h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi Gurus!

I seem to recall somewhere in the distant past a description of the functionality of the search engine, the page/content explained the % score system behind the search engine.

I've found this page http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A308198#4 "How can I search the Guide?" - but the one I'm thinking of had more information.

Has anyone bookedmarked the fuller search explanation page or remembers where this content might be? I've tried searching, but no joy (ironically!)...

If I recally correctly, the percentages are worked out using a formula that only the programming on the microsoft database server knows, and are then scaled up to make people feel better, because originally they were all stupidly low, even when the search engine worked. I don't know where I got this impression from, though, possibly a thread in the bug reports section... it would be from way back, as well, as I think it became an issue when Ripley went online, because before then everything was in perl, and now it's in C++.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/DontPanic-Explore#footnote8

It might be what you're looking for?

Wonderful, thank you Bernadette, that's exactly what I've been looking for!

Your help is much appreciated.

Given that it is on the same page, A308198, as you had already allegedly read and rejected, you should see why the rest of us were having trouble coming up with anything better! The other discussions of it, which I vaguely recall, had been in threads - possibly also the same ones as previously mentioned.

*waves to Peta*