Site Update April 2013

[AB Editor]

Afternoon all,

Some changes coming up, we'll probably be down for an hour at 9pm.

1. Search pagination, improved look including the original poster and a "last by" link.

2. Additionally we've added a relevancy score on searches and related question. We plan to make both better, but we thought the information was interesting enough to display for now (if a bit wonky)

3. Fixed the lifetime service badge being incorrectly awarded bug, the long titles effect layout bug, and the long link issues on
http://m.theanswerbank.co.uk/

4. We're updating the badges and best answers code, and Best answer and badges should tally correctly after the update.

5. We've fixed some ad positioning issues and begun to change the language from "register" to "sign up"

All the best,

Ed

[AB Editor]

"If I search for my username I now given 788 questions"
Before you would have got 50 and 50 only.

"dating from 24 Dec 2010 to 4 Sep 2012 (why that date range?)"
Because you signed up in 2010? There's not much chance of anyone talking about you before then? There are questions from 2013 in there.

"the earliest on the first page, whereas before this latest change it used to give me my latest question at the top or that 1st page with the rest in reverse chronological order."
In the SEARCH? Are you absolutely sure? Because we haven't actually changed the function behind the search - we've just displayed new information about the the quality of the "match".

"Answers are now similarly messed up, in an almost random order, and none after 2011."
Again, are you sure you're not thinking of your profile? Here: http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/user/stats.php ?

[AB Editor]

"I don't like the new search results either. The whole point in it (for me anyway) is totally defunct now."

Why? What was "the point" to you?

[AB Editor]

"Ed, I am still getting only 8 'web search' for every thing searched."

We're not playing that game any more :) We've accepted it as a bug for the time being!

[dollie65]

if it aint broke dont fix it!!!!

[AB Editor]

"Just tried using the search box for an Inspector Morse query, the first two posts that popped up were from 2001 then 2005, so that now appears to be a waste of time!"

Why? The search isn't "give you the newest thing about this subject" - it's about matching a keyword to the content in the hope that it's what you want.

Did you use the search before?

[AB Editor]

dollie65 - it was broken.

[ttfn]

Morning Ed. I noticed last night that some members have lost from their profile their number of Q's and A's. I can remember 2 of them - Caran and shaneystar2 (there were others but I am getting old).

[Baldric]

Ed, I typed in 'Morse Crossword' looking for a thread that's 2 days old, the replies that came up seem to be in order of the %match figure rather than Date order, starting with 100% and decreasing, and not giving the thread I wanted, not good

[AB Editor]

"I noticed last night that some members have lost from their profile their number of Q's and A's. I can remember 2 of them - Caran and shaneystar2 (there were others but I am getting old)."

Looks in order to me?:

www.theanswerbank.co.uk/members/caran

[AB Editor]

"Ed, I typed in 'Morse Crossword' looking for a thread that's 2 days old, the replies that came up seem to be in order of the %match figure rather than Date order, starting with 100% and decreasing, and not giving the thread I wanted, not good"

Do you regularly use the search to find queries of that type? Because we haven't changed how the results are actually returned... we've just added the "match" score.

[ttfn]

That is weird, Ed! I checked both of those immediately prior to posting in here - I am not *that* bloody old ;)

[dannyk13]

Still showing 10 years membership badge which I am not entitled to.

[Baldric]

Yes Ed, I use it all the time, you won't see many Xword questions in my history because of that. The replies used to come up 'latest first' which was useful as it was usually today or yesterdays xword I was after, not something a year or three old,

[factor-fiction]

I agree with Ed that the number of Qs and As still seems to work on profiles.
Regarding the reply to baldric's query on search results, the search results used to be in some form of date order (not sure if it was question date or last reply date), but I'm wondering whether the primary sort criterion now is % match then date, so a 100% score on a 5 year old post will appear above a 99% score on an answer from yesterday

[AB Editor]

dannyk13 - thanks, I'll get the noose.

[bibblebub]

I must be using the pleb version of Search because it's rubbish e.g there's a crossword titled 'Beelzebub' and I want to find recent questions about it so I do a search and what is the result? page 1 of the found questions is a mixed set from 2003 to 2012 and, in fact, not 1 question out of those 170 is from 2013 - yet here's one from last weekend http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Quizzes-and-Puzzles/Crosswords/Question1232036.html - it's just a useless set of search results.

[Baldric]

Exactly what I'm saying factor.

[sara3]

Ed, can I get you a coffee?

[AB Editor]

"Yes Ed, I use it all the time, you won't see many Xword questions in my history because of that. The replies used to come up 'latest first' which was useful as it was usually today or yesterdays xword I was after, not something a year or three old,"

&

"Regarding the reply to baldric's query on search results, the search results used to be in some form of date order (not sure if it was question date or last reply date), but I'm wondering whether the primary sort criterion now is % match then date, so a 100% score on a 5 year old post will appear above a 99% score on an answer from yesterday"

Thank you both. I will investigate. I can categorically state that there was NO request to change how the search results were produced, but instead just adding the extra info.

I'll get back to everyone when I know, should be this afternoon.

[mazie]

And..... I'll make you some toast ;o)