I am fairly certain that the majority of people who visit Briskoda do so because they have a problem with their car and/or they wish to ask a question about it. So-- visit a forum to see if anyone else has asked the same question, and perhaps has had it answered. They choose a forum from the twenty or so on offer, in my case the MK1 Octavia, and start looking. Shock! Horror! There are almost 1200 pages, each with 30 posts, about 36,000 in total! My god, how long have I got left on this planet? Ok, I'll use the search facility, I was'nt born yesterday (chortle chortle). I put in my search words---press the go button---and the search engine searches the entire website including the toilets and tells me proudly it has found 200,000 hits on each word of my search terms.

Try as I might, I cannot get the damn machine to restrict its search to just the one model of car. Is this even possible? Part of the problem may be my fault, of course, not being a computer nerd, just a lowly mechanic with a good grasp of English. Unfortunately, computerspeak left English behind a long time ago and is now a different language. It would be nice if the people who create websites could incorporate a translation/explanation when they throw around words like topics, titles and tabs to enlighten us, the hard of understanding.

Anyway, rant over, if any body wants me I'll be in the bomb shelter.

Welcome. Try a search engine like Google. Use key words. briskoda Octavia MK1 vrs alarm siren. Or whatever.

13 hours ago, Chippers said:

I am fairly certain that the majority of people who visit Briskoda do so because they have a problem with their car and/or they wish to ask a question about it. So-- visit a forum to see if anyone else has asked the same question, and perhaps has had it answered. They choose a forum from the twenty or so on offer, in my case the MK1 Octavia, and start looking. Shock! Horror! There are almost 1200 pages, each with 30 posts, about 36,000 in total! My god, how long have I got left on this planet? Ok, I'll use the search facility, I was'nt born yesterday (chortle chortle). I put in my search words---press the go button---and the search engine searches the entire website including the toilets and tells me proudly it has found 200,000 hits on each word of my search terms.

Try as I might, I cannot get the damn machine to restrict its search to just the one model of car. Is this even possible? Part of the problem may be my fault, of course, not being a computer nerd, just a lowly mechanic with a good grasp of English. Unfortunately, computerspeak left English behind a long time ago and is now a different language. It would be nice if the people who create websites could incorporate a translation/explanation when they throw around words like topics, titles and tabs to enlighten us, the hard of understanding.

Anyway, rant over, if any body wants me I'll be in the bomb shelter.

Ah yes, the age-old ritual of entering a car forum, full of hope, typing in "weird rattling noise when reversing uphill on Tuesdays," and being rewarded with 200,000 results, including one about a kettle in Lithuania. Classic.

You're not alone, Chippers. Search functions are a bit like that one relative who means well but gets confused and brings a fire extinguisher to a birthday party. The trick is using quotes for exact phrases otherwise, the search engine breaks your sentence into individual words and invites every possible result containing any of them. It's like asking a dog to find your slippers and coming back with everything you've ever owned.

So instead of:

weird noise when reversing uphill

Try:

"weird noise" "reversing uphill"

And if the forum lets you, use filters to limit results to specific sections like "MK1 Octavia" though let’s be honest, sometimes the search engine ignores that like your car ignores the check engine light. So with that in mind, let's explore a little more on how to use the search function...

How to Actually Use Search (Without Losing Your Sanity):

1. Use Quotation Marks for Phrases
   Type:

   "weird noise" "when reversing uphill"
   
   Instead of:
   weird noise when reversing uphill
   Quotation marks tell the search engine to look for that exact phrase, not each word separately. Otherwise, it returns posts about “reversing,” “uphill,” and “noise” —

   separately. It’s like Googling "cat food" and getting "cats" and "food" from 1998.

2. Use the "Advanced Search" Options (click the gear icon near the search bar)
   Don’t just smash the Enter key. Click that little settings icon or "Advanced Search" link:

   • "Find results in..." → Choose Topics or Posts

   • "Search in forum..." → Select MK1 Octavia to avoid results from Fabia, Roomster, or the Bermuda Triangle.

   • "Content titles only" → Tick this box to only search thread titles (not every post). Very handy for common issues.

3. Use the “+” Sign for Must-Include Words
   Type:

   +noise +reverse +hill
   
   This tells the forum: “I don’t want maybe, I want definitely.”

4. Use Filters After Searching
   After the search runs, refine your results on the left-hand side (if visible). Sort by date, relevance, or even by forum section.

5. Still Lost? Use Google... but point it at Briskoda (This is especially helpful, and my go to... I'd much rather use this type of search, and best of all it can be used for any site).
   Sometimes it’s easier to search Briskoda from Google. Type:

   site:briskoda.net "MK1 Octavia" "rattling noise"
   
   Weirdly, Google sometimes understands forums better than the forums themselves. Go figure.

And yes, "tabs," "topics," and "threads" sound like something from a 2003 tech startup brainstorming session. All we want is a big shiny button that says “Find my damn issue.”

You're doing great! Mechanic or not, you're navigating a maze designed by caffeine fueled web developers with a grudge against clarity.

I hope this helps! As we were all there once!

Edited 5 June5 Jun by Dean

10 minutes ago, Dean said:

Ah yes, the age-old ritual of entering a car forum, full of hope, typing in "weird rattling noise when reversing uphill on Tuesdays," and being rewarded with 200,000 results, including one about a kettle in Lithuania. Classic.

You're not alone, Chippers. Search functions are a bit like that one relative who means well but gets confused and brings a fire extinguisher to a birthday party. The trick is using quotes for exact phrases otherwise, the search engine breaks your sentence into individual words and invites every possible result containing any of them. It's like asking a dog to find your slippers and coming back with everything you've ever owned.

So instead of:

Try:

And if the forum lets you, use filters to limit results to specific sections like "MK1 Octavia" though let’s be honest, sometimes the search engine ignores that like your car ignores the check engine light. So with that in mind, let's explore a little more on how to use the search function...

How to Actually Use Search (Without Losing Your Sanity):

1. Use Quotation Marks for Phrases
   Type:

2. Use the "Advanced Search" Options (click the gear icon near the search bar)
   Don’t just smash the Enter key. Click that little settings icon or "Advanced Search" link:

   • "Find results in..." → Choose Topics or Posts

   • "Search in forum..." → Select MK1 Octavia to avoid results from Fabia, Roomster, or the Bermuda Triangle.

   • "Content titles only" → Tick this box to only search thread titles (not every post). Very handy for common issues.

3. Use the “+” Sign for Must-Include Words
   Type:

4. Use Filters After Searching
   After the search runs, refine your results on the left-hand side (if visible). Sort by date, relevance, or even by forum section.

5. Still Lost? Use Google... but point it at Briskoda (This is especially helpful, and my go to... I'd much rather use this type of search, and best of all it can be used for any site).
   Sometimes it’s easier to search Briskoda from Google. Type:

And yes, "tabs," "topics," and "threads" sound like something from a 2003 tech startup brainstorming session. All we want is a big shiny button that says “Find my damn issue.”

You're doing great! Mechanic or not, you're navigating a maze designed by caffeine fueled web developers with a grudge against clarity.

I hope this helps! As we were all there once!

That deserves it's own sticky in https://www.briskoda.net/forums/forum/22-briskoda-community-help-and-suggestions/ IMO.
Excellent guide for newbies (and us oldies) alike.

There is an issue. AI. Or the Welsh one DAI. Now you get given the answer with all the crap I have posted over the years.

56 minutes ago, Ootohere said:

There is an issue. AI. Or the Welsh one DAI. Now you get given the answer with all the crap I have posted over the years.

Surprisingly, I added even more! I thought the extra steps would help! 🤣