[Allen Cobb]

I can’t believe you wonderful, helpful folks still haven’t twisted the arm of your WebMaster to implement SEARCHING in the forum.

How on earth can I find something — something priceless, vital, spectacular — that’s buried in among 6,600 topics and 20,000 replies? My soul withers at the prospect.

Yes, someone (David) said I could search via Google, and then hop back and forth between the chaos of a full-web search and the occasional links to text on this forum, but really, realistically, honestly, in all candor, WHAT???

And my forum profile — how will anyone discover that all their posts and replies are listed under USERS? Is there a link for that? It’s not under ACCOUNT, where I looked when I couldn’t find it on the FORUM page. The only route to my previous posts is by FINDING one (without using SEARCH, since there is no search) and clicking on my user name. To do this I must PAGE THROUGH THE POSTS for my most recent post, just so I can click on my name. This forum plugin would be a whole lot more fun to use if it provided a few standard forum research functions!

Every forum software plugin on Earth has a SEARCH function. This forum plugin looks great, although a bit small, but SURELY there is an option to enable searching. That’s 75% of what a forum is USED FOR — finding wonderful solutions to problems that have been solved BEFORE!

Oh please, hear my plea. My lifespan is not unbounded, and there are pearls of wisdom here that I need. CreativePro is supposed to be a RESOURCE, but without the ability to search for solutions, how can it fulfill that noble aspiration?

Yours truly in all respect and humility,

Allen, posting now and then since 11 years ago.

[David Blatner]

Allen, while you make excellent points, please remember that part of my personal goal in life is to ensure that nothing is too easy for you. I want things to be easy, sure, and fun! But not too easy, because then I would be depriving you of valuable character-building experiences. As my grandmother said to me, “nothing important was ever easy.”

Now, that said, I do agree that our search feature on this site sucks eggs (what the heck does that phrase even mean?!) and I am definitely working with our web developers to make it better. I only ask that you a) have faith; b) keep bugging me from time to time by replying to this thread; c) provide constructive criticism on how we can make it better.

And in your post above, you have done exactly that. I honestly hadn’t even considered the question of finding the “forum profile” features. We definitely should make that easier to get to!

That said, we DO have a forum search feature… it’s just buried in plain view, where no one ever looks: At the top level of the forums. That is, if you click “Forums” in the breadcrumb at the top of the page, or go to https://creativepro.com/forums/ you’ll see a search field. Try typing your name in there!

[Allen Cobb]

Crimenentlies, Buffalo Bob! You’re right!(Not that I’d expect you to be wrong.)

There IS a search function! The last time I complained about this nobody (e.g., you) mentioned it, and long ago I gave up searching for Search.

So, in fulfillment of your request to keep bugging you, and nevertheless appreciating that you live to make my life more difficult, please allow me to suggest that the WebMaster be immediately directed to place a copy of the SEARCH field within each forum group (not that there are very many of those, but that one isn’t likely to navigate UP to find something for HERE, if you catch my drift).

In lieu of programming a clone of the search field, perhaps just put a big red button that says SEARCH, and links to the field on the forum main page. This could be done in about 45 seconds by a small child with SpongeBob playing at full volume in the background.

Thanks for this MOST edifying response to my strident complaining. I shall avail myself of the obscurely located Search field from now on, and it will no doubt result in my visiting the forum for answers much more often.

Please assure Anne-Marie that I consider her in no way responsible for the UX transgressions discussed here, and lay them squarely (quad L+R) and exclusively at your esteemed pedal extremities.

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