vBulletin’s search feature is a valuable resource for users who are searching for a particular entry, but it can also eat up server resources.

One way to save on those resources is to limit the usage of the search feature to users who have registered.  To accomplish this, you need only go into the usergroup edit mode for unregistered users and users awaiting e-mail confirmation.  There, you will find an option for “search”.  Click “no”, save your options, and from that point forward only registered users can search.

Although this may annoy some users, it accomplishes two things: first, it may encourage some users to register and contribute to your forums.  Secondly, it will save resources.  And, if you only allow registered users to search, you may not need to enable security features such as CAPCHA for the search feature, which in turn will bring down server resources.

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