Re: Pleasurable typo (and the horror of Google)

["Guy K. Haas" <guy -at- hiskeyboard -dot- com>]

OK, then.  What if I want to find instances of

      x-ray
vs
      x ray
vs
      xray

There would appear to be no syntax, no way of stating the pattern, to say
"Don't ignore punctuation." If I want "x" followed by white space followed
by "ray" but NOT "xray", there's no way to specify that.

--Guy K. Haas
   Software Exegete in Silicon Valley




On Fri, March 5, 2010 1:56 pm, Richard Mateosian wrote:
> I don't know much about Facebook. With Google, putting "William A
> Smith" in quotes should work.
>
> Also, by the time you've typed William, Google is probably showing you
> William A Smith among the auto suggest items.  ...RM
>
> On Fri, Mar 5, 2010 at 12:47 PM, Guy K. Haas <guy -at- hiskeyboard -dot- com> wrote:
>> Does it explain why
>> search engines (including the one in Facebook) do not offer a search
>> syntax that lets me say "hey -- JUST find "William A. Smith" -- don't
>> assume I can't spell or want all nicknames and the like."  I find that,
>> far too often, I get way more "hits" than I want to plow through, and
>> find
>> there's no way to ask for a LITERAL or ABSOLUTE search.
>>
>> --Guy K. Haas
>>   Software Exegete in Silicon Valley
>>
>>
>>
>> On Fri, March 5, 2010 10:59 am, Richard Mateosian wrote:
>>> There is a terrific new book called Search Patterns by Morville &
>>> Callender. Reading it takes some work, but it will help you understand
>>> what underlies decisions like the one you're complaining about.  ...RM
>>>
>>> On Fri, Mar 5, 2010 at 10:45 AM, Combs, Richard
>>> <richard -dot- combs -at- polycom -dot- com> wrote:
>>>> Brian -dot- Henderson -at- mitchell1 -dot- com wrote:
>>>
>>>>> Firstly, Google didn't ask me if I really meant "configure"...which
>>>>> seems a bit odd. But then, the first four hits are FOR "configure",
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
> --
>
> Richard Mateosian <xrm -at- pacbell -dot- net>
> Berkeley, California
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> Use Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word, or HTML and
> produce desktop, Web, or print deliverables. Just write (or import)
> and Doc-To-Help does the rest. Free trial: http://www.doctohelp.com
>
> Explore CAREER options and paths related to Technical Writing,
> learn to create SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS documents, and
> get tips on FUNCTIONAL SPECIFICATION best practices. Free at:
> http://www.ModernAnalyst.com
>
> ---
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as guy -at- hiskeyboard -dot- com -dot- 
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> or visit
> http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/guy%40hiskeyboard.com
>
>
> To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
> Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
> http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.
>
> Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
> http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat
>
>


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Use Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word, or HTML and 
produce desktop, Web, or print deliverables. Just write (or import) 
and Doc-To-Help does the rest. Free trial: http://www.doctohelp.com

Explore CAREER options and paths related to Technical Writing,
learn to create SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS documents, and
get tips on FUNCTIONAL SPECIFICATION best practices. Free at:
http://www.ModernAnalyst.com

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40web.techwr-l.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info. 

Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat