site: operator numbers - glitch or signs of something?

[bwnbwn]

Today I did a site command and discovered that I have lost 1200 pages from the site command over the weekend. I can add the /* and have more pages this way.

This is strange in itself as /*command shows what pages aren't in supplemental.

I wonder what this means as I had 1200 pages using the site command but just 59 out of supplemental now I have 59 using site command and 74 using /* that I use to determine supplemental pages.

Been working really hard on some stuff lately so I am not really sure if this is good or this is bad.

Anybody else seeing a huge drop in site command pages, and a possible theory as to what you think this means for the coming weeks.

[tedster]

I regularly see all kinds of strangeness with the site: operator, although this one sounds particularly strange. Other have been discussed in this thread: Google's Site: Operator - Digging Deeper Returns More URLs [webmasterworld.com], which is featured in the Hot Topics [webmasterworld.com], which is always pinned to the top of this forum's index page.

The thing to remember is that site: numbers have never been very accurate - they improve and then they get strange again. This is because of the way Google's huge data-set is sharded across so many machines. What seems like a routine question for us is actually quite a challenge in their system, and not a high priority challenge, either.

[bwnbwn]

tedster

numbers have never been very accurate

yes I know but I have been pretty solid on the numbers for years now on site command been 1200 or 1300 for years now so there is something strange here.

Actually I looked friday at the numbers and just happend to look today and the big drop.

What I am so puzzeled over though is the higher number out of supplemental than the regular site command shows. Hey don't get me wrong I have been working trying to get that number to rise to no avail for over a year now so maybe something positive is going on or it a glitch. We shall see that's for sure on down the road.

Short lived did another site search command back to 1200 now so now I know. I waited some time before posting just to make sure it wasn't just the datacenter I was in at the time. O well.

Now I see 59 so it is flipping in different datacenters were before it was solid 59 for a while, but now if I refresh it is flipping back and forth every couple minutes.

Sorry to keep posting to the same post but I have discovered the issue.
If I do site:www.example.com it is flipping in and out 59 to 1200 if I do site:www.example.com/ this search shows 1250 and doesn't change.

I won't be checking my site command anymore without the / anymore

[tedster]

I can see how such a shift could be a worrisome thing - espeically after years of stability. Guess there's nothing for it but to wait and watch. If anything more develops, I'd apprecaite hearing about it.

By the way, I just checked a number domains and I'm not seeing anything that dramatic.