class User < ActiveRecord::Base
  named_scope :active, :conditions => {:active => true}
  named_scope :inactive, :conditions => {:active => false}
  named_scope :recent, lambda { { :conditions => ['created_at > ?', 1.week.ago] } }
end
 
# Standard usage
User.active    # same as User.find(:all, :conditions => {:active => true})
User.inactive # same as User.find(:all, :conditions => {:active => false})
User.recent   # same as User.find(:all, :conditions => ['created_at > ?', 1.week.ago])
 
# They're nest-able too!
User.active.recent
  # same as:
  # User.with_scope(:conditions => {:active => true}) do
  #   User.find(:all, :conditions => ['created_at > ?', 1.week.ago])
  # end