How to Search the Internet efficiently

Raithlin

Executive Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
5,049
You're not the only one. :p

Kudos, Dequadin. I take my hat off to you (although I'll put it back on, if you don't mind. It's a little cold. ;)).

@rpm: Can we get this thread stickied, as a kind of "Before you post" thread?
 
Last edited:

Raithlin

Executive Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
5,049
<rant>
I hate reading through a long, interesting post (which has obviously had a lot of effort put into it), only to get to the comments and find tl;dr for the first post (or so). Makes me fume! Goes right against the grain, and makes me wanna shout (put my hands up and... :erm:) in aggravation.

Nothing personal. :p
</rant>
 

FarligOpptreden

Executive Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2007
Messages
5,396
Wiki link does help, or you could just use the 'original' spelling TLDR.

tl;dr just looks like you mistyped something.

Or... just type it out :) It won't be too long, promise!
Get with the times old man... ;)

<rant>
I hate reading through a long, interesting post (which has obviously had a lot of effort put into it), only to get to the comments and find tl;dr for the first post (or so). Makes me fume! Goes right against the grain, and makes me wanna shout (put my hands up and... :erm:) in aggravation.

Nothing personal. :p
</rant>

The ":p" at the end insinuated a bit of sarcasm. The whole point I tried to make was that n00bs are usually too lazy to search or read up. In other words, useful information is "too long; didn't read" - rather ask for answer. I actually read most of deq's links (well, not necessarily last night - I've read some of them previously). C'mon Raithlin, you know me better than that... ;) Sheesh, you guys are all wound up on a Monday morning...
 

Raithlin

Executive Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
5,049
Get with the times old man... ;)

The ":p" at the end insinuated a bit of sarcasm. The whole point I tried to make was that n00bs are usually too lazy to search or read up. In other words, useful information is "too long; didn't read" - rather ask for answer. I actually read most of deq's links (well, not necessarily last night - I've read some of them previously). C'mon Raithlin, you know me better than that... ;) Sheesh, you guys are all wound up on a Monday morning...

No sarcasm intended. Bad choice of emoticons? I get what you're saying here (Monday morning - I just had an "oh!" moment...) - my rant stands for the tl;drs I see all over the internet.
 

Necuno

Court Jester
Joined
Sep 27, 2005
Messages
58,567
In response to Raithlin's Thread I've put together a collection of links on How to use Google efficiently. I've picked on Google because I know it well and believe it's the best. Please feel free to add similar content for other Seach Engines.

Okay lets get started:
Google.com Your first port of call.
Google.Com

Google Groups Provides a welth of information and is often overlooked when searching. It's forum style means you often find answers here.
Google Groups

Google Squared Very new, orders search queries as a grid of facts
Google Squared

Okay so how do you use these tools?
Fist I'd recomend checking out Google's own help on how to use their web search. There a a lot of "hidden" features such as the Calculator, which can save you time.

Explore Google Search is a nice summary of what they offer.
Explore Google Search

Google Search Features is a more extensive list than above
Search Features


Okay so the actual nitty gritty on creating effective search queries:

Web Search Help Google's own help
Web Search Help

Google Guide is the most comprehensive guide to searching on Google, spend a hour or so going through this site and save yourself a lifetime in the future.
Google Guide <<-- If you do nothing else with this thread check out this site!

Google Search syntax dissected is a much more sumarized version of Google Guide. Has some nice examples.
Google Search syntax dissected

Google Search Options Google recently added some awesome search options, like the ability to only return results from a certain time period and the Wonder Wheel to name a few.
Search Options

Lets get some good search content into this thread and who knows maybe create a nice FAQ or sticky.

To quote an old adage:
"Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you will not have to listen to his incessant whining about how hungry he is." - Author unknown

/vote stickyfication
 
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