# Requests for the Search function



## Rukario (Apr 10, 2007)

Hello everyone. 

There are a few things I've wanted to bring to light regarding the search engine and how it relates to the numerous search feature requests I see when Dragoneer or another FA admin posts a request on the forum for user input on new features. The recent "UI Improvement Thread" comes to mind. 

Now, while I understand that the search is easily FA's most requested feature. There are currently a few insurmountable problems with implementing search as FA now stands. 

Throughout the forum threads you can find the explanations posted by the admins for these difficulties but I feel I should summarize them here. In particular to help decrease these constant and needless repeated requests for search in any future "FA Improvement threads".

Well, due to the way the current implementation of the FA database is designed, search would take a heavy toll on the site's speed.Â Â There are no simple solutions for changing the *current* DB to allow for search without a massive speed hit to other sections of the site. It would require a rebuilding from the ground up.Â Â For the moment, FA's coders have been making tweaks and adjustments to the DB for speed. However, that is all they can do for the moment, tweaks and adjustments to the DB. 

Now, most of you are asking right now, When will the search be up then?Â Â Quite simply, the search feature will not be possible until the Ferrox server code is finally deployed.Â Â If am correct, Ferrox will be a reworking of the ground up of our database and routines which will allow the server to handle everything much more efficiently and will allow the site to perform searches without the massive sacrifice to speed we would suffer now. 

So I ask that when our site head asks the user base's opinions on new features for the site -that instead of flooding the threads with request for search, something which they are well aware you all want. We ask for any other improvements to the site we'd like meanwhile, until Ferrox is released. Keep in mind, any improvements they make now based on our input, will likely be carried over in Ferrox. 

Thanks everyone,Â Â keep enjoying the site! 

P.S.
If I was off the mark regarding any of this, feel free to correct me!


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## Bokracroc (Apr 10, 2007)

No-one will read is and they'll keep asking for the Search and more animals in the Drop-Box


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## Rukario (Apr 10, 2007)

Bokracroc said:
			
		

> No-one will read is and they'll keep asking for the Search and more animals in the Drop-Box



Hah. The drop-box =)
If I remember right, that's going to eventually be removed from the next instance of FA either way. I believe they're just going to move to using user generated Tags instead.  That should solve the problem of there not being enough species listed.


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## Bokracroc (Apr 11, 2007)

Rukario said:
			
		

> Bokracroc said:
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Yep. Hasn't stopped hordes of Users for asking to add more species for the Drop-Box list though.


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## goat (Apr 12, 2007)

needs more search


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## AndyFox (Apr 19, 2007)

Rukario said:
			
		

> So I ask that when our site head asks the user base's opinions on new features for the site -that instead of flooding the threads with request for search, something which they are well aware you all want. We ask for any other improvements to the site we'd like meanwhile, until Ferrox is released. Keep in mind, any improvements they make now based on our input, will likely be carried over in Ferrox.



It seems to me that if the threads are being flooded with user requests for the search engine, then maybe that should tell you (the FA admins) something. I'm not saying the UI overhaul isn't needed, but this new project seems to be a way to take people's focus off of Project Ferrox's incompletion and missed deadlines.

For all of us artists who joined FA within the past 6-8 months it's basically a crapshoot if people we don't know find our art or not. We struggle to become known while people who joined FA while the search engine was up have hundreds on their watchers lists and proportional view counts. And, no I can't believe it's just about art quality. I've seen excellent art from us "late joiners" that is equal to, if not greater than, members that have been here longer and submitted on the same date. It's all a matter of FINDING the art, which, without the search engine, is limited to hit-and-miss browsing of recent uploads and how many people you know and can cross-link to.

Please, let's keep Project Ferrox moving forward so we CAN have the improvements we need. Let's stay on track.


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## Blue anthroraptor (Apr 19, 2007)

OK, I wont wine about the search. But if submissions of a certain kind are to be found at all, they need some standardized tags,  (So yes to more animals in the drop box, or at least keep it and make everything at least have a very class it falls under) that at best have a certain hierarchy, so that when one searches for one category, all defined subcategories will be returned as results.
So that everything under canine- will be listed if you search for canine, things with "Western" tags will be listed if you serach for dragon, and so on.
That requires of course that every species (or theme) that isnt listed explicitly has a suiting supercategory, as e.g. finding the pic with some not listed kind of canine by searching for 'canine' obviously wont work when the artist doesnt see an option canine-other (or something like that) but decides to tag it "species:Werewuffy".

Having predefined tags that cover everything, no matter how roughly, and the option to add more than the one and add custom ones, is very fine I think.


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## Sukebepanda (Apr 19, 2007)

Curiously asking, when IS Ferrox coming out? Last I remember Dragoneer had put a journal up saying that it would be here in the spring time (April), that was back around December, at least before or during the major speed-issues.


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## AndyFox (Apr 24, 2007)

Blue anthroraptor said:
			
		

> OK, I wont wine about the search. But if submissions of a certain kind are to be found at all, they need some standardized tags,  (So yes to more animals in the drop box, or at least keep it and make everything at least have a very class it falls under)......



Indeed, and the kicker is, there are artists on FA who fail to include tags, or sometimes any of the drop-down filters (species, art type, etc), or for a description they put in something like, "I did this on the bus to school today." Now, how the bleep would ANYONE know their submission is a picture of a beautiful crane flying over a lake? THEY WON'T, and it'll never come up in search results. Some artists need to get in gear and learn how to properly list their art so it can be found once the search engine and new tag system are in place, whenever that is.


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## Bokracroc (Apr 25, 2007)

Sukebepanda said:
			
		

> Curiously asking, when IS Ferrox coming out? Last I remember Dragoneer had put a journal up saying that it would be here in the spring time (April), that was back around December, at least before or during the major speed-issues.


I firmly belive Ferrox is something along the lines of STALKER's devlopment.


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## ArrowTibbs (Apr 25, 2007)

If tags are implemented, please include some optional spellcheck with it! A cheetah is not a chetuh, chita, cheta, or spotty-thing-that-runs. Nor is a wolf a wuff, woofy, wulf, woulf, or etc.

Also, please get rid of the popup for the tags, it's annoying enough I don't use tags hardly because I have to allow popups from FA every time I do it. I'd rather not get rid of my popup blocker just to use tags.


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## Blue anthroraptor (May 8, 2007)

http://www.furaffinityforums.net/showthread.php?tid=6013


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