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Search functions hopeless

OK, so I am trying to be helpful here. Looking at a post by Sean who wants ideas for a trip with two 13-year olds and her husband. I click on her name to check her profile so I can be more helpful in responding. Profile says she has 3 posts. How do I find them? Put "Sean" in the search function and it returns 6 discussions, none of them apparently the same Sean.

It would help to answer her question if people can see what else she has posted. This one can easily do on Tripadvisor, which this forum apparently seeks to emulate. On Tripadvisor, all onehas to do is click on a name and all previous posts pop up, so you can see what else they have asked and respond accordingly. Here, the search function does not work that way. So it is difficult to answer a question from a newbie appropriately.

Posted by
11507 posts

I totally agree. I hate that the location of an OP of a thread is not shown either..

Posted by
33757 posts

If you want to be honest, the search function here is nearly useless. I posted a thread a few weeks ago and rather than scroll through a dozen or more screens I tried to search on the more unique words that I knew were in the post. NOTHING. Opened it up a little and got completely unrelated posts from 6 years ago, but nothing in the past 6 weeks. I thought it was supposed to improve now that they broke away from Bing. Nope.

Posted by
7153 posts

I agree wholeheartedly - it's not only hopeless it's USELESS!

So much valuable (and interesting) information that could be had by being able to search prior threads and it's all going to waste. What a shame.

I hate that you can't even suggest to someone to search for previous threads on a subject because you know there's wonderful information out there - sometimes things you don't find anywhere else. And sometimes their new posts don't get many answers because the posters with the answers aren't here anymore and their old posts can't be accessed.

Posted by
9202 posts

It would also be helpful that when a Search is done on let's say on Forum topics, that at least the date be for the thread. Saves pulling up some thread from 2008, and lets you find the most recent ones.

The Search needs some major tweaking.

I too wish we could click on a posters name and see their post history. Makes it so easy to find reference posts, or to see if they have asked the questions some place else, or even to find our own posts, so that we can link to them. All travel forums have this, just not this one.

Posted by
7153 posts

Another pet peave I have about the (so called) search feature - why are all the options checked and if all you want is to search the forum you have to 'uncheck' all the others? It should be that you just choose where you want to search by clicking on those areas.

This website is the most time consuming (but the most finger exercising) website ever! Click Click Click and maybe you'll get where you want, Back Back Back and maybe you'll get back to where you want to be. Whew.

Sorry, had to let off some steam.