[thelist] loopy URLs produced by search engines

Aaron Boodman aaron at youngpup.net
Wed Aug 28 11:52:02 CDT 2002


> Would there be any way of producing a more useable URL while still using
such
> a 'highlight-the-search-terms' engine? I'm talking server stuff here (I
guess).

Well, you could stick it in a database or application/session cache, map it
to a unique id, and pass the id instead.

But... URLs are supposed to be the unique address of a piece of information.
Highlighted search terms don't change this information, only the way it's
presented. So I say search terms (or ids of them) shouldn't be passed
through the URL at all. Send it through the post. Or cache it as described
above, then redirect to the page and design the page so that it always looks
for search terms in that cache.

My .02.

--
Aaron Boodman
aaron | www @ youngpup.net

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dunstan Orchard" <dunstan at 1976design.com>
To: "evolt list" <thelist at lists.evolt.org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2002 9:21 AM
Subject: [thelist] loopy URLs produced by search engines


> Hi there,
>
> I don't mean to be rude about Jokob Nielsen, but I wrote to him the other
day
> asking him why his search engine produced such insane links as this:
>
> Actual article link:
> http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20020819.html
>
> Link produced after using his site search engine to look for the article:
> http://useit.mondosearch.com/cgi-bin/MsmGo.exe?
>
grab_id=3790728&EXTRA_ARG=&host_id=2&page_id=27&query=Let+Users+Control+Font
+Si
>
ze&hiword=LET+USERS+CONTROL+FONT+SIZE+USER+CONTROLLED+SIZES+CONTROLS+SIZED+F
ONT
> S+CONTROLLING+SIZEABLE+
>
> when he's an advocate of useable URLs.
> He didn't write back, I guess he must get lots of emails.
>
> I realise he's parsed the page and highlighted the search terms, but it's
> still such an amazingly unuseable URL that I couldn't believe it. He
deosn't
> even provide a 'permalink' button.
>
> Would there be any way of producing a more useable URL while still using
such
> a 'highlight-the-search-terms' engine? I'm talking server stuff here (I
guess).
>
> Having the search terms highlighted is so useful, I wish more search
engines
> did it... I use my Google bar for that.
>
> Just wondering...
>
> cheers - dunstan
>
> ---------------------------
> Dorset, England
> http://www.1976design.com/
> http://www.orchard.it/
> http://www.maccaws.org/
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