1. A computer implemented method comprising: receiving a query from a client device associated with a user, the query comprising a term associated with a term identifier; searching, based in part on the term identifier, a first portion of a user-term index comprising time-ordered database shards of records for post identifiers of posts that include the term and that are associated with connections of the user, where the user-term index comprises shards of records that are searched from newest to oldest, the searching comprising: matching the term identifier to corresponding term identifiers in shards of records within the selected portion, the selected portion including user identifiers associated with connections of the user, and wherein the matching identifies post identifiers for posts that include the term and are associated with a connection of the user; and retrieving posts from an index using the identified post identifiers, the retrieved posts for presentation to the user.