Shoutout to the guy at the library who showed me how to actually phrase a search

I was at the downtown branch trying to find info on fixing a specific engine knock in my old Ford, and I kept getting junk results. This older guy, Mark, saw me getting frustrated and said 'try putting the exact sound in quotes, like 'knock knock ping'.' I did it and found the exact forum thread I needed in like two seconds. I used to just type a bunch of words and hope. Anyone else have a simple trick that made looking stuff up way easier?

4 comments

4 Comments

john_fisher1mo ago

Wait, that actually works?" ... I mean, it works fine, but is a library search really that deep?

angelaw783mo ago

Oh that's a great tip. Honestly, I always forget about the minus sign trick. Like if you're searching for something but a certain brand keeps popping up, you can just type -BrandName and it filters that junk right out.

moore.beth3mo ago

Right? It's like the internet's best kept secret that's been right in front of us this whole time.

nancyg143mo ago

Wait, that actually works? Been using search engines forever and never knew you could do that. How did I miss something so simple?