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[Louise]

Before posting a new topic on VTM, we ask that every member, whether newcomer or oldtimer, performs a search to ensure that there isn't already an existing topic on a particular subject before you start a new one.

I'm sure everyone can appreciate the reason for this - it seems silly to have three or four threads all discussing the same thing because people won't post their thoughts twice or three times over, and also to have three similar conversations going is something of a waste of bandwidth

We really don't want people to feel disappointed if their threads get locked, so please follow this very simple procedure that only takes a few seconds and makes everyone's lives on the forums that much easier.

• Click on the 'Search' link - It's at the top of every page on the forums, between 'Help' and 'Members'
• When you're on the search page, enter a keyword in the first box on the top left. This can be anything, but there is a minimum of three letters. It's advisable to choose something broad like 'Dumbledore', if you're interested in talking about anything related to the Headmaster, for example.
• If you're not sure how to spell something, then you may enter an asterisk (*) as a 'wildcard'. In other words, if you want to talk about Unforgivable curses, and you aren't sure how to spell 'Unforgivable', just enter 'Unf*' and the search will still work. You'll just get more results.
• Beneath the keyword box, you'll see a list of all the forums. ALWAYS make sure 'All Forums' is highlighted, otherwise the search will only cover whichever forum you happen to have been on before clicking 'search'.
• On the right hand side, make sure that 'All Dates' is selected under the 'Search Posts From' menu.
• Beneath that, make sure that 'Topic Titles Only' is selected under the 'Search Where' option. If you search for 'Dumbledore' by 'Whole Posts', you'll have an exceptionally long list of results to wade through
• On the far right, you may select to have your results returned by posts (not advisable - again, huge results will be returned) or by topic only (recommended - far more manageable)
• There's no need to touch the last box, 'sort results by', as results will always be returned most recent posts first.
• When you're done, scroll to the bottom of the page and click 'Perform the Search'.

If no results are returned, it doesn't mean that no topics exist. Make sure you check your spelling - the staff here work hard to try to make sure that all thread titles are spelled correctly and are not obscure so that they're easy for the search to find. For example, if you're looking for a topic on Horcruxes, generally speaking, if you enter 'horcrux' in the search engine, it will find every topic that's been created here on all aspects of horcruxes.

Tips for searching

1. Make sure you've spelled whatever it is you're looking for correctly
2. If you're not sure of the spelling, use the 'wildcard' option
3. Don't be obscure and try to think logically. You're not likely to return any results if you look for topics about Thestrals with the search terms 'Can Dudley See'.

Advanced Searching

If you're confident in using the search and you're looking for a specific post you made, then of course you can change the drop down menu on the 'search topic titles only' option to 'search entire posts'. Just remember that you will need to be searching for something that isn't very common. Searching for 'Harry' will return thousands of result.

You can also narrow the search by adding the 'Filter by Member Name' option on the top left. Of course, when you narrow the search, you're less likely to find what you're looking for. Sometimes, the broader the search, the better. It depends what you're looking for. Be sensible

If the search engine fails for whatever reason, try looking through the MASTERLISTS which you will find scattered throughout the forums. The staff take time to compile them to make your lives as easy as possible because we don't like having to close people's topics down. So please use them - they're a great guide and you may just find topics that you had never even thought of!

If you're looking for a specific topic that you started or posted in and you can't find it by any of these methods, there is another way -

Click on your username at the top of every page to go to your profile. Once there, click the drop down menu on the top right, 'Profile Options' and select 'View All Posts By This Member'.

You'll get a list of all the posts you've ever made. Simply look through the list to find the one you want, then click on the post number, which you'll find at the bottom of each post.

Failing all that, please have a look at this thread which may have an explanation as to why your topic is 'lost'.

If there are any questions about any of this, please contact a staff member via Owl and we'll all do our very best to help you out.

Happy searching!!

This post has been edited by Michelle Dessler: Aug 27 2006, 09:12 PM