Louise,

I think your topic might be a little more of a quagmire than anyone has
pointed out. First, I would like to note that searching strategies going to
vary from country to country and language to language. Also, it is not
clear to me yet that the relatively straightforward algorithms used for
searching or categorizing English text are anywhere near as effective in
other languages.

As an extreme example, the concept of a single, definitive sort order in
Japanese just plain does not exist. So how do you search? Not the same way
you do here is all I have time for right now.

That is an extreme example, but the same is true for European languages to
an extent.

There are probably cultural differences about ways people categorize or
create search strategies as well. Anyone have any info on that? For that
matter, I wonder if education level is another axis on which strategies
vary ....

Even if your site is all English and all readers are in US, that does not
mean they are all native English speakers. People may bring searching
strategies from their native lands and tongues regardless of their English
skills. Searching feels like a "meta-skill" to me in this sense.

So if you really want to have an effective search site, please consider who
your users really are and who you want them to be.


Barry