Re: [platform-help-dev] "" - exact search?

[khalsted@xxxxxxxxxx]

I agree - I expect "" to yield exact searches, not stemmed phrase searches,
from other search engines. I would support a move in that direction. It
would be better than what we have today.

That being said, I think the stemmed phrase search has some value. For
example, the user might be searching for "installer options", but the docs
call it "install options". Phrase search would find that, but exact
wouldn't. Could we simply rank exact hits above stemmed phrase hits? Or do
we need another syntax for the stemmed phrase search (the advanced search
page could tell the user about the syntax)? Or do we expect our users to
try again with a less restrictive query if they don't get any results on an
exact search -- I don't think that's an unreasonable expectation, but if we
already have the ability to stem phrases, and it's valuable, maybe we
shouldn't completely get rid of it.
In short: I don't feel strongly about keeping or losing stemmed phrasing
search. I do feel strongly about making "" return exact hits, though.

Kari Halsted
User Assistance PDT
IBM Canada - Toronto Software Lab
(905) 413-3331 / tl 969-3331 / D3-238

Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.  To keep our faces toward
change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength
undefeatable.
-- Helen Keller