Hi Linda,

Hmmm... I searched for "re" and got 20,440 results. There is now close to
50,000 messages in the archives. My problem has been the opposite. I get
way too many results and need to use 2,3 or 4 keywords to zoom in on the
information I want.

The search engine searches and indexes all keywords in both the subject
line and the body of the message. The words in the subject line are
weighted 5 times more than words in the body, so if your search term is in
a subject line, it should show up first.

I am also in the process of deleting the index pages (i.e. Aug02.html) from
the search results so that only the individual messages are returned in the
results. You can still access the index pages through the links on the main
Histonet page.

Note: The search engine only runs once a month at the end of the month, so
if you are searching for messages in the current month, you must look
through the current index page.

Let me know what search terms you are looking for and not getting and I
will look into it for you. If a keyword you search for is in one of those
50,000 messages, it should show up in the results.

And, yes, accurate keywords in the subject line make finding information in
the archives much easier.

Best Regards,

Marvin

PS - Searching for the word "unsuscribe" shows 110 results. ;o)


>Susan,
>         You may be new to the HistoNet but you are one "sharp cookie" when
>it comes to discovering a serious problem with the HistoNet users.  It
>would appear the archives are practically useless if one doesn't have a
>photographic memory.  Just out of curiosity, I went to the archives and put
>in the word "RE:" (i.e.,  as in RE: to a message) and found 919
>entries!!!  If Marvin Hanna is  listening, it would be nice to have a
>mini-tutorial on subject lines.  Does the archive pick up key words or just
>the first few letters of the subject line? Should we remove the "RE:" from
>the subject line?  I have been exceedingly frustrated by putting in a
>specific search topic and being told there are zero entries when I KNOW
>this subject was discussed ad nauseam on the HistoNet.
>         Thanks for bringing up this "Subject" (pun intended)!
>         Linda
>
>Linda Jenkins, HT
>Clemson University
>Dept. of Bioengineering
>Clemson, SC 29634-0905
>864.656.5553
>http://www.eng.clemson.edu/bio/research/histo/histo.html