Announcement
Full text search is now live on many instances running version v4.2.0 !!!
It is "opt-in", meaning you need to check the "Include public post in search results" box to enable your posts to be searchable: Click Preferences (on right near bottom [gear icon]) >>> Click Public Profile (on left near top [person icon]) >>> Click Privacy and reach box (near top [lock icon]) >>> Under Search (scroll down middle of page)
more...
Notes (1)
The new search function includes the ability to search multiple terms and supports modifiers.
If you use two or more words the search will return results that contain ALL of those words (default is an AND function). You can also use OR between words to return results that contain ANY of those words.
Example (Try it out!): Pillars of Creation JWST
Notes (2)
The following search modifiers are supported:
has:image
has:video
has:audio
has:media
has:poll
has:link
has:embed
is:sensitive
is:reply
language:en
before:2023-08-08
after:2023-08-08
during:2023-08-08
[Edit] from:<username>
Example (Try it out!): mars rover before:2023-08-08
reference: https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/pull/26344#issuecomment-1668725055
@mastodonmigration @tchambers You missed one: `from:<username>`.
Unfortunately, there is no `to:<username>` modifier.
Can you search for phrases eg the equivalent of putting quotation marks around a few words in a search engine?
@EricFielding @lauren Actually, the setting is pretty easy to find:
Settings >>> Public Profile >>> Privacy and search
@lauren It's a bit disingenuous to call it "by design" as if it's meant to have low intake. If you followed the issue @Gargron's first instinct was to enable it by default, but they talked him to use opt-in. So it definitely was not "by design".
I don't mind it being opt-in, Mastodon is a pretty small network and new users will come.
I do wonder how other servers deal with it, like Threads. It would be painful if their content is not searchable because of the new option they don't use.
@lauren Yes, I might have misunderstood your sentiment. But what I meant it's not designed to have "low intake", it's a consequence of it being opt-in.
I would wager it has pretty high intake once Mastodon 4.2 is prevalent enough.
@lauren I'm not so sure, I've seen at least two polls, and people who are active here will enable it.
For example, 82% in this poll would like to have a search. Not much "antipathy". People who want it bad will enable it. https://mementomori.social/@rolle/110855897507132891
Ironically, because there is no search yet, I can't find the second poll! (Side note: It's neat that it enables searching of old posts as well from users if they tick the box, so we can find the stuff we've lost.)
It feels like people are 50%/50% on the search feature on Mastodon and Fediverse in general. Some Fedi software have quite extensive search implemented already in my knowledge. Mastodon barely has any search if you don't count the open text search patch. What do you think? Pick one. I want to see how divided we are on this. #Fediverse #Features #Search [ ] The search should find all public posts [ ] No searching in here please
I think providing choice — also a Mastodon hallmark — is good, but this being opt-in instead of opt-out will almost certainly greatly curtail the usefulness of the feature in practice.
And that’s on top of the already deleterious fact that it will only search posts that your instance already knows about.
@jeff @lauren @Ciantic You can either go for safety/privacy first or for convenience first. You can't have both.
The rest is just an onboarding problem to make people aware of the new privacy & reach tab on the profile settings. If the software shouldn't provide that, admins could do it by announcing, like I have done here: https://ailbhean.co-shaoghal.net/@gunchleoc/110954728924598317
Ceanglachain: 1 dealbh Tha sinn air tionndadh 4.2.0-beta2 a-nis :mastodon: Tadhailibh air na roghainnean prìobhaideachd agaibh on a tha roghainnean ùra ann. Tha mi fhathast a' feuchainn ri gluasad gu frithealaiche eile, mar sin dheth bithibh 'n dùil gum bidh am làrach sìos a-rithist. #rianachd
@jeff @lauren @Ciantic Seems like opt-in is a good way to do it. People who want their posts to be searchable can easily enable the option. Those who prefer to not have their posts easily discoverable can keep the status quo.
If it had been made opt-out, instantly everyone who does not want this would be automatically searchable and the onus would be on them to disable search. Can imagine a lot of angry users over such a move.
@lauren @jeff @Ciantic Yes, but the principle seems to be that enabling search should be a conscious and deliberate choice. It seems fine that you need to somehow become aware that the option exists and enable it. Having it this way assumes people are sophisticated enough to make this decision, and if they are not it protects their privacy by default.
A dialog, might be nice, but there will likely be plenty of user information available. It is not a hidden feature.
@lauren @jeff @Ciantic Yup people need to be aware of their choices. The problem is that people need to be interested enough in their options, and many people are not. With that being the case, the default behavior should be be the one that protects their privacy the best. It certainly should not be changed as a result of a software update to reduce privacy automatically.
That said, anything that can be done to educate people about their options is great.
@mastodonmigration @lauren @Ciantic “default behavior should be be the one that protects their privacy the best”
This is a false dichotomy & a standard Mastodon doesn’t follow generally: New account profiles and posts are public by default, and new followers are accepted automatically.
Someone realized that while situations exist meriting tighter privacy, that’s not the common use case & defaulting to that harms more users than it helps.
Just click the "#" or "# Explore" button on the right and type your search term into the box and press enter.
I agree it's too hard to find.
- Asking should be part of the onboarding process. And strongly recommended at that.
- The Privacy and Reach section should be more visible and accessible in general.
- See how other pages expand under Preferences on the sidebar? The tabs in Public Profile should as well. Or even its own top-level link since privacy is so important!
I understand GitHub is a better place for feedback? Perhaps someone could share this there in my stead if needed
@cepharum Plant ihr das Update ebenfalls auf euer Instanz @berlin.Social bereitzustellen?
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