Search items

[bernhugo]

I come on this forum most days. Like many others ,I see the same questions asked again and again, where no research has been done. No attempt to look at previous similar threads.
Do you think that it may draw attention to previous discussions if the blue coloured search boxes at the bottom of the page were more noticeable and moved to the top of the page above the first discussion point?

 

[pudgypilgrim]

Frankly, I, for one, don't. I'm a moderator at a support forum for a very major software company and I can assure you from sad experience that no attempts (colored boxes, huge type, arrows pointing at it) will ever make people search if they aren't the kind of folks to do that anyway.

(edited for typo)

 

[bernhugo]

Hi Pudgy Pilgrim (I'm sure that this is not true) thanks for your thoughts.
I agree with what you say from experience is true, but if the blue search boxes were moved to the top of the page and stood out more
there is a distinct possibility that some searchers might use them first, so cutting down the repeated requests.
No?

 

[cher99840]

I use the little magnifying glass at the top of the page, just under "alerts".

 

[annelise]

Personally, I think that newbies hitting on this forum come here to get some real person to person contacts -whether a question has been asked before or not.

I would suggest to give them some leeway. Many/most are heading out for a totally new experience and may feel somewhat insecure.

Let us please help give them replies as best we can.

annelise

 

[dougfitz]

Personally, I think that newbies hitting on this forum come here to get some real person to person contacts -whether a question has been asked before or not.

I would suggest to give them some leeway. Many/most are heading out for a totally new experience and may feel somewhat insecure.

Let us please help give them replies as best we can.

annelise

I don't think anyone who is inclined to want to help others will ever NOT help a newbie. I recall how naive I was when I joined, and how little I knew about how to research the forum effectively. I am still here today to share my experience because other members helped me. I now watch with delight as new members increase in their confidence. Some return and become the next generation of people willing to help.

We can hint about using the search function, and about asking specific questions, but I suspect we all know that the patterns of people asking similar questions - what will the weather be on 3 May 2015 in Burgos? what gear to pack? how big should one's backpack be? - they will be asked and responses will be provided.

 

[jefferyonthecamino]

Personally, I think that newbies hitting on this forum come here to get some real person to person contacts -whether a question has been asked before or not.

I would suggest to give them some leeway. Many/most are heading out for a totally new experience and may feel somewhat insecure.

Let us please help give them replies as best we can.

annelise

agree 100%

 

[jefferyonthecamino]

I come on this forum most days. Like many others ,I see the same questions asked again and again, where no research has been done. No attempt to look at previous similar threads.
Do you think that it may draw attention to previous discussions if the blue coloured search boxes at the bottom of the page were more noticeable and moved to the top of the page above the first discussion point?

repeat questions helps keep the forum 'personal and alive'; it's nice to see other pilgrims answering questions in 'real time', even if they've been answered a million times previously. it's also nice for those that can help to interact in real time.

 

[David]

I think that new members like the conversation aspect of asking a question - they want to connect. The forum isn't a library - well, it contains a library of course! but mainly it is a forum, an arena for discussion ... I like the way pre-pilgrims are all excited or/and anxious and it gives us an opportunity to encourage, share, offer different points of view - I like it exactly as it is.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Honestly, to me, the Search feature is useful only if I am looking for something I vaguely recall reading in the past. Enter "Osprey" and the returned items are as confusing as scrolling through topics. And how would a new Member know to search for "Osprey" anyway? The regularly asked question, "What is the best backpack?" will provide more information.

So new, but repeat, questions are fine with me. I don't have to read them, and I certainly do not have to respond to them if I don't want to. To actually be bothered by them would make me a bit compulsive.

FAQ and Camino Resources are excellent for finding things like train and bus information. Scrolling through the various forums and threads is the best way to find things worth considering. When a topic on bed bugs is noticed, the new Member may suddenly have something new to think about! I agree that a first post is mostly about joining the conversation. It is like joining a table of pilgrims for morning coffee; you start with some pretty innocuous general remarks, not some hardcore, straight-to-the-point comment. A question to which you know the answer is pretty common -- what's the weather today?

The Forum page layouts are very well considered and designed, in my opinion. Everyone has his own opinion on priorities, but the designer has to pick one. When the choice is not the same one a Member might have made, it hardly makes the product flawed. Moving an icon around could easily displease as many users as it pleases.

 

[bernhugo]

I apologise if I caused any offence. I did not mean to tell the organisers how to do their job.
I just thought that this might be a good idea, but obviously not.
-Sorry.

 

[wayfarer]

I apologise if I caused any offence. I did not mean to tell the organisers how to do their job.
I just thought that this might be a good idea, but obviously not.
-Sorry.

No need to apologise bernhugo, this topic has been discussed before and most everyone agrees that pointing to a search function would be a cold welcome for a new member. The same questions from new members keeps us on our toes plus new or more up to date information may be available from pilgrims who have walked more recently than some of us and as Jeffery said it keeps the forum personal and alive.

 

[Carol06]

And I think that we just want to make our own personal contact with people. So many of the contributors feel like old friends now even though I have never met them.