After... wow... how long has it been? Months? More? Sorry it took that long= .. Anyway... I finally figured out how to get the search engine to work on the new server... can I just say that M$ does NOT document this well? And I seem to be one of the last people left using IIS, so there are few examples... However, it seems to be working quite well... considering that it is searching something like 4GB of posts from 1992 to today and can do complex things like "diode NEAR tester AND NOT transistor" As some of you may remember, the site does a (very annoying to some) limit on the number of searches it will allow in any given time: Currently 1 at a time and always with 10 seconds between the end of the last search and the allowed start of the next. If you allow javascript, it will automatically que your search and get to it when it gets to it. So the site is pretty much back up to where it was, although there are stil= l other minor areas that don't work quite as well as I'd like, it's generally= , again, a useable, useful site. FASQ: 1. "Why don't you just use google search?" Because after more than 10 years of requesting that they index the entire site, and after actually spoon feeding them a list of every file on the site, they STILL refuse to include all the pages in the site into their index. And the search engine gives you a pre-filled out form to click on for google search (and ebay and code project and amazon.com and if you want another one just tell me) so you can just click the button and go off into those engines as well. 2. "Why don't you switch to Linux / Unix / Ubunto / Fryshitsu / whatevermyfavoriteosis?" /sigh/ I did try with Linux (Red Hat) but I was spending all my free time (of which there isn't much) either A) learning ho= w to patch / hack / compile / etc.. the OS or B) keeping the script kiddies out. I asked for volunteers to help, and I even offered to pay or turn the use of the box over to another in return for hosting my site. The red hat box was hacked. Then I tried solaris, setup buy a professional *nix admin (worked for a major stock trading firm) and I didn't even have the root password for that box, but it /still/ got hacked. Now, during that same time, I had been running (and no I'm NOT kidding) Personal Web Server on a Windows '98 machine. Then later Win NT 3.51, then NT 4.0 (for years and years), then more modern versions. I NEVER got hacked, NEVER had to worry about security because the patches just install automatically. Yes, I have had the odd problem: http://www.piclist.com/techref/servfail.htm=20 and yes, I know everyone else in the world will tell you that *nix is the shit and M$ sucks... And if anyone else would bother to host this site, tha= t would mean something. However... When it's time to move off the current server, I may be singing a different tune...=20 3. "The graphic / layout / fen shway / zen flooy of the site is just horrible!" Great, give me a style sheet that fixes it, but don't tell me I need to set the width to exactly 800 pixels. HTML was made to flow and not everyone has the same size screen. 4. "The organization of the site is crap! I can't find anything!"=20 A) Use the search engine=20 B) use the little form at the bottom to add links or comments on how to improve it=20 C) join the site and become and editor like several others have taken the time to do.=20 D) shut up until you are willing to be part of the solution. 5. "I got an 'Attention! You are requesting pages too fast or using an automated agent!' and then accuses me of being a spammer. What should I do = / I'm deeply offended"=20 A) slow down (refresh the page after a few seconds) like a human so it can see you aren't an email harvester.=20 B) get over yourself. It's my server, and I like it to stay UP. When people pound on it by requesting too many pages, too quickly, it sometimes crashes= .. The most common offenders are automated engines looking for email addresses and not caring about my bandwidth costs. So I taught it to limit the number of requests it allows per second, protecting itself from overwork and me from over payment for extra bandwidth. 6. "I don't like the ads" Great, pay my collocation bill and they will go away. 7. "I noticed an error message or bug while using the site" Please let me know A) What page you were on (e.g. copy the URL) B) what the exact error message was (e.g. copy the error message) and thank you for taking the time to inform me so I can fix it. And having said all that, intelligent questions, suggestions and comments are most welcome. -- James Newton 1-970-462-7764=20 --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .