Starting here, trunk is broken pending re-organizations. Check out the previous revision if you'd like to tinker.

src/helpsys/managers/helpentry.py

@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+"""
+Custom manager for HelpEntry objects.
+"""
+from django.db import models
+
+class HelpEntryManager(models.Manager):
+    def find_topicmatch(self, pobject, topicstr):
+        """
+        Searches for matching topics based on player's input.
+        """
+        is_staff = pobject.is_staff()
+        
+        if topicstr.isdigit():
+            t_query = self.filter(id=topicstr)
+        else:
+            t_query = self.filter(topicname__istartswith=topicstr)
+        
+        if not is_staff:
+            return t_query.exclude(staff_only=1)
+            
+        return t_query
+        
+    def find_topicsuggestions(self, pobject, topicstr):
+        """
+        Do a fuzzier "contains" match.
+        """
+        is_staff = pobject.is_staff()
+        t_query = self.filter(topicname__icontains=topicstr)
+        
+        if not is_staff:
+            return t_query.exclude(staff_only=1)
+            
+        return t_query
+