questions and suggestions for searching

[Master Nater]

It is always interesting to see the same questions being asked at regular intervals, one which still surprises me is the removal of base metals using acids.
It is as if the use of alkalis has never been considered.
Lead, tin and zinc are all soluble in caustic solution the usual caustic working level is around 20%, heat enhances the reaction.
If someone is wanting to use one of these as a collector metal, with caustic leaching you have the option of using whichever suits your purpose best rather than worrying over how to acid leach the metal away after use.
If you are just wanting to dissolve tin from scrap this presents a simple method, a rinse after leaching gets you material ready for precious metal leaching.
You can easily electrowin the base metals back from the caustic liquor if this is a viable method for you.
Deano

i would recommend the search engine be updated to make searching easier and more efficient. the only results i get in my searches are the posts in which i have already taken part in. which is why i don't understand the direction of this forum. if you're wanting it to be a database, make the search engine MUCH EASIER so higher-level refiners do not feel the need to reply as quickly. if you are wanting it to remain a forum, allow people to speak. just my two cents.

 

[4metals]

i would recommend the search engine be updated to make searching easier and more efficient. the only results i get in my searches are the posts in which i have already taken part in. which is why i don't understand the direction of this forum. if you're wanting it to be a database, make the search engine MUCH EASIER so higher-level refiners do not feel the need to reply as quickly. if you are wanting it to remain a forum, allow people to speak. just my two cents.

Open for suggestions about how to do just that. Refining is not simply an if this do that proposition and often threads evolve as the discussion continues. And the title of a thread rarely indicates specifically what a topic is about. You are correct that there is a tremendous quantity of valuable information here and we are open for suggestions to make more targeted searches.

 

[Master Nater]

Open for suggestions about how to do just that. Refining is not simply an if this do that proposition and often threads evolve as the discussion continues. And the title of a thread rarely indicates specifically what a topic is about. You are correct that there is a tremendous quantity of valuable information here and we are open for suggestions to make more targeted searches.

you're right. the title is rarely what the meat-and-potatos of the thread are about. it seems the search alogarithm is set up to first see the posts that the searchers are involved in, and not the entire database. it has been many decades since i was in computer programming, but when i was, i would have tried to set things up based upon the text inside of the thread, and not just the title. but, as i've said, i'm an electrician these days, and work in 1's and 0's and not computer alogarithms.

i'm more than willing to help test and de-bug, if you're looking for a volunteer. please let me know what i can do to help.

 

[Master Nater]

Open for suggestions about how to do just that. Refining is not simply an if this do that proposition and often threads evolve as the discussion continues. And the title of a thread rarely indicates specifically what a topic is about. You are correct that there is a tremendous quantity of valuable information here and we are open for suggestions to make more targeted searches.

perhaps a function that takes into thought not just the amount of times it identifies the search-term in a particular thread, as well as the amount of likes on that thread? this way, it identifies the up-votes for approval of the thread as well as the amount of times that thread mentions the term the user is searching for.

the problem will of course, be the ability of the user to search for the correct term... perhaps a glossary or table of contents for new users to search through???

edit: terms changed for coding language and usability. :?

 

[Yggdrasil]

perhaps a function that takes into thought not just the amount of times it identifies the search-term in a particular thread, as well as the amount of likes on that thread? this way, it identifies the up-votes for approval of the thread as well as the amount of times that thread mentions the term the user is searching for.

the problem will of course, be the ability of the user to search for the correct term... perhaps a glossary or table of contents for new users to search through???

edit: terms changed for coding language and usability. :?

I believe the search engine implementation is a part of the forum software.
How much it can be tweaked is probably only known by the technical staff of the owner.

The easier thing to change is probably our own searching skills.

Edit for spelling.

 

[gregory-d]

If I could be so bold as add a possible solution.
If someone could simply add a post to each relevant thread with maybe a tag like
"removal of base metals using acids"
or particular key words from the topic discussed. Then the search engine would be more likely to find relevant posts.
This would take work from people who actually know what the thread is about and can distill that down to a few words.

 

[Yggdrasil]

If I could be so bold as add a possible solution.
If someone could simply add a post to each relevant thread with maybe a tag like
"removal of base metals using acids"
or particular key words from the topic discussed. Then the search engine would be more likely to find relevant posts.
This would take work from people who actually know what the thread is about and can distill that down to a few words.

It will mean a massive undertaking.
We simply do not have enough time and when the thread changes direction it has to be done again.
Just look at this thread, one of the really useful threads on the forum.
It took a turn and now have a totally different discussion going on.
When that is said, we do have a project going on.
Lets see how it is panning out.

 

[gregory-d]

It will mean a massive undertaking.

Yes I totally i understand but it could save a lot of time answering questions repeatedly.

We simply do not have enough time and when the thread changes direction it has to be done again.

It was simply a suggestion and it could be done as a thread changes especially if a tag system was adopted.
I have no idea how this system is structured but tags work well in other forums.
edit.
I just did a search on acid peroxide as a tag and got only two threads

 

[Yggdrasil]

Yes I totally i understand but it could save a lot of time answering questions repeatedly.

It was simply a suggestion and it could be done as a thread changes especially if a tag system was adopted.
I have no idea how this system is structured but tags work well in other forums.
edit.
I just did a search on acid peroxide as a tag and got only two threads

Usually it is the other way around, too many hits.
So a search within the search would be useful.
Maybe it is there under the advanced tab but I have not found it yet.

 

[4metals]

I spent a lot of time when we created the library finding and editing posts for the library with an index thread that explains the topic at hand. But this takes an awful lot of work and when the new forum owner took over they actually removed the library. When we mods protested they said, from the number of hits (a number which they know) the library received it wasn't worth it. We persisted and they re-instated the library. But that tells you all of the work was not utilized to its full potential and likely still isn't.

Then we tried using a little coding edit which mods could inject to search for good threads about specific topics. It isn't perfect but needs work. At the same time I asked for topic suggestions and got minimal input. What does that say to me?????

A search algorithm about a topic as varied as refining can be is difficult to come up with unless the programmer is also a refiner. For now it takes a moderator putting in a lot of time to select out threads to highlight specific topics. And all of the moderators are volunteers. So unless very specific topic requests come in I don't for see any changes on the horizon.

 

[4metals]

As often happens in threads, this discussion of searching is totally off topic with Deano's thread. I will be moving this discussion from Deano's thread off to the bar and grill when I figure out how to split it off.

This discussion is well worth having but not on this thread by Deano.

 

[Yggdrasil]

As often happens in threads, this discussion of searching is totally off topic with Deano's thread. I will be moving this discussion from Deano's thread off to the bar and grill when I figure out how to split it off.

This discussion is well worth having but not on this thread by Deano.

My sentiment exactly, but I hadn't managed to decide where and what to move

 

[4metals]

My sentiment exactly, but I hadn't managed to decide where and what to move

I moved it to the bar and grill because I know it will appear on the latest posts listing. I know announcements and discussions topics, for whatever reason, are not listed on latest posts, so the bar it is for visibility and to keep this topic going.

 

[FrugalRefiner]

Just to add my two cents, I wrote a thread year ago called Tips for Navigating and Posting on the Forum. It includes some helpful information about searching the forum.

Dave

 

[4metals]

Just to add my two cents, I wrote a thread year ago called Tips for Navigating and Posting on the Forum. It includes some helpful information about searching the forum.

Exaggeration is never a good thing in refining Dave, that thread you linked is a lot more than 2¢!

 

[FrugalRefiner]

Inflation. It's probably worth twice that now.

If I can just find the time to update the last few posts. A lot changed when we changed software. I updated most of the posts, but there are some I've not gotten to. Linking videos was a challenge for me, and I lost a lot of what I had worked on. It was discouraging.

Dave

 

[gregory-d]

I do understand your pain guys I have been programming both professionally and personally (for fun?... I guess I'm a bit of a masochist ) for a long time (I wrote my first bit of code in 1985 and have worked in 9 different languages) and have done a lot! of work and learned a lot of stuff that is now redundant.
I am sorry if my suggestion caused more pain.
Currently I have just too many projects and know very little about this subject so I'm afraid I can't really help out but I will keep thinking about the problem as I get to know the forum and how it works.
There is still a hell of a lot to learn from the information already here.
The ideas are starting to flow already but I will keep them to myself until I understand things better.
I will try and stay with the framework already created.