Donations for a better forum search option

Bard · Post by **Bard** » Mon Nov 09, 2009 5:27 pm

Don't you just HATE the fact that the forum search is so clunky and slow?

Wouldn't you really LOVE to have google index our forums yet somehow avoid all of the automated forum exploits and spambots that being google indexed brings?

Check this out:

Linkie

Obviously, these are VERY expensive (between USD 3000 and USD 10000 for the box based on size. 2 years of support included. Once you have it and have finished the 2 year contract you have a perpetual license), but since we can't donate for forum bans, why not donate for a FAR BETTER FORUM SEARCH?

It's expensive, but imagine being able to use a special FA.o-ONLY google search that didn't impact the speed of the forums?

I've worked with one of these before so you can even tell it what it can and cannot index, pathwise. So, for example, we could tell it not to index the Off-Topic forum. This optimization cuts down on the document count drastically.

It's something to think about anyway. I know some of our old-timers and forum whores would love to be able to use google syntax to search the forums and it's one thing we can throw donations at that will take a WHILE to fill up.

fuzzylunkin1 · Post by **fuzzylunkin1** » Mon Nov 09, 2009 6:22 pm

Please please please please please!

Post by **Tigereye** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 3:08 am

woah. expensive. It'd take a lot of bans to support that thing

On a more serious note, fixing the forum search doesn't need a new appliance. (actually a new appliance is the most expensive way we could do it since I'd need to spend even more $$ per month to pay for another rack unit, uplink, and power usage)
It may be possible to get either a new module for our IPB forum, or a software-only solution which could interact with IPB. If either of these exist, they could be installed on our current forum server (or on the new infrastructure once it's set up in December) without the need for a new appliance.

After the new systems are finished coming online, I'll investigate a new search. (unless TB beats me to it)

--TE

snufkin · Post by **snufkin** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 12:56 pm

Is there any reasonable expectation that these forums might migrate to another forum engine/cms? I am thinking about Drupal here.

Grimmwolf_GB · Post by **Grimmwolf_GB** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 3:32 pm

From what I saw from drupal (my university uses it) it sucks...

SaiSoma · Post by **SaiSoma** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 6:18 pm

Grimmwolf_GB wrote:QUOTE (Grimmwolf_GB @ Nov 10 2009, 09:32 AM) From what I saw from drupal (my university uses it) it sucks...

depends on what it's used for. I wouldn't use it for forums, no way.

Bard · Post by **Bard** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 7:29 pm

Tigereye wrote:QUOTE (Tigereye @ Nov 9 2009, 09:08 PM) woah. expensive. It'd take a lot of bans to support that thing

Heh, yeah. It chews through the scrilla like an ice cream junkie

I was hoping to generate some serious effort since it's something a lot of our forum lurkers want and would happily donate for.

I did make one wrong assumption though, I figured that like Thalgor, you had your own rackspace and weren't renting.

It goes out the window if you have to pay for extra U's unless we have somewhere else with a stable connection. You can remote the mini into any server anywhere as long as you provide the right credentials.

I know we don't generate much in the way of donations, but I think a large part of that is the constant chorus of "we don't need money" that's been going around for years.

I think we're big enough as a community that we could pull decent amounts of cash for a feature that would benefit everyone on the forums if the call went out.

*shrug*

Take it to the zone leads. See what the consensus is. As long as there's a backup plan for the donations if the mark isn't hit, it's win-win, really.