Advanced Blog Search
November 12, 2008 – 10:57 pmI’ve upgraded the search box on the homepage. It now searches the complete database of posts indexed by RSS. It accepts boolean logic, so that, while simply typing ‘Barack Obama’ would find all posts with either ‘Barack’ or ‘Obama’ in them, you can refine your results by adding search modifiers.
For instance, +Barack +Obama will only return results that contain both ‘Barack’ and ‘Obama’. Searching for “Barack Obama” (note quotes) will find posts where those two words appear together. Alternately, you can use ‘-’ in front of a keyword to show posts that explicitly do not have a particular keyword. For instance ‘+Barack +Obama -Hussein’.
Now, because a number of the posts are indexed with their entire HTML content, this can lead to finding keywords within markup tags - such as an image with an alt or title tag of - to extend the example further - Barack Obama. This might seem confusing if you read a post and don’t see the keywords you typed anywhere in there. They’re there, just you might have to view the source code to see them.
To refine your results even more, click on the [+] character to the right of the search box. You’ll have the option of limiting your results to a particular date range, blog, or range of blogs (hold the ctrl key while clicking to select multiple blogs).
To avoid breaking the previous / next navigation links at the bottom, your search information is stored as session data. To clear your results and see the regular home page again, just click the ‘Clear Results’ button that will appear next to the search box.
This was a rather significant bit of development, so feedback is appreciated.
One Response to “Advanced Blog Search”
The edited version of my letter of July 4th, printed in the DNR on July 14th did not adequately represent my intent thus I am posting the full letter which follows:
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After our government’s sending our young men and women into combat without providing sufficient state-of-the-art medical care for them when they returned! After accomplishing two brilliant conquests of far-away lands yet for lack of plans for a long and arduous occupation, putting our troops and their civilians at high risk for years! After condoning torture even when there was not ticking-bomb scenario! After invading our privacy without explaining to us what was being done and why it was necessary! After reducing safety and environmental regulations to the profit of corporations and with children, workers, and the poor paying the highest costs:
How refreshing it was to read the words on your editorial page (July 3, 2009): “…when ever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to Institute new Government….But when a long train of abuses and usurpation…evinces a design…it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government….” (Emphasis mine.)
We have two things to be thankful for: One, our form of government has so far allowed us to avoid “absolute despotism” (my omission from the quote above). Two, we have revised in part our course by the ballot box and not yet needed armed insurrection. Except for the Presidential election in 2000 and one arguable Senate vote in 2008, the latter resolved legally after eight months of close examination by the courts, the political parties and the people, the vote of the majority has determined power. We hope it is not too little and too late!
Kent D. Smith
By Kent D. Smith on Jul 21, 2009