Slider to Sort by Relevance versus Date

We invite you to test and comment on a new feature of the search output, a slider bar that allows searchers to change the importance of age and relevance in ordering search results. To try it out, add "/slider" to the ACTION URL in your search form.

Moving the slider changes the relative importance of document age and relevance. For example, consider searching for a press release about "fireworks". A search based just on relevance might pull up old press releases that contain a lot about fireworks before a recent release that just mentions fireworks. A search just based on document age might pull up recent press releases having little to do with fireworks before a slightly older release with more about fireworks. Adjusting the slider to get a mixture of age and relevance allows a searcher to control how important age is versus relevance.

Try it out and let us know what you think.