Question about preserving a keris

[David]

Originally Posted by shadejoy

To be honest with you, the search function isn't what I would like it to be. But in my opinion it isn't a technical issue. Rather, it's the nature of this forum, the discussions themselves. What I'm looking for, e.g. Keris maintenance, is discussed under multiple threads with various subject lines that are seemingly unrelated to Keris maintenance. For example, the original thread may have been about Keris hilt or showcasing personal Keris but then the conversation evolves around how to clean or preserving it. I totally understand, it's how discussion works. We want to keep the flow although often times it develops into a bigger scope. That is why I think the search function is what it is and we may want to take a few different approaches using different key words. It seems like tags are few and far between.

So I totally understand where you're coming from, @David and @Rich.
As newbie, I'll take what I can get. I have nothing but high regards for this forum and its contribution to one of Indonesia's cultural heritages.

Cheers!

hmmm...i am not sure exactly what you would like it to be. Are you using the basic single window search, or have you used the drop down window to find the "Advanced Search". The more specific your search key words, the more specific your results will be. You can also search for exact phrasing by placing quotation marks (" ") around your phrase. This might eliminate hits that don't quite match up with your desired search as it will only lead to uses of those exact phrases rather than the individual words as the search otherwise responds to threads that contain the keywords used regardless of what order the words appear in. But ultimately, even if you are led to threads that are mostly discussing other subjects than the one your were searching for, you will be enriching yourself with other keris information. The keris cannot be understood in a vacuum; the more you read the better informed you will become.

[shadejoy]

Originally Posted by David

hmmm...i am not sure exactly what you would like it to be. Are you using the basic single window search, or have you used the drop down window to find the "Advanced Search". The more specific your search key words, the more specific your results will be. You can also search for exact phrasing by placing quotation marks (" ") around your phrase. This might eliminate hits that don't quite match up with your desired search as it will only lead to uses of those exact phrases rather than the individual words as the search otherwise responds to threads that contain the keywords used regardless of what order the words appear in. But ultimately, even if you are led to threads that are mostly discussing other subjects than the one your were searching for, you will be enriching yourself with other keris information. The keris cannot be understood in a vacuum; the more you read the better informed you will become.

I hope you don't misconstrue this as an attack ..or even a demand, it is not.

You're right, I use the basic search. I also try the advanced search and it does somewhat limit the results. I did not know before about the phrase search using double quotation. That is a great tip!

I would use the same "Keris Maintenance" as an example and using basic simple window search, advanced search and quotations. I've found that all of these methods still yield seemingly unrelated to Keris maintenance thread names. As I've mentioned before, it is to be expected. I don't think it's a technical faulty of the search engine, it does what it was designed for. It's just the nature of the discussions.

For a total newbie they might think that they didn't find what they were looking for. When in reality it is in there. You have valid argument about enriching ourselves during the search process and they are fascinating and very interesting! When I press search on Keris maintenance ..among the results, there I see a thread called The Flying Keris. Now who wouldn't be interested in knowing more about the flying Keris. I'm not being sarcastic and I did read the entire thread because it's mighty intriguing. So again, you do have a valid argument.

But for some people, that can be perceived as noise. Moreover, these seemingly threads may also only contain bits and pieces of what we're looking for. It's like going to a library or book store. You find individual countries mentioned in all books about romances, great battles, iconic characters, action scenes and riveting anecdotes. They are captivating. However ..my purpose is only to find a list of countries in the world.

My point of view is similar to A. G. Maisey's, a place for everything and everything in its place, that it would be ideal to have some kind of index for generic most common questions. Just for the most frequently asked questions. I think Keris cleaning & maintenance easily falls under the category.

I do recognize that there are limitations, as all things in this world. We can always find things eventually if we have enough determination. The last thing I want is to impose on anybody's valuable time which I'm sure is a shared belief of all members in this forum.

Respectfully.

[David]

No worries Shadejoy, i don't feel attacked in the least.
I will say though, that collecting and correlating all the information you seek and organizing it in an index for easy access in order to save members some time and effort by bringing them directly to the exact tidbit of information they are seeking would be an enormous task to undertake. While you and other members might enjoy the results of such an effort i do not really feel that i would personally enjoy the task. After all, this is not a paying job and my time is valuable as well. LOL!
I also might suggest that you spend a little more time trying to figure out how the search engine works to help you pinpoint your searches so that you can avoid having to read through aspects of threads you have no interest in. Are you aware, for instance, that when you use the basic search you have the ability to focus your results to "Show Thread" or "Show Post". If you choose "Show Post" you will only get the post where your keyword shows up in your results, thereby avoiding having to read the entire "Flying Keris" thread in order to find the part about keris maintenance that might have been posted somewhere in there. You can do the same in the Advanced Search as well as search for just responses from particular members or only specific dates and/or forums, etc.
I will add that no one taught me these things. I learned them by opening up the search and messing around to find out how i can get more specific and efficient results from the program.
I hope that you don't perceive this as an attack or me being too harsh, but i don't really have the time to serve up on a silver plate all the precise tidbits of specific and varied information that each and every member here might be seeking at any given time. We have a pretty vast archive here after so many years of discussion and while everything there is to know about keris certainly isn't in there you will find that there is quite a bit of combined knowledge and imagery to be found in our archive. It doesn't cost you a penny. But it will cost you a bit of your own time and effort.

[shadejoy]

Originally Posted by David

No worries Shadejoy, i don't feel attacked in the least.
I will say though, that collecting and correlating all the information you seek and organizing it in an index for easy access in order to save members some time and effort by bringing them directly to the exact tidbit of information they are seeking would be an enormous task to undertake. While you and other members might enjoy the results of such an effort i do not really feel that i would personally enjoy the task. After all, this is not a paying job and my time is valuable as well. LOL!
I also might suggest that you spend a little more time trying to figure out how the search engine works to help you pinpoint your searches so that you can avoid having to read through aspects of threads you have no interest in. Are you aware, for instance, that when you use the basic search you have the ability to focus your results to "Show Thread" or "Show Post". If you choose "Show Post" you will only get the post where your keyword shows up in your results, thereby avoiding having to read the entire "Flying Keris" thread in order to find the part about keris maintenance that might have been posted somewhere in there. You can do the same in the Advanced Search as well as search for just responses from particular members or only specific dates and/or forums, etc.
I will add that no one taught me these things. I learned them by opening up the search and messing around to find out how i can get more specific and efficient results from the program.
I hope that you don't perceive this as an attack or me being too harsh, but i don't really have the time to serve up on a silver plate all the precise tidbits of specific and varied information that each and every member here might be seeking at any given time. We have a pretty vast archive here after so many years of discussion and while everything there is to know about keris certainly isn't in there you will find that there is quite a bit of combined knowledge and imagery to be found in our archive. It doesn't cost you a penny. But it will cost you a bit of your own time and effort.

@David, Perfectly understood and thank you for the pointers, I appreciate it very much.