Google Search – How to Search in Specific Website but Not Its Subsections

You could try using a Google Search instead for this...

To limit the results to threads in a parent forum (e.g. in this case Picasa), use site:google.com/support/forum/p/Picasa/thread.

To limit the results to a specific sub-forum, you could add the breadcrumbs that appear on each page to your search query. For example: "Help forum > Picasa > Picasa Web Albums".

To order by the date posted, click Show Search Tools, and choose Latest. This will order the posts with the newest ones at the top.

I don't know about the technical details of the implementation of those other sites. However, if there are sites that don't use account or cookie prefs to know what you normally search, I would expect nothing less than different results.

Google has been personalizing search results for years to give you information tailored to your needs. Recently, Google search results have been more explicit, displaying search results based on what people in your friend network work have shared. Also, see ratings and reviews on Google Places, for example, where your ratings and those of your friends modify your results giving you better, more personalized information.