Searching for tire diameters, or other 2-3 digit items

[Blaze]

Can we change this at all?

It is impossible to search the wheels forum for 17" or 17 or even the parts for sale forum for 350 or SBC.

Two or three character searches can't be done.

I'm lazy.

 

[RenegadeT]

lazy man doenst search...lazy man posts WTB ad

j/k I hear ya, I've been dissed when searching for 33", CJ-7..the list goes on

 

[hobie]

Not sure that we can, but have you tried using the google site: option?

Like "site:www.nc4x4.com/forums 33 for sale"

 

[shawn]

We can't change it.

 

[Blaze]

Well you guys suck.

I do search like that hobie, but like I said - I am lazy.

 

[ScottR]

That stinks. Works great on Pirate.

 

[Yay!Gurrr]

I propose that we raise the dues here then actually PAY Shawn for the work he does.

 

[shawn]

Pirate also runs on a hell of a lot nicer servers than NC4x4, and they also have full-time paid support staff.

Here's the deal with the search thing: we could change it, but it means changing a setting in our database software (mysql) to index smaller words. I think it's set to four characters currently.

Our hosting costs are primarily based on how much ram we need. Mysql is currently our biggest memory hog, and the cause of several recent server upgrades. Decreasing the index word length means additional load on the database and a jump in mysql's ram usage.

In short, we could do it, but performance and cost/benefit is going to suffer.

Finally, let's say we did shorten it to two characters. Then you'd be able to search for "35". But your search for "35" wouldn't return results for "35s" "35's" or "35x12.50".

Don't get me wrong. I'd love to shorten the index length to (at most) three characters. But it's not happening right now.

Hope this helps.

 

[shawn]

The search settings have been changed to allow searches for three-character words. You can search for 454 or cj7 or 35s, but not just "35".

We'll be monitoring the database for performance issues going forward, but the goal is to make this the new baseline and consider moving to two-character searches in the future.