Search isn't very good

[Mele20]

I just searched the "other antivirus" forum for "avira free ads" because I wanted to find the threads here about the ad splash screen when updating. So, why would the search engine say this:
"The following words are either very common, too long, or too short and were not included in your search: ads"

Search, without that word included, found a ton of threads. I was trying to help someone on another forum and the answer is in one or more of the Avira free threads about the ads during updating. Why would search reject that word? It is not "and" "but" or some other non-relevant word. I didn't search for "avira splash screen" because there are more than one splash screen...one on boot and an ad one during updating the free version.

Other times I have searched here search has found what I wanted and I have never gotten that message before. Also, why when I click on "search" in a forum does the small search window immediately default to a full page where I have to manually check what forum I want searched?

I just tried other search terms and I can't find any of the threads. Either I am a terrible searcher or search here isn't very good.

[Mele20]

I did yet another search using "disable antivir splash screen" and that got me what I wanted. The fourth thread in the list has the word "ads" in the title. So, I don't understand why the search engine would not have found that instead of rejecting the word in my first search and omitting it from search. The fourth thread was the one I was looking for (although some of the others are fine too like the newer third thread listed).
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/search.php?searchid=1853994

[Menorcaman]

Hello Mele20,

If not already done, have a read of this previous thread (just 4 threads below yours!) titled Search limitation (http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=187356).

Regards

Menorcaman

[LowWaterMark]

And besides that thread, please note that search results links, like the last line in your second post, are private and are not sharable from member to member. No one else can view the results you get by using your search result links. Those links also expire after about an hour or two, so, the next time you return to the forum and click that link yourself, you'll get no results either.

[Mele20]

I didn't notice that other thread. I'll read it now.

Why are search results not shareable? That makes no sense. If I wanted the results private, I wouldn't share them but if I want to share them why can't I? Is that a limitation of vBulletin software or something you have implemented? Why do the search results expire so fast? That must be a limitation of the software so, I suppose that even if they were shareable there would not be a lot of point in sharing if the results expire in an hour or two. So, in a practical sense it doesn't matter if they are shareable or not. I recalled suddenly, a few minutes ago, that I had done the same thing a few weeks, or a month ago, in posting a link at dslr in a different thread to a search here and it didn't work. But you, or somebody here, told me what to do but I forgot that also ... DUH :D ...vaguely though, I thought I was told there was a way to post a link to a search here and that I was doing it wrong...but I guess my vague recollection is wrong.