i just tried to use the Search Function to find threads with "bug out bag," in the title and it said "There are no results for your query. Please try a broader range of search criteria." then i tried "BOB," with the same result. what's up with that? i know there are threads with "bug out bag" in the title cause i've seen them, and i personally posted a thread with BOB in the title. so why is the system saying there are no results?

Did you adjust the date range of your search?

set it to display anything newer than three years.

Did search using "bugout*" (without the quotes), selected "In subject and body," and specified date range "Newer than 3 years" and "Older than 1 day" and got 8 pages of results (8 might be the max it will return).

I sometimes forget to specify a date range, returning no results.

ok, that works, but why won't it work with "bug out bag?"

also, is there a way to set it so it'll only show the thread titles, and not all the separate replies?

Try "bugout bag".

I'm not aware of any way to show just a single thread title per hit.

I'm not aware either of any way to return a list of just initial/original posts.

You'll also get results if you plug-in search term "bugout+bag" (again, quotes not necessary).

It is interesting that "BOB" returns no results.

This subject already came up a few months ago
and IIRC it was said that a three letters word is not long enough to use for a search ...

that doesn't make much sense. considering that words/phrases like bug out bag, BOB, oil, gas etc come up frequently, a four letter minimum on search terms seems kinda silly.
any chance of those at the top fixing this little bug?

In the meantime, you can search on "BOB" or "gas" by sticking an asterisk at the end. So search for "BOB*" or "gas*". You may get a few more hits than you expect, like "Bobby", but it works.