Re: google secrets (from what's up with all the attitude)

[cothrige <cothrige@bellsouth.net>]

* Nate Bargmann (n0nb@networksplus.net) wrote:
> 
> IIRC, Google made the + the default.  I recall using search engines prior
> to Google coming on the scene and the + was necessary to ensure both
> terms were found in the results.  Sadly, some current site specific
> search engines are still brain dead or, worse, require the specific word
> 'and'.

I seem to recall Hotbot being like that, back when it was about the
best thing on the web for a search.

> The biggest help with Google is to quote a phrase--particularly output
> from an error message--along with another term like Debian to zero in
> on that needle in the Webstack.

Absolutely, quotes for things like you mention are easily the most
useful feature.  And almost as good is '-' to remove a word from a
search.  And last would be 'site:' so that I can use Google like a
local search on a particular website, such as a mailing list which
doesn't have any search builtin.  Pretty rare these days really, but
still comes in handy periodically.

Patrick