Linden Lab Official:Search FAQ
This article answers some frequently-asked questions about search functionality in the Second Life® Viewer.
Questions about searching
How do I use the search window?
The Second Life search window has three top-level tabs:
- Search - general inworld search.
- Destination Guide - inworld locations hand-picked by Linden Lab; sorted into a wide variety of categories.
- Classfieds - enables you to search classified ads in a number of categories.
The search tab has the following sub-tabs to enable you to narrow your searches:
- All Results
- People
- Places
- Events
- Groups
- Land Sales
- Wiki
You can also filter results by maturity rating: check GENERAL, MODERATE, or ADULT to include results with that rating.
What is the difference between the All Results tab and the other tabs?
There are several tabs in Search that allow you to find results organized in different ways. The All tab and Group tab use Google search appliance technology to find results based on multiple relevancy algorithms. The Classifieds, Events, Land Sales, Places, and People tabs use a more straightforward keyword search with secondary information used for ranking results, depending on the tab. To learn how to search more efficiently, see How to produce better search results and relevance.
Why don't I see the item I'm looking for?
Results on the All tab are ranked differently than on the other tabs, so the results are shown in a different order. It may be that the item you are looking for is ranked either higher or lower on the All tab than on other tabs.
Why am I getting an error that some search terms have been removed from my query?
There are content restrictions that affect search results in all of Search. Certain words are not allowed in search, or are only allowed if your account has been verified as adult and you have opted in to see Adult content. For more information on content restrictions, see Content restrictions. If you are unable to select the Adult checkbox, you need to verify your account as adult. To learn how to verify your account as adult, see How to become verified as an adult.
What's included in the All tab of the Search window?
- Land parcels
- Resident profiles
- Groups
- Events
- Individual objects
- Articles in the Second Life Wiki
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Note: Classifieds are shown in a separate frame from the rest of the search results on the All tab. |
How can I search Classifieds?
Classified ads can be searched under the Classifieds tab. Search results are listed according to price in descending order.
The All search is basically the same as using our web based Second Life Search. If you have placed a classified ad, your information will show in searches in the All tab.
Is it possible to sort search results alphabetically?
No, but the search results should be helpful and relevant.
Are there Boolean or other advanced search techniques available in All and Group search?
Yes. All and Group Search supports Boolean logic, keyword searching and phrase searching.
- "Keyword searching" refers to a search type in which you enter terms representing the concepts you wish to retrieve. Boolean operators are not used.
- "Boolean logic" refers to a search in which symbols or words are used to represent Boolean logical operators. When used in constructing a search expression, it can be very useful in specifying exactly what information you want.
- "Phrase Searching" refers to when you are looking for results that include an exact phrase. In this case, just put quotation marks around your search terms.
Nowadays, most search engines, including All and Group search, automatically return search results that include all of your search terms. There is no need to include AND between them.
Examples of search usage:
- You're looking for cat avatars
- Boolean logic: AND
- Search: cat avatars
- You're looking for live music, but not Jazz
- Boolean logic: NOT
- Search: live music -jazz
- You're looking for cats or dogs
- Boolean logic: OR
- Search: cats OR dogs
- You're looking for a particular person named "Jane Avatar"
- Logic: phrase searching
- Search: "Jane Avatar"
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Tip: You can find more tips on how to use boolean logic in Google's search documentation. Not all of Google's tricks work in Second Life's search; try a few combinations and find out what works best for you! |
Can I filter search results by maturity rating?
It is possible to filter your search results by maturity rating by checking boxes for 
General, 
Moderate, and 
Adult in the Search window; for in-depth information on this feature, see Maturity Ratings and Inworld Search. To view Adult search results, you must first become verified as an adult.
Privacy concerns
You have the ability to choose what's included in Search. For the initial population of the search, we made some assumptions for the default settings of each type of result (explained below). You are able to change the default after it has been set, although it may take between 1-3 days before changes are reflected in the search results. Due to the nature of search indexing, we cannot make any guarantees about when any changes will appear.
Be aware that search results are available to the public; anyone with a web browser can view them from the proper search page. External search engines like Yahoo and Google may also pick up search results, but we are not explicitly asking search engines to crawl them at this time. It is important to remember that Linden Lab does not tie this information to your real life identity. However, if you provide real life information in any of the content types indexed by All search, it could be viewed by people via the Web as well as by anyone with a free Second Life account.
Land parcels
Land parcels do not show in search by default. Turn on the Show Place in Search option by going to:
- Right click on the parcel and select About Land from the pie menu.
- Select the Options tab.
- Check Show Place in Search.
- Select a Category from the Category drop-down menu.
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Note: There is a L$30 per week fee to show your parcel in Search. |
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Warning: Parcels need to be at least 128 square meters in order to appear in the All search or the Places search. Do not spend L$30 to list parcels smaller than 128 square meters. |
Groups
Groups make themselves visible in Search by checking the Show in Search box in the Group Information window's General tab.
Resident profiles
All Resident profiles are included in search by default. You can limit the amount of information others can search in your profile by unchecking the box next to Show in Search. The limited profile includes:
- Your avatar's name
- Born date
- Account type
When the Show in Search option is checked, additional profile information will appear in search:
- 2nd Life tab
- Text from the About section
- Profile Photo
- Picks tab
- Favorite Places
How do I set my objects to show in search?
The Show in Search option for an object is unchecked by default. If you would like your object to be visible in search:
- Right click on the object and select Edit from the pie menu.
- Click the General tab.
- Check Show in Search.
What happens when I transfer an object set to Show in search?
Objects for sale and set to show in search default back to the Show in search option unchecked for the purchaser of the object.
Objects set to show in search that are transferred to another Resident will keep the Show in search option checked. The new object owner can uncheck this option.
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Note: For an object to be visible in Search, it must be on a parcel of land that has Show in Search checked. |
Events
All events are included in search. You are also able to search on any information within the event details.
Questions about search listings
Is search functionality available on the web?
Search results are available to the public; anyone with a Web browser can view them from the proper search page. The search results may also be picked up by other external search engines such as Yahoo and Google, although we're not explicitly asking search engines to crawl them at this time.
It's important to remember that this information is not tied to your real life identity and is the same information that anybody could see with a free Second Life account.
Are you working with Google on this?
We are not working with Google on our Search functionality. We use Google search appliance technology to run these searches, but Google themselves aren't actually indexing Second Life; we are.
Does traffic play any role in the search rankings?
High traffic somewhat increases the relevance of search results, because we provide inbound links from traffic pages with top-10, top-20, top-1000, etc. places. The place listings do not sort strictly by traffic, however. It's only one of many factors included in the search logic.
How else is ranking determined?
It depends on the category. The Places tab is sorted in descending order by traffic, Classifieds is sorted in descending order by price, and so on.
Are inworld business owners subject to a periodic re-shuffling of search criteria?
Search is a very important tool for users and business owners, and we will constantly strive to improve that tool to meet all our Residents' needs. We will release periodic updates, new features and bug fixes that may affect the performance of particular listings in the search results. Whenever possible, we will communicate about these releases in advance on the Second Life blog.
Are objects on "private land" that are set for sale included in search?
If your parcel is set not to show in search, your objects are not listed.
If your parcel is set to show in search, your for-sale objects are listed.
Do objects with the default name "Object" affect results?
All objects with the default name of "Object" are ignored by Search.
What about things inside a vendor?
Vendor kiosks must be explicitly set to Show in Search, the same as any other object to be included in search. From the server's perspective, a vendor is just a scripted object -- it doesn't really know that the object is selling something. Likewise, it is not possible to search inside the vendor, although you could use the name and/or description of the vendor object to list keywords describing what's inside it.
Are people able to use a search result teleport link to access a private parcel?
Only if the private parcel owner has given them access. If the owner has enabled Show place in Search, the parcel search results page shows links to the parcel and to the objects on the parcel. The object links allow people to find things easier on any parcel, but they will not circumvent privacy settings.
Do searches match partial words?
No. Previously, search used to return results like "constable" if you entered "table." That no longer happens.
Do classifieds that have paid more for inclusion always appear at the top of results?
Ads shown in both the Classifieds tab and in All and Group search results are ranked by a combination of keyword relevance and price paid.
Are articles in the Second Life Knowledge Base returned in the results?
Search does return articles from this wiki; however, you can't limit searches to only Knowledge Base articles. Look for the "Knowledge Base seal of approval" that identifies KB articles.
When are search results updated?
The static HTML pages on world.secondlife.com update twice daily at 3 AM and 3 PM Pacific time. The All and Group tabs index these pages and return them as results. It may take 1-3 days for those updates to be reflected in the search results.
The rest of the tabs should show the changes almost immediately after items are created or updated, depending on query caching used to reduce database load.
Due to the nature of search indexing, we're not able to make any guarantees about when any changes will appear.