When H-Africa began in 1995 an efficient search engine did not exist. To assist subscribers,
web editors hand crafted subject discussions based on chronology. Hand crafting these
threads, sometimes thought of as online seminars, is now no longer necessary. By January 2002
Dennis Boone's efficient and powerful search engine could accomplish that and much more. If
you have been unable to find your thread on H-Africa's thread page, and it does exist in the
archives of H-Africa or H-Net, follow these instructions:
Enter your subject word/s in the "Search For:" box
For "Type:" select Keyword
In "Discussion List Search:" you can search H-Net wide by selecting "All Lists;" you can
search H-Africa by selecting only H-Africa; or you can search all H-Africana by selecting H-
Afrarts while holding down the shift key and pressing your down arrow key until the highlight
reaches H-Afrteach
For "Number of Returns:" choose 100
For "Search Field:" choose "Subject"
Make sure "Ignore Job Guides" is checked
Select your time parameters (H-Africa's first posting is on 27 March 1995)
Under "Sorting:" select "Date (Oldest first)"
Scroll back up to the "Search For:" field and click on "Enter"
If your subject appears as a thread, the individual postings will be listed as separate links
arranged with the oldest first. If your search is not successful, try synonyms, or under the
"Search Field:" select "Entire Message." If this still produces no results, review all of your
search parameters; perhaps other settings will list results. If you cannot find your
thread, we invite you to begin a new discussion.
