search/Notation

    This is a small note about search notation on this website.

    I use square brackets ([ and ]) to enclose a search query (in order to simplify the distinction between simply searching for multiple search terms [this query] or an exact phrase like [“this query”], which different search tools may process very differently). I use HTML and CSS to make search queries distinct. So the brackets are in a slightly larger font and heavier (thicker) than the rest of the text and there is more visual spacing. Like, [this query]. Copying that should still give the reader that string: [this].

    I also sometimes like to quickly indicate on which search tool or search engine I ran a query. I like to put the name of the tool immediately before the left-bracket (sometimes I may abbreviate the tool name, like just ddg for DuckDuckGo or t for Twitter): Yahoo[this query] or AltaVista[“this query”]. I also use HTML and CSS to render these sorts of queries differently: Bing[what is a search query?] and often include a link to the query: Bing[what is a search query?].