7. A method comprising: accessing text data to be mined, the text data including text snippets; encoding rules in a rule base, the encoding of a given one of the rules including a user entering, via a computer screen displayed subject matter expert interface, freely typed text representing a given label and the encoding of the given one further including the user entering, via the computer screen displayed subject matter expert interface, freely typed text representing given synonyms, the given label and the given synonyms defining the given one of the rules at least in part; submitting a search request to a search request handler; the search request handler applying the rules from the rule base to the text data and associating different labels to respective text snippets in the text data in accordance with the rule base; displaying the text snippets and associated labels resulting from the application of the rules from the rule base on the subject matter expert interface; and after the search request handler has at least once applied the rules, presenting to the human user, on the computer screen displayed subject matter expert interface, a revise option that can be selected by the human user through the subject matter expert interface to indicate a need to further encode the rules in the rule base, and the human user choosing the revise option and entering, via the computer screen displayed subject matter expert interface, freely typed text to thereby revise both the given label and the given synonyms; wherein the rule input by the human user includes information encoding a rule from among the rules in the rule base to include a label and synonyms including a corresponding set of match terms, where a mined text snippet containing a match term in the corresponding set of match terms is associated with the label.
7. A method comprising: accessing text data to be mined, the text data including text snippets; encoding rules in a rule base, the encoding of a given one of the rules including a user entering, via a computer screen displayed subject matter expert interface, freely typed text representing a given label and the encoding of the given one further including the user entering, via the computer screen displayed subject matter expert interface, freely typed text representing given synonyms, the given label and the given synonyms defining the given one of the rules at least in part; submitting a search request to a search request handler; the search request handler applying the rules from the rule base to the text data and associating different labels to respective text snippets in the text data in accordance with the rule base; displaying the text snippets and associated labels resulting from the application of the rules from the rule base on the subject matter expert interface; and after the search request handler has at least once applied the rules, presenting to the human user, on the computer screen displayed subject matter expert interface, a revise option that can be selected by the human user through the subject matter expert interface to indicate a need to further encode the rules in the rule base, and the human user choosing the revise option and entering, via the computer screen displayed subject matter expert interface, freely typed text to thereby revise both the given label and the given synonyms; wherein the rule input by the human user includes information encoding a rule from among the rules in the rule base to include a label and synonyms including a corresponding set of match terms, where a mined text snippet containing a match term in the corresponding set of match terms is associated with the label. 8. The method according to claim 7 , further comprising: after presenting the human user with text snippets and their associated different labels, in response to the human user's selection of the revise option, further encoding rules in the rule base, the further encoded rules including one or both of modified versions of the rules and added rules.