General board navigating help needed

[julieakc]

This is probably better suited for the Newbie forum, but it doesn't look like there's much traffic there so I'm seeking all the great tips for you gals (and guys) here in the lounge....

I do quite well in searching the internet, but for some reason when I try to search for a topic here I don't seem very successful :( ...even when I know that a topic has recently been discussed. And yes, I am using the advanced search...so what am I doing wrong?

Also, is there a way to view my prior posts (sometimes that's what I'm searching for...like tonight when I wanted to give an update on something)?

What about viewing all posts by another user?

And finally, still related to my searching lameness here....in the recent thread about the new member who made a bunch of posts to get to 50 really fast several people mentioned that they noticed all the random posts.....is that because you're getting individual emails? How is it that you notice that? I come on almost every night and look at the most recent activity in about half the forums but I didn't notice a bunch of posts from one person....was this just a timing thing, or are you all viewing/reading things in a different method than me? Something more efficient perhaps?

As always thanks for your input.

ETA: Ok, so the last thing was a timing issue....I just went back a couple of pages and definitely noticed the string of most recent activity from the same new member....by the time I had popped in there had been so much more recent activity that those posts were back a few pages, and I don't always have a chance to keep up with all the longe activity (as I try to do in the gear and around the house forums).

[pritchettzoo]

One of the pull-down choices on the advanced search feature is for "Author" (I think default is "Subject and Message." You enter the user ID (can be yours or someone else's) in the search box and it will pull up all the posts by that user.

HTH!

Anna
Mama to Gracie (Sept '03) and Eli (July '05)

[MarisaSF]

Hey Julie!
I'll try to answer a few for you while I digest my dinner. :)

>I do quite well in searching the internet, but for some reason
>when I try to search for a topic here I don't seem very
>successful :( ...even when I know that a topic has recently
>been discussed. And yes, I am using the advanced search...so
>what am I doing wrong?

One thing to make sure is that you are clicking the "And" button under the advanced search. Also, try narrowing down my forum. For example: you want to learn about the Learning Tower. Under "forums" click "Around the House." In the search criteria, type "Learning Tower" and click "and" (otherwise it will pull up everything that says learning OR tower. Further down, you can use the pull-down options to say you only want to search the "subject only" (this is what I usually use!) or "subject and message" or "message only."

>Also, is there a way to view my prior posts (sometimes that's
>what I'm searching for...like tonight when I wanted to give an
>update on something)?
Similar to above directions, go to the forum you want, type your username in, then use the pull-down menu to select "username" (NOT "subject").

>What about viewing all posts by another user?
Same thing. Go to either a specific forum (strollers, lounge, feeding) or go to the top (I think it's called ALL Baby Bargains or something) and type in the username and then select "username" in the search-type field.

>And finally, still related to my searching lameness here....in
>the recent thread about the new member who made a bunch of
>posts to get to 50 really fast several people mentioned that
>they noticed all the random posts.....is that because you're
>getting individual emails? How is it that you notice that? I
>come on almost every night and look at the most recent
>activity in about half the forums but I didn't notice a bunch
>of posts from one person....was this just a timing thing, or
>are you all viewing/reading things in a different method than
>me? Something more efficient perhaps?
When I looked in the Lounge very late last night, there was one name that had written the most recent post in a bunch of threads. I also noticed that many of the threads were quite old (well, when you're here every day, news from 2 weeks ago seems old!) That stood out to me. I think the column is "Last Update By".

Hope that helps some!

[jerseygirl07067]

Not to butt in, but that will help me with my searches too. :)

I always seem to pull up way too many and never knew how to narrow them down properly.

Thanks! :)

Marcy

[missym]

Here's another hint... to search an exact phrase, separate the words with an underscore. So, searching for Learning Tower would also get you posts about learning the history of the Eiffel Tower (dumb example, sorry), but searching Learning_Tower would only get you posts about that toy.

ETA: I also like the "Subscribe to This Topic" and "Bookmark This Topic" features. I have several threads bookmarked that I know I will want to reference again, like Rachel's nutritionist info for skinny kids and Amy's excellent meal planning posts.

Missy, mom to Gwen 03/03 and Rebecca 09/05

[julieakc]

Thank you all for your great tips! This should definitely help, and I think I will bookmark this too....now that I als just found where the bookmarks are stored. :-)