Dreaming of Chickens said:
OK. I get how to search for a thread, but once the search gives me some options and the thread is like 250 pages, is there a way to search within that thread. For example what I am trying to figure out right now is, should I buy a meat grinder and start grinding my meat instead of buying it already done. I did a search for grinding meat and one for meat grinder and both returned results, but none of the thread topics had anything to do with what I am looking for, so I am assuming that meat grinding is mentioned somewhere in the thread. The problem I am having is that if the info I am looking for is on like page 132 I have to read all the way to that page to find what I am looking for.
DoC, you asked: "I get how to search for a thread, but once the search gives me some options and the thread is like 250 pages, is there a way to search within that thread?"
One thing I want to say is this gets extremely difficult with lengthy threads. And one reason that threads get so lengthy - like 25, 50, 100, or more pages! - is that people often use them just for chat, and the thread can then get
way off on tangents.
That can be fun, of course, for the people posting. It's informal, chatty, and not restrained. But the thread can become sorta useless for those looking for information... useless and frustrating.
Would there be any way to keep some kinds of threads here on SSForum
on-topic? Ones that start out as being about "how to" or something technical in the first place?
Don't get me wrong, I think the web is a great place to socialize... to chat, have fun, make jokes, and all that. I would never want to see that aspect disappear.
People's own journals about their SS lives often meander - and why shouldn't they? That seems to be what the people who start them
want to do with those threads - be social.
Anyhow, I often share DoC's frustration about long threads... that frequently lose focus.
,
It really can be frustrating to find specific info. I believe though, that once we are switched over to the new format, the search function will be greatly improved. The new format allows searching within a specific thread and should help narrow down the results. 
