to disagree. I have 24,000 posts on this site, many of them containing not only answers but photographic evidence to explain my point to the reader. Those that use the search engine benefit from the experience contained in these forums. And I would hate to have my 370+ page tank diary wiped clean from the server, btw.

I've been a Premium Member since the option was made to RC members. The search engine works for me almost all the time. Is it available 100% of the time? No, but I'd say 97% of the time if I had to guess. Fortunately I don't need my answer that very second usually. If I can't find it on RC, I'll use Google or search other message boards as well.

This really isn't about the principle, actually. It is about the money. Everyone loves everything for free, or as free as they can get it. This topic has been rehashed so many times, I'm amazed the staff still have a sense of humor at this point.

Back in 2002-2003, when we had a meager 800 people 'crashing' the RC servers, everyone and I mean everyone (myself included) moaned about how slow the site was and how unbearable it was. I even posted that everyone should send in $1 (36,000 registered members at that time) so we could upgrade some hardware to solve the problem. Then I went to the bottom of the page, clicked on the Donate with Paypal and gave a small sum to RC. The next day I got a thank you note from JohnL, and some time later he told me that in all the years RC had been up, only 68 people had taken the initiative to donate. And this was before there was a Premium plan offering some nice perks.

The site has grown substantially, but has remained free to the public. If anyone wants more out of this site, the option to become a Premium Member is always available.