On 16 Oct 2000, 12:37, Karlo FREEMAN wrote:
> Touching on the subject of seeking and finding, I for one, would
> appreciate it if the more adept finders here would occasionally say by
> which search engine and by means of which key words they found. Maybe
> on every other Tuesday, for example.
>
> I have seen people _find_ stuff here that I have rather dilligently
> sought myself--without success. Disclosure of the "secrets" of seeking
> would be helpful.
Here are your three "secrets":
Practice, Persistence and Patience
(1) Practice is the key. The more you search for different things, the
better you get. The more you use a search engine, the better you come
to understand it. The more search engines you learn to use, the wider
your knowledge of search engines becomes and you learn to choose the
best one for your purposes.
(2) Persistence. Never give up. At least spend as much time on
finding the answer as you are able. Answers do not always pop right
into place the first time you enter some keywords into a search engine.
Not all answers we give on SeeknFind came easy to us.
(3) Patience. You will encounter many dead ends when searching for
something. Often the results page from a search looks like a
complicated maze. You are not sure which link leads to the promised
answer to your quest. It's easy to get discouraged and this requires
patience on your part while you sort through the results and follow
leads and if necessary, start over with a varied set of keywords and/or
another search engine.
I've generally foregone explaining how I came to a result unless asked
specifically about because it tends to bog down the list for those not
interested in the technological aspects. Most seekers just want a
helping hand in finding their information and most observers just want
to take note of a possible future bookmark. Nevertheless, I stand
ready to explain a method I used to obtain any result I report to the
list. I don't think we need to schedule a day for this, but I have an
open invitation that if you wish to know how I came to an answer, you
need only ask.
I use several search engines, but in the past year Google has become my
primary search engine, with IxQuick as my favorite Meta Search Engine.
I will also reference both Yahoo and About.com when the query would
seem to benefit from a categorical approach. ** (see below)
So, Karlo, continue to look for the things others ask for on SeeknFind.
The practice and experience you gain from helping others find what they
seek, will come to benefit yourself for your own searches.
Alan
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
** references below:
http://www.google.com/
http://www.ixquick.com/
http://www.yahoo.com/
http://www.about.com/
