Some database search interfaces will return results for Bill, Will, Billy, and William when “William” is the actual search term–as long as the user indicates they do not want an “exact” search. In a similar fashion, Maggie and Margaret will be returned when “Margaret” is entered, a search for Elizabeth will bring up the variants on that name, and so on.
Some sites preform searches in this manner by default and if the user wants to only find William–then the website needs to be told to perform an exact search only.
Some sites do not offer this flexibility at all.
One of my favorite newspaper sites does not automatically find Sam when Samuel is entered as the search term and there’s no magic “inexact” button to hit to make it happen. A wildcard search for Sam*, if allowed, will bring up Samuel and Sam–but not all sites give this functionality. I need to be aware of how the site works and create my searches accordingly.
The reminder here is that not all sites allow common nicknames and diminutives to be automatically searched. Sometimes we have to be paying attention and thinking for ourselves.
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