[Mailman-Developers] TODO: Search engine for archives

[Stu Ekins]

> If there is a concensus that effort in this area should focus 
> providing
> an interface to external search tools, I think that it would 
> probably be
> best left to other individuals.  I would be happy to discuss 
> the pros and
> cons of the various alternatives.

I would like to see some kind of indexing mechanism as part of the standard
mailman distribution. My requirements for a search are such that only simple
word/phrase searching is required, and something like ht:dig would be
overkill. 

Perhaps it would be useful to have a mailman standard search, and then leave
hooks in to allow integration with external search tools, should people
require that. Personally, I'd like to see the index updated at the same time
as the pipermail archives are, and it makes sense to have an indexing
package that "understands" mailman, even if its an external module.
 
> My inclination would be to provide some indexing and search mechanism
> within the existing framework.  There are several reasons for 
> this, not
> the least of which is that it fits well with my motivation 
> for doing this
> in the first place.

Then I vote you do it, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
You should fulfill your own requirements, even if other peoples' are
different. If you leave it sufficiently open that other people can implement
their own searches, then we end up with a stronger, more flexible and more
open product.

Mailman's at a stange now where confidence in it is growing. Many people I
speak to are looking at it with interest, and choosing to deploy it. By
making is a more rounded tool, it can only further increase its appeal as a
complete mailing list solution, rather than just a another mailing list
manager.

Stu.