35 second wait between searching

**Ben1220** · 07-25-2010, 01:44 AM

This has been bugging me a little for the last few months:

I can understand why there might be a good reason to have a wait between posting, to avoid spam, but I don't really understand with searching why it is necessary. Is it to do with server load?

The thing is, I get zero hits often when I search for something. Then I have to sit and wait for 30 seconds until I can try a slightly different search term. And then if nothing comes up again... you get the idea.

If lowering the "wait time" between searches to 10-15 seconds or so wouldn't cause much more strain on the servers I think it would be a good idea, since it would make using the forum more convenient for everyone.

Thoughts?

**HackerX** · 07-25-2010, 04:23 AM

	Originally Posted by Ben1220
	Is it to do with server load?

Yes

**Kisai** · 07-25-2010, 08:52 AM

	Originally Posted by Ben1220
	If lowering the "wait time" between searches to 10-15 seconds or so wouldn't cause much more strain on the servers I think it would be a good idea, since it would make using the forum more convenient for everyone. Thoughts?

Donating money or faster computers to the forum via the Donate button in the top toolbar is an excellent way to permit faster resources to be available for the userbase.

Jezebel · 07-25-2010, 09:22 AM

I don't like it either, and I had initially resisted having a wait time between searches at all. Unfortunately, search is one of the most resource intensive features on the forum. We have had issues with too many search queries in a short period of time causing database errors. I didn't start it at 35 seconds, but it turned out to be more effective than the 10/15 limits. It is annoying, but better than the forum becoming unavailable for browsing and posting. I turned it down slightly, to 25 seconds, and we'll see if that has any effect on performance now.

An alternative is to use the Google search feature for basic searches in the public forum, and reserve the forum search for advanced searches or searching members only forums (those don't get indexed by Google). The Google search does not cause the same server load and does not have any time restrictions between searches.

**JTG** · 07-25-2010, 10:28 AM

That's because the google searches only hit meta tags right?

A side benefit to the posting/searching delays on the forum is that they make it harder for the forum to be the subject of a DDoS attack. Spam bots and would-be flooders are a lot easier to catch and ban before causing any downtime if they have to wait between posts.

**Distance** · 07-25-2010, 10:31 AM

Thanks Jezebel! The reduction in time has helped, since "Unread Posts" uses the search functionality.

07-25-2010, 01:44 AM	#1
Ben1220 Member [31%] MBTI: ENTp Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 1,255	This has been bugging me a little for the last few months: I can understand why there might be a good reason to have a wait between posting, to avoid spam, but I don't really understand with searching why it is necessary. Is it to do with server load? The thing is, I get zero hits often when I search for something. Then I have to sit and wait for 30 seconds until I can try a slightly different search term. And then if nothing comes up again... you get the idea. If lowering the "wait time" between searches to 10-15 seconds or so wouldn't cause much more strain on the servers I think it would be a good idea, since it would make using the forum more convenient for everyone. Thoughts?
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07-25-2010, 09:22 AM	#4
Jezebel Administrator MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 4,290	I don't like it either, and I had initially resisted having a wait time between searches at all. Unfortunately, search is one of the most resource intensive features on the forum. We have had issues with too many search queries in a short period of time causing database errors. I didn't start it at 35 seconds, but it turned out to be more effective than the 10/15 limits. It is annoying, but better than the forum becoming unavailable for browsing and posting. I turned it down slightly, to 25 seconds, and we'll see if that has any effect on performance now. An alternative is to use the Google search feature for basic searches in the public forum, and reserve the forum search for advanced searches or searching members only forums (those don't get indexed by Google). The Google search does not cause the same server load and does not have any time restrictions between searches.
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07-25-2010, 10:28 AM	#5
JTG Core Member [246%] MBTI: INFJ Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 9,844	That's because the google searches only hit meta tags right? A side benefit to the posting/searching delays on the forum is that they make it harder for the forum to be the subject of a DDoS attack. Spam bots and would-be flooders are a lot easier to catch and ban before causing any downtime if they have to wait between posts.
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07-25-2010, 10:31 AM	#6
Distance Core Member [412%] MBTI: eNTj Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 16,488	Thanks Jezebel! The reduction in time has helped, since "Unread Posts" uses the search functionality.
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