Older posts unavailable?

[LaRetta]

Hi Stephen, I am unable to find posts older than 2008. Please tell me it is temporary. Yesterday and, I think even this morning, I could find older posts but now even after rebooting, nada.

Edited January 2, 2010 by Guest

[LaRetta]

They seem to be available from stored links but not through searching by User.

UPDATE: Even many referenced links (when I find a post such as this one and it links to another post), the link it references is gone.

Edited January 2, 2010 by Guest

[Ocean West]

I believe the search doesn't search back farther then 2 years.

[Lee Smith]

Hi Stephen,

I believe this goes back to the period before we changed provider, or when there was an upgrade in the software, where the links all broke. You can find the link mentioned in LaRetta's post by the number in the link. i.e. #134912

Edited January 7, 2010 by Guest

[LaRetta]

Hi Stephen,

On New Year's day, I spent it searching here (for older posts by JT). I could find posts back through 2005. I could find Comment's posts back through 2005 as well. It changed the next day (when I posted)!! Try this:

Advanced Search by User only (no forum specified, or topic or subject specified, not boolean - just generic User search). I had specified a year ago and older. On 1/1/2010, I could everyone back through 2005 by this search. But now:

Comment: oldest post displayed is 12/11/2008.

Me: oldest post displayed is 10/23/2008.

CobaltSky: back through 2005

-Queue- back through 2005

Some links I have stored in my database bring up the post and other links break (as Lee indicated above). Example: I have link stored by comment 'string of characters' keywords: letter next to number. The link is broken but other links I have stored, such as keywords: Position PatternCount were created in 2004 and produce results.

If necessary, I would be willing to buy all older posts and store them on a website for availability to myself and others. We already lost incredible information when Matt's site went down and I really don't want to lose that older reference information.

[Ocean West]

There are some limitations on search results that ONLY return 250 rows.

So and or two years. The issue with the link - will have to think if there is a fix.

Have you tried the google search?

[comment]

Meanwhile you can fix older links manually, e.g.

http://www.fmforums.com/threads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=162131&page=0&vc=1#Post162131

needs to be:

http://fmforums.com/forum/showpost.php?post/162131/

[LaRetta]

Thank you for showing me! I thought (from your example) that I'd need the opening post (162120) and I didn't have that in most instances but I realize I don't need it anyway.

Fixed example you provided: http://fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/162120/post/162131/#162131

It appears that it can be as simple as:

[color:green]/forum/showtopic.php?post/(postNumber)

... and it's a good thing. 152886 was an incredible thread that I didn't want to lose. I think I can fix all my links now.

UPDATE: Something's messin' with my head. I copied the fixed link you gave me and it is NOT what now appears when I paste (it now breaks again and includes the words a few times. The links appear to be changing at seemingly random principles.

UPDATE2: Just so you don't think I'm nuttier than I actually am ... when I selected your 'repaired' link above, I immediately pasted it into my database. And this is what appeared (I am removing the first portion so hopefully it won't change it to a link:

/forum/showtopic.php?tid/162120/post/162131/#162131

I copied that link from my database and opened the post. It all worked. Now when I paste that link here, it changes it again to my final 'theory of what works' which is the green above ([color:green]which I again removed the http stuff so it wouldn't turn into link. How can I pin down a theory if the information changes! Ah well, I think I now need to only save the post number and I should be able to re-create it (of course with the http://fmforums.com at the beginning).

Edited January 8, 2010 by Guest
Added two updates then promptly lost my mind

[LaRetta]

Hi Stephen, thank you for responding!

If you mean the Google Custom Search in the sidebar then yes, and I only get Congrats Comment when searching for Comment. And all search attempts here (including quick search) are as limited; I can't get older posts.

So you mean that there is no way to find any posts (for example) by Comment prior to 2008 unless I search for something specific? If I search for keywords 'calculation' and Comment, I get back to June of 2008 but still limits to 250 results. I haven't stored links to everything I want - I was counting on the ability to search here.

So those who post a lot (and provide the greatest solutions) are restricted to current entries? Bummer. Is there any way we can retrieve this prior information which is still critically valuable? I am *serious about paying to store it somehow for searching ability (for myself and others).

Uhm, unless it's $500 per month or more. :blush2:

Edited January 8, 2010 by Guest