Changing search methods
Title
Changing search methods
Short, concise description of the idea
Change searching to go by community updates or members instead of creation dates.
Full description of the idea
Currently, searching is extremely limited. Only 500 communities can turn up at a time, but instead of being the biggest or most active communities, these are simply chosen in order of creation. This *includes* communities which have never updated or have since been *deleted*, adding to the difficulty in finding a community on the topic, which is the purpose of the search. By changing the method of searching the database, searches can be made considerably more effective.
An ordered list of benefits
- Newer communities won't get cut out of larger interest searches
- Deleted/banned communities will no longer block searches *forever*
- Way more flexible searches -- right now, the first 500 communities are locked in permanently as the only ones that can ever be searched, even if those communities no longer exist
An ordered list of problems/issues involved
- Older communities will lose "priority" in searches
- Might necessitate changing the current search procedures for both communities and users, especially if they're currently the same code?
An organized list, or a few short paragraphs detailing suggestions for implementation
- As above: change database search to reflect the most recently updated (which is already reported on searches, and which is already the sorting mechanism) instead of the first 500 ever created.
- Edit: Change the database query to "where not deleted". -nympholept
- Edit: Suggestions for detailed implementation: comment thread.