Searches get more results than downloads
 

I'm just curious about this. When I open a search page I can immediately get ten or more people sharing a given file. I send it to be downloaded, and the download manager reports that it knows of one busy source. I go back to my search and it's up to 10 people sharing that file. I look back in downloads, still says one. I close the search and start a new one. Again, it finds many people sharing the file in question. To be certain, I try to add it only to be told it's already in my downloads. Yet the download manager thinks no one is offering it.

This happens over and over and over and over and over. I think there is a significant problem with the way availability of files is communicated to the download portion of the program compared to how they are shown in search results.

Version 1.21 build 237, OS Win2000. But I've been noticing this for a really long time (before 1.12, but I didn't always grab each update so I don't recall which ones specifically).

I have notices the same patterns for a long time. I have always attributed it to the fact that Xolox doesn't tell you very much about what it is doing. There could be something wrong with those hosts. For all I know those hosts are no longer carrying the file, yet their IPs are still floating around. It would be nice if Xolox gave more information to users.

If they are not carrying the files, then why do they show up in the search window? All that means is that the bug lies in the search not the download, it doesn't change the fact that there is a fundamental incompatibility in results of the one compared to the other.

Possibly the download manager doesn't look for new sources very often or for very long. Perhaps the search manager generates results that don't exist anymore. Either way, there is a problem.

This is something that is not Xolox specific as far as files that do not exist anymore go. It has to do with the way that search results are reported. Some are taken from a list of files and IPs instead of only the files on that one computer. (It really helps get more results and keep network traffic down) If a file is on such a list then it can still be reported as a result. Even though these lists are usually updated quite frequently, dead links can still bet passed on. Also I have the feeling that Xolox simply does not count hoasts that have logged off or refuse connections for any reason other than being busy in any of the catigories in the downloads tab.

Weird stuff. Thanks for the insight.

In my not at all humble opinion, if it does not allow them, for any reason, into the download manager, they should not be reported in the search results.

They are reproted like normal results, so there is no way to tell the difference.

Then how does the download manager know to omit them? Whatever step is done to prevent them from appearing in the download manager should be applied to the search results before displaying them. That's all I'm saying. Make those two lists agree 100%.

The download manager removes them from it's list because Xolox can't get through.

So why not ping them, or whatever the download manager does, before displaying them on the search results?

And thanks for being patient with me on this.

All those pings could clog up the network. Imagine if every client pingsd every other computer it ever herd about. Also those computers may not be offline. The file might have been deleted. Or they might refise you connection. Some servents allow users to specify minimum amounts of files of file volume a user must have in order to be able to download. (their computer asks you when you try and download)