Help us out, please search before posting an article.

3-19-03 | Admin Moderator

[Admin Moderator]

There have been too many duplicate threads lately. A search is easy to do, but is not 100% foolproof, nonetheless, it is very effective. The Free Republic search feature only looks at words in the title (words from within the article will not work). That is why it is imperative to use the original title. To avoid having duplicate posts, prior to posting an article, search a keyword from the title only. The main search page can be found here:

SEARCH

The best method to search is to pick a key word or two from the title. If the article you are posting is, "'Blixie Chicks' Blame Conservative Web Site", start with 'Chicks' for the key word. If it is a hot topic, you might want to use two keywords, in this case, try Chicks and Blixie. For an effective search, select 'match all words' and select 'order by post time'.

Search using 'chicks' only.

Search using 'blixie chicks'.

Three words or more can also be used. Be aware, three letter words will NOT search. You must use four or more letters per word. So searching for FBI, CIA, ABC, FOX will result in no matches.

Search using FBI

Please see this message from Jim, posted last night (3-18-03).

Announcement Regarding the Breaking News Posting Category

And another helpful thread was posted earlier today

Welcome, and Thanks! [New Posters In Particular, Please Read]

Thanks everyone, these announcements are in prepartion for the anticipated increase in volume once we start war.

[John Robinson]

It's a good idea, but it has to be a warning not an error. Some news sources recycle URLs or aggregate all news on one page.

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

BTTT

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

Headlines aside, comparing the bodies of the articles will confirm if they are duplicates or not.

[lawgirl]

BUMP!!!!!!!!!!

[fire_eye]

All right, I give up...

I know this question has been asked and answered 147,496,369,342,174 times on this forum - and I know I saved the answer at one time, and **I** **CAN'T** **FIND** **IT**, and I feel REALLY dumb, and I probably am looking right at it.

But that said... HOW can I search for postings (by poster, in this case) going back to, say, 1999 or 2000?

Any search I do, turns up 50 postings, and that's it.

Okay... now if anybody wants to subject me to some choice invective ordinarily reserved only for Demoncrats and other single-celled life forms, NOW'S YOUR CHANCE - I've got it coming.

< < GRRRRRRRRrr... HOW COME I CAN'T FIND THIS... > >

[Admin Moderator]

We didn't understand the abuse report you submitted regarding post 4. I am guessing it wasn't about that one, so what was it about? Thanks, AM

[Admin Moderator]

Because there is no way to do what you want through the FR search engine, at this time. Sorry, AM

PS: I would love to have that too.

[TomServo]

Try reading the first and last paragraphs of the article. Compare author names, if they're posted...

[Dog Gone]

Can we please post the phoney baloney email about which oil companies to boycott another 200 times? Puhleeze?

[SpookBrat]

White House Press Briefings

[freedomlover]

Thanks

[muawiyah]

So there about 375 police cars whizzing by right under my nose going toward Key Bridge and the stupid posting thing wants to know the URL of the story I am eye-witnessing!

That's a problem. Then I posted it to "Breaking News", which it was, and it got almost de-referenced EVEN BEFORE THE TEARGAS WAS TOSSED.

Right now I have nearly a hundred hits on my story, which makes it "BIG TIME" on FR.

[Joy Angela]

Thanks for the tip.

Sometimes, though, mere seconds count, especially with Breaking News, by the time a new post is typed/edited and sent...someone else has posted the topic first!

(Watch those fingers fly! It's like a race against the clock!) :)

Is there anyway to check for other new threads just before hitting the "post" button?