Steve'sDigicams

TCav · Nov 3, 2009, 12:53 PM

In the Member Profile, there's a tab labeled About Me. It has a number of categories for the member to enter information about him or herself. I think it would be most helpful if one of the categories was a place for the member to enter the camera gear they have. Among the many benefits, this could keep people from listing their gear in their signature, which spoils the search capability in these forums.

JimC · Nov 3, 2009, 1:05 PM

AFAIK, information in the Signature is already excluded from forum search features. So, including gear there shouldn't be an issue. If you see otherwise, let me know and I'll dig into it further.

TCav · Nov 3, 2009, 2:07 PM

I just added a line to my signature that read "Nikon D95, Nikkor 105mm f/1.2" and searched for those in any combination. I couldn't find anything. Then I just searched for a line in my regular signature: "The lens is the thing." I got several hits, all from my signature.

Maybe you've got something blocking equipment searches in the signatures, but other searches seem to search the signatures just fine, so I don't know how blocking equipment serches in signatures could work.

JimC · Nov 4, 2009, 5:43 AM

I think you're just seeing the search engine find some of those words in other sections of posts (and many common/shorter words are ignored). If you look at your search results with something like Firefox, you'll see the words that matched your search highlighted in the posts found. I think you'll find that the signature is being excluded. The signature isn't part of the post text (it's just displayed at the time someone is viewing a post, and is taken from the poster's profile).

TCav · Nov 4, 2009, 8:47 AM

When I search for "The lens is the thing", in most of the hits, I see The lens is the thing followed immediately by "'Full Frame' is the new 'Medium Format'". Some of the hits are of the individual words, but most are of the exact phrase of the first line of my signature followed by the exact phrase of the second line of my signature.

Try it.

JimC · Nov 4, 2009, 8:55 AM

I did try it. I don't see any matches on your signature. Now, I do see some matches where you used those phrases in the post text. For example, one of your posts on this page used the phrase Full Frame is the new Medium Format

Crystal ball on 4/3 and M4/3 formats

But, it matched it due to post text versus text in your signature line. IOW, you were appending that text to some of your posts before you started using it in your Signature.

JimC · Nov 4, 2009, 9:00 AM

Note that when you make a search, the search ID is temporarily stored. So, you can copy and paste the link from your search results. Do that, and I'll be happy to look to see if you're finding some kind of exception. But, from my tests, it looks like the signature is being excluded from search results (which makes sense, since the searches are looking at post text, not the signature which is separate from the text stored for the posts).

TCav · Nov 4, 2009, 9:50 AM

lens - Page 2 - Steve's Digicams Forums

Camera body Image Stabilization vs. Lens Image Stablilization ...

lens - Steve's Digicams Forums

Five Star 500mm lens - Steve's Digicams Forums

Need macro lens help for the T1i - Steve's Digicams Forums

Canon lens help needed - Steve's Digicams Forums

So, what am I doing wrong?

JimC · Nov 4, 2009, 9:55 AM

Click on one of the search results, and I think you'll find highlighted words in post text being matched, versus text in your signature. Again, if you want to copy and post a link from search results, I'll take a look at it for any kind of exception you may be finding. But, from what I can determine, text in the signature line is being excluded from searches.

TCav · Nov 4, 2009, 9:56 AM

This is copied straight from the results page:

lens - Steve's Digicams Forums
what would be a good price to pay for this lens... from sony Click image to enlarge Sony ... The lens is the thing. 'Full Frame' is the new 'Medium Format'. ...
forums.steves-digicams.com
forums.steves-digicams.com/sony-alpha-dslr-konica-minolta-dslr/159422-lens.html
clipped from Google - 11/2009
Five Star 500mm lens - Steve's Digicams Forums
My father purchased a Five Star 500mm lens at a garage sale for $5 today. ... The lens is the thing. 'Full Frame' is the new 'Medium Format'. ...
forums.steves-digicams.com
forums.steves-digicams.com/add-lenses/157770-five-star-500mm-lens.html
clipped from Google - 11/2009

Lens cleaning - Steve's Digicams Forums
Special lens cleaning cloths are the ideal thing of course but even toilet paper or Kleenex is OK too but might leave some lint behind. ...
forums.steves-digicams.com
forums.steves-digicams.com/general-q/157067-lens-cleaning.html
clipped from Google - 11/2009

Note the "clipped from Google - 11/2009"

It seems to me that you're using Google as your search engine, and I don't know how Google could distinguish between post text and signatures.

Nov 3, 2009, 12:53 PM	#1
TCav Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Washington, DC, Metro Area, Maryland Posts: 6,694	List Gear in Member Profile In the Member Profile, there's a tab labeled About Me. It has a number of categories for the member to enter information about him or herself. I think it would be most helpful if one of the categories was a place for the member to enter the camera gear they have. Among the many benefits, this could keep people from listing their gear in their signature, which spoils the search capability in these forums. __________________ The lens is the thing. 'Full Frame' is the new 'Medium Format'.

Nov 3, 2009, 2:07 PM	#3
TCav Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Washington, DC, Metro Area, Maryland Posts: 6,694	I just added a line to my signature that read "Nikon D95, Nikkor 105mm f/1.2" and searched for those in any combination. I couldn't find anything. Then I just searched for a line in my regular signature: "The lens is the thing." I got several hits, all from my signature. Maybe you've got something blocking equipment searches in the signatures, but other searches seem to search the signatures just fine, so I don't know how blocking equipment serches in signatures could work. __________________ The lens is the thing. 'Full Frame' is the new 'Medium Format'.

Nov 4, 2009, 8:47 AM	#5
TCav Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Washington, DC, Metro Area, Maryland Posts: 6,694	When I search for "The lens is the thing", in most of the hits, I see The lens is the thing followed immediately by "'Full Frame' is the new 'Medium Format'". Some of the hits are of the individual words, but most are of the exact phrase of the first line of my signature followed by the exact phrase of the second line of my signature. Try it. __________________ The lens is the thing. 'Full Frame' is the new 'Medium Format'.

Nov 4, 2009, 9:50 AM	#8
TCav Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Washington, DC, Metro Area, Maryland Posts: 6,694	lens - Page 2 - Steve's Digicams Forums Camera body Image Stabilization vs. Lens Image Stablilization ... lens - Steve's Digicams Forums Five Star 500mm lens - Steve's Digicams Forums Need macro lens help for the T1i - Steve's Digicams Forums Canon lens help needed - Steve's Digicams Forums So, what am I doing wrong? Attached Images __________________ The lens is the thing. 'Full Frame' is the new 'Medium Format'.

Nov 4, 2009, 9:56 AM	#10
TCav Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Washington, DC, Metro Area, Maryland Posts: 6,694	This is copied straight from the results page: lens - Steve's Digicams Forums what would be a good price to pay for this lens... from sony Click image to enlarge Sony ... The lens is the thing. 'Full Frame' is the new 'Medium Format'. ... forums.steves-digicams.com forums.steves-digicams.com/sony-alpha-dslr-konica-minolta-dslr/159422-lens.html clipped from Google - 11/2009 Five Star 500mm lens - Steve's Digicams Forums My father purchased a Five Star 500mm lens at a garage sale for $5 today. ... The lens is the thing. 'Full Frame' is the new 'Medium Format'. ... forums.steves-digicams.com forums.steves-digicams.com/add-lenses/157770-five-star-500mm-lens.html clipped from Google - 11/2009 Lens cleaning - Steve's Digicams Forums Special lens cleaning cloths are the ideal thing of course but even toilet paper or Kleenex is OK too but might leave some lint behind. ... forums.steves-digicams.com forums.steves-digicams.com/general-q/157067-lens-cleaning.html clipped from Google - 11/2009 Note the "clipped from Google - 11/2009" It seems to me that you're using Google as your search engine, and I don't know how Google could distinguish between post text and signatures. __________________ The lens is the thing. 'Full Frame' is the new 'Medium Format'.

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Nov 3, 2009, 1:05 PM	#2
JimC Administrator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Savannah, GA (USA) Posts: 16,563	AFAIK, information in the Signature is already excluded from forum search features. So, including gear there shouldn't be an issue. If you see otherwise, let me know and I'll dig into it further.

Nov 4, 2009, 5:43 AM	#4
JimC Administrator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Savannah, GA (USA) Posts: 16,563	I think you're just seeing the search engine find some of those words in other sections of posts (and many common/shorter words are ignored). If you look at your search results with something like Firefox, you'll see the words that matched your search highlighted in the posts found. I think you'll find that the signature is being excluded. The signature isn't part of the post text (it's just displayed at the time someone is viewing a post, and is taken from the poster's profile).

Nov 4, 2009, 8:55 AM	#6
JimC Administrator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Savannah, GA (USA) Posts: 16,563	I did try it. I don't see any matches on your signature. Now, I do see some matches where you used those phrases in the post text. For example, one of your posts on this page used the phrase Full Frame is the new Medium Format Crystal ball on 4/3 and M4/3 formats But, it matched it due to post text versus text in your signature line. IOW, you were appending that text to some of your posts before you started using it in your Signature.

Nov 4, 2009, 9:00 AM	#7
JimC Administrator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Savannah, GA (USA) Posts: 16,563	Note that when you make a search, the search ID is temporarily stored. So, you can copy and paste the link from your search results. Do that, and I'll be happy to look to see if you're finding some kind of exception. But, from my tests, it looks like the signature is being excluded from search results (which makes sense, since the searches are looking at post text, not the signature which is separate from the text stored for the posts).

Nov 4, 2009, 9:55 AM	#9
JimC Administrator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Savannah, GA (USA) Posts: 16,563	Click on one of the search results, and I think you'll find highlighted words in post text being matched, versus text in your signature. Again, if you want to copy and post a link from search results, I'll take a look at it for any kind of exception you may be finding. But, from what I can determine, text in the signature line is being excluded from searches.

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