What we CAN do about the Yahoo search engine (was: Quantity vs quality)

[nkafkafi]

Pat wrote:

Fantastic idea. I had started a list on paper, but only with the
post numbers, the topic line and the date--didn't think to put the
URL. So, this is one I'm saving, as there are some great links to
ponder.

But making that available and easily accessible is a great idea.


Geoff added in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-Feedback/message/519

<big snip>What I have found useful is to keep my own
archive. Fairly soon after I joined the group 13 months ago, I
realised that the search engine was about as useful as a chocolate
teapot when it came to anything more than about 500 posts back so I
started to save my own posts (which have now reached about 990 in
37000 group posts in that time) and I transfer them into Word files
holding 200 posts.


Neri:

Pat and Geoff, if you and/or any other members create lists of links, 
simply post them here, and we will join them together. The more the 
better, as long as the posts are of good quality and the links are 
indexed and described in a convenient way. 

I'm not sure yet what format for describing the links is the best, 
but any format should probably be:

1. Succinct, so the whole list won't be too long.
2. Well organized into sections.
3. Easy to be searched using any computerized "search" tool.

With this in mind, I describe a link with two lines: first a subject 
line that best summerizes it (not necessarily the original title of 
the thread, since these titles are not always informative), then 
another line of key words that did not make it to the subject line 
itself. This is in order to ensure that running a search for, 
say, "Dolohov", will find you the link:

---------------------------------------
DEs: who, how many, and where are they now?
(Malfoy, Avery, Rockwood, Bellatrix, Dolohov, Azkaban)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/74825
----------------------------------------

Note in this example that I didn't include "DEs" in the key words 
since it already appears in the subject line.

Pasting the URL of the link is very convenient for members who, like 
myself, read posts in the website when they are online. In such a 
case clicking the URL will immediately open the post. However, those 
who read HPfGU by e-mail might find other formats more convenient. 
I'm open to suggestions.

Neri