ARCHIVAL SEARCH INSTRUCTIONS
This is a clarification of how to do SEARCH functions on Lactnet..it is
very useful to have this information at your finger tips, and to try it out.
Many times, a topic has been discussed, and you can benefit from finding
past posts on the topic you are interested in.
For info's sake, there are a few different ways to do a search for subject
matter or sender on Lactnet material. We have approximately 2 years of
Lactnet posts presently available to you (posts older than this are
hopefully going to be included in the new Lsoft server, but this has not
happened yet.)
The first way is to do the searches by email through the
[log in to unmask] address. The second way is accessing the
archives from our archive web site at LACTNET Archives
http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/lactnet.html. The following
instructions apply to the first method, searching via the listserv.
For instance, if you are interested in finding all the notes that have
Goat's Milk in the text since Jan 1, 1997, you can send an email message to
[log in to unmask] that says Jan 1, 1997
SEARCH goat in LACTNET
If you are interested in finding several different words in Lactnet posts,
such as the following, it might seem that the right way to do it is to do
several *different* searches, in separate notes to listserv, like....
search epilepsy in lactnet
search tegretol in lactnet
search carbamazepine in lactnet
search phenobarbital in lactnet
to the [log in to unmask] address. However, this is not an
effective way to utilize the search function, as it taxes the system, and is
ineffective.
We are glad that you all are using the search functions, and here are a few
hints....and suggestions on how best to do SEARCHes on Lactnet.
You can put several commands into a single message, and should do so
when you can (because it's easier for both you and the machine). Just
put each command onto its own line. Second, it will be much easier for
you to make sense of the output if you put everything you want from
LACTNET into a single command:
SEARCH EPILEPSY OR TEGRETOL OR CARBAMAZEPINE OR PHENOBARBITAL OR PROZAC IN
LACTNET
... like that. Or you can do things like this, too:
SEARCH EPILEPSY AND (TEGRETOL OR CARBAMAZEPINE OR PHENOBARBITAL) IN LACTNET
Rather than having to combine the lists of results that LISTSERV gives
you to from those individual searches, let it do the work for you.
If you were interested in searching for all the posts that I have made, for
instance, on Lactnet, you could do a
SEARCH * in Lactnet where sender contains Bruce
to the [log in to unmask] address.
If you wanted to see all the posts I've made since Jan 1997, for instance,
you could do a
SEARCH * in Lactnet where sender contains Bruce SINCE Jan 1997
to [log in to unmask]
If you are searching for several words that are together, such as
Breastmilk storage container
you should first know that the Listserv automatically assumes "NEAR" between
all the words, so they not only have to be in the same article but also
within a few words of each other. In addition, unless you *have* to search
the entire set of archives, you should always limit the search with a date
specifier like this:
search breastmilk storage containers in LACTNET since Jan 1998
It is important to specify the search. Limiting the search and making
requests specific places less stress on the system. Many articles talking
about
breast milk would separate the two words, and that some articles talking
about containers might only say "container", etc. Specifying a search that
gets all or most of what you want with a minimum of what you don't is as
much of an art as a science.
For information on searching, write to [log in to unmask] with
the command
INFO DATABASE.
When you use the SEARCH function, the computer will send you back a "menu"
of posts, each having a 4 digit number (####). You can then order the posts
you want with the command
GETPOST Lactnet #### #### #### ####
to [log in to unmask]
Last but not least, the search function is also available at the WEB SITE
LACTNET Archives http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/lactnet.html
Thanks, from Lactnet administrators-
[log in to unmask]
Kathleen B. Bruce, BSN, IBCLC co-owner Lactnet, Indep. Consultant
mailto:[log in to unmask]
http://homepages.together.net/~kbruce/kbblact.html
LACTNET Archives
Kathleen B. Bruce, BSN, IBCLC co-owner Lactnet, Indep. Consultant
mailto:[log in to unmask]
http://homepages.together.net/~kbruce/kbblact.html
LACTNET Archives http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/lactnet.html
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