Forum:MA Search Box quirk

While I find the search box in the sidebar much more useful since it has been changed to expand and give out possible topics for what you've typed in it, it still needs work. Why does the search box look for proper capitalization? Most search engines ignore such things. It seems extraordinarily picky that it does this.

Give it a try. Try and find. Type "vis a vis" into the box. Nothing happens; it doesn't expand. Press enter and no articles appear. Now try just typing "Vis a vis"; still nothing. Now, put in "Vis a Vis". Finally you find the article (actually the redirect, but that's splitting hairs). Also, if you just type in "vis", it will expand and find the correct article.

Now I understand that capitalization is correct and proper in this instance, but it makes using the search less functional. The most aggravating part is that it doesn't do it consistently. Most articles come up just fine without this hassle, but there are several that don't.

Is there a way to change this or is it hardwired in from wikia? --Topher 21:37, 31 July 2007 (UTC)
 * That new functionality is due to the latest upgrade of the MediaWiki software done by Wikia (but from what I understand, it's new code added to MediaWiki by the WikiMedia folks, not by Wikia). Try the search box on the main page; it uses our own (actually, Bp's) custom code, and I think you'll find it acts more like you'd expect a search function to work.


 * To answer your question, though: I don't know if it's something we can change or not. It may be possible to replace the built-in search functionality currently in the sidebar search box with that now in the main page search box. -- Renegade54 22:56, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

Maybe it's just a problem due to the unusual nature of the article's title. Bp's search box did yield better results. But there is still another issue (beside having to go back to the main page just to search). Typing "ferengi rules of acquisition" and pressing enter should bring up "Rules of Acquisition", but it doesn't. The sidebar brings up the search and it is number one on the list, as does Bp's. This is very unfortunate because it makes the site harder for the casual visitor to use. Please understand I'm only trying to improve the site and I'm not trolling or anything. Would it be possible to add a Google search box or another more fully functional search box to the sidebar? Or is there a way to improve the one we've got currently? --Topher 08:00, 1 August 2007 (UTC)


 * We are working on it! The latest version of Wikia's search is currently indexing the site, and then we hope to get it out to you.  This is one we made at Wikia, rather than the default Mediawiki search.  We hope that it will be a lot better at getting the results you need.  So it's "watch this space" on this one -- sannse (talk) 10:03, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

Thank you sannse! As I said I just wanted to bring this to someone's attention as I wasn't sure if anyone was aware of it. I await the upgrade with eager anticipation. (Any idea how long the process will take?) --Topher 06:15, 3 August 2007 (UTC)