R. A.
But...the future refused to change.
- Aug 8, 2022
- 1,244
I wrote this as I have never seen a comprehensive guide to using the search function and I find it very useful. I've been interacting with more members here, some of whom are quite young, and also realised lately just how many people post in the Partners thread. This is a place where most people are hurting and genuinely want information, and to connect. Of course, there are always bad actors - by which I mean good actors with bad intent - and while the best won't be undermined by such simple tricks, I wanted to share a few things with you about how to search more effectively.
This may be useful if you're talking to someone and want to know about their behavior here outside of what they've shown/you've seen. Many users have their accounts set to private, and most new ones seem to be hidden. Even mutual follows can't always view this if the other user has set their profile to be hidden from everyone. But by using Search, you can see everything anyone has posted on the site. This isn't some clandestine knowledge; it's readily available to everyone. I'm not sure how many users know it though, and given everyone technically has access to it, I think everyone should know about it (the more powerful features are also a but less obvious on mobile, which is how I think most users browse).
Anyway. First off: you can't use the Search function right on joining. After a few days/posts, you'll see it in the top-right corner of your screen (note I use desktop and will provide photos for both that and what I think mobile looks like based on me smooshing my browser window very small. I also use the 2022 Dark Theme and it may look different on others).
It's the little magnifying glass, with or without the bar that says "Search...". If you click on desktop, it offers a lot - searching text, titles only, by member or the "Advanced..." option. On mobile you need to tap the gear on the right of the bar to see these options:
This may be useful if you're talking to someone and want to know about their behavior here outside of what they've shown/you've seen. Many users have their accounts set to private, and most new ones seem to be hidden. Even mutual follows can't always view this if the other user has set their profile to be hidden from everyone. But by using Search, you can see everything anyone has posted on the site. This isn't some clandestine knowledge; it's readily available to everyone. I'm not sure how many users know it though, and given everyone technically has access to it, I think everyone should know about it (the more powerful features are also a but less obvious on mobile, which is how I think most users browse).
Anyway. First off: you can't use the Search function right on joining. After a few days/posts, you'll see it in the top-right corner of your screen (note I use desktop and will provide photos for both that and what I think mobile looks like based on me smooshing my browser window very small. I also use the 2022 Dark Theme and it may look different on others).
It's the little magnifying glass, with or without the bar that says "Search...". If you click on desktop, it offers a lot - searching text, titles only, by member or the "Advanced..." option. On mobile you need to tap the gear on the right of the bar to see these options:
The TL;DR versions ends here: just start typing a member's name and you will be prompted with suggestions - keep typing till they appear, click/tap then search, and viola: all of that member's posts:
Of course, if this person is a loser like me and spams the Games a lot, that may not be so helpful.
In this case, enter Advanced search. Then, "Search threads". This lets you narrow down:
In this case, enter Advanced search. Then, "Search threads". This lets you narrow down:
- Between threads started vs. any posted in,
- Post date (before, after, or between),
- Type of post (by tag; vent, NSFW, etc.),
- Location of post (in which forum), and
[*]Sort order (relevance, date, engagement)
I forgot to enter my own name and the banners hide some things, but the above would give you all my NSFW posts in the Suicide Discussion and Private Suicide Discussion forums from my first few weeks of after joining (there aren't any at all, but couldn't be of the latter since Private didn't exist at that time.
You'll notice you can also search everything outright (which adds a few of the above tools but imo is less useful), profile posts, or support tickets. I don't think tickets shows ones other members have sent, at least not from my messing around with it. But overall I find this useful - not even just for "vetting" members, but also when I see something posted that strikes a chord with me. I often wanna read more from a user but as many profiles are hidden, this is the way to do it. One of my favourite things here (hard as it can be on me) is humanizing the other members I cross paths with more often and this is much less weir and a drain on them than just DMing bein' all "HEY TELL ME YOUR LIFE STORY PLZ". Many have already opened their hearts and/or spilled their guts in old posts and comments; I prefer this than asking them to potentially dig up old traumas.
Hope this is useful for anyone.
You'll notice you can also search everything outright (which adds a few of the above tools but imo is less useful), profile posts, or support tickets. I don't think tickets shows ones other members have sent, at least not from my messing around with it. But overall I find this useful - not even just for "vetting" members, but also when I see something posted that strikes a chord with me. I often wanna read more from a user but as many profiles are hidden, this is the way to do it. One of my favourite things here (hard as it can be on me) is humanizing the other members I cross paths with more often and this is much less weir and a drain on them than just DMing bein' all "HEY TELL ME YOUR LIFE STORY PLZ". Many have already opened their hearts and/or spilled their guts in old posts and comments; I prefer this than asking them to potentially dig up old traumas.
Hope this is useful for anyone.
