IMPORTANT: We would ask that both experienced and inexperienced forum users read the first three posts of this thread fully before posting on BIABrewer.info

[center]How to Find Quality Information on BIABrewer.info[/center]

Finding quality information on any forum can be tedious. BIABrewer.info has taken considerable care in site teccnology and structure so that quality information can be found easily.

The second and third posts of this article explain...

How to Search

1. Forum Search
2. Advanced Search
3. Google Search

Finding the Highest Quality Information

1. Articles published under the name of BIABrewer
2. Stickys
3. The Best of BIABrewer.info
4. Topics in General Brewing Skills
5. Topics that are ticked
6. BIABrewer.info Author Ranking
7. All other results

You are most welcome to ask any questions in this thread.

Cheers,
BIABrewer

IMPORTANT: We would ask that both experienced and inexperienced forum users read the first three posts of this thread fully before posting on BIABrewer.info

IMPORTANT: We would ask that both experienced and inexperienced forum users read the first three posts of this thread fully before posting on BIABrewer.info

[center]How To Search[/center]

BIABrewer.info provides three powerful search tools. The three tools are found immediateley underneath the, "Donate," button at the top right of every page. The three tools are as follows...

1. Forum Search

This is a quick search tool but can be useful in many instances.

In the forum search textbox, you can type in keywords or a phrase and then click the, "Go," button. All posts containing any of the words you have searched will be displayed in chronological order with the most recent posts appearing first.

Searching places a large load on servers therefore, search words must be greater than three characters. If you wished to find information on, say the no-chill method of chilling wort, you should type either of the following into the search box including the inverted commas... "no chill" or "no-chill". Typing in no chill without the inverted commas will return zero results.

2. Advanced Search

This search tool allows for very specific searches and is the best tool to use to, "hone, in on quality information especially if the other search tools provide too many hits.

Clicking on, "Advanced Search," will take you to a dedicated search page. Here you can narrow your search down in many ways. For example, you can limit the results to only those topics or posts written by a certain member.

Another useful feature of this search tool is the, "Return first:" feature which is located at the bottom right of the advanced search page. Here you can increase or decrease the number of characters displayed for each result. Increasing this figure will give you a better overview of what information a result is likely to provide.

3. Google Search

This search tool is similiar to the first search tool in its results and use. It may not however give the most up to date results as the site is indexed by Google only intermittently while the Forum Search tool indexes the site constantly.

IMPORTANT: We would ask that both experienced and inexperienced forum users read the first three posts of this thread fully before posting on BIABrewer.info

IMPORTANT: We would ask that both experienced and inexperienced forum users read the first three posts of this thread fully before posting on BIABrewer.info

[center]Finding the Highest Quality Information[/center]

Now that you are familiar with the individual features of the three search tools, further benefits can be gained by understanding the hierarchy of information quality on the site.

Topics and posts on BIABrewer.info can be divided into seven categories. As a general rule, the higher the category in the list below, the more reliable the information. Much information though will only be available in the seventh category so this category should in no way be dismissed. The reader though should make attempts to corroborate information in these posts before acting upon them.

1. Articles published under the name of BIABrewer

Any topics or posts that are published with BIABrewer as the author name can be considered to be the highest quality information we have available at any time. Anything written under this name is reviewed by a panel before it is published on BIABrewer.info.

Use the, "Author," feature in the Advanced Search tool to quickly find if BIABrewer has published information on an area you are interested in.

2. Stickys

Stickys are topics that always appear at the top of a forum. They are denoted by the exclamation mark within a splash icon such as is seen beside every topic in Important Notices. All BIABrewer posts are also stickys.

Stickys that are not authored by BIABrewer can still be considered of high quality. They are most likely topics that are going through the process of becoming, "BIABrewer," topics. Turning a sticky into such a topic can involve many hours of re-writing and review by a panel of brewers and it can therefore sometimes take many weeks, sometimes months, to complete the process.

3. The Best of BIABrewer.info

Any links in this thread could well contain high quality information. This is where members can suggest topics or posts that could become stickys. Some of these topics or posts may end up in one of the two categories above.

4. Topics in General Brewing Skills

As the General Brewing Skills forum is one of the most formal on the site, it can be expected that concise and accurate information on quite specific questions can be found here.

Use the, "Search in forums," feature in the Advanced Search tool to limit your results to topics or posts that have been published in the General Brewing Skills forum.

5. Topics that are ticked

If you have already read The Best Way to Start & Manage a New Topic, you will see that topic authors are asked to edit their first post and, "tick," it once they have found a suitable answer to their question. Looking for posts that are ticked is a good way to find topics that may answer a question you have immediately.

6. BIABrewer.info Author Ranking

BIABrewer.info is considering creating a system where authors who consistently post quality information can be recognised in some manner. If this system is implemented, then replies by authors with such a ranking should be considered carefully as they would be likely to contain solid advice.

7. All other results

Lots of interesting information and discussions will be found in topics and posts that don't fall into one of the above categories. Much of this information will also be correct and most helpful. Some topics and posts in this section will also include answers that are required quickly to urgent problems or one off situations. Only the rarest topics and posts will be in one or more of the first six categories so posts in this category should not be dismissed.

As mentioned previously though, BIABrewer recommends you corroborate, as best you can, any information obtained from this category before you act upon it.

If you have any questions on any of these first three posts, please feel free to ask them here.

BIABrewer

IMPORTANT: We would ask that both experienced and inexperienced forum users read the first three posts of this thread fully before posting on BIABrewer.info